WAC Men's Basketball Weekly Release - March 17
NM STATE TO FACE NO. 2 KANSAS IN NCAA TOURNAMENT
The 2015 WAC Tournament Champion New Mexico State men's basketball team will take on No. 2-seed Kansas in the NCAA Tournament in Omaha, Neb., at 11:15 a.m. (CT) this Friday, March 20.
The Aggies, who enter the tournament as a No. 15 seed, are 23-10 and earned the WAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth-straight year. This is NM State's 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
NM State takes on Kansas, which fell in the Big 12 Tournament championship game to Iowa State. The 10th-ranked Jayhawks posted a 26-8 overall record and a 13-5 mark in Big 12 play.
The Aggies have four players that average 10 or more points. Second team All-WAC honoree Remi Barry averages a team-best 13.3 points, while WAC Freshman of the Year Pascal Siakam adds 13.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. WAC All-Defensive Team honoree Daniel Mullings averages 12.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game, while WAC Tournament MVP Tshilidzi Nephawe adds 10.4 points and 7.6 rebounds.
GRAND CANYON TO HOST NORTHERN ARIZONA IN COLLEGEINSIDER.COM TOURNAMENT
Grand Canyon has accepted an invitation to participate in the 2015 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament and will host a first round game on Wednesday, March 18, against Northern Arizona. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at GCU Arena.
This marks the second time in as many years that the Lopes will play in the CIT, as they fell to Pacific in the first round last season. The Lopes finished their second season in Division I with a 17-14 regular season record and an 8-6 mark in the WAC. NAU went 19-14 this season and advanced to the Big Sky Tournament semifinals. The two squads last met on Dec. 14, 2013 in Flagstaff, with the Lumberjacks prevailing 63-61.
SEATTLE U TO HOST PEPPERDINE IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL
Seattle U accepted an invitation to participate in the 2015 College Basketball Invitational and will host Pepperdine in the opening round at 7 p.m. (PT) Wednesday, March 18, at the Connolly Center on the Seattle U campus. This is the first time Seattle U has participated in a national Division I postseason tournament since March 8, 1969, when it lost to Weber State, 75-73, in the first round of that year's NCAA Tournament. Seattle U has previously competed in 11 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournaments, as well as the 1951 National Catholic Invitation Tournament and two National Invitation Tournaments (1952 and 1957 NIT).
Seattle U currently holds a 16-15 overall record and has won five of its last seven games, as the Redhawks advanced to the championship game of the 2015 WAC Tournament. The Redhawks are led by first team All-WAC and All-WAC Tournament honoree Isiah Umipig, who leads the team in scoring (17.0) and ranks third in Division I in three-pointers per game (3.61).
Pepperdine posted an 18-13 overall record during the 2014-15 season, including a 10-8 mark in the West Coast Conference. The Waves advanced to the semifinals of the WCC Tournament before losing to eventual tournament champion Gonzaga, 79-61. Stacy Davis is the team's leading player, averaging 15.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
The winner of the game between the Redhawks and the Waves will move onto the CBI quarterfinals Monday, March 23, against either Colorado or Gardner-Webb.
NEW MEXICO STATE WINS WAC TOURNAMENT
No. 1 New Mexico State defeated No. 3 Seattle U 80-61 to claim its fourth consecutive WAC Tournament title Saturday at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The Aggies defeated fourth-seeded Bakersfield 57-53 in the semifinals.
Tshilidzi Nephawe was named tournament MVP after averaging 18.5 points on 55 percent shooting and 12.0 rebounds over the two games. Teammate Remi Barry joined him on the all-tournament team after averaging 15.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 three-pointers per game over the two games.
All-Tournament Team
Aly Ahmed, Bakersfield
Remi Barry, New Mexico State
Reese Holliday, Missouri-Kansas City
Isiah Umipig, Seattle U
MVP: Tshilidzi Nephawe, New Mexico State
FIVE WAC TOURNAMENT RECORDS BROKEN OR TIED
Five WAC Tournament records were either tied or broken in Las Vegas last week. The records are listed below.
Individual
Three-point field goals made - game 8 Isiah Umipig, Seattle U (vs. UMKC)
Team
Free throws made - game 30 New Mexico State (vs. Seattle U)
Steals - game 14 Chicago State (vs. Seattle U)
Fewest points allowed - half 12 Seattle U (vs. Chicago State, second half)
Field goal percentage defense - game .267 Bakersfield (vs. Utah Valley, 12-45)
ALL-WAC HONORS ANNOUNCED
The 2014-15 All-WAC teams were named following a vote of the WAC's eight head coaches. Missouri-Kansas City's Martez Harrison headlined the awards, earning WAC Player of the Year honors, while New Mexico State's Pascal Siakam was named WAC Freshman of the Year and New Mexico State's Marvin Menzies earned Don Haskins WAC Coach of the Year honors.
In WAC play, Harrison led the conference in scoring (17.5), ranked fourth in steals (1.57), fifth in assist-turnover ratio (1.85), sixth in assists (3.57) and ninth in three-pointers per game (1.64). He scored in double digits in all but one WAC contest and had 20 or more points in five of his 14 WAC games. He was also named WAC Player of the Week on Nov. 17. Only a sophomore, Harrison is the first player in UMKC history to be named Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year in his career.
Siakam earned WAC Freshman of the Year honors after scoring in double figures in 12 of 14 WAC games with four double-doubles. In conference games only, he led the WAC in rebounding (8.4) and field goal percentage (61.5), ranked second in blocks (1.57), fifth in free throw percentage (82.3), sixth in scoring (13.9) and seventh in minutes per game (34.5). He was twice named WAC Player of the Week on the season.
Menzies was named WAC Coach of the Year after leading the Aggies to their first-ever outright WAC regular-season title with a 13-1 league record. New Mexico State posted a 14.2 scoring margin in WAC games and ranks in the Top 50 nationally in seven statistical categories.
First Team All-WAC
Aly Ahmed, Bakersfield
Martez Harrison, Missouri-Kansas City
Daniel Mullings, New Mexico State
Pascal Siakam, New Mexico State
Isiah Umipig, Seattle U
Second Team All-WAC
Remi Barry, New Mexico State
Jarell Flora, Seattle U
Janari Joesaar, Texas-Pan American
Tshilidzi Nephawe, New Mexico State
DeWayne Russell, Grand Canyon
All-Defensive Team
Jerome Garrison, Grand Canyon
Dan Kimasa, Texas-Pan American
Kevin Mays, Bakersfield
Daniel Mullings, New Mexico State
Pascal Siakam, New Mexico State
All-Newcomer Team
Josh Braun, Grand Canyon
Reese Holliday, Missouri-Kansas City
Janari Joesaar, Texas-Pan American
DeWayne Russell, Grand Canyon
Pascal Siakam, New Mexico State
Player of the Year: Martez Harrison, Missouri-Kansas City
Freshman of the Year: Pascal Siakam, New Mexico State
Don Haskins Coach of the Year: Marvin Menzies, New Mexico State
NEW MEXICO STATE WINS FIRST OUTRIGHT WAC REGULAR-SEASON TITLE
When it defeated Grand Canyon on Feb. 21, New Mexico State won its first-ever outright WAC regular-season title. It is the Aggies' second WAC regular-season title overall, as they shared it with three other teams in 2007-08. NM State last won an outright conference championship in 1993-94 when the Aggies won the Big West regular-season title. NM State has also clinched the No. 1 seed for the WAC Tournament.
WAC STAT LEADERS
New Mexico State leads the WAC in scoring defense (59.3), scoring margin (9.2), field goal percentage (46.6), three-point field goal percentage defense (29.3), rebounding (35.5), rebounding defense (28.7), rebounding margin (6.8), blocks (3.67) and offensive rebounds (12.55). Seattle U is tops in field goal percentage defense (40.1), three-point field goal percentage (38.8), assists (13.81), defensive rebounds (24.10) and three-pointers per game (6.87), while Grand Canyon leads the WAC in scoring (68.6) and assist-turnover ratio (1.07). Bakersfield leads the league in free throw percentage (72.3), Chicago State is tops in steals (8.38) and Missouri-Kansas City leads the WAC in turnover margin (2.91).
Individually, Missouri-Kansas City's Martez Harrison leads the WAC in scoring (17.5), while New Mexico State's Pascal Siakam is tops in field goal percentage (57.7), blocks (1.79) and offensive rebounds (3.3). Kevin Mays of Bakersfield leads the league in rebounding (8.0), while teammate Brent Wrapp is tops in assist-turnover ratio (2.64). Marcel Davis of Utah Valley is tops in assists (4.10), while Seattle U's Isiah Umipig leads the WAC in free throw percentage (83.2) and three-pointers per game (3.61). New Mexico State's Daniel Mullings leads the WAC in steals (2.0), while teammates Tshilidzi Nephawe and Ian Baker are tops in defensive rebounds (5.0) and three-point percentage (47.2), respectively. Texas-Pan American's Shaquille Boga leads the league in minutes per game (34.5).
In WAC games only, New Mexico State led the league in scoring defense (52.8), scoring margin (14.2), field goal percentage (47.8), field goal percentage defense (38.9), three-point field goal percentage defense (28.4), rebounding (35.1), rebounding defense (26.1), rebounding margin (9.0), blocks (3.86) and defensive rebounds (23.43). Grand Canyon was tops scoring (70.6), free throw percentage (77.4), assist-turnover ratio (1.34) and three-pointers per game (7.14), while Chicago State led the league in steals (7.0) and offensive rebounds (12.64).
UMKC was tops in turnover margin (3.71), Seattle U led the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (37.7) and Utah Valley was tops in assists (13.71).
Individually in WAC games, Harrison was tops in scoring (17.5), while Siakam led the league in rebounding (8.4), field goal percentage (61.5) and offensive rebounds (3.57). Grand Canyon's DeWayne Russell led the WAC in assists (4.64), while UTPA's Janari Joesaar was tops in free throw percentage (90.4) and minutes per game (36.43). Seattle U's Emerson Murray led the league in steals (1.79), while Umipig was tops in three-pointers per game (3.0) Chicago State's Trayvon Palmer led the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (48.4), while UTPA's Dan Kimasa was tops in blocks (1.71). Wrapp led the league in assist-turnover ratio (3.67), while Nephawe was tops in defensive rebounds (5.31).
NM STATE'S 13-GAME WIN STREAK RANKS THIRD NATIONALLY
New Mexico State's 13-game winning streak is the third-longest active winning streak in Division I. Kentucky is first with 34 straight, with Villanova next with a 15-game streak. It is the longest win streak in the Marvin Menzies era at NM State and ties the longest win streak since NM State joined the WAC (13-game win streak in 2006-07).
SEATTLE U'S UMIPIG CLIMBING WAC SINGLE-SEASON THREE-POINTERS LIST
Seattle U senior Isiah Umipig currently ranks fifth all-time in the WAC single-season record books with 112 three-pointers. He is one shy of fourth place and 13 away from the record of 125. Umipig broke his own Seattle U single-season record of 106 that he set last year during the WAC Tournament.
MULLINGS MOVES INTO FOURTH PLACE IN NM STATE CAREER SCORING
New Mexico State senior Daniel Mullings moved into fourth place on the NM State career scoring list during the WAC Tournament. He currently has 1,670 career points, 192 away from the record of 1,862 held by Eric Channing (1998-02).
SEATTLE U'S UMIPIG CLIMBING CAREER THREE-POINTERS CHART
In just his second season with the program, Seattle U's Isiah Umipig currently ranks second all-time on the Seattle U career three-pointers list with 218, 21 shy of the record. The senior currently ranks third in the nation in both three-pointers per game (3.61) and three-pointers made (112).