WAC Men's Basketball Weekly Release - Feb. 17
NM STATE'S SIAKAM NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
New Mexico State freshman forward Pascal Siakam has been named Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 9-15. This is his second WAC Player of the Week honor of the season and of his career.
The Doula, Cameroon, native averaged 22.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game as the Aggies went 2-0 on the week to take a 2.5 game lead in the WAC standings with four games remaining in regular-season play. In a win over Seattle U last Thursday, Siakam scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. He followed it up with a game-high 20 points in the Aggies' win over Bakersfield, his third 20-point game of the year. Siakam also grabbed seven rebounds, dished out two assists and nabbed two steals. For the week, he shot 65.2 percent (15-of-23) from the field and was a perfect 14-of-14 from the free throw line. Siakam currently leads the WAC and ranks 20th nationally in field goal percentage (57.8 percent), leads the WAC in blocked shots (1.67 per game) and is second in the conference in rebounds (7.5 per game).
Other nominees included: Chicago State's Clarke Rosenberg posted his first double-double of the season with 15 points, 10 rebounds and two assists in a loss to Missouri-Kansas City ... DeWayne Russell of Grand Canyon finished with 19 points on 50 percent shooting and four rebounds in a win over Utah Valley ... UMKC's Reese Holliday tallied 19 points on 54.5 percent shooting to go with two rebounds and one assist ... Janari Joesaar of Texas-Pan American averaged 20.5 points and 4.0 rebounds as the Broncs went 1-1 last week ... Utah Valley's Zach Nelson averaged 17.0 points on 56.5 percent shooting, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks as the Wolverines went 1-1 on the week.
WAC STAT LEADERS
New Mexico State leads the WAC in scoring (69.3), scoring defense (61.0), scoring margin (8.3), field goal percentage (46.2), three-point field goal percentage defense (30.2), rebounding (35.7), rebounding defense (29.3), rebounding margin (6.3) and offensive rebounds (12.81). Seattle U is tops in field goal percentage defense (40.9), three-point field goal percentage (38.9), assists (14.17), defensive rebounds (24.46) and three-pointers per game (7.21), while Missouri-Kansas City leads the WAC in steals (8.5) and turnover margin (2.96). Bakersfield leads the league in free throw percentage (72.5), Grand Canyon is tops in assist-turnover ratio (1.10) and Texas-Pan American leads the WAC in blocks (3.65).
Individually, UTPA's Janari Joesaar leads the WAC in scoring (18.5) and minutes per game (34.73), while New Mexico State's Pascal Siakam is tops in field goal percentage (57.8) and blocks (1.67). Kevin Mays of Bakersfield leads the league in rebounding (8.0) and offensive rebounds (3.38), while teammates Aly Ahmed and Brent Wrapp are tops in defensive rebounds (5.0) and assist-turnover ratio (2.38), respectively. Marcel Davis of Utah Valley is tops in assists (4.17), while Seattle U's Isiah Umipig leads the WAC in free throw percentage (82.2) and three-pointers per game (3.71). UMKC's Martez Harrison leads the league in steals (1.81), while Remi Barry of New Mexico State is tops in three-point percentage (48.6).
In WAC games only, New Mexico State leads the league in scoring defense (54.1), scoring margin (14.4), field goal percentage (47.6), field goal percentage defense (40.2), three-point field goal percentage defense (29.9), rebounding (34.8), rebounding defense (26.6), rebounding margin (8.2), blocks (3.6) and defensive rebounds (23.3). Grand Canyon is tops in scoring (72.3), three-point field goal percentage (40.0), assist-turnover ratio (1.63) and three-pointers per game (8.22), and is tied with Utah Valley in assists (13.56). Chicago State leads the WAC in free throw percentage (78.0) and offensive rebounds (12.67), while UMKC is tops in steals (7.08) and turnover margin (5.22).
Individually in WAC games, Joesaar is tops in scoring (17.5) and minutes per game (36.5), while New Mexico State's Tshilidzi Nephawe leads the league in rebounding (8.3) and defensive rebounds (5.22). Siakam is tops in field goal percentage (62.0) and offensive rebounds (3.5), while Bakersfield's Tyrell Corbin leads the WAC in free throw percentage (90.9). Grand Canyon's DeWayne Russell leads the WAC in assists (4.67), while teammate Ryan Majerle is tied with New Mexico State's Ian Baker and Daniel Mullings in three-point field goal percentage (50.0). Seattle U's Emerson Murray leads the league in steals (1.70), while Umipig is tops in three-pointers per game (2.9). UTPA's Dan Kimasa is tops in blocks (2.13) and Davis leads the league in assist-turnover ratio (4.10).
UMKC'S HARRISON 43-GAME DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORING STREAK SNAPPED
Missouri-Kansas City sophomore guard Martez Harrison saw his 43-game double-digit scoring streak come to an end on Feb. 14 at Chicago State. Harrison had scored 10 or more points in 25 games this season and 18 to close out his freshman campaign, good for second place all-time at UMKC. He also has 18 career games with 20 or more points, including nine this season.
UTPA'S JOESAAR POSTS 12TH 20-POINT GAME
Texas-Pan American sophomore Janari Joesaar posted his WAC-leading 12th 20-point game this season against Seattle U on Feb. 14, finishing with 23. He has more 20-point games than last year's leader, Javorn Farrell, did (eight) with a minimum of five games remaining this season.
NEW MEXICO STATE WINS 27TH STRAIGHT WAC GAME AT HOME
After defeating Seattle U and Bakersfield on Feb. 12 and Feb. 14, New Mexico State has now won 27 straight WAC games at the Pan American Center, dating back to Jan. 26, 2012. The Aggies are also 50-4 in their last 54 games at the Pan American Center and have had three home winning streaks of 11 games or more since the 2011-12 season.
UMKC SURPASSES WIN TOTAL FROM LAST YEAR
Missouri-Kansas City, which has won six of its last eight games, surpassed its win total from a year ago with a 61-50 road win at Chicago State on Feb. 14. It was the ‘Roos 11th win of the season, the most since the 2010-11 season when they won 16 games. It was also the first time this season that UMKC has won back-to-back road games.
NM STATE'S NEPHAWE APPROACHING TWO CAREER MILESTONES
New Mexico State senior Tshilidzi Nephawe has 995 career points and needs only five more points to become the 32nd Aggie to score 1,000 career points. He is also currently tied for 11th place on the all-time NM State rebound list with 712. He needs four more boards to tie Johnny Roberson in 10th with 716 boards.
SEATTLE U'S UMIPIG APPROACHING 1,000 CAREER POINTS
Seattle U senior Isiah Umipig is now just 10 points away from becoming the 36th player in program history to score at least 1,000 points at Seattle U. If he does so, he will become the 13th player to reach that point total in two seasons with the Redhawks.
BAKERSFIELD'S MAYS HAS 10 GAMES WITH 10 OR MORE REBOUNDS
With 10 rebounds at Texas-Pan American on Feb. 12, Bakersfield's Kevin Mays now has a WAC-leading 10 games with 10 or more rebounds this season. He is currently averaging a WAC-best 8.0 boards per game.
WAC TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO LAS VEGAS
The 2015 WAC Basketball Tournament returns to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas for the fifth year in a row. The tournament will be held March 11-14, and will include all seven eligible men's and women's teams.
ESPNU TO TELEVISE WAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES
ESPN will once again broadcast the WAC men's and women's tournament championship games from the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on March 14. The women's game will be broadcast on ESPNU at 1 p.m. (PT). The men's championship game will also be broadcast by ESPNU at 8 p.m. (PT).