WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (12-7, 5-2 WAC)
La’Shard Anderson scored 12 of the final 16 points for Boise State as the Broncos fought back from a 12-point deficit to defeat in-state rival Idaho 70-67 at Cowan Spectrum, Jan. 22 ... Boise State outscored the Vandals 24-15 in the final 10 minutes - and made 8-of-11 free throws in the final 5:12 - securing the biggest Bronco comeback of the season ... Anderson finished with a game-high 21 points, and was one of four Broncos in double figures ... Boise State continues its three-game road trip, traveling to face New Mexico State Thursday (Jan. 27), and Louisiana Tech Saturday (Jan. 29).
Fresno State Bulldogs (8-10, 3-4 WAC)
Fresno State went 1-1 last week with a 62-52 setback at Hawai‘i before an 86-56 win at home over non-conference foe Seattle ... Garrett Johnson led the Bulldogs with 14 points, while Nedeljko Golubovic and Greg Smith had 13 and 10 points, respectively ... Smith also pulled down eight rebounds in the effort ... against Seattle, Kevin Olekaibe led the Dogs with 17 points in the game, knocking down three treys ... Tyler Johnson led the Dogs with 10 assists, who as a team posted a season high of 27 assists ... Johnson had two spectacular dunks late in the game that left the SMC crowd buzzing ... the Bulldogs return to WAC play this week, taking on Nevada on Thursday and San Jose State on Saturday, both on the road.
Hawai‘i Rainbows (12-8, 3-5 WAC)
Hawai‘i got on track last week with a pair of home wins over Fresno State (62-52) and San Jose State (67-61) ... in the win over Fresno State, Vander Joaquim led UH with 13 points and 10 rebounds and helped squelch any comeback hopes for Fresno State when he scored eight straight UH points down the stretch ... Bill Amis posted his second straight double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman Bo Barnes broke out of his slump with 12 points ... against SJSU, Bill Amis finished with 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting, while also adding nine rebounds and four blocks and Joston Thomas recorded his first career double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds ... this week, UH hosts Utah State on Saturday.
Idaho Vandals (12-7, 5-2 WAC)
Idaho went 1-1 during the week … Idaho’s win at Fresno State marked its fifth-consecutive road win, which is the team’s longest streak since 1988-89 … with its win at Fresno State, Idaho started 5-1 in conference play for the first time since 1993-94 … Shawn Henderson’s halfcourt buzzer-beater at Fresno State marked the second game in a row that a Vandal hit a 3-pointer to beat the clock … Idaho hasn’t won six straight road games since the 1981-82 season … the Vandals play Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State on the road this week.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (9-12, 0-7 WAC)
Louisiana Tech finished the week 0-2 with losses at Utah State and Nevada. The Bulldogs have lost their last eight games, their longest streak since dropping nine straight to open WAC play in the 2007-08 season. In the loss to Nevada, Tech held an eight point lead late in the first half before suffering the defeat despite having fewer turnovers 11-14 and more rebounds 39-32. Junior forward Olu Ashaolu recorded a career-high 26 points and 17 rebounds against the Wolfpack for his 11th double-double of the season. He averaged 17.5 points on the week while senior guard DeAndre Brown averaged 16.5.
Nevada Wolf Pack (7-13, 4-3 WAC)
Nevada went 2-0 last week at home with wins over New Mexico State (90-71) and Louisiana Tech (66-58) ... in the victory over NM State, Deonte Burton scored 22 points to lead five Nevada players in double digits ... Dario Hunt picked up a double-double for Nevada with 20 points and 12 rebounds ... Olek Czyz added 15 points, Malik Story 10 and Derrell Conner 10 for the Wolf Pack ... against LA Tech, Burton scored 18 points and Hunt had 16 as Nevada rallied to beat the Bulldogs ... Malik Story added 10 points for the Wolf Pack ... this week, Nevada hosts Fresno State on Thursday.
New Mexico State Aggies (10-11, 4-3 WAC)
The Aggies fell at Utah State, 59-49, Jan. 22 and Nevada, 90-71, Jan. 20 ... junior forward Troy Gillenwater scored a game-high 20 points at Utah State ... junior guard Hernst Laroche was also in double-figures with 11 points, which were all scored in the second half ... New Mexico State’s three-game win streak was snapped at Nevada ... Gillenwater had a game-high 22 points from the Aggies, while Laroche added 11 points ... this week, New Mexico State hosts Boise State on Thursday before welcoming Idaho on Saturday.
San Jose Spartans (9-9, 1-6 WAC)
San Jose State had its poorest shooting night of the season converting just 31.1 percent of its field goal tries losing to Hawaii, 67-61, in the team’s lone game of the week ... the Spartans had an uphill battle the entire night making just 6-of-30 field goal tries in the first 20 minutes even with Adrian Oliver back in the starting lineup after missing the two previous games. Oliver scored 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting, but like his teammates could not find the basket in the first half missing all five of his shots ... Justin Graham led San Jose State in scoring with 20 points. Keith Shamburger with 12 and Wil Carter with 10 gave the Spartans four double-figure scorers ... San Jose State returns to action, Thursday, January 27, hosting conference leader Utah State.
Utah State Aggies (18-2, 7-0 WAC)
Utah State went 2-0 at home last week with wins over Louisiana Tech (74-57) and New Mexico State (59-49) ... against LA Tech, senior forward Tai Wesley had 14 points to lead five Aggies in double-figures ... senior guard Pooh Willams and junior guard Brockeith Pane each scored 11 points for Utah State, while Nate Bendall and senior guard Brian Green added 10 each to give the Aggies five double-figure scorers for the first time this year ... against NM State, Wesley was the lone USU player in double-digits with 18 points, moving up to No. 10 on Utah State’s career points list ... with the two wins last week, USU now owns the WAC record for consecutive league games won at 21 ... this week, USU travels to play San Jose State and Hawai‘i.
WAC NOTES
NEVADA’S BURTON NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Nevada’s Deonte Burton has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 17-23. The honor marks the first career WAC Player of the Week award for Burton.
Burton, a freshman guard from Los Angeles, Calif. (Compton Centennial HS), led Nevada to a pair of conference wins against New Mexico State (90-71) and Louisiana Tech (66-58) last week.
In the win over New Mexico State, Burton tied for game-high honors with 22 points making 8-of-11 shots from the field, including 3-of-5 shots from three-point range. He also dished out a game-high six assists and collected three steals. His five rebounds against the Aggies established a new career high for the freshman. Burton’s 22 points against NM State marked his third consecutive 20-point game and just one point off his career high.
In the victory against Louisiana Tech, Burton totaled a team-high 18 points making 7-of-9 field goals, including a 2-of-2 performance from beyond the arc. The game marked the fourth-straight game that Burton has led the Wolf Pack in scoring. For the second game in a row, Burton also tallied six assists and three steals, which were both game highs.
On the week, Burton averaged 20.0 points, 6.0 assists, 3.0 steals and 3.0 rebounds per game. He shot 75.0 percent (15-of-20) from the field and 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from three-point range.
Other nominees included: Boise State senior guard La’Shard Anderson … Fresno State sophomore center Greg Smith … Hawai‘i senior forward Bill Amis … Idaho sophomore center Kyle Barone … Louisiana Tech junior forward Olu Ashaolu … Utah State senior forward Tai Wesley.
UTAH STATE BREAKS INTO ESPN/USA TODAY COACHES’ POLL, RANKED 25th NATIONALLY
Utah State is ranked No. 25 in the nation in this week’s ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll with 57 points and 30th in this week’s Associated Press Poll with 53 points. USU has now been nationally ranked twice in the last three years and three times in the past eight seasons.
UTAH STATE BREAKS WAC RECORD FOR CONSECUTIVE WAC GAMES WON
Utah State has won a WAC record 21 straight league games, including nine straight on the road. USU’s 21 game win streak breaks Utah’s mark of 19 straight during the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons. Overall, USU has won 39 of its last 43 WAC games and is 47-8 (.855) in WAC play during the last four years.
BOISE STATE AND SAN JOSE STATE TIE WAC RECORD WITH FOUR-OVERTIME GAME
Boise State defeated San Jose State 102-101 in four overtimes on Jan. 6. The four overtime game ties the WAC record for most overtimes played in a single game. The only other time two teams played a game that went into four overtimes was on March 3, 1983 when New Mexico defeated Hawai‘i 63-61 in Honolulu.
WAC TEAMS AMONG NATIONAL STAT LEADERS
As of Jan. 23, teams from the WAC rank in the top-25 in seven team statistical categories. Individual WAC players rank in the top-25 in six individual categories. Utah State holds the highest team mark as it ranks fifth in the nation in rebound margin (9.7). Individually, Utah State’s Tai Wesley holds the highest individual mark as he ranks fourth nationally in field goal percentage at 62.5. San Jose State’s Adrian Oliver is sixth in the nation in scoring at 23.3 points per game. Boise State’s La’Shard Anderson also holds a top-10 ranking as he is 8th nationally in steals per game at 2.8.
UTAH STATE HOLDS NATION’S THIRD-LONGEST HOME WIN STREAK
Utah State has won 26 straight home games and 78 of its last 80 overall with its only losses 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 26-game home winning streak is the third-longest active winning streak in the nation behind Duke (30) and Kentucky (28).
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 310-101 directing the Aggie program and is the winningest coach in school history and is first all-time in games coached with 411. All-time, Morrill is now 528-239 in 25 years as a collegiate head coach.
ESPN 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 BracketBuster 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 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.