WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (12-11, 5-6 WAC)
Boise State went 0-2 last week with a 73-66 setback at home to Hawai‘i and a 77-49 loss at Utah State ... against Hawai‘i, Daequon Montreal had 17 points to lead the Broncos and Thomas Bropleh added 14 ... at Utah State, the Aggies shot 27-of-42 (.642) from the floor, and the Broncos had their second-worst shooting performance of the season, going 19-of-56 (.339) ... Robert Arnold came off the bench to lead Boise State with 12 points ... Ryan Watkins pulled down a game-high eight rebounds and added 11 points ... the Broncos return home this week, hosting Fresno State (Feb. 10) and Idaho (Feb. 12).
Fresno State Bulldogs (11-12, 5-6 WAC)
The Bulldogs have won three straight games dating back to an 88-83 overtime victory at home against New Mexico State ... the team also defeated Louisiana Tech (72-64) and Cal State Bakersfield (79-49) at home ... against NM State, Garrett Johnson scored six of Fresno State’s 14 overtime points, including two free throws with 10.8 seconds remaining to seal the win ... for the third time in four games, Kevin Olekaibe led the Bulldogs in scoring with 24 points ... versus LA Tech, Greg Smith scored 18 points and had seven rebounds ... against CS Bakersfield, Smith posted his seventh career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds ... this week, Fresno State travels to play Boise State on Thursday.
Hawai‘i Rainbows (13-10, 4-7 WAC)
Hawai‘i went 1-1 last week with a 73-66 victory over Boise State and a 75-61 setback at Idaho ... at Boise State, Bill Amis led four players in double-digits with 22 points ... Amis also added seven rebounds and four blocks ... Vander Joaquim recorded his fifth double-double with 11 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, while Joston Thomas scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half to help seal the win ... at Idaho, Joaquim led UH, recording his second straight double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds ... Thomas chipped in 12 points, while Zane Johnson returned from a one-game absence and finished with nine points ... UH next returns to the floor on Feb. 14 at home against Nevada.
Idaho Vandals (13-10, 6-5 WAC)
Idaho went 1-1 during the week … junior guard Deremy Geiger dished a career-high 11 assists in the 75-61 win over Hawaii, which is tied as the best assist game in WAC play this year … Idaho’s 23 assists against SJSU are the most by a team in WAC play this year … Vandal senior Jeff Ledbetter has made at least four 3-pointers in four straight games and has connected on at least three in 10 of Idaho’s last 11 games … Idaho hosts Utah State on Wednesday and plays at Boise State on Saturday.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (11-14, 2-9 WAC)
Louisiana Tech dropped its sixth-straight road game on Saturday, 72-64 at Fresno State ... senior guard DeAndre Brown led all players with 23 points, his fifth game this season scoring at least 20 points ... Tech led 38-26 at the half after shooting 51.6 percent from the field ... however, Fresno State shot 56.5 percent in the second half to earn the victory ... Olu Ashaolu was one rebound shy of his fourth-straight double-double as he had 14 points and nine rebounds ... the Bulldogs play at New Mexico State on Monday before returning home to face the Aggies on Saturday.
Nevada Wolf Pack (9-14, 6-4 WAC)
Nevada went 1-1 last week with a 67-45 setback at Utah State before taking an 89-69 victory at home against San Jose State ... at Utah State, Deonte Burton scored 11 points and Dario Hunt grabbed 10 rebounds for Nevada, which was held to its lowest offensive output in 10 years - shooting just 25 percent from the field in the second half ... against San Jose State, Hunt had 16 points and a career-best 19 rebounds to lead Nevada past the Spartans ... Malik Story had 16 points, Jerry Evans Jr. 11 and Olek Czyz 10 for the Wolf Pack ... Nevada shot 51.8 percent (29 of 56) from the floor, compared to the Spartans’ 39.1 percent (25 of 64) ... this week, Nevada travels to play San Jose State on Saturday.
New Mexico State Aggies (13-12, 7-4 WAC)
In the third overtime game of the season, the Aggies lost at Fresno State, 88-83, Feb. 3 ... junior forward Troy Gillenwater scored a game-high 33 points in the second overtime contest in the last three games ... sophomore forward Tyrone Watson supplied 14 points and junior guard Hernst Laroche and freshman guard Christian Kabongo provided 10 points each ... New Mexico State bounced back to defeat Louisiana Tech 75-57 on Monday night ... Gillenwater scored a game-high 19 points while Watson added 17 ... Laroche was also in double figures with 13 points ... this week, New Mexico State travels to play Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
San Jose Spartans (11-11, 3-8 WAC)
San Jose State went 1-1 last week with a 92-89 double-overtime victory at Idaho before an 89-69 setback at Nevada ... in the win over Idaho, freshman Keith Shamburger scored 17 of his 20 points after halftime including 10 in the two overtime periods to help the Spartans to victory ... Adrian Oliver and Wil Carter each had a double-double ... Oliver scored 23 and pulled down 10 rebounds before fouling out with 1:42 in the second overtime ... Carter had career highs of 17 points and 14 rebounds ... at Nevada, Oliver led all players in scoring with 25 points and was the Spartans’ top rebounder with seven ... Justin Graham had 14 points and Shamburger had 16 ... this week, SJSU hosts Nevada on Saturday.
Utah State Aggies (22-2, 11-0 WAC)
Utah State went 2-0 last week at home with wins over Nevada (67-45) and Boise State (77-49) ... in the win over Nevada, junior guard Brockeith Pane provided a game-high 18 points ... Pane was joined in double-digits by fellow junior, forward Brady Jardine with 14 points and was one rebound shy of his fourth double-double of the season with a team-leading tying nine boards ... against BSU, Utah State hit its first seven shots on the way to an early 15-0 lead and never looked back ... senior forward Tai Wesley tallied his fourth 20-point outing of the season and 12th of his career with a game-high 22 points ... USU hits the road, traveling to take on Idaho on Wednesday on ESPN2 ... USU returns home to host Fresno State on Saturday.
WAC NOTES
FRESNO STATE’S SMITH NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Fresno State’s Greg Smith has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for Jan. 31–Feb. 6. The honor marks the first career WAC Player of the Week award for Smith.
Smith, a sophomore center from Fresno, Calif. (Edison HS), led Fresno State to a home sweep over New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech last week. The wins snapped a six-game WAC losing streak for the Bulldogs.
Against New Mexico State, Smith didn’t miss a shot, making all seven field goal attempts and each of his free throws for 17 points. He also added seven rebounds in just 22 minutes of action as the Bulldogs defeated the Aggies 88-83 in overtime.
On Saturday, Smith led the Bulldogs from a 12-point halftime deficit against LA Tech in a 72-64 victory. He scored a team-high 18 points and had seven rebounds, three blocks, two assists and one steal in a career-high 37 minutes of action. Smith was 4-for-8 from the floor and 10-for-13 from the line. His 10 free throws also marked a career high.
On the week, Smith averaged 17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocks per game. He shot 73.3 percent (11-of-15) from the field and 81.3 percent (13-of-16) from the free throw line.
Other nominees included: Boise State senior forward Daequon Montreal … Hawai‘i sophomore center Vander Joaquim … Idaho senior forward Brandon Wiley … Nevada junior forward Dario Hunt … New Mexico State junior forward Troy Gillenwater … Utah State junior guard Brockeith Pane.
2011 ESPN BRACKETBUSTER MATCHUPS ANNOUNCED
For an ninth-straight year, the WAC is participating in BracketBusters -- a two-day men’s college basketball event pitting NCAA Tournament hopefuls. WAC teams have secured one of the 11 television games, featuring Utah State at Saint Mary’s.
WAC Televised BracketBusters Games
Sat., 2/19, #17 Utah State at #23 Saint Mary’s, 6 p.m. (ESPN2 HD / ESPN3.com)
WAC Non-Televised BracketBusters Games
Boise State at UC Santa Barbara, 7 p.m. PT (Sat., Feb. 19)
Hawai‘i at UC Davis, 2 p.m. PT (Sat., Feb. 19)
Idaho at Montana State, 7 p.m. MT (Sat., Feb. 19)
UC Riverside at Fresno State, 7 p.m. PT (Sat., Feb. 19)
Georgia State at Louisiana Tech, 2 p.m. CT (Sat., Feb. 19)
UC Irvine at Nevada, 2 p.m. PT (Sat., Feb. 19)
Northern Colorado at New Mexico State
Weber State at San Jose State, 7 p.m. PT (Fri., Feb. 18)
WAC WEDNESDAY NIGHTS ON ESPN2
Wednesday night, Feb. 9, will mark the third of five Wednesday night WAC games featured on ESPN2 when No. 17 Utah State travels to play at Idaho. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. PT
UTAH STATE RANKED 17th IN ESPN/USA TODAY COACHES’ POLL, 21st IN AP POLL
Utah State continued its climb up the national polls this week and is now ranked 17th in the nation in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ poll released Monday and 21st in the latest Associated Press poll. USU was ranked 21st in last week’s coaches’ poll and 22nd in the AP poll.
UTAH STATE BREAKS WAC RECORD FOR CONSECUTIVE WAC GAMES WON
Utah State has won a WAC record 25 straight league games, including 11 straight on the road. USU’s 25-game win streak breaks Utah’s mark of 19 straight during the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons. Overall, USU has won 43 of its last 47 WAC games and is 51-8 (.864) 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 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.