WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (6-3, 0-0 WAC)
Boise State went 0-2 last week with losses to 19th-ranked UNLV (75-72) and Drake (72-69) ... La’Shard Anderson averaged 16.5 points and 5.5 assists in the Broncos’ two games this past week, each of which were lost by three points ... Anderson tied for the game high with 18 points against NO. 19/20 UNLV, and added four assists, five rebounds and two steals ... Anderson then scored 15 points at Drake, and chipped in a season-high seven assists, three steals and three rebounds ... Paul Noonan came off the bench to score 20 points against Drake ... for Noonan, the performance marked his first 20-point outing since scoring 23 against North Dakota (Nov. 15, 2009) ... Boise State plays at Utah and hosts UT-Pan American this week.
Fresno State Bulldogs (3-5, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State went 2-0 on the week with wins at San Diego and at home versus Pepperdine ... Greg Smith scored a season-high 20 points and pulled down eight rebounds in the Dogs’ 74-70 victory at USD ... Tim Steed recorded career-bests in both scoring (17 points) and rebounding (7) to lead the Bulldogs’ 64-51 win against Pepperdine ... Smith added 14 points and freshman point guard Kevin Olekaibe notched 11 points for his fifth double-digit night in the past six games ... Bracken Funk chipped in seven points, including a perfect clip at the charity stripe (5-5), and paced the Dogs with a career-high four steals ... this week, Fresno State hosts North Dakota State on Saturday.
Hawai‘i Rainbows (6-2, 0-0 WAC)
UH (6-2) scored 18 unanswered points during a six-minute stretch late in the first half and early in the second half to put away Division II Hawai‘i Pacific this past week ... Zane Johnson led the way by posting career highs with 18 points and nine rebounds ... the junior nailed six-of-nine three-pointers and sparked UH’s decisive run with a trio of long balls in less than 90 seconds ... Hiram Thompson added 15 points while freshman guard Bobby Miles had nine points and six assists in his second straight start ... post players Douglas Kurtz and Vander Joaquim combined for 18 points and 14 rebounds ... UH will next head to Maui for its first appearance on the neighbor islands in seven years to face Chicago State at the Lahaina Civic Center.
Idaho Vandals (5-4, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho saw its four-game win streak end with a 66-56 road loss against Seattle University in which the Vandals turned the ball over 20 times and shot just 21.4 percent from 3-point range … Idaho also gave up 12 offensive rebounds for 10 second chance points and gave up 17 points off turnovers to the Redhawks … Idaho also allowed its first double-double of the season in the game … the Vandals will look for redemption against Montana this weekend ... Idaho lost 75-33 at Montana earlier this year after shooting just 12 percent from the floor … Saturday’s game will be Idaho’s Cowan Spectrum season opener.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (7-4, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech finished the week 0-2 with losses at Northwestern State and McNeese State ... senior guard DeAndre Brown had a career-best 31 points at Northwestern State and was 6-of-8 from three-point range ... his 25 second half points was the most by a Bulldog player since 1976 ... freshman Lonnie Smith scored a career-high 19 points at McNeese State and has made six of his last 10 three-point attempts ... Tech has lost two-straight non-conference games for the first time since Dec. 2008 ... the Bulldogs play at Houston Baptist on Tuesday before hosting UT-Arlington on Saturday.
Nevada Wolf Pack (2-7, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada went 1-1 this past week with a 66-61 setback at Houston before picking up a 78-64 home win against San Francisco State ... Nevada snapped a seven-game losing streak with its victory over San Francisco State ... Dario Hunt led the Wolf Pack over its two games last week, averaging a double-double with 15.0 points and 15.0 rebounds per game ... at Houston, Hunt pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds in the three-point loss ... Hunt then tallied 25 points with 12 rebounds in the victory against San Franciso State ... Hunt has pulled down 10 or more rebounds in the last three games and four of the last five ... this week, Nevadahosts Arizona State on Friday.
New Mexico State Aggies (3-7, 0-0 WAC)
Freshman guard Christian Kabongo led the Aggies with a career-high 21 points in the Rio Grande Rivalry rematch at New Mexico, Dec. 11 ... the Toronto, Ontario native also posted a game-high mark but the Aggies fell 78-62 ... junior center Hamidu Rahman recorded his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 17 rebounds, which ties a career-high mark ... junior guard Hernst Laroche was also in double figures with 11 points ... New Mexico State snapped a seven-game losing streak with an 83-49 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Monday night ... this week, New Mexico State hosts Oklahoma Panhandle on Thursday before welcoming Pacific on Saturday.
San Jose Spartans (6-3, 0-0 WAC)
San Jose State went 1-1 last week with a 67-63 setback against Santa Clara before a 70-69 win against Eastern Washington ... despite 26 points from Adrian Oliver and 16 from Justin Graham, the Spartans were unable to preserve an 11-point second-half lead and lost to Santa Clara, 67-63 ... Justin Graham drove the lane and converted a 10-foot jumper with 6.1 seconds to give San Jose State the 70-69 win over Eastern Washington ... Graham finished with 13 points and scored six of the Spartans’ final eight points over the last 4:22 ... Adrian Oliver led all players in scoring with 29 points against the Eagles ... this week, San Jose State travels to play Seattle on Saturday.
Utah State Aggies (7-2, 0-0 WAC)
Utah State extended its home win streak to 19 games this past week with a pair of wins over Long Beach State (81-53) and Cal State Bakersfield (77-58) ... a career-high 19 points from senior guard Pooh Williams and a double-double from senior forward Tai Wesley with a career-best 14 rebounds led Utah State to an 81-53 win over Long Beach State ... the win over Long Beach State marked head coach Stew Morrill’s 300th win at the helm of the Aggies ... double-doubles from senior forwards Nate Bendall and Wesley led Utah State to the 77-58 rout over the Roadrunners from Cal State Bakersfield ... this week, Utah State travels to play Utah Valley on Saturday.
WAC NOTES
UTAH STATE’S WESLEY NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Utah State’s Tai Wesley has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 6-12. The honor marks the third career WAC Player of the Week award for Wesley.
Wesley, a senior forward from Provo, Utah (Provo HS), led Utah State to a pair of home wins last week against Long Beach State (81-53) and Cal State Bakersfield (77-58). Against the 49ers, Wesley posted his first double-double of the season with 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds to go along with a season-high six assists. Against the Roadrunners, he recorded another double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, to go along with three assists.
On the week, Wesley averaged 16.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game. He shot 63.2 percent (12-of-19) from the field and 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from the free throw line.
Other nominees included: Boise State senior guard La’Shard Anderson … Fresno State junior guard/forward Tim Steed … Hawai‘i junior guard Zane Johnson … Idaho senior guard Shawn Henderson … Louisiana Tech senior guard DeAndre Brown … Nevada junior forward Dario Hunt … New Mexico State freshman guard Christian Kabongo.
WAC TEAMS AMONG NATIONAL STAT LEADERS
As of Dec. 12, teams from the WAC rank in the top-25 in three team statistical categories. Individual WAC players rank in the top-25 in seven individual categories. Hawai‘i holds the highest team mark as it ranks ninth in the nation in rebound margin (10.1). Individually, San Jose State’s Adrian Oliver ranks third nationally in scoring, averaging 25.4 points per game. Tai Wesley of Utah State ranks third in the nation in field goal percentage (65.3), while teammate Tyler Newbold ranks third nationally in assist turnover ration (4.67).
ROAD WARRIORS
Boise State and San Jose State each have three road wins this season. Boise State and San Jose State each own a 3-2 mark on the road this season. BSU and SJSU are two of just 21 teams out of 336 NCAA Division I teams with three road wins and a winning road record in games played through Dec. 12.
UTAH STATE HOLDS NATION’S SIXTH-LONGEST HOME WIN STREAK
Utah State has won 19 straight home games and 71 of its last 73 overall with its only losses during that stretch coming against Saint Mary’s (68-63) on Dec. 5, 2009 and against Fresno State (71-66) on March 3, 2007. Saint Mary’s snapped USU’s school-record 37-game home winning streak. Utah State’s 19-game home winning streak is the sixth-longest active winning streak in the nation. Kansas has the nation’s longest home winning streak (65), followed by Xavier (28), Duke (25), Kentucky (22), Murray State (21), Morehead State (19), Northern Iowa (19) and USU (19). The Aggies have won 24 straight WAC home games.
HOME COOKING
Of the 38 home games played on WAC home floors this season, teams from the WAC have lost just seven of those contests (81.2 percent). Hawai‘i leads the league with a perfect 6-0 mark at home this season, followed by Utah State (5-0) and Louisiana Tech (4-0).
HEAD COACH STEW MORRILL COLLECTS 300th USU WIN
With an 81-53 victory over Long Beach State on Dec. 7, Utah State head coach Stew Morrill collected his 300th win at the helm of the Aggies. The USU head coach is now 301-101 directing the Aggie program and is the winningest coach in school history and is first all-time in games coached with 402. All-time, Morrill is now 519-239 in 25 years as a collegiate head coach.
IDAHO WINS BASKETBALL TRAVELERS CLASSIC TITLE
Idaho extended its winning streak to four games with a 75-60 victory over Eastern Michigan on Sunday, capping off an exciting Basketball Travelers Classic tournament, which was the first regular-season tourney in Moscow since 1989. Idaho (5-3) went 3-0 at the tournament to claim the title.
LOUISIANA TECH CLAIMS 2K SPORTS COACHES VS. CANCER IRVINE SUBREGIONAL
Behind a career-high 26 points by senior guard DeAndre Brown, Louisiana Tech beat UC-Irvine 76-72 Nov. 21 at the Bren Center in Irvine, Calif. The win marked Tech’s fourth win in five days and third win in the three games in the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer and was named MVP of the Irvine subregional.
HAWAI‘I WINS 2010 RAINBOW CLASSIC TITLE
Hawai‘i captured the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic title with a hard-earned 65-62 victory over Central Michigan in the championship game on Nov. 15. With the win, UH improved to 3-0 on the season for its best start in six years. The nationally-televised game—which tipped of at 11:00 p.m. local time—was emotionally charged from the get-go with the Rainbow Warriors eventually grinding out the win. The lead changed hands 11 times, including seven times in the second half, before UH took the lead for good at the four-minute mark and held off the Chippewa squad. Senior guard Hiram Thompason was named the Tournament MVP. The win gave UH its 12th all-time Rainbow Classic title and first since the tournament went to a four-team, round-robin format in 2009.
ESPNU BRACKETBUSTERS
For the ninth 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 19. 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 HEADS TO LAS VEGAS, TICKETS NOW ON SALE
The 2011 WAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament will be held March 9-12 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas and will include the top eight teams in the regular-season standings. Ticket information is available at www.wacbasketballtournament.com.
WAC ANNOUNCES TOURNAMENT FORMAT CHANGE
The WAC will change its postseason men’s and women’s basketball tournament format, effective for the 2011 tournament. The change was recommended by both the WAC men’s and women’s basketball coaches and approved by the WAC Board of Directors. The change will reward teams based on regular season success, giving the top two teams byes into the tournament semifinals. Under the format, the tournament will begin on Wednesday with two men’s and two women’s games featuring the No. 5 seed against the No. 8 seed and No. 6 versus No. 7. The winners then advance to Thursday’s quarterfinal matchups to play the No. 4 and No. 3 seeds. The winners of those games then advance to Friday’s semifinals against the top two seeds. The change also results in two men’s and two women’s games being played each day of the tournament except for Saturday, which will feature the men’s and women’s championship games.