WAC Men's Basketball Weekly Release - March 3
CHICAGO STATE'S ROSENBERG NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Chicago State senior guard Clarke Rosenberg has been named Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 24-March 1. This is his first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor.
The Skokie, Ill., native averaged 24.0 points on 50 percent shooting from the field and 45.5 percent shooting from three-point range, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals per game as the Cougars picked up big wins over Grand Canyon and Utah Valley. Rosenberg opened the week with 22 points, seven assists, five rebounds, three steals and a block against the Lopes. On Saturday against Utah Valley, he finished with a season-high 26 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists. Rosenberg far surpassed all his season averages, as he entered the week averaging 11.6 points on 38.8 percent shooting from the field and 28.2 percent from downtown, 4.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.0 steals per game.
Other nominees included: Grand Canyon's Joshua Braun averaged 12.5 points and 4.5 rebounds and was perfect from the free throw line on the week ... Reese Holliday of Missouri-Kansas City averaged 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals in a pair of wins ... Seattle U's Isiah Umipig finished with 16 points and five rebounds in a win over Bakersfield ... Jaden Jackson of Utah Valley averaged 9.5 points on 56.5 percent shooting and 3.0 assists on the week..
WAC STAT LEADERS
New Mexico State leads the WAC in scoring (68.7), scoring defense (60.0), scoring margin (8.8), field goal percentage (46.4), three-point field goal percentage defense (29.2), rebounding (35.6), rebounding defense (28.9), rebounding margin (6.8), blocks (3.55) and offensive rebounds (12.69). Seattle U is tops in field goal percentage defense (39.9), three-point field goal percentage (39.0), assists (14.0), defensive rebounds (24.37) and three-pointers per game (7.07), while Missouri-Kansas City leads the WAC in steals (8.23) and turnover margin (2.77). Bakersfield leads the league in free throw percentage (72.5), while Grand Canyon is tops in assist-turnover ratio (1.06).
Individually, UTPA's Janari Joesaar leads the WAC in scoring (17.9) and minutes per game (34.79), while New Mexico State's Pascal Siakam is tops in field goal percentage (58.4) and blocks (1.66), and is tied with Kevin Mays of Bakersfield in offensive rebounds (3.34). Mays also leads the league in rebounding (8.1), while teammates Brent Wrapp and Aly Ahmed are tops in assist-turnover ratio (2.49) and defensive rebounds (4.89), respectively. Marcel Davis of Utah Valley is tops in assists (4.07), while teammate Donte Williams leads the WAC in free throw percentage (82.0). UMKC's Martez Harrison leads the league in steals (1.93), Ian Baker of New Mexico State is tops in three-point percentage (47.7) and Seattle U's Isiah Umipig is tops in three-pointers per game (3.63).
In WAC games only, New Mexico State leads the league in scoring defense (52.8), scoring margin (14.5), field goal percentage (47.8), three-point field goal percentage defense (27.6), rebounding (34.8), rebounding defense (25.9), rebounding margin (8.9), blocks (3.67) and defensive rebounds (23.42). Chicago State is tops in free throw percentage (76.8), steals (6.92) and offensive rebounds (12.62), while Grand Canyon leads the league in scoring (69.6), assist-turnover ratio (1.33) and three-pointers per game (7.23). Seattle U is tops in field goal percentage defense (38.2) and three-point field goal percentage (37.4), while UMKC leads the WAC in turnover margin (4.08) and Utah Valley is tops in assists (13.38).
Individually in WAC games, Harrison is tops in scoring (17.6), while Siakam leads the league in rebounding (8.3), field goal percentage (62.9) and offensive rebounds (3.42). Grand Canyon's DeWayne Russell leads the WAC in assists (4.46), while Joesaar is tops in free throw percentage (89.1) and minutes per game (36.33). Seattle U's Emerson Murray leads the league in steals (1.85), while Baker is tops in three-point field goal percentage (48.8). Umipig leads the WAC in three-pointers per game (2.92), while UTPA's Dan Kimasa is tops in blocks (1.83). Wrapp leads the league in assist-turnover ratio (3.40), while New Mexico State's Tshilidzi Nephawe is tops in defensive rebounds (5.0).
NEW MEXICO STATE AT UTPA GAME POSTPONED UNTIL MARCH 4 DUE TO TRAVEL ISSUES
The New Mexico State at Texas-Pan American game originally scheduled for Feb. 28 was postponed to Wednesday, March 4. The Aggies were stranded in Dallas last Friday after their flight to McAllen was canceled due to snow and ice.
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.
UMKC POSTS BEST-EVER CONFERENCE HOME RECORD
When it defeated Utah Valley and Grand Canyon last week, Missouri-Kansas City improved its WAC home record to 6-1, the best home conference mark in school history. The Kangaroos' previous best home record in league games was a 6-2 mark in the Mid-Continent Conference (now Summit League) in 2004-05.
SEATTLE U POSTS BEST CONFERENCE HOME RECORD SINCE 1976-77
Seattle U closed out its home portion of WAC play with a 6-1 record. It was the most home conference wins as a Division I program since it had six as a member of the West Coast Athletic Conference (WCAC) in 1976-77.
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).