WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (6-3, 0-0 WAC)
Junior Kurt Cunningham went 1-for-1 from the line and extended his streak of consecutive free throws made to 11 ... Cunningham, who currently leads the WAC in shooting percentage, went 3-for-5 from the field against Brigham Young and 3-for-4 against San Francisco, marking his ninth consecutive game in which he shot 50 percent or better from the floor ... with the last week’s WAC Player of the Week selection, senior forward Mark Sanchez becomes just the third player in Boise State history to receive the accolade twice in the same season, joining Bronco greats Reggie Larry and Matt Nelson ... the three of them are also the only Broncos to receive the honor multiple times throughout their careers (Larry - 4; Nelson - 2) ... Sanchez is just the 10th Bronco to earn the award and marked the 15th time that a player from Boise State since joining the WAC in 2001 to garner the award.
Fresno State Bulldogs (4-5, 0-0 WAC)
Sylvester Seay sparked the Bulldogs with the first seven points of Fresno State’s 66-51 win over Cal State Bakersfield and recorded 17 points in a mere 19 minutes ... Seay added 17 points in a Sunday matinee where the ?Dogs mounted a valiant comeback bid after falling 15 points down against the Montana Grizzlies with under 10 minutes to play and nearly closed the gap before dropping a 69-65 decision. In the game with Montana, Seay nailed a pair of three-pointers and blocked a game-high three Grizzly shots .... the Bulldogs earned their first winning streak of 2008-09 by beating Cal State Bakersfield, 66-51 ... sophomore forward Nedeljko Golubovic tied a career-high with 14 points against Montana ... senior guard Dwight O’Neil continues stay near the top of the conference with roughly six assists per game ... Fresno State allowed a season-low 30.6 percent shooting by the Roadrunners in the win.
Hawai?i Rainbow Warriors (4-3, 0-0 WAC)
Junior guard Roderick Flemings averaged 25.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg and 3.0 apg, shot 65 percent from the floor in a pair of games versus Illinois and Eastern Washington ... Flemings tied a school record for points by a Hawaii player in the Stan Sheriff Center when he exploded for a career-high 37 points in a 75-55 win over Eastern Washington ... he scored nine straight points during a crucial UH run in the second half to deny an Eastern Washington rally ... in a 68-58 loss at Illinois, Flemings recorded his second straight double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. He also added three blocks against the Illini ... Flemings earned WAC Player of the Week honors for his performance last week ... UH has won four straight home games ... the 75-55 win over Eastern Washington was its most comfortable win of the year ... UH hosts Chicago State on Dec. 15.
Idaho Vandals (4-5, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho has earned four wins in seven games now, which was the quickest to four wins since the 1998-99 team began the season 4-2 ... Idaho has not won five games in 10 games since the 1999-2000 team began 5-5 ... Idaho earned three wins in November for the first time since the 1998-99 season ... Idaho has seven players shooting at least 44-percent from the floor this season, including four over 50-percent and two over 60-percent ... over its last four games, Idaho has allowed opponents just 59.8 points per game and 34-percent field goal shooting ... Idaho has assists on 65-percent of its field goals over the past five games ... Idaho has allowed opponents just one double-double this season ... Idaho has at least two blocks in each game this season ... Idaho’s win at Sacramento State was its first non-conference road victory since Nov. 16, 2006 at South Dakota State; a span of 16 games.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (5-4, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech junior Kyle Gibson led the Bulldogs to two wins this past week against I-20 rivals ULM and Centenary averaging 18 points per contest ... Gibson also played a total of 77 minutes over the two games for an average of 38.5 minutes per contest ... he also shot 10-18 for the two games with a 20-point performance against Centenary Saturday ... On the week, Gibson averaged 18.0 points while shooting nearly 56 percent from the field ... Jamel Guyton led the team as he averaged 22.0 points per contest over the two games ... Guyton also knocked down four threes on the week ... Magnum Rolle, Kennth Cooper, and David Jackson each averaged double digits last week at 19.0, 12.5, and 10.0, respectively ... The Bulldogs travel to play McNeese State on Monday before taking on Samford on Thursday.
Nevada Wolf Pack (5-4, 0-0 WAC)
The Wolf Pack went a perfect 2-0 last week to raise its record above .500 on the season ... the team won a pair of home games, defeating Sonoma State 95-39 before taking down Southern Illinois 62-48 ... freshman Luke Babbitt led the Pack with a game-high 16 points against Sonoma State, connecting on 6-of-10 shots from the field, including a 2-of-2 clip from long range ... Babbitt also pulled down seven rebounds in the game ... Malik Cooke and Armon Johnson each scored 14 points against Sonoma State, while Joey Shaw added 10 ... Johnson led Nevada with 16 points against Southern Illinois on 7-of-12 shooting ... Babbitt collected 15 points and Cooke helped with 10 ... on the week, Babbitt averaged 15.5 points with a 6.5 rebound average ... Johnson and Cooke averaged double digit scoring over the two games at 15.0 and 12.0 points per game, respectively.
New Mexico State Aggies (4-4, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies won a pair of games last week against Sacrament State, 76-65, in the Lou Henson Classic, Dec. 11, and over I-10 rival UTEP, 90-78, Dec. 14 ... against Sacramento State, the Aggies had three players in double-figures with freshman forward Troy Gillenwater and junior guard Jonathan Gibson supplying 18 and 16 points, respectively ... sophomore forward Wendell McKines finished with 17 points and a team-high 11 rebounds ... in the first rivalry game of the season, NMSU shot a blistering 54.9 percent from the field and had five players score in double-digits in a balanced attack ... sophomore guard Jahmar Young scored 22 points and Jonathan Gibson added 19 in the victory to snap a two-game losing skid to UTEP ... McKines had 15 and 10 rebounds ... Gillenwater provided 11 while freshman guard Hernst Laroche has a career-high 10 points.
San Jose State Spartans (3-3, 0-0 WAC)
Tim Pierce matched his career scoring high for the second time this season with a game-high 23 points in San Jose State’s 56-52 win over San Diego ... the win was the first by a Spartan team in seven years over a non-conference opponent that appeared in the previous season’s NCAA Tournament (San Diego reached the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament) ... Pierce had his best shooting game of the season as he was 7-of-10 from the field which included 5-of-6 from 3-point range and made all four of his free throws ... Pierce was an impeccable 5-for-5 from 3-point range in the second half as he single-handedly represented more than 67 percent of San Jose State’s offensive output ... he scored 21 of his 23 points after halftime and 21 of the team’s 31 points in the second half ... this week, SJSU hosts Northern Colorado on Saturday.
Utah State Aggies (6-1, 0-0 WAC)
Senior forward Gary Wilkinson scored a career-high 29 points to lead Utah State to a convincing 69-50 road win at Utah Valley Saturday night ... Wilkinson finished the night shooting 12-of-14 from the field and 5-of-7 from the free throw line. He also added seven rebounds in 34 minutes of action ... Wilkinson also pulled down seven rebounds in the win ... Tai Wesley helped with 11 points on a perfect 3-of-3 night from the field, while Tyler Newbold added 10 points ... Wesley led the team with eight rebounds against UVU ... Utah State shot nearly 56 percent from the field in the game while holding Utah Valley to just a 36.2 percent night ... this week, Utah State travels south to Cedar City, Utah to take on Southern Utah on Dec. 17 ... the team will then head north to Pocatello, Idaho to play Idaho State on Dec. 20.
WAC NOTES
HAWAI?I’S FLEMINGS NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
University of Hawai?i guard Roderick Flemings has been named the Western Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 8-14. The honor marks the first career WAC Player of the Week award for Flemings.
Flemings, a junior from Dallas, Texas (Weatherford College), tied a school record for points by a UH player in the Stan Sheriff Center when he registered a career-high 37 points in a 75-55 win over Eastern Washington last week. Flemings finished 16-of-23 (.696) from the field, 1-of-3 from beyond the arc, and 4-of-6 from the charity stripe against the Eagles. He scored nine straight points during a crucial UH run in the second half to deny an Eastern Washington rally.
In a 68-58 loss at Illinois, Flemings recorded his second straight double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. He also added three blocks against the Illini.
On the week, Flemings averaged 25.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists, while shooting 64.7 (22-of-34) percent from the field.
Other nominees included: Boise State senior Aaron Garner scored a career-high 19 points at BYU, tallying 17 in the first half of the game ... Fresno State junior Sylvester Seay scored 15 points in a win over Cal State Bakersfield and added 17 more against Montana ... Louisiana Tech junior Kyle Gibson averaged 18.0 points in a pair of wins over ULM and Centenary ... New Mexico State sophomore Wendell McKines posted a pair of double-doubles in wins over Sacramento State and UTEP ... San Jose State senior Tim Pierce scored a game-high 23 points in a win at San Diego ... Utah State senior Gary Wilkinson scored a career-high 29 points in a road win at Utah Valley.
WAC TEAMS RANK TOP-10 NATIONALLY IN FIVE STATISTICAL CATEGORIES
Teams from the WAC rank top-10 or better in five different team statistical categories. Utah State currently leads the nation in field goal percentage at 54.1 percent. San Jose State ranks second nationally in three-point field goal defense, holding opponents to a 24.5 percent mark. Utah State also ranks third in the country in rebound margin (12.1). SJSU ranks fourth in scoring defense, holding opponents to an average of 53.3 points per game. The Spartans also rank seventh in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to a 34.8 percent clip from the field. Individually, Utah State’s Gary Wilkinson ranks second nationally in field goal percentage with a 75 percent clip.
USU POSTS SECOND-BEST DEFENSIVE EFFORT IN NCAA HISTORY
Utah State accomplished a rare feat Nov. 25 in its 75-49 home win against Weber State as it held the Wildcats without a field goal for the final 16:20 of the game, which according to the NCAA is the second-longest field goal drought in NCAA history. The longest stretch in NCAA history one team has held another without a field goal was on Feb. 25, 1979 when Duke held North Carolina scoreless for 20:48. For Utah State, its defensive effort against Weber State is the best since Feb. 15, 2006, when it held Idaho scoreless for 13:53, which was the third-longest scoring drought in NCAA history. USU also had a 37-0 run against the Vandals, which is a NCAA record, and it held Idaho without a field goal for 16:01 during that game, which was the second-longest streak in NCAA history before Tuesday night.
IDAHO SETS SCHOOL RECORD FOR LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY
Idaho’s 54-point victory over UC Irvine on Nov. 28 was its largest margin of victory over a Division I opponent in school history. The previous record was a 53-point margin against Pacific in 1983. It ranked as the second largest margin ever at Idaho behind a 111-34 win over Northwest College in 1987.
TOP WAC TEAMS OVER LAST FIVE YEARS
Over the last five seasons dating back to 2003-04, Nevada has turned in a 130-43 record, the best record of any WAC team during that time (.751 winning percentage). In conference games, Nevada has won 68 games, the most in that same time period. The top three teams in wins (both overall and WAC) over the last five seasons:
Overall Record (Pct.)
1. Nevada 132-43 (.754)
2. Utah State 125-45 (.735)
3. Hawai?i 87-69 (.558)
WAC Record (Pct.)
1. Nevada 68-16 (.810)
2. Hawai?i 43-40 (.518)
3. Fresno State 41-41 (.500)
UTAH STATE’S HOME WIN STREAK CONTINUES
Utah State has won 57 straight regular season non-conference home games, which is the second-longest streak in the nation behind Duke who has won 63 straight. When including postseason play, USU has won 33 straight home games against non-conference opponents and 57 of its last 59 overall. The last time Utah State lost a non-conference home game during the regular season was on Jan. 8, 2000 against BYU, 82-73. The team has also won 21 straight games inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, which is the eighth-longest active winning streak in the country. BYU has won 53 straight home games, which is the longest streak in the nation.
FRESNO STATE’S GEORGE PUTS DOWN DUNK THAT LANDS NO. 1 ON SPORTCENTER’S TOP PLAYS
Paul George highlighted Fresno State’s game at Saint Mary’s (11/17) with a memorable dunk that landed as the No. 1 play on Sportscenter’s Top 10 “Plays of the Day” for Nov. 18, 2008 and opened the preview highlights for the broadcast. The dunk, where the freshman slashed straight to the basket and delivered an emphatic one-handed slam on two Gael defenders, beat a pair of Lebron James’ and other professional highlights for the top spot.
WAC TEAMS GO PERFECT IN EXHIBITION PLAY
WAC teams went a perfect 14-0 in exhibition play this season. Boise State, Fresno State, Hawai?i, New Mexico State, and Utah State each went 2-0, while Idaho, San Jose State, Nevada, and Louisiana Tech each went 1-0.
WAC TOURNAMENT TO RETURN TO RENO IN 2009
The WAC Board of Directors awarded the 2009 and 2010 WAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments to the University of Nevada and the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority. The tournaments will be held in the 11,485-seat Lawlor Events Center, located on the campus of the University of Nevada. The tournament features all nine men’s and women’s teams. The WAC tournaments were last held in Reno in 2006. The 2007 and 2008 tournaments were held in Las Cruces, New Mexico at New Mexico State University.
ESPNU BRACKETBUSTERS
For the seventh year in a row, the WAC has partnered with ESPN and several other top college basketball conferences for ESPNU BracketBusters, a weekend men’s basketball event matching potential NCAA tournament hopefuls against each other. All nine WAC teams will be a part of this year’s pool of teams. The event will be held February 20-21. The match-ups for Bracket Buster Saturday will be determined by ESPN in conjunction with the conferences about three weeks before the event.
TOP PLAYERS RETURNING
The WAC returns one player from last year’s all-WAC second team, Utah State forward Gary Wilkinson. No players return from the first team. Three of the five named to the all-newcomer team return: Armon Johnson (G, Nevada), C.J. Webster (C, San Jose State), and Wilkinson. Nevada guard Lyndale Burleson is the lone returner from last season’s all-defensive team. Nevada’s Johnson was the 2007-08 WAC Freshman of the Year.
TOURNAMENT OPPONENTS
WAC teams could face at least 16 non-conference opponents that played in last year’s NCAA Tournament, including three teams in last years’ Final Four (Kansas, North Carolina, UCLA). Idaho and Nevada lead the conference with three games scheduled apiece.
2007-08 NATIONAL POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT TEAMS ON WAC SCHEDULE
Idaho at Michigan State, Nov. 16
Cal State Fullerton at Hawai’i, Nov. 16
Boise State at Siena, Nov. 17
Nevada at San Diego, Nov. 18
Idaho at Gonzaga, Nov. 18
New Mexico State at USC, Nov. 18
Fresno State at St. Mary’s, Nov. 19
UNLV at Fresno State, Dec. 3
New Mexico State at Kansas, Dec. 3
UNLV at Nevada, Dec. 6
Utah State vs. BYU, Dec. 6 (SLC, UT)
San Jose State at San Diego, Dec. 8
Washington State at Idaho, Dec. 21
Boise State at San Diego, Dec. 22
Louisiana Tech at UCLA, Dec. 28
North Carolina at Nevada, Dec. 31
LETTERWINNER/STARTER CAPSULE
This season, three of the nine WAC teams return at least three starters: Louisiana Tech, San Jose State and Utah State. San Jose State leads the conference as they return all five of their starters from last season. Nevada returns two starters from the 2007-08 season, and Boise State, Fresno State, Hawai’i, Idaho, and New Mexico State all return one from the previous season. Boise State has the most number of returning letterwinners with nine.
STAT LEADERS BACK
Statistically, only two of the top 15 scorers return for the 2008-09 season. Louisiana Tech junior, Kyle Gibson, was ranked seventh in the WAC in scoring last season averaging 16.5 points per game. Utah State’s Gary Wilkinson averaged 13.3 points per game to rank 13th. Wilkinson is also the second-best rebounder returning in the conference with a 7.0 rpg average. San Jose State’s Chris Oakes averaged the most rebounds last season of returning players, by grabbing 7.2 boards a game (6th in the WAC). Boise State guard, Anthony Thomas, enters the 2008-09 season with a 4.15 assist per game average (5th in the WAC) from last year, the most among returning players. Hawai?i junior Bill Amis leads returners with 1.33 blocked shots per game, good for third in the conference.