WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Bakersfield Roadrunners (1-1, 0-0 WAC)
Bakersfield battled back from 18 down at Washington State, pulled within two points with 1:35 to play but lost by six, 62-56 ... Abdul Ahmed led the ‘Runners with 12 points and six rebounds ... Ahmed connected on three shots beyond the arc ... the game against Washington State had a combined 55 fouls, Bakersfield struggled with just 11-28 from the FT line ... Brandon Barnes scored in double digits again with 10 while leading CSUB with 7 rebounds off the bench ... Bakersfield opened a four-game home stand on Monday night, defeating UC Merced 97-54 ... CSUB had five players in double figures ... Bakersfield was led by Matt Ratto who came off the bench midway through the second half and scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from three-point range in just eight minutes of play as the Roadrunners never trailed the Bobcats en route to their first win of the season.
Chicago State Cougars (1-1, 0-0 WAC)
Chicago State went 1-1 last week with a 100-72 loss to No. 245 Indiana before a 77-52 win over Ubrana ... Chicago State is 4-0 in home openers under head coach Tracy Dildy thanks to Saturday’s 77-52 win over Urbana ... the 19-turnovers Chicago State forced in the game against Indiana matched the most turnovers Indiana committed in a game last season ... the Cougars started five seniors against Indiana in the season opener ... 10 Cougars played double-digit minutes vs. Urbana ... the 81 field goal attempts Chicago State had against Indiana was the most since the Cougars took 84 in a 3 OT contest at NJIT (Jan. 12, 2013) ... Clarke Rosenberg led the Cougars over the two games, averaging 20.0 points ... he scored a career-high 27 points at Indiana and added 13 more in the win over Urbana ... Chicago State continues play on Tuesday as the Cougars host Jacksonville State before traveling to Bradley on Friday.
Grand Canyon Antelopes (0-2, 0-0 WAC)
Grand Canyon opened the season with a pair of losses at a tournament in San Diego last week ... the ‘Lopes dropped a 78-75 decision to Loyola Marymount before falling 70-59 to host San Diego ... GCU led LMU by three with 2:23 remaining (70-67) and also by two with 1:52 left (72-70) ... the Antelopes shot 57.7% (15-26) in the second half against LMU ... GCU opened a 13-7 lead over USD after the opening six minutes, before trailing by 13 at the break on 68.2% shooting from USD ... the Antelopes cut the lead to nine with 4:08 left ... Killian Larson led the ‘Lopes over the two games, averaging 16 points and 12 rebounds per game ... this week, GCU hosts Western New Mexico on Saturday.
Idaho Vandals (1-0, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho connected on 7-of-19 3-pointers as a team in its 67-63 win over Western Illinois to open the season ... the Vandals scored 67 points on a WIU team that allowed just 53.6 points per game last season ... Western Illinois was the Summitt League regular season co-champs last season ... three Vandal newcomers earned starts in their first career game at Idaho, including Glen Dean, Bira Seck and Paulin Mpawe ... Stephen Madison earned WAC Player of the Week honors for his 21-point, 14-rebound double-double performance against Western Illinois ... he also dished out five assists and tallied a steal in the win ... the 21 points are a season high for the senior forward ... Idaho continues play this week at Oklahoma on Wednesday ... the team then hosts Northwest Nazarena on Saturday.
Kansas City Kangaroos (0-2, 0-0 WAC)
Kansas City opened the season with an 81-76 loss to Emporia State and a 96-70 setback at Creighton ... against Emporia State, Kansas City was paced by Martez Harrison with 20 points in his first college game, despite six turnovers and 12-of-21 shooting from the line, while Trinity Hall tallied his fourth career double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds ... his rebound total matched a career best ... Nelson Kirksey was the third ‘Roo in double figures with 13 points ... at Creighton, the ‘Roos had five players in double figures, led by Hall with 15, while Harrison tallied 12, Frank Williams had 11, Kirksey had 10, and freshman center Isaac Kreuer had a career-best 10 points and eight rebounds ... UMKC looks to get back on track this week as the team travels to play Omaha on Wednesday.
New Mexico State Aggies (2-1, 0-0 WAC)
New Mexico State opened the season with a 2-1 record at the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Rainbow Classic in Honolulu ... the Aggies dropped a 70-64 decision to Western Michigan before rebounding to defeat Tennessee State 70-55 and host Hawai‘i 95-88 ... Tshilidzi Nepahwe and Daniel Mullings were each named to the all-tournament team ... Nepahwe scored 18 points with eight rebounds in the opener against Western Michigan ... Nepahwe then scored 11 points with 11 rebounds in the win over Tennessee State ... Mullings scored a game-high 21 points in the win over Hawaii, and added five assists ... New Mexico State returns home from the Island to host I-10 rival UTEP on Friday.
Seattle U Redhawks (0-1, 0-0 WAC)
Seattle U took a 10-point lead in the first half and withstood one Washington run, opening the second half on an 11-2 run that pulled the Redhawks into a 44-44 tie, but the Huskies took advantage of a significant free throw discrepancy to pull away with an 88-78 victory Sunday night ... Isiah Umipig, playing his first collegiate game since the end of the 2011-12 season, led the Redhawks with 22 points, while Clarence Trent notched his third career double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds ... Deshaun Sunderhaus contributed 11 points, D’Vonne Pickett Jr. earned nine points and four assists, and Shore Adenekan overcame first-half foul trouble to finish with five points and seven rebounds ... Seattle U opens its home schedule this week with games against Cal State Fullerton Wednesday, Nov. 13, and Evergreen State Saturday, Nov. 16, both at KeyArena.
Texas-Pan American Broncs (0-2, 0-0 WAC)
Despite leading by as many as eight in the first half, the Broncs fell to Sam Houston State 77-73 in the season opener ... the Broncs fell behind by 14 with 8:18 remaining and pulled within one in the closing seconds ... sophomore Shaquille Hines made his third-career start and tied his career-high with 10 points to go with a career-high seven rebounds in a career-high 34 minutes ... the Broncs also dropped a 77-65 decision to Houston on Monday night ... against Houston, Javorn Farrell led the Broncs with 16 points ... Shaquille Boga scored 15 points with three assists ... Justin Leathers also reached double-figures, scoring 10 points while tying for the team-high with seven rebounds ... UTPA hosts Huston-Tillotson on Wednesday before heading to a tournament in Corpus Christi for three games.
Utah Valley Wolverines (2-0, 0-0 WAC)
Utah Valley has opened the season with a 2-0 record ... the Wolverines defeated IPUPU 74-66 in the team’s season opener at home on Friday ... the Wolverines then downed 2013 MEAC Tournament champion North Carolina A&T 78-71 on Monday evening ... in the win over IUPUI, redshirt freshman Zach Nelson had a memorable debut, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds ... Holton Hunsaker led Utah Valley with 18 points ... against UNCAT, Hunsaker led UVU with 16 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists ... Ben Aird recorded his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds while Mitch Bruneeladded 14 points and five boards ... UVU travels to No. 8 Oklahoma State Tuesday to face the Cowboys and All-American Marcus Smart ... OSU is the highest-ranked team UVU has faced so far in its NCAA DI era, now in its 11th season of competition.
WAC NOTES
IDAHO’S MADISON NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Idaho’s Stephen Madison has been named Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball Player of the Week for Nov. 4-10.
Madison, a senior forward from Portland, Ore. (Jefferson HS), notched a 21-point, 14-rebound double-double in Idaho’s 67-63 season-opening win over 2013 Summit League regular season co-champion Western Illinois. Madison’s 14 rebounds were a career high, and the double-double was the third of his career. His four three pointers in the game were one shy of his career high. Madison also dished out five assists and had one steal in the victory. He scored his 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, including a 4-of-6 mark from beyond the arc. Madison also hit 3-of-4 free throws.
Other nominees included: Bakersfield sophomore center/forward Abdul Ahmed scored 12 points and pulled down six rebounds against Washington State ... Chicago State junior guard Clarke Rosenberg scored a career-high 27 points against #24 Indiana ... Grand Canyon senior center Killian Larson recorded a double-double against San Diego and averaged 16.0 points over two games last week ... Kansas City senior forward Trinity Hall had a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double in a loss to Emporia State ... New Mexico State junior center Tshilidzi Nephawe scored a career-high 18 points and tied a career high with 11 rebounds over two games ... Seattle U senior forward Clarence Trent registered an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double in a loss at Washington ... Texas-Pan American junior guard Shaquille Boga scored a career-high 17 points in a loss to Sam Houston State ... Utah Valley senior guard Holton Hunsaker scored 18 points in a season-opening win over IUPUI.
NM STATE GOES 2-1 AT RAINBOW CLASSIC IN HONOLULU, MULLINGS AND NEPHAWE NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
New Mexico State went 2-1 at the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Rainbow Classic in Honolulu last week. The 2-1 record tied two other teams for the tournament title, but the tie-breaker went to Western Michigan, who allowed less points than New Mexico State and Hawaii. NM State dropped a 70-64 decision to Western Michigan in the tournament opener, but rebounded with a pair of wins over Tennessee State (70-55) and host Hawai‘i (95-88). Tshilidzi Nephawe and Daniel Mullings were named to the Rainbow Classic All-Tournament team.
UVU’S HUNSAKER NAMED ONE OF 30 CANDIDATES FOR SENIOR CLASS AWARD®
Utah Valley University senior Holton Hunsaker has been named one of 30 candidates for the men’s basketball Senior CLASS Award® for the 2013-14 season.To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition. Hunsaker is coming off of a season in which he was named the Great West Conference’s Male Scholar Athlete of the Year, to the I-AAA Athletic Director’s All-Academic Team, to the Capital One Academic All-District Team, to the Great West All-Academic Team and first-team All-Great West Conference. He is the only male athlete from the WAC to be a named a candidate. The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2014 NCAA Men’s Final Four®.
KEY NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUPS
WAC teams have several key non-conference matchups this season, including 20 games against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season. The complete list is below.
Games vs. ‘13 NCAA Tournament Teams
Nov. 8 Chicago State at Indiana, L 72-100
Nov. 11 Kansas City at Creighton, L 70-96
Nov. 11 UNC A&T at Utah Valley, W 78-71
Nov. 12 Utah Valley at Oklahoma State
Nov. 13 Idaho at Oklahoma
Nov. 19 Seattle U at Boise State
Nov. 19 Utah Valley at Oregon
Nov. 22 Chicago State at Illinois
Nov. 25 Kansas City at Iowa State
Nov. 30 New Mexico State at Colorado State
Dec. 4 Kansas City at Louisville
Dec. 4 New Mexico at New Mexico State
Dec. 7 New Mexico State at Gonzaga
Dec. 11 New Mexico State at Arizona
Dec. 17 New Mexico State at New Mexico
Dec. 23 Chicago State at Cincinnati
Dec. 23 Grand Canyon at New Mexico
Dec. 28 Montana at Idaho
Dec. 28 South Dakota State at Kansas City
Dec. 30 Chicago State at Creighton
WAC TEAMS SET TO PLAY NINE GAMES AGAINST TEAMS IN USA TODAY COACHES TOP-25 POLL
Teams from the WAC are scheduled to play nine games against teams that have been ranked in the current USA Today Coaches’ Top-25 Poll. The last time the WAC played at least nine top-25 teams was during the 2006-07 season. The WAC played four games against top-25 competition in each of the previous two seasons.
Games vs. USA Today Coaches’ Top-25 Preseason Poll Teams
Nov. 8 Chicago State at #24 Indiana - L, 72-100
Nov. 19 Utah Valley at #18 Oregon
Dec. 4 Kansas City at #3 Louisville
Dec. 4 #21 New Mexico at New Mexico State
Dec. 7 New Mexico State at #15 Gonzaga
Dec. 11 New Mexico State at #5 Arizona
Nov. 12 Utah Valley at #12 Oklahoma State
Dec. 17 New Mexico State at #21 New Mexico
Dec. 23 Grand Canyon at #21 New Mexico