WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (19-11, 10-6 WAC)
Boise State went 2-0 last week with an out-of-conference 95-59 victory over Cal State Bakersfield and a 66-51 victory over San Jose State in the team’s regular season finale ... Paul Noonan scored 20 points and Robert Arnold added 19 to lead Boise State to its victory over Cal State Bakersfield ... against San Jose State, - La’Shard Anderson scored 18 points as Boise State won its seventh-straight game with the win over the Spartans ... Noonan scored 12 points on four 3-point baskets, and Westly Perryman added 11 points for the Broncos against SJSU ... this week, BSU has a pair of byes in the WAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed ... BSU will play on Friday against the winner of game number four.
Fresno State Bulldogs (14-16, 6-10 WAC)
Fresno State went 1-1 last week with a 69-66 loss at Idaho before an 85-70 victory over Hawai‘i in the team’s season and home finale ... in the road loss at Idaho, Ned Golubovic led the Bulldogs with 14 points, making 5 of 9 of his field goal attempts ... in the win over UH, Greg Smith was a dominating force, posting a double-double - 11 points and 10 rebounds - before halftime. He finished with a career-high 16 rebounds and 16 points ... in a complete team effort, all 10 Dogs who played in the game scored led by Kevin Olekaibe with 17 points ... Fresno State now heads into this week’s WAC Tournament as the No. 7 seed and will face sixth-seeded Nevada on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. PT.
Hawai‘i Rainbow Warriors (18-11, 8-8 WAC)
Hawai‘i went 1-1 on the road this past week to wrap up regular season play ... the Rainbow Warriors defeated San Jose State 77-71 before dropping an 85-70 decision at Fresno State ... in the win at SJSU, Zane Johnson led UH with 26 points, including 18 in the second half ... Bill Amis posted 19 points and nine rebounds and Vander Joaquim added 12 points, seven rebounds and four blocks ... in his third start at point guard Jeremiah Ostrowski dished out 10 assists with no turnovers ... Johnson also led UH in the loss at Fresno State, scoring 21 points, while Amis added 14 points, seven rebounds and four blocks ... UH takes the No. 5 seed into this week’s WAC Tournament and will face No. 8 San Jose State on Wednesday.
Idaho Vandals (18-12, 9-7 WAC)
Idaho closed the season strongly, with a pair of wins over Fresno State and Seattle … with Saturday’s win, Idaho moved to 3-0 on Senior Night under Don Verlin … the Vandals overcame double-digit first-half deficits in both games … the team dished out a season-high-tying 23 assists on 25 field goals against SU, and six of the team’s eight active players in the game had at least three assists … the Vandals shot 52.1 percent from the field (49-94) and tallied 37 assists on 49 made baskets during the week … Idaho’s win over Fresno State wrapped up a third-place WAC finish for the second time in three years under Verlin ... Idaho will take on the winner of the Hawaii/San Jose State matchup on March 10 in the WAC tournament quarterfinals.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (12-20, 2-14 WAC)
Louisiana Tech wrapped up the season with a pair of losses to finish the season ... the Bulldogs lost 73-70 to Nevada on Thursday before falling 72-30 to No. 21 Utah State on Saturday ... after barely playing all season, junior guard CJ Scott started and scored in double-figures in Tech’s last three games ... Tech finished the season with 4.6 percent of its points scored from newcomers and 31.6 percent of its points from true freshmen ... freshman guard Lonnie Smith broke the school record for best three-point percentage by a freshman with 39.8 percent ... junior forward Olu Ashaolu averaged 9.4 rebounds this season, the most at Tech since Paul Millsap finished the 2005-06 season with 13.3 boards per game.
Nevada Wolf Pack (12-18, 8-8 WAC)
Nevada went 1-1 this past week, defeating Louisiana Tech 73-70 before falling 77-68 at New Mexico State ... at LA Tech, Deonte Burton scored 24 points ... Malik Story added 15 points, Dario Hunt had 13 and Olek Czyz 12 for Nevada, which scored 29 points off 26 turnovers ... in the loss at New Mexico State, Hunt and Burton led Nevada with 14 points each and Derrell Conner and Kevin Panzer each had 10 points ... this week, Nevada heads into the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas as the No. 6 seed ... the Wolf Pack will face No. 7 Fresno State in the first round on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. (PT) ... a win would move the Wolf Pack into the quarterfinals for another matchup with No. 3 New Mexico State.
New Mexico State Aggies (15-16, 9-7 WAC)
NM State suffered its first WAC loss at home this season to No. 25/21 Utah State, 58-54 ... the Aggies had won 12 consecutive WAC home games dating back to last year ... Troy Gillenwater scored a game-high 17 points ... Tshilidzi Nephawe recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds ... Hernst Laroche added 10 points, while senior guard Gordo Castillo had nine ... the Aggies defeated Nevada, 77-68, in the home finale ... Gordo Castillo recorded his first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds ... Gillenwater paced the Aggies with a game-high 21 points ... NM State will take on the winner of Nevada and Fresno State on March 10 in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament.
San Jose Spartans (15-14, 5-11 WAC)
San Jose State went 0-2 this past week with a 77-71 setback at home to Hawai‘i ... the team also dropped a 66-51 decision at Boise State in the regular season finale ... in the loss to UH, four Spartans scored in double figures led by Adrian Oliver, with 18, and Justin Graham, with 15, in their final home game at The Event Center ... Keith Shamburger chipped in with 14 and six assists and forward Wil Carter scored 13 ... at Boise State, Adrian Oliver accounted for more than half of San Jose State’s 51 points with a game-high 30, but poor overall team shooting doomed the Spartans ... San Jose State now takes the No. 8 seed into this week’s WAC Tournament in Las Vegas ... the Spartans will take on No. 5 Hawai‘i on Wednesday at noon.
Utah State Aggies (28-3, 15-1 WAC)
Utah State went 2-0 last week on the road to wrap up regular season play ... the Aggies defeated New Mexico State 58-54 in Las Cruces before downing Louisiana tech 72-30 in Ruston ... at NM State, Brockeith Pane scored 12 points, including two free throws with 14 seconds remaining to lift No. 21/25 Utah State to a hard-fought win on ESPN2 ... Tai Wesley joined Pane in double-figures with 11 points, while Nate Bendall had 10 points and Tyler Newbold also scored in double-figures as he finished with 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds ... at LA Tech, Newbold led USU with a game-high 14 points ... USU enters this week’s WAC Tournament as the top seed and owns a pair of byes into Friday’s semifinal game at 6 p.m.
WAC NOTES
WAC POSTSEASON AWARDS ANNOUNCED
The WAC men’s basketball postseason award winners as selected by the league’s nine head coaches.
First Team
La’Shard Anderson, Boise State, G, 6-1, 170, Sr., San Diego, Calif. (Irvine Valley CC)
Troy Gillenwater, New Mexico State, F, 6-8, 238, Jr., Boston, Mass. (Stoneridge Prep)
Adrian Oliver, San Jose State, G, 6-4, 210, Sr., Modesto, Calif. (Washington)
Brockeith Pane, Utah State, G, 6-1, 195, Jr., Dallas, Texas (Midland JC)
Tai Wesley, Utah State, F, 6-7, 240, Sr., Provo, Utah (Provo HS)
Second Team
Bill Amis, Hawai‘i, F, 6-9, 235, Sr., Oklahoma City, Okla. (Pratt CC)
Brian Green, Utah State, G, 6-1, 200, Sr., Kaysville, Utah (Salt Lake CC)
Dario Hunt, Nevada, F, 6-8, 230, Jr., Colorado Springs, Colo. (Charis Prep School)
Jeff Ledbetter, Idaho, G, 6-3, 195, Sr., Brea, Calif. (Irvine Valley CC)
Greg Smith, Fresno State, C, 6-10, 250, So., Fresno, Calif. (Westwind Academy)
Honorable Mention
Olu Ashaolu, Louisiana Tech, F, 6-7, 220, Jr., Toronto, Canada (Humble Christian)
Kyle Barone, Idaho, C, 6-10, 220, So., Garden Grove, Calif. (Pacifica HS)
Deonte Burton, Nevada, G, 6-1, 185, Fr., Los Angeles, Calif. (Compton Centenial HS)
Justin Graham, San Jose State, G, 6-4, 195, Sr., Ripon, Calif. (Ripon HS)
Zane Johnson, Hawai‘i, G, 6-6, 210, Jr., Phoenix, Ariz. (Arizona)
Player of the Year
: Tai Wesley, Utah State
Freshman of the Year
: Deonte Burton, Nevada
Don Haskins Coach of the Year
: Stew Morrill, Utah State
All-Defensive Team
La’Shard Anderson, Boise State, G, 6-1, 170, Sr., San Diego, Calif. (Irvine Valley CC)
Olu Ashaolu, Louisiana Tech, F, 6-7, 220, Jr., Toronto, Canada (Humble Christian)
Justin Graham, San Jose State, G, 6-4, 195, Sr., Ripon, Calif. (Ripon HS)
Dario Hunt, Nevada, F, 6-8, 230, Jr., Colorado Springs, Colo. (Charis Prep School)
Tyler Newbold, Utah State, G, 6-5, 210, Sr., Payson, Utah (Payson HS)
All-Newcomer Team
Deonte Burton, Nevada, G, 6-1, 185, Fr., Los Angeles, Calif. (Compton Centenial HS)
Olek Czyz, Nevada, 6-7, 240, Jr., Gdynia, Poland (Duke)
Zane Johnson, Hawai‘i, G, 6-6, 210, Jr., Phoenix, Ariz. (Arizona)
Brockeith Pane, Utah State, G, 6-1, 195, Jr., Dallas, Texas (Midland JC)
Tim Steed, Fresno State, G, 6-4, 215, Jr., Philadelphia, Penn. (Highland CC)
SEEDS SET FOR WAC TOURNAMENT
The WAC’s regular season came to a close on Saturday night. Utah State, the WAC regular season champion, earned the league’s top seed in this week’s WAC Tournament. Boise State receives the No. 2 seed, followed by No. 3 New Mexico State, No. 4 Idaho, No. 5 Hawai‘i, No. 6 Nevada, No. 7 Fresno State and No. 8 San Jose State.
HAWAI‘I’S JOHNSON RECEIVES FINAL WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
Hawai‘i’s Zane Johnson has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for Feb. 28-March 6. The honor marks the first career WAC Player of the Week award for Johnson.
Johnson, a junior guard from Phoenix, Ariz. (Arizona), led Hawai‘i to a 1-1 record last week with a 77-71 win at San Jose State.
Johnson scored a game-high 26 points to lead UH to its fourth win in five road games with the victory at San Jose State. He connected on 9-of-14 shots from the field, including a 6-of-10 clip from three-point distance. He was also perfect at the free throw line against the Spartans, going 2-for-2. Johnson dished out three assists against SJSU. He scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half, including a critical three-pointer with just 40 seconds remaining to help secure the victory. Johnson also scored 21 points with three assists in a road loss at Fresno State.
For the week, Johnson averaged 23.5 points, 3.0 assists and 1.5 rebounds per game. He shot 17-of-28 (60.7 percent) from the field, 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) from three-point range and 3-of-4 (75 percent) from the free throw line.
Other nominees included
: Boise State senior La’Shard Anderson … Fresno State senior Ned Golubovic … Idaho sophomore Kyle Barone … Nevada freshman Deonte Burton … New Mexico State junior Troy Gillenwater … Utah State senior Tyler Newbold.
WAC TOURNAMENT HEADS TO LAS VEGAS THIS WEEK, TICKETS 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.
UTAH STATE SECURES FOURTH-STRAIGHT WAC REGULAR SEASON TITLE
Utah State won its third-straight outright WAC regular season championship and fourth-straight league title overall without even playing as New Mexico State, the WAC’s second-place team, lost at San Jose State (72-70 OT) Wednesday night. Utah State has now won the last four regular season WAC titles as it shared the regular season championship in 2008 with a 12-4 mark, and won the conference outright in 2009 and 2010 with identical 14-2 league records. With its regular season WAC Championship, Utah State is guaranteed a bid to the National Invitation Tournament, extending its current school record run of consecutive postseason appearances to 12 straight as the Aggies have played in the NCAA Tournament seven times and the NIT four times in the past 11 years. Along with securing its 12-straight postseason appearance, Utah State is also one of just two teams in the nation to win at least 23 games in each of the last 12 seasons along with Kansas.
UTAH STATE MOVES UP TO NO. 17 ESPN/USA TODAY COACHES’ POLL, NO. 21 IN AP POLL
For the seventh straight week, Utah State maintained its top 25 ranking and is now 17th in the nation in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll released Monday and 21st in the latest Associated Press Poll. Utah State was ranked 21st in last week’s coaches’ poll and 25th in last week’s AP poll. Its current run of being ranked for seven consecutive weeks in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll is a school record, bettering the 2003-04 team that was ranked for five straight weeks. Prior to this season, the last time a USU team was ranked for more than six straight weeks was during the 1970-71 season when that team was ranked in the Associated Press poll for 11 straight weeks.
WAC WEDNESDAY NIGHTS ON ESPN2
ESPN2 hosted WAC basketball games on Wednesday nights hoops five times this season. ESPN2 will also play host to this week’s WAC semifinal and championship games. ESPNU will air both of the WAC Tournament’s quarterfinal contests.
WAC TEAMS AMONG NATIONAL STAT LEADERS
As of March 6, teams from the WAC rank in the top-25 in nine team statistical categories. Individual WAC players rank in the top-25 in seven individual categories. Utah State holds the highest team mark as it ranks third in the nation in scoring defense at 58.0. Individually, San Jose State’s Adrian Oliver ranks third nationally in scoring at 24.3 ppg.
WAC AND THE RPI
After starting the season with a conference RPI of 22, the WAC has climbed its way to the No. 13 spot, one position ahead of the WCC and just behind the Missouri Valley. Utah State hold’s the league’s top team RPI, coming in at No. 17 this week, according to collegerpi.com.
UTAH STATE BREAKS WAC RECORD FOR CONSECUTIVE WAC GAMES WON
Utah State won a WAC record 25 straight league games before losing at Idaho on Feb. 10. USU’s 25-game WAC win streak breaks Utah’s mark of 19 straight during the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons.
UTAH STATE HOLDS NATION’S THIRD-LONGEST HOME WIN STREAK
Utah State has won 31 straight home games, which is the third-longest active winning streak in the nation behind Duke (36) and Kentucky (34). Overall, USU has won 83 of its last 85 home games, including 15 straight non-conference games at home. The Aggies last home loss came against Saint Mary’s (68-63) on Dec. 5, 2009 as the Gaels snapped USU’s school-record 37-game home winning streak.
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 GO A COMBINED 8-1 IN ESPN SEARS BRACKETBUSTERS
For an ninth-straight year, the WAC participated in BracketBusters -- a two-day men’s college basketball event pitting NCAA Tournament hopefuls. WAC teams went a combined 8-1 in those matchups. Utah State won the event’s featured game, defeating 23rd-ranked Saint Marys, 75-65 on ESPN2.
WAC Televised BracketBusters Games
Sat., 2/19, #17 Utah State def. #23 Saint Mary’s, 75-65 (ESPN2 HD)
WAC Non-Televised BracketBusters Games
Boise State def. UC Santa Barbara, 78-76 (OT)
Hawai‘i def. UC Davis, 83-69
Idaho def. Montana State, 65-50
Fresno State def. UC Riverside, 68-49
Louisiana Tech def. Georgia State, 51-45
Nevada def. UC Irvine, 74-63
Northern Colorado def. New Mexico State, 82-80
San Jose State def. Weber State, 62-46
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 320-102 directing the Aggie program and is the winningest coach in school history and is first all-time in games coached with 422. All-time, Morrill is now 538-240 in 25 years as a collegiate head coach.