WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Bakersfield Roadrunners (5-3, 0-0 WAC)
Bakersfield went 1-2 last week at the Fresno State Classic in Fresno ... the ‘Runners opent the Fresno State classic with a 61-50 win over Northern Arizona ... the team then dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season, falling 96-86 in overtime to Fresno State and dropping a 65-57 decision to Drake ... Bakersfield did have a big comeback against host Fresno State ... down by 11 points with 34 seconds to play, CSUB rallied to tie the game and send it into overtime where it eventually lost ... Drake went a perfect 3-0 at the tournament but its closest game was against CSUB ... at the Classic, Issiah Grayson posted back-to-back 20-point games for the first time in his career ... Stefon Johnson earned his first double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in the overtime loss to Fresno State ... Bakersfield continues play this week on Thursday when the team hosts Santa Clara.
Chicago State Cougars (3-4, 0-0 WAC)
Chicago State went a perfect 1-0 last week with an 88-84 win over Southern Illinois ... the win marked the Cougars’ first ever win over Southern Illinois ... it also marked the first win over a Missouri Valley Conference school since 2002 ... Quinton Pippen has now made a three-point field goal in each of Chicago State’s seven games this season ... he led CSU with 17 points, four rebounds and four assists in the win over Southern Illinois ... Chicago State had six players in double figures on Saturday for the first time since coach Tracy Dildy took over the program in 2010 ... the Cougars have three players averaging double digits: Quinton Pippen (14.9 ppg.), Clarke Rosenberg (13.9) and Matt Ross (13.1) ... Chicago State continues play this week at Illinois State on Wednesday ... the team hosts Wisconsin-Parkside on Saturday.
Grand Canyon Antelopes (4-3, 0-0 WAC)
Grand Canyon went a perfect 1-0 in its lone contest of the week ... the ‘Lopes defeated San Diego Chiristian 91-61 to earn their third-straight victory ... GCU came out shooting 52.0 percent from the floor in the first half to build a 14-point lead and never looked back, cruising to the win over SDC ... the 91 points matched the most scored by the Antelopes this season, as they also did so on Nov. 16 against Western New Mexico, as the squad won their third consecutive game ... GCU shot a season-best 57.7 percent from the field on the night (30-for-52) and held the 37-27 advantage in rebounds, including 27 defensive boards ... Killian Larson was one point shy of his career-high, which he set with Dominican (CA) on Jan. 27, 2011 vs. Hawai’i Hilo, as he had 31 points and 13 rebounds for his team-leading fifth double-double this season ... the ‘Lopes host Vanguard on Tuesday.
Idaho Vandals (4-4, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho went 1-1 last week ... the team dropped a 98-89 decision at Boise State before defeating UC Davis 80-76 ... Idaho nearly dug itself out of a 23-point second-half deficit, but couldn’t get over the hump in the loss at Boise State ... Idaho trailed 77-54 with less than eight minutes to play but chipped away over the next seven minutes to make it a two-possession game at 94-89 with 42 seconds left ... but the Broncos went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the last 40 seconds to ice the game ... in the win over UC Davis, Connor Hill led Idaho with a career-high 29 points on 7-of-9 shooting from 3-point range, Stephen Madison added a 15-point, 16-rebound double-double, with seven assists ...
Idaho will return home to face Washington State before playing its next four away from home ... the Vandals have scored 80 or more points in back-to-back games.
Kansas City Kangaroos (1-5, 0-0 WAC)
Kansas City dropped an 84-79 decision to Milwaukee in the teams lone contest last week ... Kansas City came back from 17 points back late in the first half to take a lead early in the second period, but in the end UW-Milwaukee pulled out the victory ... the ‘Roos trailed the Panthers (7-2) 41-24 with 1:15 left in the first period, but used a 5-0 spurt to close the stanza, including a half-court buzzer-beater by freshman Martez Harrison going into the break ... the ‘Roos held on to a lead until the 2:45 mark when UWM’s Matt Tiby hit two free throws to get the lead back for good ... the Panthers hit 8-of-10 from the line in the final 1:04 to seal it ... Harrison finished with a career-high 28 points ... the ‘Roos will head to play at defending national champion and former home of Richardson, Louisville, on Wednesday night at 6:00 p.m. CT.
New Mexico State Aggies (7-2, 0-0 WAC)
New Mexico State went 1-1 last week ... the Aggies defeated Prairie View A&M 91-60 for the team’s 550th win at the Pan American Center and 15th straight win for the Aggies at home ... NM State then dropped an 85-83 decision at Colorado State ... against PVAM, Sim Bhullar etched his name in the Aggie record books by finishing with 10 total blocks, breaking the record for most individual blocks in a game held by former NM State player James Moore who had eight blocks on Feb. 7, 2004 ... Bhullar also added 11 points for a rare points-blocks double-double, his second double-double of the season ... Bhullar was two rebounds away from his first triple-double in his career after finishing with eight boards on the night ... Junior guards Daniel Mullings and DK Eldridge combined for 47 points but a last second layup gave the CSU the win ... NM State returns home to host in-state rival New Mexico Wednesday on ROOT Sports.
Seattle U Redhawks (4-3, 0-0 WAC)
Seattle U split its games over the past week, defeating UC Riverside at KeyArena, 69-68, before losing to Eastern Washington in Cheney, 82-75 ... the Redhawks raced out to a 10-0 lead against the Highlanders, but needed to hold off a UC Riverside comeback to earn their third straight home victory ... Clarence Trent led the SU with 19 points and three steals, while Isiah Umipig was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line as part of a 17-point, six-assist performance ... Friday against Eastern Washington, five Redhawks reached double figures in points, led by Umipig with 16 points and seven assists ... Trent collected 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocked shots, while Shore Adenekan and Deshaun Sunderhaus each earned 13 points in the contest ... Seattle U also defeated UC Davis 77-53 on Monday night behind 30 points from Umipig.
Texas-Pan American Broncs (4-6, 0-0 WAC)
Texas-Pan American went 1-1 last week ... the Broncs defeated Lamar 66-61 before falling 74-54 at Bradley ... in the win over Lamar, Shaquille Hines posted his first-career double-double with a career-high 18 points on a career-high eight baskets (in 16 attempts) and a career-high 11 rebounds (five offensive) ... he also had two assists, two steals and one block ... Jamal Dantzler scored a season-high 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting with career-high tying five rebounds, one block and a career-high two steals ... at Bradley, Shaquille Boga led the Broncs in scoring for the second time this season with a career-high tying 17-points ... it was his third 17-point game of the season ... UTPA also dropped a 55-49 decision to SIUE on Monday night ... the team continues play Saturday at home against UTSA.
Utah Valley Wolverines (2-5, 0-0 WAC)
Utah Valley dropped a 74-71 decision in the team’s only game last week ... Hayes Garrity led the Wolverines with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting ... Garrity also knocked down two three-point field goals and dished out four asssists ... the Wolverines also got 16 points from Mitch Bruneel in the setback ... UVU also dropped a 64-57 decision to South Dakota on Monday night ... Zach Nelson led UVU with career highs of 16 points and 13 rebounds while Ben Aird added a season-high 18 points ... Holton Hunsaker helped with 15 ... the Wolverines will be home for the first time since Nov. 11 when they host NAIA St. Katherine on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. in the UCCU Center. UVU will face two in-state foes next week when Weber State comes to Orem on Dec. 7 before traveling to Utah State on Dec. 14.
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. 25-Dec. 1.
Madison, a senior forward from Portland, Ore. (Jefferson HS), scored a season-high 26 points and added eight rebounds in Idaho’s loss at undefeated Boise State, going 9-for-16 from the field and 7-for-8 at the free throw line. Madison scored 15 points, tallied a career-high 16 rebounds, tied his career high with seven assists and had a career-high three blocks in Idaho’s win at UC Davis. Madison was just three assists shy of a triple-double against UC Davis. The Vandals overcame a 15-point deficit in the game to win 80-76. Madison had seven of his 16 rebounds in that game on the offensive end, and had 11 of his 24 rebounds for the week offensively.
For the week, Madison averaged 20.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.5 blocks per game. He shot 41.7 percent (15-of-36) from the field and 81.8 percent (9-of-11) from the free throw line.
Other nominees included: Bakersfield senior guard Issiah Grayson averaged 17.3 points over three games … Chicago State senior guard/forward Quinton Pippen scored 17 points in a win over Southern Illinois … Grand Canyon senior center Killian Larson scored 31 points with 13 rebounds in a win over San Diego Christian … New Mexico State junior guard DK Eldridge averaged 17.3 points to lead the Aggies to a 2-1 record … Seattle U senior forward Clarence Trent averaged 17.0 points in two games … Texas-Pan American senior guard Javorn Farrell averaged 18.5 points as UTPA went 1-1 … Utah Valley sophomore guard Hayes Garrity scored 18 points at Tennessee Tech.
NEW MEXICO STATE RANKS NINTH IN MID-MAJOR POLL, GRAND CANYON AMONG OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
The Aggies are now ranked No. 9 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll. The Aggies received 489 points and are sandwiched between Toledo at No. 8 and Princeton at No. 10. Grand Canyon received a vote in this week’s poll.
WAC RPI CHECKS IN AT 16
As of Dec. 3, the WAC’s RPI is 16 according to RealTimeRPI.com, which updates the RPI on a realtime basis. The WAC is currently sandwiched between Conference USA at No. 15 and the Patriot League at No. 17. New Mexico State holds the WAC’s highest team RPI at 93.
NEW MEXICO STATE LEADS THE NATION AT FREE THROW LINE, BHULLAR 4TH IN BLOCKS
New Mexico State ranks first in the nation with 310 free throw attempts this season. The Aggies also lead the nation with 212 made free throws. NM State is shooting 68.4 percent from the free throw line. New Mexico State also ranks fifth nationally with 57 team blocks. Individually, NM State’s Sim Bhullar holds the highest individual national ranking in the WAC as he ranks fourth nationally with 30 blocks.
AGGIES STRETCH HOME WINNING STREAK TO 15 GAMES
New Mexico State stretched its home court winning streak to 15 games with a win over Prairie View A&M on Wednesday night. The Aggies have not lost a game at home since falling 68-63 to in-state rival New Mexico on Dec. 19, 2012. The streak ranks as one of the top 15 streaks in the nation. The win over Prairie View A&M also marked the 550th victory inside the Pan American Center.
HOME SWEET HOME
The WAC holds a 22-4 record in games played at home this season, an 84.6 winning percentage at home. Seven of the WAC’s nine teams are undefeated at home this season. Bakersfield, New Mexico State and Seattle U are a perfect 4-0 in its friendly confines, while Chicago State is 3-0. Grand Canyon, Idaho and Utah Valley are each 2-0. New Mexico State has won 15-straight games at home, one of the best marks in the country. Bakersfield has won seven straight games at the Icardo Center.
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 St., L 40-93
Nov. 13 Idaho at Oklahoma, L 65-85
Nov. 19 Seattle U at Boise State, L 68-86
Nov. 19 Utah Valley at Oregon, L 54-69
Nov. 22 Chicago State at Illinois, L 53-77
Nov. 25 Kansas City at Iowa State, L 51-110
Nov. 30 NM State at Colorado State, L 83-85
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