TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (7-5, 0-0 WAC)
A season-high 11 three-pointers were not enough for Boise State to overcome Portland in the Broncos’ final game before conference play begins. The Pilots prevailed 88-79, Wednesday, at the Chiles Center ... senior La’Shard Anderson led the Broncos with 17 points. Anderson also dished out a career-high nine assists ... aAnderson kept Boise State (7-5) in the game all the way to the end, either scoring or assisting on six of the Broncos’ final nine scoring possessions ... ten different Broncos found their way into the scoring column, including seven players knocking down three-pointers ... Boise State returns to action Wednesday, Dec. 29, in its WAC opener against Louisiana Tech at Taco Bell Arena.
Fresno State Bulldogs (4-6, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State dropped a 65-55 decision to Pacific in its final tune-up before starting WAC play on Wednesday night ... Bulldog freshman Kevin Olekaibe hit five 3-pointers on the evening when he scored a career-high 17 points ... Olekaibe, a native of Las Vegas, Nev., continued his hot streak as he became the team’s leading scorer by averaging 10.3 points per game through the Bulldogs’ first 10 contests of the season ... junior point guard Steven Shepp played in his first game of the season after sitting out the first nine games of the year due to academics ... Shepp scored three points and dished out three assists in his return to the hardwood. Fresno State starts WAC play versus rival SJSU on Dec. 29 at 8 p.m. in the Save Mart Center.
Hawai‘i Rainbows (9-3, 0-0 WAC)
UH has enjoyed a successful preseason under first-year head coach Gib Arnold, logging a 9-3 non-conference record, second-best in the WAC ... the ’Bows are coming off a strong showing in the second annual Diamond Head Classic, going 2-1 with wins over Utah and Mississippi State ... Zane Johnson has led the UH charge averaging nearly 20 point per game in the last five contests, including a career-high 24 against Florida State ... After missing his first game of the year against Florida State, guard and team tri-captain Hiram Thompson returned to lead the Bows to a pair of victories in the final two games of the tournament ... Thompson had 13 points the win over Utah and chipped in 14 in the win over Mississippi State.
Idaho Vandals (6-5, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho found itself in a second straight nail-biter at Oregon’s McArthur Court, and this time the Vandals pulled through with a 69-65 victory over the Ducks at the historic venue ... the Vandals bounced back from its loss to Montana in a big way with its first win at Oregon (7-5) since Dec. 1, 1965 ... Brandon Wiley finished the game with a team-high 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, with six rebounds, two steals, one assist and a career-high five blocks ... junior guard Landon Tatum came off the bench and provided a spark with 11 points ... he hit three of his six field goal attempts and went 5-of-8 from the free throw line ... Idaho hosts New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech this week to open WAC play.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (9-5, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech finished the week 0-1 with a 77-58 loss at Iowa ... the Bulldogs had a deficit of no more than eight points until the final eight minutes of the game ... junior forward Olu Ashaolu recorded his third-straight double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds ... he now has eight double-doubles on the season, one of the best marks in the country ... Louisiana Tech has fared well in close games this season as it is 4-0 in games decided by six points or less ... Tech begins WAC play on Wednesday at Boise State.
Nevada Wolf Pack (3-10, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada dropped its final two non-conference games before opening WAC play this week ... the Wolf Pack dropped a 90-60 decision at Washington before taking a 66-62 setback at Portland ... at Washington, Dario Hunt led Nevada (3-9) with 16 points and 14 rebounds ... at Portland, the Pilots appeared to have the game under control after Mitrovic canned a short jumper to make it 54-42 with 4:27 remaining, but Nevada scored seven unanswered points to trim the deficit to five ... the Wolf Pack pulled to within two twice in the final 37 seconds but couldn’t get any closer ... Hunt finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Wolf Pack against Portland ... Nevada hit only 38.3 percent of its shots against the Pilots.
New Mexico State Aggies (6-8, 0-0 WAC)
Senior guard Gordo Castillo tied a career high with 20 points to guide NM State past Louisiana, 82-76, Dec. 20, at the Pan American Center ... freshman guard Christian Kabongo added 17 points and junior guard Hernst Laroche scored 19 for the Aggies ... NM State forced a season-high 23 turnovers en route to its fourth straight victory ... freshman guard Christian Kabongo scored a team-high 16 points in the finale of the five-game home stand, which was a 73-53 loss to Saint Mary’s, Dec. 23 ... junior guard Hernst Laroche added 12 points in the contest ... this week, New Mexico State opens conference play at Idaho and Boise State.
San Jose Spartans (8-3, 0-0 WAC)
It was a record-setting night for guard Adrian Oliver as San Jose State won its third game in a row defeating Puget Sound, 95-62 ... Oliver set school records for most points scored in a game with 42 points, most points scored in a half with 30 and most three-point baskets made in a game without a miss as San Jose State moved five games above .500 for the first time since the 2001 season ... the nation’s sixth leading scorer going into the game was 12-of-15 from the field and 7-of-9 shooting three-pointers. After missing his first 3-point basket try early in the first half, he made seven in a row, his last five to end the first 20 minutes and two at the start of the second half ... the Spartans open WAC play at Fresno State on Wednedsay.
Utah State Aggies (11-2, 0-0 WAC)
Utah State went 3-0 at the World Vision Invitational, sponsored by Gossner Foods to claim the tournament title ... USU defeated Idaho State (71-48), Western Michigan (78-57) and Troy (80-39) ... Brian Green led the Aggies through the three games as he was named the tournament’s MVP ... Green averaged 15.3 points, 3.0 assists and 2.7 rebounds during the tournament, while shooting 57.7 percent from the field (15-26), 60.0 percent from three-point range (12-20) and 66.7 percent at the free throw line (4-6) ... Green scored in double-figures twice during the tournament as he had 17 points against Idaho State and a career-high 23 points against Troy ... USU opens WAC play on Wednesday when it hosts Hawai‘i.
WAC NOTES
SAN JOSE STATE’S OLIVER NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
San Jose State’s Adrian Oliver has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 20-26. The honor marks the third career WAC Player of the Week award for Oliver.
Oliver, a senior guard from Modesto, Calif. (U. of Washington), scored a career-high 42 points in just 25 minutes of play in a 95-62 win over Puget Sound. The 42 points breaks the 30-year old San Jose State single-game scoring record of 40 points. Oliver also broke the SJSU single-game mark for the most points in a half with 30, eclipsing his own mark of 25 last season. He also set a San Jose State record for most consecutive three-point baskets made in a game with seven and tied the school record for most threes made in a single game. Oliver out-scored Puget Sound by himself in the first half of the contest, 30-29. His 42 points marks the most points in a game by a WAC player since Jaycee Carroll of Utah State scored 44 against New Mexico State on Feb. 5, 2007.
In the game, Oliver tallied 42 points on 12-of-15 (80 percent) shooting from the field. He hit 7-of-9 (77.8 percent) shots from three-point range and was 11-of-13 (84.6 percent) from the free throw line. He also recorded three rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal.
Other nominees included: Hawai‘i junior guard Zane Johnson … Idaho senior forward Brandon Wiley ... Louisiana Tech junior forward Olu Ashaolu … Nevada junior forward Dario Hunt … New Mexico State freshman guard Christian Kabongo … Utah State senior guard Brian Green.
WAC PLAY BEGINS THIS WEEK
Teams head into conference play this week. Utah State will be looking to win its fourth-straight Western Athletic Conference regular season championship this year after sharing the 2008 title with Boise State, Nevada and New Mexico State as all four teams had 12-4 league records, and winning the 2009 and 2010 WAC titles with identical 14-2 conference records. Prior to USU’s current run, Nevada won five straight regular season WAC titles from 2004-08.
UTAH STATE, HAWAI‘I IMPRESS AT TOURNAMENTS
Utah State claimed the World Vision Invitational, sponsored by Gossner Foods after going 3-0 at the tournament in Logan. The Aggies defeated Idaho State (71-48), Western Michigan (78-57) and Troy (80-39) to claim the even’ts title. Hawai‘i was also impressive at its tournament, the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. The Rainbow Warriors dropped its tournament opener, 70-62 to Florida State before downing both Utah (68-55) and Mississippi State (68-57).
WAC TEAMS AMONG NATIONAL STAT LEADERS
As of Dec. 20 (NCAA stats not available this week), teams from the WAC rank in the top-25 in four team statistical categories. Individual WAC players rank in the top-25 in five individual categories. Hawai‘i holds the highest team mark as it ranks ninth in the nation in rebound margin (10.16). Individually, Utah State’s Tai Wesley ranks second nationally in field goal percentage at 64.6 percent. Adrian Oliver of San Jose State ranks sixth in the nation in scoring (24.2)., while Louisiana Tech’s Olu Ashaolu ranks sixth in the nation with seven double-doubles.
ROAD WARRIORS
San Jose State is one of the 13 out of 336 NCAA Division I teams with four or more road wins and a winning road record in games played through December 22. The Spartans have road wins at EasternWashington (Nov. 12), Oregon (Nov. 20), UC Irvine (Dec. 4) and Seattle U. (Dec. 18).
UTAH STATE HOLDS NATION’S SIXTH-LONGEST HOME WIN STREAK
Utah State has won 22 straight home games and 74 of its last 76 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 22-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 (29), Duke (25), Kentucky (24), Murray State (23) and Utah State (22). The Aggies have won 24 straight WAC home games.
HOME COOKING
Of the 56 home games played on WAC home floors this season, teams from the WAC have lost just 12 of those contests (78.6 percent). Utah State leads the league with a perfect 8-0 mark at home this season, followed by Louisiana Tech (5-0) and Hawai‘i (8-1).
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 305-101 directing the Aggie program and is the winningest coach in school history and is first all-time in games coached with 406. All-time, Morrill is now 523-239 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.