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NM STATE'S CHUHA NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
NM State sophomore forward Eli Chuha has been named Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 27-March 4. This is his first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor.
The Redlands, Calif., native scored a career-high 28 points and pulled down nine rebounds, including five on the offensive end, in a rout of UT Rio Grande Valley. Chuha shot 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) from the field and 14-of-18 (77.8 percent) at the line on the game. He also dished out two assists and nabbed one steal in 26 minutes of action. Chuha currently leads the WAC in field goal percentage (60.5), ranks third in rebounding (9.0) and 12th in scoring (12.4).
Other nominees included: CSU Bakersfield's Jaylin Airington led all scorers with 19 points to go with five rebounds in a loss to Grand Canyon ... Fred Sims Jr. of Chicago State tallied a career-high 31 points to go with six rebounds and three steals in a five-point loss to UMKC ... UMKC's LaVell Boyd scored 25 points and drained five three-pointers to go with five rebounds, four assists and two steals in a win at Chicago State ... Nick Dixon of UT Rio Grande Valley scored a game-high 35 points on 14-of-19 shooting, including a perfect 4-for-4 at the line, in a loss at NM State ... Utah Valley's Jordan Poydras scored a game-high 17 points and added five rebounds, two steals and an assist in a win over Seattle U.
ALL-WAC HONORS ANNOUNCED
The 2017 All-WAC teams have been named, following a vote of the WAC's eight head coaches. NM State's Ian Baker headlines the awards, earning WAC Player of the Year honors, while Seattle U's Matej Kavas was named WAC Freshman of the Year and CSU Bakersfield's Rod Barnes earned Don Haskins WAC Coach of the Year honors for the second year in a row.
Baker was named WAC Player of the Year after ranking second in the league in conference play in assists (5.14) and assist-turnover ratio (2.48), fourth in free throw percentage (82.8), fifth in scoring (17.3) and minutes per game (34.64), ninth in three-pointers per game (1.79) and 12th in rebounding (4.9). He scored in double-digits in 13 of 14 WAC games. Baker was named WAC Player of the Week three times this season.
Kavas earned WAC Freshman of the Year honors after scoring in double figures in nine of 14 WAC games with a season-high 24 points. In conference games only, he ranked fifth in the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (41.3), sixth in three-pointers per game (1.86), 10th in blocked shots (0.57) and 16th in scoring (11.6).
Barnes was named WAC Coach of the Year for the second year in a row after leading the Roadrunners to their first-ever WAC regular-season title. During its 14 WAC games, CSU Bakersfield only allowed its opponent to score more than 65 points three times, holding opponents under 50 points twice and under 60 points six times. Barnes picked up his 100th win at the school this year in just his sixth season at the helm.
WAC STAT LEADERS
NM State leads the WAC in scoring (79.7), scoring margin (11.5), field goal percentage (46.7), three-point field goal percentage defense (29.4), rebounding (40.1), rebounding defense (32.8), rebounding margin (7.2), assist-turnover ratio (1.12) and offensive rebounds (13.23), while CSU Bakersfield is tops in scoring defense (62.2), field goal percentage defense (37.3), blocks (4.0) and steals (8.45). UMKC leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (37.2) and three-pointers per game (9.13), while Grand Canyon is tops in turnover margin (2.23) and Seattle U leads the WAC in assists (16.07). UT Rio Grande Valley is tops in free throw percentage (72.4) and Utah Valley leads the league in defensive rebounds (29.83).
Individually, Grand Canyon's DeWayne Russell leads the WAC in scoring (21.2), assists (5.39) and minutes per game (38.29), while Chicago State's Trayvon Palmer is tops in rebounding (9.5) and defensive rebounds (6.55). NM State's Eli Chuha leads the league in field goal percentage (60.5) and offensive rebounds (3.83), while teammate Braxton Huggins is tops in three-point percentage (42.9). UMKC's LaVell Boyd leads the WAC in free throw percentage (83.9), while UT Rio Grande Valley's Nick Dixon leads the league in steals (1.90) and teammate Antonio Green is tops in three-pointers per game (3.55). Utah Valley's Isaac Neilson leads the WAC in blocked shots (1.72) and CSU Bakersfield's Brent Wrapp is tops in assist-turnover ratio (2.86).
In WAC games only, NM State led the WAC in scoring (88.0), scoring margin (10.4), three-point field goal percentage defense (28.3), rebounding (41.6), rebounding defense (31.6), rebounding margin (10.1), assists (16.43), assist-turnover ratio (1.34) and offensive rebounds (13.64), while CSU Bakersfield was tops in scoring defense (61.3), field goal percentage defense (37.3), blocks (4.93), steals (8.14) and turnover margin (1.86). UMKC led the league in field goal percentage (45.9) and three-point field goal percentage (37.3), Seattle U was tops in three-pointers per game (8.93), UTRGV led the way in free throw percentage (75.4) and Utah Valley led the WAC in defensive rebounds (29.14).
Individually in WAC games, Dixon led the league in scoring (21.4) and steals (2.0), while Chuha was tops in rebounding (9.9), field goal percentage (63.5) and offensive rebounds (4.29). Russell led the WAC in assists (6.5) and minutes per game (39.14), while teammate Joshua Braun was tops in three-pointers per game (3.0). Green led the WAC in free throw percentage (84.8), while Utah Valley's Ivory Young led the league in three-point percentage (45.7). CSU Bakersfield's Moataz Aly was tops in blocks (2.17), Wrapp led the league in assist-turnover ratio (3.24) and Palmer was tops in defensive rebounds (7.07).
CSU BAKERSFIELD WINS FIRST-EVER WAC REGULAR-SEASON TITLE
With its wins over UMKC and Chicago State on Feb. 23 and 25, CSU Bakersfield secured its first-ever outright WAC regular season title in any sport. The Roadrunners earned the No. 1 seed in the WAC Tournament and a first round bye.
GCU'S BRAUN REPEATS AS FIRST TEAM ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
For the second year in a row, Grand Canyon redshirt junior Joshua Braun has been voted to the Academic All-America® men's basketball first team, becoming the 24th first team Academic All-American® in WAC men's basketball history and just the eighth two-time first team selection in WAC history. Braun, who earned his undergraduate degree in business management, is working on a master's degree in business administration and carries a perfect 4.00 grade-point average. He is one of two repeat first team selections on the team this year. The WAC Preseason Player of the Year, Braun missed nine non-conference games this season with a knee injury. He returned for the start of WAC play and currently leads the league in WAC games in three-pointers per game (2.92), ranks third in scoring (18.8), fourth in minutes per game (36.08), ninth in three-point percentage (38.0) and 10th in free throw percentage (77.3). He has been named WAC Player of the Week once this season and recently set the Grand Canyon Division I record for three-pointers in a game with nine.
UTAH VALLEY SNAPS NM STATE'S 39-GAME WAC HOME WINNING STREAK
When it defeated NM State 84-72 on Feb. 23, Utah Valley snapped the Aggies' 39-game WAC home winning streak, the second-longest conference home win streak in the country. The last time NM State had lost a WAC home game was to a 68-60 defeat to Nevada on Jan. 26, 2012. The Aggies had also won 23-straight home games, the third-most in the NCAA behind Oregon (42) and Cincinnati (24).
DEFENSE REALLY DOES WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS
During its 14 WAC games, CSU Bakersfield only allowed its opponent to score more than 65 points three times. The Roadrunners held WAC opponents under 50 points twice and under 60 points six times. CSUB leads the league in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense, blocks and steals.
UTRGV'S GREEN MOVING UP PROGRAM, WAC THREE-POINT LISTS
UT Rio Grande Valley sophomore Antonio Green currently ranks sixth nationally with 110 three-pointers made this season. He is tied for second in the UTRGV record books, four shy of the all-time record, and fifth in the WAC record books, 13 away from the all-time record.
CSU BAKERSFIELD BREAKS PROGRAM DIVISION I RECORD FOR BLOCKS
In its win over Chicago State on Feb. 25, CSU Bakersfield broke its program Division I single-game record for blocks with 13, surpassing the previous record of nine. Moataz Aly and Fallou Ndoye had three apiece, while James Suber and Damiyne Durham blocked two shots each. Matt Smith, Brent Wrapp and Shon Briggs each had one block for the 13. The all-time record is 14 vs. UC Davis in 1999.
NMSU'S WEIR BOASTS BEST RECORD OF FIRST-YEAR HEAD COACHES
NM State head coach Paul Weir currently has a 25-5 mark (.833), the best record of all first year head coaches in NCAA Division I. His record is also second to Tim Jankovich at SMU (27-4, .871) for the best mark of all coaches that are in their first year coaching at their current school.
CHICAGO STATE'S PALMER, SIMS JR. MOVING UP RECORD BOOKS
Chicago State senior Trayvon Palmer and sophomore Fred Sims Jr. are moving up the CSU single-season record books. Palmer ranks first in defensive rebounds (203), second in both total rebounds (293) and rebounding average (9.5) and tied for third in offensive rebounds (90). Sims ranks fifth in points (583) and field goals made (210), sixth in scoring average (18.8) and seventh in three-point field goals made (71).
GCU'S RUSSELL EXTENDS DOUBLE-FIGURE SCORING STREAK TO 33 GAMES
Grand Canyon senior guard DeWayne Russell has scored in double figures in 33 straight games, dating back Feb. 27, 2016, when he scored seven points at CSU Bakersfield. He has led the Lopes in scoring in 18 of his 28 games played this season. Russell currently leads the country in minutes per game (38.29) and ranks tied for 17th in scoring (21.2).
UTRGV ONE OF SIX TEAMS WITH TWO PLAYERS AVERAGING 16.6 POINTS
UTRGV is one of just six teams in the nation to have two players averaging at least 16.6 points per game in junior Nick Dixon (18.9) and sophomore Antonio Green (16.6). They are averaging a combined 17.8 points per game, the sixth-highest among the duos, but rank fifth in total points (1,101). Dixon and Green represent one of just two guard duos on the list, and one of two with an underclassman on the list.
BARNES RECORDS 100TH VICTORY AT CSU BAKERSFIELD
CSU Bakersfield head coach Rod Barnes picked up his 100th victory at the school on Feb. 18 at Seattle U. In his sixth season with the Roadrunners, Barnes is 102-86 (.543). His overall record in 16 years as a head coach is 288-275 (.512).
NM STATE'S 20-GAME WIN STREAK SECOND-LONGEST IN PROGRAM HISTORY
Though it came to an end on Feb. 9, NM State's 20-game winning streak earlier this season was the second-longest in program history behind the 1937-38 team that posted a 21-game winning streak and finished the season 22-3.