THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE/RESULTS
January 4 (Monday)
*Louisiana Tech def. Utah State, 82-60
*San Jose State def. Idaho, 78-75
*Nevada def. New Mexico State, 77-67
Television: ESPNU
*Hawai‘i def. Boise State, 76-68
Television: KFVE-Hawaii, KTVB-Boise
January 9 (Saturday)
*Louisiana Tech at Idaho, 5:00 p.m. PT
*New Mexico State at Boise State, 7:00 p.m. MT
*Hawai‘i at Fresno State, 7:00 p.m. PT
*San Jose State at Nevada, 7:00 p.m. PT
* denotes WAC game
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (9-6, 0-2 WAC)
Boise State started the WAC season with an 0-2 record, dropping road games to both Fresno State (71-68) and Hawai‘i (76-68) ... Daequon Montreal led the Broncos over the past two games, averaging 20.0 points per contest ... Montreal shot 68.8 percent from the floor (11-16) and 84.2 percent from the free throw line (16-19) ... La’Shard Anderson and Anthony Thomas also averaged double digit scoring at 12.5 and 10.5 points per game, respectively ... Thomas, a guard, led the team in rebounding at 7.5 boards per game, including a 10-rebound performance at Fresno State ... this Saturday, Boise State returns home where it holds a 5-1 record, to host New Mexico State at Taco Bell Arena.
Fresno State Bulldogs (8-7, 1-0 WAC)
Fresno State started the new year with a 71-68 come-from-behind victory over Boise State … sophomore Paul George scored 21 points, including 15 in the second half and capped by two three-point plays in the final minute … George also converted 11-of-12 free throw attempts and had no turnovers in the game … as a team, Fresno State outscored Boise State 34-22 in the pain, 14-7 on points off turnovers, 16-12 on second chance points and 6-2 in fast break situations … with the 71-68 victory over BSU, head coach Steve Cleveland passed Arthur W. Jones (1922-29) to become the 7th most winningest coach in Bulldog history with 71 career Fresno State wins and improved to 4-1 overall in WAC home openers with Fresno State.
Hawai‘i Rainbow Warriors (8-7, 1-1 WAC)
Hawai‘i opened its WAC schedule with a 1-1 record, falling to Idaho, 59-25, before defeating Boise State, 76-58 ... both games were played at home ... Roderick Flemings fronted the Rainbow Warriors over the two conference games, averaging 15.0 points per contest ... Paul Campbell (14.0), Hiram Thompson (11.5) and Adhar Mayen (10.0) each averaged double digit scoring over the two games ... Campbell led the team with 16 rebounds over the two games ... Campbell also connected on an impressive 14-of-16 shots from the field for an 87.5 field goal percentage during the conference-opening weekend ... UH returns to the court on Saturday as it travels to play Fresno State.
Idaho Vandals (8-5, 1-1 WAC)
Idaho went 1-1 to open WAC play with a 59-52 victory at Hawai‘i before dropping a 78-75 decision at San Jose State ... Idaho opened WAC play with a win for the second season in a row and was the only road team to win on opening day ... Mac Hopson led the Vandal attack, averaging 21.5 points per game over the two contests ... Hopson also fronted the team in rebounding with 13 (6.5 per contest) ... the Vandals connected on 14 shots from long range over the two games ... Idaho has now made a 3-point field goal in 356 consecutive games ... Saturday, Idaho returns home to host league-leader Louisiana Tech at 5 p.m. PT.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (14-2, 2-0 WAC)
Having won seven-consecutive games, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs take their streak on the road at Idaho on Saturday ... the streak is the most by the Bulldogs (14-2, 2-0 WAC) since winning seven straight in the 2002-03 season ... the Bulldogs are coming off two big home wins over the predicted top two teams in the WAC ... LA Tech beat Nevada 77-71 before dismantling preseason favorite Utah State 82-60 at the Thomas Assembly Center ... in the win over the Aggies, Magnum Rolle led five Bulldogs in double figures with 21 points and 14 rebounds ... Tech outrebounded Utah State 40-27 ... when outrebounding their opponent, LA Tech is 12-0 ... the team has only been outrebounded four times and are 2-2 in that situation.
Nevada Wolf Pack (9-6, 1-1 WAC)
Nevada opened WAC play with a 1-1 record ... the team dropped a 77-71 decision at Louisiana Tech before defeating New Mexico State 77-67 in Las Cruces ... Luke Babbitt led the team in both scoring and rebounding over the two conference games, averaging 25.0 points and 12.0 rebounds per game ... With his two double-doubles to open up WAC play, Babbitt leads the league with 10 double-doubles ... Armon Johnson (12.5), Brandon Fields (11.0) and Joey Shaw (10.0) each averaged double digit scoring over the two games ... Saturday, Nevada returns home to host San Jose State before welcoming Utah State on Wednesday, Jan. 13.
New Mexico State Aggies (8-7, 1-1 WAC)
The Aggies opened WAC play with a 55-52 win over Utah State, Jan. 2 ... senior guard Jonathan Gibson hit a jumper from the elbow with 16.2 seconds remaining to secure the victory along with a game-high 19 points ... the Aggies are now 5-0 in conference openers since joining the WAC and it extended NM State’s win streak to five games ... the Aggies then dropped a 77-67 decision at home to Nevada on Monday evening ... five different Aggies scored in double figures, led by Wendell McKines’ 16 points ... Hamidu Rahman led the Aggies with seven rebounds against the Wolf Pack ... New Mexico State heads to Boise, Idaho on Saturday to take on Boise State.
San Jose Spartans (8-5, 1-0 WAC)
Post players C.J. Webster scored a season-high 21 points and Chris Oakes matched his season scoring high of 18 as San Jose State defeated Idaho, 78-75, in the Spartans’ Western Athletic Conference opener ... Adrian Oliver led all players with 22 points as San Jose State won its WAC opener for just the second time in 14 seasons and picked up its fifth win in its last six outings ... San Jose State outrebounded Idaho, 31-28 ... the Spartans are 8-0 in games that they’ve outrebounded an opponent this season ... Webster collected 11 rebounds for game-high honors ... the Spartans will continue WAC play on Saturday at Nevada.
Utah State Aggies (10-6, 0-2 WAC)
Utah State opened WAC play with a pair of road losses at New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech ... USU dropped a 55-52 decision at NM State before an 82-60 setback at league-leader Louisiana Tech ... It is the second time in its five years in the WAC that USU has begun league play with a 0-2 record as it also began the 2006-07 season with a pair of road losses ... Tyler Newbold led the Aggies over the two games, averaging 10.0 points per game ... Newbold was the lone Aggie to average double digit scoring ... Utah State will take the week off before returning to action on Monday, Jan. 11 when it hosts Hawai’i in its home WAC opener.
WAC NOTES
LOUISIANA TECH’S ASHAOLU NAMED VERIZON WIRELESS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Louisiana Tech’s Olu Ashaolu has been named the Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 28-Jan. 3. The honor marks the first career WAC Player of the Week award for Ashaolu.
Ashaolu, a sophomore forward from Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Humble Christian Academy), helped the Bulldogs to a pair of wins over Houston (99-94) and Nevada (77-71) with a pair of double-doubles last week. Ashaolu recorded 17 points with a career-high 21 rebounds against Houston. The 21 rebounds marks the first time that a Louisiana Tech player has recorded at least 20 rebounds since Paul Millsap notched 23 at Hawai‘i in 2006. Nine of Ashaolu’s 21 rebounds were offensive. Ashaolu also had 14 points and 12 rebounds in Louisiana Tech’s conference-opening win over Nevada. He now has seven double-doubles on the season.
On the week, Ashaolu averaged 15.5 points, 16.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.5 steals per game, while shooting 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from the field.
Other nominees included: Boise State junior forward Daequon Montreal … Fresno State sophomore guard Mychal Ladd … Hawai‘i senior center Paul Campbell … Idaho senior guard Mac Hopson … Nevada sophomore forward Luke Babbitt … New Mexico State senior guard Jonathan Gibson.
WAC ONE OF JUST THREE CONFERENCES IN THE NATION TO BOAST EACH TEAM WITH AN ABOVE .500 OVERALL RECORD
As of Jan. 7, each team in the Western Athletic Conference boasts an above .500 overall record. The only conferences who do not have a member institution below .500 for the season include the ACC, Big 12 and WAC. Louisiana Tech holds the top win-loss mark at 14-2 (.875).
WAC TEAMS AMONG NATIONAL STATISTICAL LEADERS
As of Jan. 3, teams from the WAC rank in the top-25 in five team statistical categories. Individual players rank in the top-25 in eight individual categories. Utah State holds the highest team mark as it ranks third the nation in free throw percentage at 77.9 percent. Individually, Nevada’s Luke Babbitt holds the highest individual ranking as he ranks second nationally with 10 double-doubles. Babbitt also ranks 10th nationally in free throw shooting with a 92.2 percent clip.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE FREEBIES
As of Jan. 3, 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. Nevada’s Luke Babbitt holds the top free throw mark in the league at 92.2 percent, ranking him 10th nationally. As a team, Utah State holds nations’s third-best free throw team ranking at 77.9 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.
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.
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.
WAC AND THE RPI
The WAC’s RPI rises to No. 11 this week, according to both CollegeRPI.com. Nevada holds the top RPI in the conference at 53, followed by Louisiana Tech at 77.
NEW MEXICO STATE’S GIBSON AND YOUNG, ALONG WITH 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. Jahmar Young scored 22 points to become the 26th player in NM State school history to reach 1,000 points in a 97-72 victory over Alcorn State on Dec. 21. Gibson, Johnson and Young, along with Louisiana Tech’s Kyle Gibson 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.
LOUISIANA TECH AND IDAHO REGISTER RECORD STARTS
With a 12-2 record to start the season, the Bulldogs’ 12 wins are the most NCAA Division I non-conference wins for the program since 1990. In the 1990-91 season in which the Bulldogs finished 20-10 and won the America South Conference Tournament. Idaho was off to its best start since 1989-90 with a 5-2 mark to open the season. The 89-90 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 159-55. In conference games, Nevada has won 80 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 159-55 (.743)
2. Nevada 158-56 (.738)
3. Boise State 123-85 (.591)
WAC Record (Pct.)
1. Nevada 80-22 (.784)
2. Utah State 46-20 (.697)
3. Boise State 60-60 (.500)