THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
March 11 (Thursday)
No. 1 Utah State vs. No. 8 Boise State, 12:00 p.m. PT
Television: ESPNU
No. 4 Louisiana Tech vs. No. 5 Fresno State, 2:30 p.m. PT
Television: ESPNU
No. 2 Nevada vs. No. 7 Idaho, 6:00 p.m. PT
No. 3 New Mexico State vs. No. 6 San Jose State, 8:30 p.m. PT
March 12 (Friday)
Semifinal Game #1, 6:00 p.m. PT
Semifinal Game #2, 9:00 p.m. PT
Television: ESPN2
March 13 (Saturday)
Championship Game, 7:00 p.m. PT
Television: ESPN2
WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (15-16, 5-11 WAC)
Boise State secured its spot in the WAC Tournament with a pair of wins last week over Hawai‘i and San Jose State ... against UH, Robert Arnold scored 19 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to lead the Broncos to an 82-63 victory over the Rainbow Warriors ... Ike Okoye and Daequon Montreal each added 13 points for Boise State ... in the 85-56 win over SJSU, Paul Noonan scored 15 points ... Arnold scored 14, while Ike Okoye and Montreal added 12 points each ... the Broncos take the eighth seed into the WAC Tournament and will face top-seeded Utah State at noon on Wednesday, March 11 in Reno.
Fresno State Bulldogs (15-17, 7-9 WAC)
Fresno State ended regular season play with a 66-59 victory over Louisiana Tech to complete the WAC’s largest single year improvement in six seasons … the Bulldogs finished WAC play at 7-9 in fifth place this season after recording a 3-13 mark last season for the league’s ninth best record … freshman Greg Smith led the scoring with 17 points on eight of 13 shooting paired with five rebounds in the win for the “Battle of the Bone” … sophomores Paul George and Mike Ladd also reached double figures with 16 and 11 points, respectively … with 12 home victories, Fresno State tied the mark for the second-most home wins in the Save Mart Center in facility history ... Fresno will be the No. 5 seed at this week’s WAC Tournament.
Hawai‘i Rainbow Warriors (10-20, 3-13 WAC)
Hawai‘i concluded its season with a pair of road losses at Boise State (63-82) and Idaho (69-78) ... against Boise State, Leroy Lutu led UH with a career-high 12 points, while Adhar Mayen added 10 ... Paul Campbell chipped in nine points and nine rebounds for the ’Bows ... at Idaho, Hawai`i lost despite an inspired effort by Roderick Flemings, making his final appearance as a Rainbow Warrior scored a game-high 29 points ... fellow senior Petras Balocka recorded his fifth double-double of the season and eighth of his career with 14 points and 10 rebounds ... meanwhile, sophomore Leroy Lutu matched his career-high with 12 points.
Idaho Vandals (15-15, 6-10 WAC)
Idaho went 2-0 in its final week of the regular season … the Vandals had a season-high 14 made 3-pointers in the win against Hawai‘i on Saturday … Idaho also had a season-high 21 assists and a season-low five turnovers in the win over UH … Idaho was 20-of-38 (.526) from 3-point range and 59-of-113 (.522) overall from the field during the week … Idaho entered the week ranked in the top 50 in the NCAA with 14.7 assists per game, but averaged 19.5 per game during the week … Idaho is now 2-0 in Senior Night games under Don Verlin after losing the previous five before his tenure began ... Idaho takes the seventh seed into the WAC Tournament and faces host Nevada.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (22-9, 9-7 WAC)
Louisiana Tech went 0-2 in its final two regular season WAC games ... the Bulldogs dropped a 66-59 decision at Fresno State before falling 79-68 at Nevada ... at Fresno State, sophomore Olu Ashaolu led the Bulldogs in scoring with 16 points, 14 in the second half, and also added 10 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season ... senior Magnum Rolle recorded his 11th double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds to go with four blocks ... at Nevada, Rolle’s 11th double-double of the season wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs took the loss ... it was the first time this season that the Bulldogs lost two-straight games ... LA Tech has the fourth seed at the WAC Tournament and will face fifth-seeded Fresno State on Thursday.
Nevada Wolf Pack (19-11, 11-5 WAC)
After a pair of wins last week, Nevada secured the No. 2 seed at this week’s WAC Tournament and will face seventh-seeded Idaho on Thursday night ... Nevada finished the regular season with a 14-1 home record and has won its last six games at Lawlor Events Center ...Nevada has also won 33 of its last 39 WAC regular-season home games ... Nevada has outrebounded its last two opponents, marking just the third and fourth times in the last 14 games that Nevada has outrebounded its opponent ... Nevada reached the 100-point mark for the third time this season in the win over New Mexico State, marking the first time since the 1991-92 season that the team has scored 100 three times.
New Mexico State Aggies (19-11, 11-5 WAC)
New Mexico State dropped a pair of road games last week to conclude the regular season ... the Aggies dropped a 100-92 decision at Nevada before falling 81-63 at Utah State ... at Nevada, Jahmar Young scored a team-high 22 points while senior guard Jonathan Gibson and sophomore forward Troy Gillenwater added 17 each ... Wendell McKines posted the lone double-double of the contest with 13 points and 13 rebounds ... at USU, Young scored a team-high 17 points while Troy Gillenwater had 14 points with 12 in the second half ... Hamidu Rahman added 13 points and McKines grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds ... NM State heads into the WAC Tournament with the No. 3 seed and will face sixth-seeded San Jose State.
San Jose Spartans (14-16, 6-10 WAC)
San Jose State wrapped up regular season play with a pair of road losses at Idaho (86-76) and Boise State (85-56) ... at Idaho, Adrian Oliver scored 24 points, 18 of them in the second half, and center C.J. Webster added 17 points and 9 rebounds ... against Boise State, Oliver, who had scored 70 points in two previous games against Boise State, led San Jose State in scoring, but was limited to just 12 points ... Robert Owens was the only other double-figure scorer for the Spartans with 10 in the team’s lowest scoring output of the season ... SJSU will take the sixth seed into this week’s WAC Tournament and will face No. 3 seed New Mexico State.
Utah State Aggies (25-6, 14-2 WAC)
Utah State won a pair of home games against Fresno State and New Mexico State to claim its third-straight WAC regular season title ... with the title, the Aggies take the No. 1 into this week’s WAC Tournament and will face No. 8 seed Boise State ... against Fresno State, four USU players netted double-digits led by Tai Wesley’s 21 points ... Tyler Newbold hit all four of his three-pointers for 12 points on the night, while fellow junior guard Brian Green netted three of his five treys ... in the win over NM State, Jared Quayle scored 17 points and was joined in double-digits scoring by Wesley’s season-high 24 points ... Utah State has now won 15 straight games, the second-best streak in the country.
WAC NOTES
RENO READY FOR WAC TOURNAMENT
The WAC will host its 27th Men’s Basketball Tournament this week at the Lawlor Events Center located on the campus of the University of Nevada. The tournament features eight men’s and women’s teams. 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 also held in Reno last season.
WAC HONOREES SELECTED
The WAC men’s basketball postseason award winners as selected by the league’s nine head coaches were announced on Sunday. The first team is led by Nevada sophomore forward Luke Babbitt who was also voted the WAC’s Player of the Year. Babbitt led the WAC in scoring at 23.7 points per game and ranked third in rebounding at 8.9 rebounds per game in WAC play. Utah State’s Jared Quayle and Tai Wesley, New Mexico State’s Jahmar Young and San Jose State’s Adrian Oliver were also first team selections. Babbitt, Quayle and Young are repeat all-WAC honorees from last season. Babbitt and Young earned first team all-WAC honors last year, while Quayle received second team honors in 2009.This year’s all-WAC second team consists of Fresno State’s Paul George, Louisiana Tech’s Kyle Gibson and Magnum Rolle, Nevada’s Armon Johnson and New Mexico State’s Jonathan Gibson. Gibson and Johnson also earned all-WAC honors last season. Fresno State center Greg Smith becomes the second Bulldog player in team history to earn the WAC’s Freshman of the Year award. In 16 conference games, Smith averaged 11.4 points per contest and 5.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 53.1 percent from the field. Utah State head coach Stew Morrill earned his second Don Haskins Coach of the Year honor by leading the Aggies to a third-straight regular season WAC title. In his 12th year with Utah State, Morrill led the Aggies to a 14-2 conference record. Those named to the WAC’s all-defensive team were Idaho’s Marvin Jefferson, Louisiana Tech’s Kyle Gibson and Magnum Rolle, Nevada’s Dario Hunt and Utah State’s Pooh Williams. Selected to the WAC’s all-newcomer team were Boise State’s Daequon Montreal, Fresno State’s Greg Smith, Louisiana Tech’s DeAndre Brown, and Utah State’s Nate Bendall and Brian Green.
All-Conference
First Team
Luke Babbitt, Nevada, F, 6-9, 225, So., Reno, Nev. (Galena HS)
Jahmar Young, New Mexico State, G, 6-4, 180, Jr., Baltimore, Md. (Laurinberg Prep)
Adrian Oliver, San Jose State, G, 6-4, 210, Jr., Modesto, Calif. (Washington)
Jared Quayle, Utah State, G, 6-1, 180, Sr., Perry, Utah (Western Wyoming CC)
Tai Wesley, Utah State, F, 6-7, 240, Jr., Provo, Utah (Provo HS)
Second Team
Paul George, Fresno State, G/F, 6-8, 215, So., Palmdale, Calif. (Pete Knight HS)
Kyle Gibson, Louisiana Tech, G, 6-5, 205, Sr., Los Angeles, Calif. (Dorsey HS)
Magnum Rolle, Louisiana Tech, F/C, 6-11, 220, Sr., Freeport, Bahamas (LSU)
Armon Johnson, Nevada, G, 6-3, 195, Jr., Reno, Nev. (Hug HS)
Jonathan Gibson, New Mexico State, G, 6-1, 171, Sr., West Covina, Calif. (Calvary Christian)
Honorable Mention
Daequon Montreal, Boise State, F, 6-8, 220, Jr., Syracuse, N.Y. (College of Southern Idaho)
Sylvester Seay, Fresno State, F, 6-10, 235, Sr., San Bernardino, Calif. (Arizona State)
Roderick Flemings, Hawai‘i, F, 6-7, 210, Sr., Dallas, Texas (Weatherford College)
Mac Hopson, Idaho, G, 6-2, 185, Sr., Portland, Ore. (Washington State)
Wendell McKines, New Mexico State, F, 6-6, 224, Jr., Oakland, Calif. (Richmond HS)
All-Defensive Team
Marvin Jefferson, Idaho, C, 6-10, 245, Sr., Merced, Calif. (Modesto JC)
Kyle Gibson, Louisiana Tech, G, 6-5, 205, Sr., Los Angeles, Calif. (Dorsey HS)
Magnum Rolle, Louisiana Tech, F/C, 6-11, 220, Sr., Freeport, Bahamas (LSU)
Dario Hunt, Nevada, F, 6-8, 230, So., Colorado Springs, Colo. (Charis Prep)
Pooh Williams, Utah State, G/F, 6-3, 200, Jr., Federal Way, Wash. (Federal Way HS)
All-Newcomer Team
Daequon Montreal, Boise State, F, 6-8, 220, Jr., Syracuse, N.Y. (College of Southern Idaho)
Greg Smith, Fresno State, C, 6-10, 250, Fr., Fresno, Calif. (Westwind Academy/Edison HS)
DeAndre Brown, Louisiana Tech, G, 5-11, 160, Jr., Fort Worth, Texas (Navarro JC)
Nate Bendall, Utah State, F, 6-9, 245, Jr., Salt Lake City, Utah (Salt Lake CC)
Brian Green, Utah State, G, 6-1, 195, Jr., Kaysville, Utah (Salt Lake CC)
Player of the Year: Luke Babbitt, Nevada
Freshman of the Year: Greg Smith, Fresno State
Don Haskins Coach of the Year: Stew Morrill, Utah State
UTAH STATE’S WESLEY RECEIVES SEASON’S FINAL VERIZON WIRELESS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Utah State’s Tai Wesley has been named the Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of March 1-7. The honor marks the second career WAC Player of the Week award for Wesley.
Wesley, a junior forward from Provo, Utah (Provo HS), led Utah State to a pair of home wins last week against Fresno State (76-39) and New Mexico State (81-63) to clinch its third-straight WAC regular season championship. Against the Bulldogs, Wesley scored 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting, to go along with seven rebounds, five assists and one steal. Against NM State, he scored a season-high 24 points on 9-of-10 shooting, and added six rebounds, a season-high tying six assists and two blocks.
On the week, Wesley averaged 22.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.5 blocks per game. He also shot 82.6 percent (19-of-23) from the field.
Other nominees included: Boise State junior forward Robert Arnold … Fresno State sophomore guard/forward Paul George ... Idaho senior guard Steffan Johnson … Nevada senior guard Brandon Fields.
UTAH STATE WINS THIRD-STRAIGHT WAC REGULAR SEASON TITLE
Utah State’s men’s basketball team claimed its second straight outright Western Athletic Conference regular season championship. Overall, it is the third straight regular season WAC Championship for USU as it shared the league title in 2008 with a 12-4 mark, won the conference outright in 2009 with a 14-2 record, and is currently 13-2 in league play this year with one game remaining. It is also the sixth regular season championship under head coach Stew Morrill as the Aggies won Big West Conference titles in 2000, 2002 and 2004, and the 15th all-time in school history. Utah State’s current run of three straight regular season conference championships is the longest streak in school history as the only other time USU won back-to-back league titles was in 1997 and 1998 when those teams went 12-4 and 13-3 in the Big West Conference. For the third straight year, Utah State will enter the WAC’s postseason tournament as the top seed. The 2010 WAC Tournament is being held at the Lawlor Events Center on the campus of the University of Nevada for the second straight year and will run from Thursday, March 11 through Saturday, March 13.
NEVADA’S BABBITT NAMED ONE OF 30 NAISMITH TROPHY CANDIDATES
Nevada sophomore Luke Babbitt has been named one of the 30 finalists for the Naismith Trophy, honoring the nation’s top player. The top 30 midseason men’s list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Board of Selectors, comprised of leading basketball journalists from around the country. The board based its criteria on player performances this season. The Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T is the most prestigious national basketball award and is given annually to the men’s college basketball player of the year. This year, the award will be presented at the NCAA Men’s Final Four in Indianapolis.
UTAH STATE HOLDS NATION’S SECOND-LONGEST WIN STREAK
Utah State has now won 15 straight games, which is a season-high, and 19 of its last 21 overall. That 15-game winning streak is the fourth-longest in school history and the second-longest active winning streak in the nation behind Butler (19). It is also the fourth time under Coach Morrill that USU has won at least 15 games in a row.
LOUISIANA TECH AND UTAH STATE HIT 20-WIN MARK
Louisiana Tech now holds a 22-9 record. LA Tech’s 22 wins mark the most victories since the 1984-85 season. Utah State also has hit the 20-win mark and now owns 25 victories. USU has now won 20 or more games in each of the last 11 seasons to extend its current school record. Nevada and New Mexico State is just one win shy of hitting the 20-win mark.
WAC TEAMS AMONG NATIONAL STATISTICAL LEADERS
As of March 8, teams from the WAC rank in the top-25 in 11 team statistical categories. Individual players rank in the top-25 in eight individual categories. Utah State holds the highest team mark as it leads the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.67. The Aggies also rank third nationally in three-point percentage (42.0) and fourth in free throw percentage (76.6). Individually, Fresno State’s Paul George holds the highest national ranking in the WAC, ranking fith nationally in free throw percentage at 90.6 percent.
WAC BOASTS THREE OF THE TOP SCORERS IN THE NATION
As of March 8, three players in the WAC rank in the top-18 nationally in scoring. San Jose State’s Adrian Oliver holds the top scoring mark in the league at 22.5 points per game, ranking him seventh nationally. Nevada’s Luke Babbitt averages 21.7 points per contest and ranks 11th nationally while New Mexico State’s Jahmar Young averages 20.9 points per game and ranks 18th nationally.
WAC AND THE RPI
The WAC’s RPI stays steady at 10 this week as a conference. The WAC has four teams in the top-80, including Utah State (32), Nevada (64), New Mexico State (67) and Louisiana Tech (80).
WAC WINS THREE OF FOUR BRACKETBUSTERS TELEVISION GAMES
For an eighth-straight year, the WAC is participated in BracketBusters -- a two-day men’s college basketball event pitting NCAA Tournament hopefuls. WAC teams secured four of the 11 televised games and was victourious in three of them. The WAC won three of its four television matches as Louisiana Tech defeated Northeastern 70-67, New Mexico State downed Pacific 84-78 and Utah State defeated Wichita State 68-58.
UTAH STATE’S STEW MORRILL REACHES 500 WINS
Utah State’s Stew Morrill achieved a coaching milestone on Jan. 23 as the Aggies defeated Idaho 60-48 to give Morrill his 500th career victory and become one of just 19 active coaches and just the 73rd coach in Division I history to record 500 career wins. Among his now 510 wins, Morrill has posted a 291-97 mark in 12 seasons at Utah State as he is the school’s all-time winningest coach. He recently tied E. Lowell Romney (1920-41) for the most games coached in school history at 384.
SEVEN WAC PLAYERS BECOME MEMBERS OF 1,000 POINT CLUB THIS SEASON
Below is a list of current career scoring leaders in the WAC.
Player
Kyle Gibson, Sr, Louisiana Tech, 1,660
*Jonathan Gibson, Sr., NM State, 1,479
*Jahmar Young, Jr., NM State, 1,416
*Armon Johnson, Jr., Nevada, 1,387
*Luke Babbitt, So., Nevada, 1,225
*Brandon Fields, Sr., Nevada, 1,217
*Tai Wesley, Jr., Utah State, 1,194
*Anthony Thomas, Sr., Boise State, 1,000
Adrian Oliver, Jr., San Jose State, 984
Sylvester Seay, Sr., Fresno State, 980
Roderick Flemings, Sr., Hawai‘i, 964
Mac Hopson, Sr., Idaho, 958
Paul George, So., Fresno State, 952
C.J. Webster, Jr., San Jose State, 920
*denotes that player reached 1,000 points during the 2009-10 season.
NEVADA’S BABBITT NAMED ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
Wolf Pack sophomore forward Luke Babbitt has been named an ESPN the Magazine second-team Academic All-American, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced tonight. Babbitt holds a 3.51 grade-point average and is majoring in pre-business administration. He leads the Wolf Pack and ranks in the top 30 in the country in scoring and rebounding this season. The preseason pick for Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, the Reno native and graduate of Galena High School earned Academic All-WAC honors last year.
SJSU’S OLIVER NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR JAN. 18-24
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected San Jose State guard Adrian Oliver as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Jan. 24. The USBWA’s weekly honor is presented by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and will be handed out each Tuesday through Feb. 23 this season.
As the WAC Player of the Week, Oliver was nominated for the weekly award, which was chosen by a representative of the USBWA board of directors from a list of Division I conference players of the week. Oliver had a career-high 39 points in an 87-76 win over Louisiana Tech that ended the Bulldogs’ 10-game winning streak. He followed that up with 22 points in a 93-84 win against New Mexico State. In both games, he played 38 minutes and had five assists. For the week, Oliver shot 54.3 percent from the field (19-for-35) and was 19-for-20 from the free-throw line. He also averaged three rebounds and two steals in the two San Jose State wins. Oliver now has four straight 20-plus point efforts and the Spartans boast their best conference record (4-3) since 1999.
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.
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.
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 175-55. In conference games, Nevada has won 91 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 175-55 (.761)
2. Nevada 168-61 (.734)
3. Boise State 129-95 (.576)
WAC Record (Pct.)
1. Nevada 91-26 (.778)
2. Utah State 60-20 (.750)
3. Boise State 65-69 (.485)