WAC NOTES
NEVADA’S BURTON NAMED VERIZON 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. 2-8. The honor marks the fourth career WAC Player of the Week award and third this season for Burton.
Burton, a sophomore guard from Los Angeles, Calif. (Compton Centennial HS), led Nevada to a pair of WAC road wins to open conference play last week. In a 73-55 win at Idaho, Burton scored a game-high 26 points connecting on 9-of-13 shots from the field, including 4-of-5 shots from beyond the arc. He finished the game with a game-high six assists, three rebounds, a steal and a block in 33 minutes of play.
At Utah State, Burton scored a game-high 25 points in helping the Pack to a 78-71 victory. The win snapped Utah State’s 33-game WAC home win steak. Burton hit 10-of-19 shots from the field, including three makes from three-point range. He dished out five assists, grabbed three rebounds and had two steals while playing all 40 minutes. With Nevada leading 70-68 with 41 seconds to play, Burton nailed a three-pointer and made a free throw after being fouled to complete the four-point play to put the Pack up by six to help secure the win.
On the week, Burton averaged 25.5 points, 5.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. He shot 59.4 percent (19-of-32) from the field, 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from three-point range and 60.0 percent (6-of-10) from the free throw line. In the two games, Burton had 11 assists and just three turnovers, an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.7.
Other nominees included: Fresno State sophomore forward Jerry Brown III … Hawai‘i junior forward Joston Thomas … Idaho sophomore guard Stephen Madison … New Mexico State senior forward Wendell McKines … San Jose State senior forward Wil Carter … Utah State sophomore guard Preston Medlin.
WEEK 9 WAC HIGHLIGHTS
Nevada highlighted the week with its 2-0 road start to open WAC play. The Wolf Pack defeated Idaho 73-55 before traveling to Utah State to defeat the Aggies 78-71. The win over Utah State snapped the Aggies’ 33-game WAC home win streak. Deonte Burton led Nevada in the two wins, averaging 25.5 points per game. New Mexico State went 2-0 last week with a 73-72 win at Cal State Bakersfield and an 83-73 win at Louisiana Tech to open league play. Wendell McKines led NM State over the two games, averaging 18.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Hawai‘i opened WAC play with an 82-69 win over San Jose State. Joston Thomas led UH with 27 points, while Vander Joaquim had 20 points and 14 rebounds. In the loss, San Jose State’s Wil Carter scored 21 points and pulled down 20 rebounds, becoming the first WAC player to record a 20/20 game since Paul Millsap did it against Hawai‘i in 2006.
WAC CONTINUES RISE ON RPI AND ESPN CONFERENCE POWER RANKINGS LIST
After starting the season as low as No. 28 on the conference RPI list, the WAC has surged its way to No. 16 this week, according to collegerpi.com. The league also comes in as the 14th-best conference in the nation according to ESPN’s conference power rankings. New Mexico State currently holds the highest team RPI in the league at No. 76 this week, up 12 spots from last week.
SAN JOSE STATE’S CARTER RECORDS FIRST WAC 20-20 GAME SINCE 2006
San Jose State senior forward Wil Carter scored 21 points and pulled down 20 rebounds in a loss at Hawai‘i on Jan. 7. Carter becomes the first WAC player to score at least 20 points and pull down 20 boards since Louisiana Tech’s Paul Millsap did it in 2006. It also marked the first 20-rebound game by a SJSU player since Chris McNealy did it against Utah in December of 1981. It marks only the eighth 20-rebound performance by a Division I player this season.
WAC TEAMS/PLAYERS AMONG NATIONAL STATISTICAL LEADERS
As of Jan. 1, teams from the WAC rank in the top-25 in three team statistical categories. Individual players rank in the top-25 in four individual stat categories. Utah State holds the highest team mark as it ranks ninth nationally in three-point percentage at 41.0 percent. Idaho ranks 14th in th same category at 40.6 percent. Individually, Nevada’s Malik Story holds the highest national mark, ranking third in three-point field goal percentage at 51.2 percent. New Mexico State’s Wendell McKines ranks eighth nationally with nine double-doubles.
NMSU’S MCKINES ON HIS WAY TO ELITE 1,000 POINT/1,000 REBOUND CLUB
With 1,162 career points and 932 career rebounds, New Mexico State senior forward Wendell McKines is on his way to the 1,000 points/rebounds club. There is currently only one active player in all of Division I that has at least 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds (T.J. Robinson, Long Beach State - 1,510 points/1,024 rebounds). McKines will become just the 12th player in WAC history to reach the double-milestone.
WAC All-Time 1,000 point/1,000 rebound List
Keith Van Horn, Utah (1993-97), 2,542 points/1,074 reb.
Nick Fazekas, Nevada (2003-07), 2,464 points/1,254 reb.
Bob Elliot, Arizona (1973-77), 2,131 points/1,083 reb.
Michael Harris, Rice (2001-05), 2,014 points/1,111 reb.
Josh Grant, Utah (1988-93), 2,000 points/1,066 reb.
Kenny Thomas, UNM (1996-99), 1,931 points/1,032 reb.
Micahel Cage, SDSU (1980-84), 1,846 points/1,317 reb.
Reginald Slater, UW (1988-92), 1,809 points/1,197 reb.
Al Fleming, Arizona (1973-76), 1,765 points/1,190 reb.
Paul Millsap, LA Tech (2003-06), 1,708 points/1,172 reb.
Mitch Smith, Utah (1985-89), 1,628 points/1,036 reb.
Wendell McKines, NMSU (2007-), 1,162 points/932 reb.
UTAH STATE AND HAWAI‘I IMPRESS AT HOLIDAY TOURNAMENTS
Utah State went a perfect 3-0 at the Athletes in Action Classic in Logan to win the championship. The Aggies defeated UT-Arlington 73-69, Saint Peter’s 72-47 and Kent State 81-62 to claim the title. Hawai‘i went 2-1 at the the Hawaiian Airlines Diamondhead Classic in Honolulu. The Rainbow Warriors dropped a close 65-62 decision to Auburn in its tournament opener before winning its next two games, an 84-82 overtime victory over then No. 14 Xavier and a 75-68 win against Clemson.
SAN JOSE STATE HITS SCHOOL-RECORD 16 THREES, RANKS AS FOURTH-BEST SINGLE GAME PERFORMANCE IN THE NATION
San Jose State set single-game school records with 16 three-point baskets made and 40 three-point baskets attempted in the December 29 victory over Coppin State at the Elgin Baylor Classic. The previous records in these categories were 14 made 3-pointers in a 2005 game against Louisiana Tech and 32 3-point tries in a 2011 game versus Boise State. The 16 made threes ranks as the fourth-best single-game performance in the nation this season.
WAC TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO LAS VEGAS, TICKETS ON SALE NOW
The 2012 WAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament will be held March 7-10 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas and will include all eight WAC teams. All-session tickets for the 2012 Western Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament presented by Verizon are available for purchase now. All-session tickets include access to each men’s and women’s tournament game, totaling 14 games in eight sessions. All-session tickets are on sale Friday through the Orleans Arena Box Office. Tickets will also be available for purchase through each WAC school’s ticket office. Fans are strongly encouraged to purchase tickets from their institution’s ticket office or online to avoid service fees associated with ticket sales through the Orleans Arena. Single-session tickets, which allow access to the two games listed in the session will be sold only on the day of the respective game, and can only be purchased through the Orleans Arena. Fans who wish to attend only the women’s tournament games may purchase a women’s tournament all-session ticket through the Orleans Arena ticket office.
INDIVIDUAL WAC SINGLE-GAME PERFORMANCE RANKS NATIONALLY
Utah State’s Preston Medlin hit eight three-point field goals in a win at Idaho State on Nov. 26. The eight threes is the third-most scored in the nation this season. USU’s Kyisean Reed connected on 11-of-12 shots for a 92.3 field goal percentage against Kent State on Dec. 22. Reed’s performance ranks as the fourth-best field goal percentage performance in the nation this season. Fresno State’s Jonathan Wills hit a perfect 13-of-13 free throws in a Nov. 22 game against UTSA. Wills’ night ranks him with the third-best performance nationally this year.
ESPN SEARS BRACKETBUSTERS
For the 10th year in a row, the WAC has partnered with ESPN and several other top college basketball conferences for ESPN Sears BracketBusters, a weekend men’s basketball event matching potential NCAA tournament hopefuls against each other. All eight WAC teams will be a part of this year’s pool of teams. The event will be held February 18. The match-ups for Sears BracketBuster Saturday will be determined by ESPN in conjunction with the conferences about three weeks before the event.
WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (7-10, 0-2 WAC)
The Bulldogs went 1-2 last week ... Fresno State opened the week with a 72-59 victory over Boise State ... the team then dropped a pair of WAC-opening road games to Utah State (72-53) and Idaho (63-59) ... in the win over BSU, Steven Shepp led four Bulldogs in double figures by scoring a career-high 18 points ... at Utah State, Jonathan Wills netted a team-best 16 points, but the Bulldogs couldn’t contain the lights-out shooting by the defending WAC champs ... along with the team-high 16 points, Wills added four rebounds and a pair for the Bulldogs while Jerry Brown scored 14 and Kevin Olekaibe chipped in 11 points ... in the loss at Idaho, Kevin Olekaibe led the way with a team-high 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting ... Wills and Jerry Brown each scored nine points ... The Bulldogs continue WAC play on Thursday night against Hawai’i for their first set of three straight home games this season.
Hawai‘i Rainbow Warriors (9-6, 1-0 WAC)
In its only game of the week last week, Hawai‘i got off to a strong start with a convincing 82-69 win over San Jose State Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center ... with the win UH improved to 9-6 overall and won its first conference opener in six years ... UH was led by the duo of Joston Thomas and Vander Joaquim who combined for more than half of UH’s points and rebounds ... Thomas scored a career-high 27 points and added eight rebounds, while Joaquim recorded his fourth double-double this season with 20 points and 14 rebounds ... UH came out blazing, nailing 15 of its first 21 shots and built its lead to as many as 17 points in the first half before eventually taking a 42-31 lead into the break ... Joaquim and Thomas combined to score 24 points as UH tallied its most first-half points this season ... UH now heads to the road for a pair of games at Fresno State (Jan. 12) and Nevada (Jan. 14).
Idaho Vandals (8-8, 1-1 WAC)
Idaho went 1-1 last week at home to open WAC play ... the Vandals dropped a 73-55 decision to Nevada before defeating Fresno State 63-59 ... in the loss to Nevada, Stephen Madison was Idaho’s only double-figure scorer with 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting, along with six rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal ... Kyle Barone and senior Deremy Geiger added eight points each, while senior forward Djim Bandoumel had a team-best and career-high seven rebounds ... in the win over Fresno State, Bandoumel led all scorers and tied his career high with 16 points, while also adding five rebounds and three blocks ... Bandoumel went 5-of-7 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line ... Madison added 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds, including five on the offensive end ... next up for Idaho is a tough WAC road trip at Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State this week.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (8-8, 0-1 WAC)
Louisiana Tech dropped an 83-73 decision to New Mexico State at home in the team’s WAC opener ... Tech pulled to within 50-44 on a three-point basket from Gibson in the second half before McKines and Tyrone Watson each scored five points during an 11-2 run as the Aggies grabbed their biggest lead of the game at 61-46 with 14:36 to play ... despite struggling at both the free throw line and from the three-point line, the Bulldogs were able to cut the deficit down to 66-58 on a conventional three-point play from Brandon Gibson with 8:48 to play ... however, NMSU shot 70 percent from the field over the final half and 57 percent for the game to hand LA Tech its first home loss of the year ... Appleby led Tech with 19 points while Gibson added 16 points and a team-high seven rebounds and Souza chipped in with 10 points ... the Bulldogs return to action Thursday when they host Idaho at 6 p.m. at the TAC.
Nevada Wolf Pack (12-3, 2-0 WAC)
Nevada opened WAC play last week with a pair of road wins ... the Pack defeated Idaho 73-55 before taking down Utah State 78-71 in Logan ... Deonte Burton scored 26 points and went 4-for-5 from behind 3-point line as Nevada beat Idaho ... Malik Story scored 17 points, making five 3-pointers in seven tries as the Wolf Pack won its eighth in a row against the Vandals ... Nevada was 9-for-16 from behind the arc ... Burton scored 25 points and Dario Hunt got his fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds as Nevada topped Utah State ... Olek Czyk added 14 points for the Wolf Pack ... the win over Utah State snapped the Aggies 33-game WAC home win streak ... the Wolf Pack continue WAC play at home against San Jose State on Thursday and versus Hawai‘i on Saturday.
New Mexico State Aggies (11-5, 1-0 WAC)
New Mexico State went 2-0 last week ... the Aggies defeated CSU Bakersfield 73-72 in its final tune up before conference play ... NM State then opened WAC play with an 83-73 victory at Louisiana Tech ... Tyrone Watson hit two free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining in regulation to give the New Mexico State men’s basketball team the one-point win at Cal State Bakersfield ... freshman guard Daniel Mullings had a career-high 21 points for the Aggies ... Wendell McKines recorded his ninth double-double of the year and 36th of his career with a game-high 25 points and 14 rebounds as New Mexico State defeated Louisiana Tech on the road in its WAC opener ... the Aggies are now 7-0 all-time in WAC openers since joining the league in 2005-06 ... NM State returns to Las Cruces to host Utah State, Thursday and Idaho, on Saturday ... both games are slated for a 7 p.m. MT tip-off.
San Jose Spartans (6-9, 0-1 WAC)
San Jose State forward Wil Carter had a career night with personal bests of 21 points and 20 rebounds but his individual play inside alone could not match Hawaii’s tandem of power forward Joston Thomas and center Vander Joaquim as the Rainbow Warriors defeated the Spartans, 82-69, to open WAC play ... the game was SJSU’s only game of the week ... Carter became the first San Jose State player in 31 years to collect 20 or more rebounds in a game ... Chris McNealy was the last Spartan to do it when he grabbed 21 rebounds at the University of Utah on December 7, 1981 ... Calvin Douglas came off the bench for San Jose State with 12 points for the Spartans’ third double-figure scorer. Reserve center Stephon Smith scored a season high 6 points ... San Jose State is back in action, Thursday, January 12, at Nevada.
Utah State Aggies (9-7, 1-1 WAC)
Utah State went 1-1 to open WAC play last week at home ... the Aggies defeated Fresno State 72-53 on Thursday before falling to Nevada 78-71 on Saturday ... against Fresno State, junior forward Kyisean Reed posted his first double-double of the season with 16 points and tied a career-high with 10 rebounds ... Reed also had seven blocks in the game ... Preston Medlin notched a game-high 19 points ... Nevada led from start-to-finish and held off a late Utah State rally as the Wolf Pack snapped the Aggies’ 33-game home conference winning streak with a hard-fought 78-71 victory ... it was USU’s first WAC loss at home since falling to Fresno State, 71-66, on March 3, 2007 ... Nevada also becomes the first WAC team to beat USU twice at home, as the Wolf Pack also won in the Spectrum on Feb. 25, 2006 ... Brockeith Pane tied a season-high by pouring in 21 points with three three-pointers against Nevada.