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NM STATE'S HUGGINS NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
NM State junior guard Braxton Huggins has been named Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 2-8. This is his first WAC Player of the Week honor of his career.
The Bakersfield, Calif., native averaged 29.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game as the Aggies went 2-0 on the road to open WAC play and extend their winning streak to 13 games. Huggins shot 55.9 percent from the floor, 52.4 percent from beyond the arc and 90 percent from the free throw line on the week. He opened the week by leading NM State to a 77-64 victory over UMKC with a career-high 31 points 10-of-18 shooting, including 6-of-10 shooting from downtown, to go with four rebounds, one assist and one block. Huggins followed it up on Saturday at Chicago State with a game-high 27 points, three assists and two rebounds. He committed just one turnover in 58 minutes of action on the week and has now scored 24 or more points in four of the last six games. Huggins, who entered the week averaging 13.9 points per game, now ranks seventh in the WAC in scoring (15.7), second in three-point shooting (48.6), third in three-pointers per game (3.12) and fourth in free throw shooting (84.2).
Other nominees included: CSU Bakersfield's Dedrick Basile averaged 20.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 1.5 assists as the Roadrunners went 2-0 on the week ... Trayvon Palmer of Chicago State posted a pair of double-doubles and averaged 17.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game in a pair of losses ... Joshua Braun of Grand Canyon finished with 31 points, including a GCU Division I record-tying seven three-pointers, and five rebounds in a win over Utah Valley ... UMKC's LaVell Boyd averaged 16.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals over three games last week ... Nick Dixon of UT Rio Grande Valley averaged 20.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game as the Vaqueros went 1-1 on the week ... Utah Valley's Conner Toolson averaged 17.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists as the Wolverines went 1-1 last week.
WAC STAT LEADERS
CSU Bakersfield leads the WAC in scoring defense (63.6), field goal percentage defense (38.1), three-point field goal percentage (37.9), rebounding (39.6), rebounding defense (32.3), rebounding margin (7.3), steals (8.5) and offensive rebounds (13.69), while NM State is tops in scoring margin (12.0), field goal percentage (47.1), three-point field goal percentage defense (29.0) and blocks (4.29). Utah Valley leads the league in assist-turnover ratio (1.19), defensive rebounds (30.69) and three-pointers per game (9.38), while Seattle U is tops in free throw percentage (72.4) and assists (16.50). Grand Canyon leads the WAC in turnover margin (2.69) and UT Rio Grande Valley is tops in scoring (80.7).
Individually, Grand Canyon's DeWayne Russell leads the WAC in scoring (23.9) and minutes per game (38.14), while Utah Valley's Isaac Neilson is tops in rebounding (9.9), blocked shots (1.63) and offensive rebounds (3.63). Utah Valley's Brandon Randolph leads the league in assists (5.19), while teammate Kenneth Ogbe is tops in three-point percentage (49.2). NM State's Eli Chuha leads the WAC in field goal percentage (60.2), while Seattle U's Brendan Westendorf leads the WAC in free throw percentage (93.0). Grand Canyon's Gerard Martin is tops in steals (2.0) and UTRGV's Antonio Green leads the league in three-pointers per game (4.11). CSUB's Brent Wrapp is tops in assist-turnover ratio (2.95) and Chicago State's Trayvon Palmer leads the WAC in defensive rebounds (6.28).
In WAC games only, CSUB leads the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (54.2), rebounding defense (19.0), rebounding margin (20.0), assists (21.0), offensive rebounds (16.0) and three-pointers per game (13.0), while NMSU is tops in scoring defense (63.0), scoring margin (14.5), free throw percentage (81.8), field goal percentage defense (38.3), three-point field goal percentage defense (20.0) and blocks (4.5). GCU leads the WAC in scoring (82.0), turnover margin (7.0) and assist-turnover ratio (2.43), while UTRGV is tops in rebounding (47.0) and steals (8.0). Seattle U leads the WAC in field goal percentage (52.1) and Utah Valley is tops in defensive rebounds (34.0).
Individually in WAC games, Grand Canyon's Joshua Braun leads the WAC in scoring (31.0) and three-pointers per game (7.0), while teammate Russell is tops in minutes per game (40.0) and shares the leads with CSUB's Wrapp in both assists (11.0) and assist-turnover ratio (11.0).
Utah Valley's Neilson is tops in rebounding (16.0) and defensive rebounds (12.0), while CSUB's Fallou Ndoye leads the WAC in field goal percentage (100.0). UTRGV's Lew Stallworth, Chicago State's Palmer and CSUB's Basile are tied for the lead in steals (3.0), while Basile and Seattle U's Scott Ulaneo have a perfect three-point percentage. CSUB's James Suber and Grand Canyon's Oscar Frayer lead the WAC in blocks (2.0), while GCU's Kerwin Smith is tops in offensive rebounds (5.0).
NMSU'S WEIR BOASTS BEST RECORD OF FIRST-YEAR HEAD COACHES
NM State head coach Paul Weir currently has a 15-2 mark (.882), the best record of all first year head coaches in NCAA Division I. His record is also the best mark of all coaches that are in their first year coaching at their current school.
BRAUN TIES GCU DIVISION I RECORD FOR THREES IN A GAME
After missing nine games following a knee injury, Braun returned to the court for the first time since Nov. 28 to score a game- and season-high 31 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the floor, which included a GCU Division I record-tying seven three-pointers. It was the third consecutive game that Braun has scored 30 or more points against Utah Valley.
UTRGV'S GREEN ON PACE TO BREAK PROGRAM, WAC RECORD FOR THREE-POINTERS
UT Rio Grande Valley sophomore Antonio Green currently leads the nation with 78 three-point field goals made this season, which ranks ninth in the UTRGV record books. With a minimum of 13 games remaining this season, at his current pace of 4.11 three-pointers per game, Green would finish the season with a UTRGV and WAC record 131 treys.
GCU'S RUSSELL EXTENDS DOUBLE-FIGURE SCORING STREAK TO 19 GAMES
Grand Canyon senior guard DeWayne Russell has scored in double figures in 19 straight games, dating back to last season. He has led the Lopes in scoring in 11 of his 14 games played this season.