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FIVE WAC TEAMS TO PARTICIPATE IN POSTSEASON PLAY
More than half of the WAC's men's basketball teams will participate in postseason play this year. NM State earned the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament and will face Clemson in San Diego at 6:57 p.m. (PT) this Friday, March 16. Four other teams - Grand Canyon, Seattle U, UT Rio Grande Valley and Utah Valley - accepted invitations to play in the 16-team College Basketball Invitational (CBI). Grand Canyon (22-11) will host Mercer (18-14), while Seattle U (20-13) will host Central Arkansas (17-16), both on Wednesday, March 14. The Vaqueros (15-17) travel to New Orleans (15-16) on Wednesday, while the Wolverines (22-10) will host Eastern Washington (20-14) on Tuesday, March 13.
NM STATE TO FACE CLEMSON IN NCAA TOURNAMENT
WAC Tournament champion NM State will take on No. 5-seed Clemson in the NCAA Tournament in San Diego this Friday, March 16. The 12th-seeded Aggies (28-5) earned the WAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in the last seven years. This is NM State's 24th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Aggies are led by WAC Player of the Year and WAC Tournament MVP Jemerrio Jones, who averages 11.0 points and 13.2 rebounds per game. First team All-WAC honoree Zach Lofton adds 19.8 points per game. Jones was named WAC Tournament MVP after breaking the tournament single game (22) and tournament (55) rebounding records. Lofton joined Jones on the all-tournament team after averaging 24.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game over the three games. Clemson (23-9) earned an at-large bid out of the Atlantic Coast Conference after losing in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. The Tigers have five players that average 10 or more points per game - Marcquise Reed (15.9), Donte Grantham (14.2), Gabe Devoe (13.2), Shelton Mitchell (12.0) and Elijah Thomas (10.8).
GCU, SEATTLE U, UTRGV AND UTAH VALLEY TO PLAY IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL
Grand Canyon, Seattle U, UT Rio Grande Valley and Utah Valley all accepted invitations to play in the CBI. This is Grand Canyon's fourth Division I postseason appearance and first in the CBI. The Lopes participated in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament in each of their first three seasons at the Division I level. Seattle U is making its third appearance in the CBI in the last four years. The Redhawks posted the program's first Division I 20-win season since 1963-64. UTRGV is participating in a postseason tournament for the first time since 1981 and for just the second time ever at the NCAA Division I level. This is Utah Valley's fourth postseason appearance and second-consecutive CBI appearance, as the Wolverines advanced to the final four of the tournament a year ago. Utah Valley played in the NIT in 2014 and the CIT in 2012.
NM STATE WINS WAC TOURNAMENT
After defeating eighth-seeded Chicago State 97-70 in the first round and surviving No. 4-seed Seattle U 84-79 in the semifinals, NM State held of a Grand Canyon rally in the second half to beat the third-seeded Lopes 72-58 in the championship game of the 2018 WAC Tournament title game to earn its eighth tournament title Saturday. Tournament MVP Jemerrio Jones posted his WAC-leading 20th double-double of the season with 15 points and 19 rebounds, while Zach Lofton scored a game-high 21 points.
All-Tournament Team
Alessandro Lever, Grand Canyon
Zach Lofton, NM State
Akolda Manyang, Utah Valley
Keonta Vernon, Grand Canyon
MVP: Jemerrio Jones, NM State
THREE WAC TOURNAMENT RECORDS BROKEN
Three WAC Tournament records were broken last week. NM State's Jemerrio Jones broke the single-game rebounding record with 22 against Seattle U. He also broke the tournament rebounding record with 55 in three games, surpassing the previous mark of 53 set by Boise State's Jason Ellis in 2005. Ellis accomplished the feat in four games, while Jones did it in three. As a team, NM State set the record for most three-pointers in a tournament with 32 over three games.
ALL-WAC HONORS ANNOUNCED
NM State's Jemerrio Jones headlined the 2018 All-WAC teams, earning WAC Player of the Year honors, while Grand Canyon's Alessandro Lever was named WAC Freshman of the Year and NM State's Chris Jans earned Don Haskins WAC Coach of the Year honors.
Jones was named WAC Player of the Year after averaging 11.3 points, 14.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in WAC play. Not only did he average 3.5 more rebounds than the next closest player, but his 14.14 rebounding average is the fifth-highest in WAC history. In his 14 WAC games, he posted eight double-doubles and had four games with 20 or more rebounds. In addition, his 198 boards in WAC games is tied for the 10th-most in conference history. He was named WAC Player of the Week three times.
Lever earned WAC Freshman of the Year honors after scoring in double figures in eight of 14 WAC games with a season-high 30 points. In conference games only, he ranked eighth in the WAC in rebounding (5.4), ninth in free throw percentage (80.2) and 10th in field goal percentage (48.6). He was named WAC Player of the Week one time during the season.
In his first year at the helm, Jans was named WAC Coach of the Year after leading the Aggies to their third WAC regular-season title in the last four years. NM State is currently 25-5 overall and went 12-2 in WAC play. The Aggies defeated a Top 10 team this season for the first time since 1990.
First Team All-WAC
Nick Dixon, UTRGV
Jemerrio Jones, NM State
Alessandro Lever, Grand Canyon
Zach Lofton, NM State
Kenneth Ogbe, Utah Valley
Second Team All-WAC
Joshua Braun, Grand Canyon
Matej Kavas, Seattle U
Aaron Menzies, Seattle U
Brandon Randolph, Utah Valley
Conner Toolson, Utah Valley
All-Defensive Team
Moataz Aly, CSU Bakersfield
Oscar Frayer, Grand Canyon
Jemerrio Jones, NM State
Akolda Manyang, Utah Valley
Aaron Menzies, Seattle U
All-Newcomer Team
AJ Harris, NM State
Jordan Hill, Seattle U
Alessandro Lever, Grand Canyon
Zach Lofton, NM State
Jake Toolson, Utah Valley
Player of the Year: Jemerrio Jones, NM State
Freshman of the Year: Alessandro Lever, Grand Canyon
Don Haskins Coach of the Year: Chris Jans, NM State
GCU'S BRAUN NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN FOR THIRD YEAR IN A ROW
Grand Canyon redshirt senior Joshua Braun has been voted to the Academic All-America® Men's Basketball Team for the third year in a row. He was a third team selection. Braun is working on a master's degree in business administration and currently carries a 3.60 grade-point average. He earned his undergraduate degree in business management. Braun was named second team All-WAC this season after averaging 10.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game in WAC play. It was his third consecutive All-WAC honors after being named to the All-Newcomer Team in 2015. Braun is the WAC's active leading career scorer with 1,714 points. Earlier this season, he broke the Grand Canyon all-time career three-point record and now has 257 three-pointers, good for 11th all-time in WAC history.
WAC STAT LEADERS
NM State leads the WAC in scoring defense (63.8), scoring margin (12.1), field goal percentage defense (39.2), rebounding (41.5), rebounding margin (9.0), offensive rebounds (12.7) and defensive rebounds (28.8), while Utah Valley is tops in scoring (78.0), field goal percentage (48.1), three-point field goal percentage (38.3), rebounding defense (31.7), blocks (4.1) and assists (16.2). Grand Canyon leads the WAC in three-point field goal percentage defense (27.0) and assist-turnover ratio (1.2), while Seattle U is tops in free throw percentage (74.3) and three-pointers per game (9.1). Meanwhile, UT Rio Grande Valley leads the WAC in steals (7.7) and turnover margin (2.3).
Individually, UTRGV's Nick Dixon leads the WAC in scoring (20.6), while NM State's Jemerrio Jones is tops in rebounding (13.2), offensive rebounds (3.8) and defensive rebounds (9.5). CSU Bakersfield's Moataz Aly leads the league in field goal percentage (68.2), while teammates Jarkel Joiner and Brent Wrapp lead the league in free throw shooting (89.6) and assists (5.1), respectively. Utah Valley's Conner Toolson leads the WAC in steals (1.6), while Seattle U's Matej Kavas is tops in three-point percentage (46.7) and three-pointers per game (2.7). Utah Valley's Akolda Manyang leads the league in blocked shots (2.3), while UTRGV's Javon Levi is tops in assist-turnover ratio (2.6) and Seattle U's Jordan Hill leads the WAC in minutes per game (33.4).
In WAC games only, NM State led the league in scoring (77.7), scoring margin (15.1), field goal percentage defense (37.4), rebounding (43.3), rebounding margin (10.3), assist-turnover ratio (1.3), offensive rebounds (12.8) and defensive rebounds (30.5), while Utah Valley was tops in scoring defense (62.2), free throw percentage (74.8), field goal percentage (48.3), three-point field goal percentage (42.2), rebounding defense (31.4), blocks (3.7), assists (15.8) and three-pointers per game (8.3). Meanwhile, Chicago State led the league in steals (7.7), Grand Canyon was tops in three-point field goal percentage defense (27.3) and UTRGV led the league in and turnover margin (2.7).
Individually in WAC games, Dixon led the league in scoring (20.9), while Jones was tops in rebounding (14.1) and defensive rebounds (10.6). Aly led the WAC in field goal percentage (62.2), while Grand Canyon's Damari Milstead was tops in free throw percentage (85.7) and Toolson led the league in three-point shooting (50.0) and steals (2.0). Utah Valley's Brandon Randolph and Wrapp tied for the lead in assists (4.5), while NM State's Zach Lofton led the league in three-pointers per game (2.9). Seattle U's Aaron Menzies led the WAC in blocks (2.4) and offensive rebounds (3.7), while teammate Hill led the league in minutes per game (35.5). Levi finished WAC play tops in assist-turnover ratio (3.0).
CSUB'S WRAPP BECOMES PROGRAM ASSIST LEADER
CSU Bakersfield senior Brent Wrapp closed out his career with 520 career assists, tied for the all-time school record. Wrapp is ranked 10th among NCAA Division I active leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.56) and 16th in total assists, which is also 16th all-time in WAC history.
NMSU'S JONES RANKS SEVENTH IN WAC CAREER REBOUNDING AVERAGE
In his two seasons in of WAC play, NM State's Jemerrio Jones posted a rebounding average of 11.5 in WAC games, good for seventh place all-time. Overall this season, Jones is averaging 13.21 rebounds per game, which ranks eighth all-time in WAC history.
CSUB'S ALY BECOMES ALL-TIME BLOCKS LEADER
With three blocks in his team's loss to Utah Valley in the WAC Tournament, CSU Bakersfield senior Moataz Aly became the all-time blocks leader with 109 career blocks. Aly accomplished the feat in just two seasons with the Roadrunners, surpassing the previous record of 107, set by Jamal Livingston (1998-00).
NM STATE'S LOFTON MOVING UP SEASON THREE-POINT CHART
NM State senior Zach Lofton now has 83 three-pointers on the season, good for fifth place all-time in the NM State single-season record books. He is one shy of fourth place and six away from third place.
UTRGV'S DIXON MOVING UP SEASON SCORING AND FREE THROW CHARTS
UT Rio Grande Valley senior Nick Dixon currently has 659 points on the season, good for eighth all-time in the UTRGV record books, five shy of seventh place. Meanwhile, his 219 free throws made and 276 free throws attempted rank second all-time at UTRGV. The marks also rank in the WAC Top 10. The 276 free throws attempted are third and the 219 free throws made are fourth.
UTAH VALLEY EXTENDS HOME WIN STREAK, SETS PROGRAM RECORD
Utah Valley won its 13th-straight home game with its win over Seattle U on March 3. The Wolverines have the best home record in school history at 15-1 and have a chance to improve upon their fifth-longest home win streak in the nation at 13 games. UVU has also tied the school record for wins at 22 set during the 2006-07 season.