THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
December 21 (Monday)
Fresno State at Montana, 7:00 p.m. MT
Alcorn State at New Mexico State, 7:00 p.m. MT
Television: AggieVision, ESPN Full Court, ESPN360
San Jose State at Northern Colorado, 7:30 p.m. MT
!Morehead State at Utah State, 8:00 p.m. MT
Portland State at Boise State, 8:15 p.m. MT
December 22 (Tuesday)
^BYU vs. Nevada, 12:00 p.m. PT
Television: KAME-TV/Comcast SportsNet California, ESPN Full Court, ESPN360
Texas Pan American at Louisiana Tech, 8:00 p.m. CT
Idaho at Portland, 7:00 p.m. PT
!Cal State Fullerton at Utah State, 8:00 p.m. MT
%Charleston Southern at Hawai‘i, 7:30 p.m. HT
Television: ESPNU
December 23 (Wednesday)
Fresno State at Oregon State, 5:30 p.m. PT
Television: Fox Sports Net Northwest
#Texas Southern at New Mexico State, 7:00 p.m. MT
Montana State at Boise State, 7:00 p.m. MT
San Jose State at Santa Clara, 7:00 p.m. PT
!Weber State at Utah State, 8:00 p.m. MT
%TBA at Hawai‘i, TBA
^Nebraska or Tulsa vs. Nevada, TBA
Television: KAME-TV 21, ESPN Full Court, ESPN360
December 25 (Friday)
%TBA at Hawai‘i, TBA
^ denotes Las Vegas Classic (Las Vegas, Nevada)
# denotes Lou Henson Classic (Las Cruces, New Mexico)
! denotes BB Travelers Inv., sponsored by Gossner Foods (Logan, Utah)
% denotes Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu, Hawaii)
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (6-4, 0-0 WAC)
Daequon Montreal and Zack Moritz each recorded the first double-doubles of their careers in a 96-59 win over Houston Baptist ... Montreal registered a career-high 16 points and 12 boards, while Moritz had 10 points and career-best 12 rebounds ... BSU has only registered four total double-doubles in the last two seasons, but has recorded three this season alone, all set by different people ... the Broncos registered an incredible season high 59 rebounds against Houston Baptist ... the last time Boise State grabbed 50 or more rebounds was in 2008 when the BSU registered 52 in its 100-68 win over Pacific ... BSU is a perfect 2-0 in games in which they score 90 or more points and 6-0 in games in which they lead with a minute remaining in the game.
Fresno State Bulldogs (6-5, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State started a stretch of four games in seven days with a sweep of UC Davis (68-57) and North Dakota State (68-54) at home ... in the first game, the Bulldogs took to the air for 10 dunks to cap their fall semester with a 68-57 victory over the UC Davis Aggies on Thursday night ... sophomore Mike Ladd made the most of his first start since the beginning of December with a career-high five 3-pointers for a season-best 18-point evening to lead four Bulldogs in double figures ... freshman center Greg Smith added 17 points, on 7-of-8 shooting and a perfect 3-for-3 clip from the charity stripe ... in a strong end to its holiday homestand, Fresno State beat NDSU, a 2009 NCAA Tournament team, on Saturday night.
Hawai‘i Rainbow Warriors (5-4, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai‘i did not play last week as the team is preparing to host the inaugural Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, Dec. 22, 23 and 25 at the Stan Sheriff Center ... the eight-team tournament includes Northeastern, Saint Mary’s, SMU, UNLV, USC, Western Michigan and UH’s first-round opponent the College of Charleston ... the Rainbow Warriors and Cougars will tip-off at 7:35 p.m. in the final game of the opening day of action ... the ’Bows (5-4) enter the tournament on a three-game win streak and will be seeing their first game action in 10 days ... UH last played on Dec. 12, defeating Chicago State, 83-58, for the team’s most comfortable win of the season ... Roderick Flemings scored 18 points in the win and leads the team at 16.4 ppg.
Idaho Vandals (6-3, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho did not play last week ... the team will meet a familiar foe on Tuesday when the Vandals face off against Portland at the Chiles Center in Portland at 7 p.m. (PST) ... the Vandals won the first of a home-and-home series this season against Portland, 68-48, at Memorial Gym in Moscow on Dec. 6 ... that win broke up a four-game Portland win streak in the series, which now sits at 13-10 in Idaho’s favor ... the matchup against Portland will be the only game of the week for the Vandals, who will not play again until meeting up with Lewis-Clark State on Dec. 30 in Boise.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (10-2, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech went 2-0 this past week after wins over Murray State and McNeese State … the win over McNeese State gave Tech a 5-0 record over in-state schools and improved head coach Kerry Rupp’s record to 12-3 all time against Louisiana Schools … the Bulldogs’ 10 wins are the most NCAA Division I non-conference wins for the program since 1990 … Kyle Gibson ranks 16th in the NCAA in points per game with 21.5 … he has also made the most free throws in the NCAA with 93 … against McNeese State, Magnum Rolle recorded a career-high 17 rebounds … Tech faces Texas-Pan American for the second time this season on Tuesday.
Nevada Wolf Pack (6-4, 0-0 WAC)
Luke Babbitt averaged 23.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game in last week’s wins over Eastern Washington and Wagner in the HOOPTV Las Vegas Classic ... Babbitt scored a season-high 29 points (one off his career high) in the win over Eastern Washington ... Nevada completes play in the HOOPTV Las Vegas Classic this week, taking on BYU on Tuesday and either Nebraska or Tulsa on Wednesday ... Nevada has won a season-long four consecutive games ... the Wolf Pack is 6-0 at home this year, but heads to Las Vegas looking for its first win away from home after dropping its first four road games ... Nevada has outrebounded its last five opponents and seven of its last eight.
New Mexico State Aggies (4-6, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies finished their four-game road stint on a high note with a 78-72 win at Pepperdine at the Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif., Dec. 18 ... junior guard Jahmar Young scored a game-high 27 points while senior guard Jonathan Gibson added 24 ... sophomore center Hamidu Rahman grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds for the Aggies that shot 50 percent from the field and tied a season-low with 12 turnovers ... playing in the historic Paley Pavilion, NM State suffered a 100-68 loss at UCLA, Dec. 15, in Los Angeles, Calif. ... Young led the Aggies with 13 points while Gibson and junior guard Gordo Castillo added 11 points each ... sophomore guard Hernst Laroche tied his career-high assists mark with a game-high nine.
San Jose Spartans (5-4, 0-0 WAC)
Junior Adrian Oliver became just the second San Jose State player to score 30 or more points in back-to-back games as the Spartans won at UC Irvine, 69-58 ... Oliver had one of his best shooting nights of the season making 10-of-19 from the field and a season best 3-of-6 from 3-point range as San Jose State became the first team this season to win at UC Irvine ... his 31 points and eight rebounds were individual highs for all players in the December 18 game ...Oliver’s 15 first-half points kept San Jose State within range of the Anteaters as the Spartans found themselves behind 32-27 at halftime ...the Spartans picked up their first two-game winning streak of the season in the win at UC Irvine.
Utah State Aggies (6-4, 0-0 WAC)
Junior forward Tai Wesley scored in double-figures in both games this past week as Utah State defeated Cal State Bakersfield, 68-51, and lost at Long Beach State, 75-62 ... against the Roadrunners, Wesley recorded his first double-double of the season as he scored 15 points to go along with a season-high 10 rebounds ... against the 49ers, he scored a season-high 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting to go along with seven boards and two assists. For the week, Wesley averaged 18.5 points and 8.5 rebounds, and shot 70.8 percent from the field (17-24) and 60.0 percent at the free throw line (3-5).
WAC NOTES
SAN JOSE STATE’S OLIVER NAMED VERIZON WIRELESS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
San Jose State’s Adrian Oliver has been named the Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 14-20. The honor marks the first career WAC Player of the Week award for Oliver.
Oliver, a junior guard from Modesto, Calif. (Washington), helped the Spartans to a 69-58 win at UC Irvine. Oliver became just the second player in SJSU history to score 30 or more points in back-to-back games as he scored 31 points in the win at UC Irvine. Oliver had one of his best shooting nights of the season, making 10-of-19 shots from the field, including a season-high 3-of-6 from beyond the arc as SJSU became the first team this season to beat the Anteaters at home. Oliver also connected on 8-of-10 attempts at the free throw line. He tallied eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block in the win.
Other nominees included: Boise State junior forward Daequon Montreal … Fresno State sophomore guard Mike Ladd … Louisiana Tech senior forward/center Magnum Rolle … Nevada sophomore forward Luke Babbitt … New Mexico State junior guard Jahmar Young … Utah State junior forward Tai Wesley.
NEVADA’S JOHNSON AND IDAHO’S HOPSON CANDIDATES FOR COUSY AWARD
Idaho senior guard Mac Hopson and Nevada junior guard Armon Johnson ire among the candidates for the 2010 Bob Cousy Award presented by The Hartford Financial Services, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts announced. The annual award, named for Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic Bob Cousy, recognizes college basketball’s top point guard. 73 candidates have been nominated for the 2010 award. Nominations were solicited from all Division I, II and III schools across the country. A 2009 first-team All-WAC selection, Johnson is averaging 15.8 points and 5.3 assists per game this season. Hopson, also a first team all-WAC selection in 2009, is averaging 12.8 points and 4.7 assists per game this year. Previous winners of the Bob Cousy Award have included: Jameer Nelson (St. Joseph’s), Raymond Felton (North Carolina), Dee Brown (Illinois), Acie Law (Texas A & M), DJ Augustin (Texas) and Ty Lawson (North Carolina). For more information on the 2010 Bob Cousy Award presented by The Hartford, log onto www.cousyaward.com.
WAC TEAMS AMONG NATIONAL STATISTICAL LEADERS
Teams from the WAC rank in the top-25 in three team statistical categories. Individual players rank in the top-25 in six individual categories. Utah State holds the highest team mark as it leads the nation in free throw percentage at 79.5 percent. Individually, Nevada’s Luke Babbitt holds the highest individual ranking as he ranks fifth nationally with seven double-doubles. San Jose State’s Chris Oakes ranks eighth in rebounding at 11.4 boards per game, while Fresno State’s Paul George ranks eighth in steals per game at 2.9.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE FREEBIES
Seven players in the WAC rank in the top-50 nationally in free throw percentage. Three of those players hold free throw percentages in the 90s. Hawai‘i’s Dwain Williams holds the top free throw mark in the league at 92.3 percent, ranking him 19th nationally. As a team, Utah State holds nations’s best free throw team ranking at 79.5 percent. There have been four players in the WAC that have had perfect games at the line with 10 or more attempts. Idaho’s Kashif Watson has the second-best single-game performance in the nation as he went a perfect 15-for-15 at the line on Dec. 3 against Cal State Northridge.
IDAHO, UTAH STATE AND FRESNO STATE PICK UP WINS AGAINST TEAMS FROM LAST YEAR’S NCAA TOURNAMENT
Idaho opened its season with two of its first three games against 2009 NCAA Tournament teams. Idaho beat both Utah and North Dakota State on their home floors and started the season 2-1. Utah State downed Brigham Young 71-61 on Dec. 2, while Fresno State defeated North Dakota State 68-54 on Dec. 19.
NEW MEXICO STATE’S GIBSON AND NEVADA’S JOHNSON BECOME MEMBERS OF 1,000 POINT CLUB
Jonathan Gibson scored a career-high 30 points against Oklahoma Panhandle State (11/21) to become the 25th player in NM State history to top the 1,000-points mark for his career. With a jumper with 12:30 to go in the second half, Nevada junior guard Armon Johnson scored his 1,000th career point, become the 19th player in Nevada school history to reach that milestone. Gibson and Johnson, along with Louisiana Tech’s Kyle Gibson (1,364) are the only current WAC players with 1,000 or more career points.
UTAH STATE’S HOME WIN STREAK ENDS
For the first time since March 3, 2007, Utah State dropped a game at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The Aggies had won 37 straight home games before its loss to Saint Mary’s on Dec. 5. The loss also halted Utah State’s 65-game regular season non-conference home winning streak, as well as its 41-straight home non-conference victory streak. Idaho now holds the WAC’s longest home win streak at nine games.
NEVADA PUTS UP A LEAGUE-HIGH 112 POINTS IN WIN OVER HOUSTON
Nevada’s 112 points in its Nov. 21 win over Houston marked the most for the Wolf Pack since the team turned in a 117-88 win over Northwestern State on Dec. 19, 1991. The team’s 61 points in the first half also mark the most points in a half since Nevada scored what is believed to be a school-record 71 points in the second half of a 117-88 win over Northwestern State on Dec. 19, 1991.
WAC AND THE RPI
The WAC’s RPI registers in at 15 this week, according to both CollegeRPI.com and RealTimeRPI.com. Louisiana Tech holds the top RPI in the conference at 85, followed by Nevada at 102.
LOUISIANA TECH AND IDAHO REGISTER RECORD STARTS
With a 7-1 record to start the season, Louisiana Tech got off to its best start since starting 8-1 in the 1990-91 season in which the Bulldogs finished 20-10 and won the America South Conference Tournament. At 5-2, Idaho was off to its best start since 1989-90, when the Vandals also started 5-2. That Idaho team went on to finish 25-6, win the Big Sky regular-season and tournament titles and face Louisville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
UTAH STATE’S JARED QUAYLE CANDIDATE FOR LOWE’S SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Utah State’s Jared Quayle has been named one of 30 candidates for the 2009-10 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, which is presented annually to the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete of the Year. It is the third year in a row that a Utah State player has been named one of 30 national candidates for this award as Jaycee Carroll was selected as one of 10 finalists in 2008 and Gary Wilkinson was one of 30 candidates in 2009. Quayle, a 6-1 senior guard from Perry, Utah is the only player from the state of Utah and the only player from the Western Athletic Conference to be selected for this award.
ESPNU BRACKETBUSTERS
For the eighth 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 Feb. 20. The match-ups for Bracket Buster Saturday will be determined by ESPN in conjunction with the conferences about three weeks before the event.
WAC TOURNAMENT TO RETURN TO RENO IN 2010
The Western Athletic Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments return to the University of Nevada and the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority in 2010. The tournaments will be held in the 11,485-seat Lawlor Events Center, located on the campus of the University of Nevada. This year’s tournament will feature eight men’s and eight women’s teams.
TOP WAC TEAMS OVER LAST SIX YEARS
Over the last six seasons dating back to 2003-04, Utah State leads current WAC teams with an overall record of 155-53. In conference games, Nevada has won 79 games, the most in that same time period.
The top three teams in wins (both overall and WAC) over the last six seasons:
Overall Record (Pct.)
1. Utah State 155-53 (.745)
2. Nevada 155-55 (.738)
3. Boise State 120-83 (.591)
WAC Record (Pct.)
1. Nevada 79-21 (.790)
2. Utah State 46-18 (.719)
3. Boise State 60-58 (.508)