PLAYER OF THE WEEK ? Utah State senior guard Jaycee Carroll has been named the Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball player of the week for Feb. 4-11. This is the sixth career WAC Player of the Week honor for the senior and his third this season.
Carroll, a senior from Evanston, Wyo. (Evanston HS), led Utah State to a 2-0 record last week with a 77-72 win at Fresno State and a 78-73 win against San Jose State. Against the Bulldogs, Carroll scored 22 points to go along with nine rebounds and two assists. Against the Spartans, he recorded his second double-double of the season with 26 points and 11 rebounds to go along with two steals. For the weekend, Carroll averaged 24.0 points and 10.0 rebounds and shot 50.0 percent from the field (16-32), 53.3 percent from three-point range (8-15) and 88.9 percent from the free throw line (8-9).
The other nominations were sophomore forward JaVale McGee, Nevada and sophomore guard Jonathan Gibson, New Mexico State.
WEEK SEVEN OF WAC PLAY ? The race for first place got even tighter with Nevada’s win over Utah State on Feb. 11. The Aggies maintain a slight lead over Nevada, New Mexico State and Boise State. The Wolf Pack, Aggies and Broncos all hold 8-3 conference records. This week, Utah State’s only remaining game is in Honolulu against the Warriors on Saturday, Feb. 16.
On Valentine’s Day, Boise State will host Nevada before hosting Fresno State on Feb. 16. New Mexico State will travel to Ruston to take on Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs are coming off their first conference win of the season.
O’REILLY’S BRACKETBUSTERS MATCHUPS ANNOUNCED ? Pairings for the sixth annual O’Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters ? a multi-day men’s basketball event matching NCAA Tournament hopefuls against each other on Friday, Feb. 22, Saturday, Feb. 23 and a special telecast on Sunday, Feb. 24. There are three WAC teams that will have televised games, including Utah State hosting UC Santa Barbara on Friday, Feb. 22. On Saturday, Feb. 24, Nevada will travel to Southern Illinois, while Boise State will host Siena.
ESPN2 will televise six ESPNU BracketBusters contests, ESPNU will televise five, ESPN360.com, ESPN’s customized broadband service, will offer coverage of two and for the first time, ESPN Classic will televise one. The 28 ESPNU BracketBusters teams were selected from a pool of 100 schools.
GRAHAM BECOMES JUST THIRD BRONCO COACH TO WIN 100 GAMES AT BOISE STATE ? Boise State’s 17 wins this season have given Greg Graham 100 for his career, the third most of any head coach in Boise State history. Bobby Dye (1983-95) is the school’s all-time leader with 213 wins, while Rod Jensen (1995-2002) is second with 109 wins. His career record of 100-79 gives him a career winning percentage of .559, which is also the third best of any coach in school history behind Dye’s .616 winning percentage and Murray Satterfield’s (1968-73) .567 winning percentage.
COACH MORRILL BREAKS RECORD ? Jan. 17 and Jan. 19 were without a doubt two of the most historic days in Aggie Basketball history as Stew Morrill became the school’s all-time winningest coach on Jan. 17 and senior guard Jaycee Carroll became the school’s all-time scoring leader on Jan. 19. Morrill passed E. Lowell Romney’s (1920-41) 225 career wins, while Carroll passed Greg Grant’s (1983-86) 2,127 career points.
BRONCOS LEAD WAC WITH 15 INDIVIDUAL 20-POINT GAMES IN WAC GAMES ? Boise State players have combined for 25 individual 20-point games this season and are one behind Utah State for the most in the WAC. Reggie Larry leads the Broncos with 10 individual 20-point games, the third most in the conference to date (Utah State’s Jaycee Carroll leads with 16, while Nevada’s Marcelus Kemp has 11). Matt Nelson and Tyler Tiedeman each have six 20-point games, while Matt Bauscher has three. In league games, the Broncos have a WAC-best 15 individual 20-point games. Utah State has the second most with 12.
BIG IMPROVEMENT ? The 2007-08 San Jose State team has its first 10-win season since 2001-02 when the Spartans were 10-22. The last time the Spartans won more than 10 games in a season was 2000-01 when the team posted a 14-14 win-loss record.
CARROLL BECOMES USU’S ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER ? Senior All-American guard Jaycee Carroll became Utah State’s all-time leading scorer on Jan. 19, 2007 at home against Idaho as he made a three-pointer from the left wing with 13:35 to play in the first-half to eclipse Greg Grant’s (1983-86) record of 2,127 points. Carroll now has 2,180 career points and is one of just three players in school history to score 2,000 points along with Grant and Wayne Estes (1963-65) who scored 2,001 career points.
BIG-TIME SCORERS ? Senior Kevin Bell’s last game was bitter-sweet, as the outstanding senior moved past 1,000 points in his career, but it happened in a loss to WAC-leader Utah State. Bell became the 27th Bulldog in history to reach that milestone and now has 1,012 points in his brilliant career.
The 1,000 point club at Boise State is selective. The group of Broncos who have scored 400 points in more than one season at Boise State is even more selective. Reggie Larry became just the 12th player in school history to score 400 points in two seasons. He joins Steve Connor (four times), Tanoka Beard (three times), Chris Childs (three times), Coby Karl (three times), Abe Jackson (three times), Roberto Bergersen, Ron Austin, Pat Hoke, Arnell Jones, Aaron Haynes and Vince Hinchen as multiple 400-point season scorers. Matt Nelson needs just 50 points to become the 13th Bronco to score 400 points in back-to-back seasons.
WAC STRIKES A DEAL WITH GREAT ALASKA SHOOTOUT ? Athletic director Dr. Steve Cobb announced that the University of Alaska Anchorage Athletic Department has signed a scheduling agreement with the Western Athletic Conference for the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout.
Under the 5-year deal, the WAC will send one men’s team per year to the prestigious college basketball tournament, starting with the 31st annual Shootout in 2008.
“This is a great opportunity for the WAC and its basketball programs,” said WAC commissioner Karl Benson. “This tournament has a national tradition that attracts top-caliber teams that we are excited to be a part of. We also appreciate the national attention that is delivered by the exposure from ESPN.”
The 2008 Shootout will be played Nov. 26-29 at Anchorage’s Sullivan Arena.
WAC ON ESPN ? The WAC has a multi-year contract with ESPN for coverage of WAC football and basketball. On Jan. 26, New Mexico State defeated Utah State on ESPN2. Last week, Nevada defeated Hawai?i 88-68 on ESPN2.
FRESNO STATE PACKING THE STANDS ? After a season-high 11,030 fans against Utah State, Fresno State continues to lead the WAC in home attendance, nearly 1,600 more fans per more game than the No. 2 program in the league, Utah State. The Save Mart Center has seen an average of 10,486 fans per game through nine games. The Aggies average 8,832 per contest. Nevada ranks third in the WAC a 7,473 fans per game. Last season, the Bulldogs ranked No. 33 in the NCAA in attendance average at more than 11,000 fans per game.
AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION ? Boise State is still first in the nation in field goal percentage (.516), while Utah State is fourth in field goal percentage (.505). The Aggies are also third in the nation in free throw percentage (.783) behind Florida State which is first (.787). Individually, Utah State’s Jaycee Carroll is fifth in the nation in free throw percentage (.920) and fifth in three-point field goal percentage (.507). Boise State’s Tyler Tiedeman is third in three point field goal percentage (.512). Nevada’s JaVale McGee is 19th in the country in blocked shots (2.7 bpg). Boise State’s Matt Nelson is seventh in field goal percentage (.647).
TOUGH ON THE BOARDS ? New Mexico State is dominating teams on the boards this season and out-rebounding their opponents by a 7.9 margin. NMSU has grabbed 383 offensive rebounds this year, which is an average of 14.73 per contest. Senior guard/forward Justin Hawkins and freshman forward Wendell McKines both have over 160 rebounds this year. McKines leads the squad with 75 offensive boards. Senior center Hatila Passos leads the WAC in that category with 3.15 offensive rebounds per game and McKines ranks second with 2.88 offensive boards per contest as of Feb. 11.
WAC TOURNAMENT TO RETURN TO RENO IN 2009 ? Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson announced that 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 WAC tournaments were last held in Reno in 2006. The 2007 tournaments were held in Las Cruces, New Mexico at New Mexico State University, as will the 2008 tournaments before returning to Reno in 2009.
NEW MEXICO STATE TO HOST 2008 WAC TOURNAMENT ? Las Cruces and New Mexico State University will host the 2008 WAC Tournament, March 11-15. It will be the second year in a row that the event will be held at the Pan American Center. The tournament features all nine men’s and women’s teams.
SUPER SENIORS ? The WAC seniors are leading the way offensively this season. Eight of the top 10 leading scorers in the league are seniors. Utah State’s Jaycee Carroll leads the way, averaging 21.8 ppg. The guard is the only player in the WAC averaging over 20 ppg. Boise State’s senior duo of Reggie Larry (18.9 ppg) and Matt Nelson (15.2ppg) are fourth and eighth, respectively in the league in scoring. There is just one underclassman in the top 10 in scoring, Louisiana Tech’s Kyle Gibson (15.4) which is good enough for seventh in the WAC. New Mexico State’s Justin Hawkins is the only junior in the top 10. He is fifth in the league in scoring, averaging 17.4 ppg.
TEAM LEADERS ? The WAC has five schools with players who lead their team in two of three statistical categories (points-rebounds-assists). Idaho’s Jordan Brooks is the only player to lead in all three categories.
Reggie Larry, Sr., F, Boise State (18.9 ppg, 9.3 rpg)
Kevin Bell, Sr., G, Fresno State (18.0 ppg, 5.8 apg)
Jordan Brooks, Jr., F, Idaho (12.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 4.1 apg)
Kyle Gibson, So., G, Louisiana Tech (15.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
Justin Hawkins, Sr., G/F, New Mexico State (17.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg)
NEVADA TOP TEAM OVER LAST FOUR YEARS ? Over the last four-seasons dating back to 2004-05, Nevada has turned in a 97-26 record, the best record of any WAC team during that time (.789 winning percentage). In conference games, Nevada has won 51 games, the most in that same time period. The top three teams in wins (both overall and WAC) over the last four seasons:
Overall Record (Pct.) WAC Record (Pct.)
1. Nevada 97-26 (.789) 1. Nevada 51-10 (.836)
2. Utah State 88-35 (.710) 2. New Mexico St. 29-14 (.674)
3. Hawai?i 61-49 (.555) 3. Utah State 28-14 (.667)
LOOKING BACK IN TIME ? At this point in time last season, Nevada was in first place wuth a10-1 conference mark. New Mexico State was second at 9-3, while Utah State was third with a 7-4 record. Boise State is one of the most improved teams. During the 2006-07 season, the Broncos were 7-5 heading into week 15 of the season. This season, Boise State is tied for second with an 8-3 mark. The top four teams remain the same with Boise State, Nevada, New Mexico State and Utah State holding down the top four spots both last season and this season.
UTAH STATE’S CARROLL RE-WRITING RECORD BOOKS ? Senior guard Jaycee Carroll continues to put his name at the top of Utah State’s records book as he is now the school’s all-time leader in points scored (2,291), three-pointers made (336), three-pointers attempted (723), three-point percentage (.464), 10-point games (111), games started (122), and total minutes played (4,205). Overall, Carroll currently holds seven school records, which is the most in school history. With sevenregular season games still to play for Carroll, he will likely break the school’s all-time record for field goals made and attempted, and total games played, which would give him 10 school records.
Boise State Broncos (17-6, 8-3 WAC)
Boise State continues to rank among the nation’s best in field goal percentage, scoring, three-point field goal percentage, three-point field goals made, assists and assist-toturnover ratio ... the Broncos lead the nation in field goal percentage heading into Thursday’s game against
Nevada ... the Broncos are making 51.6 percent of their shots ... Boise State is also eighth in scoring (82.5 ppg) and assists (18.3/game), 25th in three-point field goal percentage (39.7 percent), 38th in three-point field goals made per game (8.4/game) and 48th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.15).
Fresno State Bulldogs (11-13, 4-6 WAC)
Junior guard Dwight O’Neil was a welcome on the court last week ... even though he scored 10 points under his season average, his 19 minutes and defensive presence were helpful in his first game back against Louisiana Tech ... O’Neil was cleared to play just hours before tip off of last Monday’s game ... senior Hector Hernandez is coming off his best game of the season, in which he scored 22 points and had 13 rebounds against Utah State ... senior Kevin Bell is fourth in the league in scoring averaging 18.0 ppg ... Bell is also second in assists averaging 5.79 apg.
Hawai?i Rainbow Warriors (10-11, 6-3 WAC)
UH dropped to fifth place in the WAC standings with an 88-68 loss at Nevada on Feb. 9 ... despite the loss the Rainbow Warriors continue to be in the mix in the congested WAC standings, just two games out of first place ... Utah State is coming of an 85-80 loss at Nevada on Monday and sits atop the WAC standings, a half game ahead of three others ... the game will feature two elite guards in Utah State’s Jaycee Carroll (21.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and UH’s Matt Gibson (16.9 ppg, 5.2 apg) ... the Aggies have won the last three meetings, although they yet to beat the ?Bows in two trips to Honolulu ... UH has won four-straight home games and the last three by double-digits.
Idaho Vandals (5-17, 2-9 WAC)
Idaho currently leads the WAC in three-point field goal percentage defense at .327 ... Idaho is averaging 73.9 points per game at home compared to just 55.8 points per game on the road ... with two wins, Idaho has surpassed its WAC win total from each of the past two seasons ... the team has also eclipsed four wins for the first time since the 2004-05 season ... Idaho has given up 77 points (25.7 per game) off 67 turnovers (22.3 per game) in the last three games ... Jordan Brooks currently is ranked No. 66 in the nation for steals per game (2.0 spg) ... Trevor Morris returned to action at Louisiana Tech after missing the previous 10 games with a foot injury.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (3-17, 0-8 WAC)
After falling behind by as many is 27 points in the second half, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs fought back from the deficit but, unfortunately, could not capitalize and lost to the Fresno State Bulldogs on Monday night by a final score of 70-58 ... sophmore Kyle Gibson is the only underclassmen in the top 10 in scoring in the WAC ... Gibson is averaging 15.9 ppg ... the sophomore is also fourth in the conference in three-point field goals made, averaging 2.25 ... this week, the Bulldogs look for their first conference win of the season at home against Boise State and Idaho.
Nevada Wolf Pack (16-8, 8-3 WAC)
With the 85-80 victory over WAC leader Utah State, Nevada improved to 16-8 overall and 8-3 in WAC play ... the game marked the Wolf Pack’s third in five days, while the team is in the middle of a stretch of five games in 10 days ... Nevada also moved within a half-game of Utah State for first in the WAC and is tied with Boise State and NMSU for second at 8-3 ... the win was Nevada’s sixth in its last seven games ... Marcelus Kemp led the Wolf Pack in scoring with a career-best 35 points ... he turned in the fourth 30-point game of his career ... Kemp also moved into third place on the Nevada career scoring list with 1,757 points, overtaking Alex Boyd who had 1,731 from 1967-70.
New Mexico State Aggies (14-12, 8-3 WAC)
Jonathan Gibson scored a career high 24 points as New Mexico State beat Boise State 99-80 Saturday night ... freshman Jahmar Young had 18 points for the Aggies, while Justin Hawkins added 15 and freshman Herb Pope finished with 10 points and seven rebounds ... senior Justin Hawkins is fifth in the WAC in scoring averaging 17.4 ppg ... the Aggies are in a three-way tie for second in the WAC with Boise State and Nevada ... this week, the New Mexico State will travel to Louisiana Tech in its only game of the week ... the Aggies are in the midst of a three-game winning streak which is tied with Nevada for the longest active streak in the conference.
San Jose State Spartans (10-11, 2-6 WAC)
Prior to the Louisiana Tech game on February 16, San Jose State is averaging 65.6 points a contest. George Nessman’s first team in 2005-06 is the only Spartan squad in the last five seasons to average at least 65.0 points a game for season ... the 2007 Spartans averaged 61.9 points a game ... five players averaging in double-figure scoring: Heading into the Louisiana Tech game, Justin Graham (11.7 ppg.), DaShawn Wright (10.9 ppg.), Tim Pierce (10.9 ppg.), C.J.Webster (10.8 ppg.) and Chris Oakes (10.0 ppg.) have a double-figure scoring average ... the last time San Jose State finished a season with four players averaging in double-figure scoring was 1998-99.
Utah State Aggies (18-7, 8-2 WAC)
Utah State is leading the WAC in free throw shooting (.781) and three-point shooting (.402), and is second in the conference in overall shooting (.506), scoring defense (68.1), scoring margin (+4.8) and assists (18.00) ... nationally, USU ranks third in overall shooting, fourth in free throw shooting, 10th in assists and 13th in three-point shooting ... Jaycee Carroll is currently leading the WAC with 21.8 points per game ... he also ranks first in the WAC in free throw shooting (92.4), and is second three-point shooting (50.9), ninth in overall shooting (52.7) and 10th in rebounding (6.1) ... nationally, Carroll ranks fifth in three-point shooting, fifth in free throw shooting and 15th in scoring.