Checking in on… the WAC
Posted by jstevrtc on December 18th, 2009
Sam Wasson of bleedCrimson.net and Travis Mason-Bushman of Vandal Nation are the RTC correspondents for the Western Athletic Conference.
CURRENT STANDINGS:
- Louisiana Tech (9-2)
- Idaho (6-3)
- Utah State (6-3)
- Boise State (5-4)
- Nevada (5-4)
- Hawai’i (5-4)
- Fresno State (5-5)
- San Jose State (4-4)
- New Mexico State (3-6)
Louisiana Tech continues to lead the league after posting a pair of victories. Utah State notched a pair of victories while Idaho narrowly escaped NAIA opponent Eastern Oregon. Hawai’i picked up a victory over visiting Chicago State to break over the .500 mark. In all, eight of the nine teams now stand at .500 or better with the lone outcast residing in Las Cruces, N.M. The league now sports a 48-35 record as the teams head down the final stretch towards conference play.
Boise State (5-4)
The week’s results: 12/12 L vs. San Diego, 59-56
Upcoming games: 12/19 vs. Houston Baptist; 12/21 vs. Portland State; 12/23 vs. Montana State
The Broncos “spit the bit” against the visiting Toreros from San Diego as Boise State held a 27-19 halftime lead but lost 59-56 as the Toreros hit their fifth three pointer of the second half to steal the victory. Free throw shooting aided the Bronco demise as the team hit just 13-of-21 attempts in the game (61.9%).
The Broncos have a chance to generate some good momentum heading into conference play as they host three more at home before Christmas.
Fresno State (5-5)
The week’s results: 12/12 L vs. BYU, 72-67; 12/17 W vs. UC-Davis, 68-57
Upcoming games: 12/19 vs. North Dakota State; 12/21 @ Montana; 12/23 @ Oregon State
The Bulldogs split a pair of games last week falling narrowly to BYU, 72-67, in a game that BYU led 58-41 midway through the second half. Greg Smith led the way for the Bulldogs in that game with 21 points and eight rebounds but the solid play of BYU’s Jimmer Fredette, and his 24 points and seven assists, was too much to overcome. The Bulldogs bounced back with a 68-57 win over UC-Davis. Mike Ladd scored 18 points and Smith added 17. Paul George filled the stat sheet with 14 points, nine rebounds and six steals. George and Sylvester Seay are averaging 17.3 and 17 PPG, respectively, while Smith has upped his scoring average to 12.3 PPG.
The Bulldogs also play three games before Christmas as they host North Dakota State and then take their show on the road to Montana and Oregon State.
Hawaii (5-4)
The week’s results: 12/13 W vs. Chicago State, 83-58
Upcoming games: 12/22 vs. College of Charleston (Diamond Head Classic); 12/23 vs. TBA (Diamond Head Classic); 12/25 vs. TBA (Diamond Head Classic)
The Warriors disposed of Chicago State 83-58 to improve their record to 5-4. It’s the first time the Warriors have been above .500 all season and they’re currently on a three game winning streak. Roderick Flemings led the way with 18 points and Petras Balocka returned from injury to post a 12 point and eight rebound performance. The Warriors host the Dimaond Head Classic this coming week with a good lineup of teams coming to the islands including St. Marys (CA), Southern Cal, UNLV, Northeastern, Western Michigan, SMU, and College of Charleston.
Idaho (6-3)
The week’s results: 12/12 W vs. Eastern Oregon, 82-77
Upcoming games: 12/22 @ Portland
The Vandals squeaked by Eastern Oregon after leading by as many as 19 points early in the second half. Mac Hopson and Marvin Jefferson helped the Vandals stave off the pesky Mountaineers. The Vandals hit 55.1 percent of their shots from the field and shot 18 more free throws than Eastern Oregon (26 to 8 advantage) and had only 11 fouls called against them the entire game.
The Vandals will face Portland on the road on December 22, their final game before conference play. The Vandals beat then 25th-ranked Portland 68-48 in Moscow on December 6.
Louisiana Tech (9-2)
The week’s results: 12/12 W @ Centenary, 102-96 (OT); 12/15 W vs. Murray State, 87-81
Upcoming games: 12/19 vs. McNeese State; 12/22 vs. UT-Pan American
The Bulldogs got a pair of victories last week as they held off Centenary 102-96 in overtime. Kyle Gibson scored 28 points for the Bulldogs as they earned a road victory. The Bulldogs followed that win up with a more impressive 87-81 home win over Murray State in the return game from last year’s ESPNU Bracketbusters matchup. Jamel Guyton led the Bulldogs with 21 points as he finished the night going 5-for-6 from the field and 4-for-4 from beyond the three point arc. The Bulldogs won last year’s game against Murray State as well.
The Bulldogs have five players averaging double figures in scoring. Gibson averages 21.7 PPG, Guyton averages 13 PPG, Olu Ashaolu averages 12 PPG and 8.7 RPG, Magnum Rolle averages 11.1 PPG and 7.8 RPG and DeAndre Brown is averaging 10.5 PPG.
Nevada (5-4)
The week’s results: 12/12 W vs. South Dakota State, 92-72; 12/17 W vs. Eastern Washington, 73-70
Upcoming games: 12/19 vs. Wagner; 12/22 vs. BYU (Las Vegas Classic); 12/23 vs. Nebraska or Tulsa (Las Vegas Classic)
The Wolf Pack climbed back above .500 and are on a three-game winning streak after having suffered three consecutive losses. The Wolf Pack scored a 20-point victory over South Dakota State as Brandon Fields led the way with 20 points. Armon Johnson added 17 points and Luke Babbitt posted another double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. The Wolf Pack struggled a bit with Eastern Washington holding on for a 73-70 victory. Babbitt scored 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the way for the Wolf Pack. He finished the night 10-of-18 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free throw stripe. The Wolf Pack got virtually no production from their bench as they were outscored 31-4 by Eastern Washington’s bench.
Nevada will host one more home games in the coming week and hope to keep their perfect record at home (5-0) intact and then will face BYU and Nebraska or Tulsa in the Las Vegas Classic.
New Mexico State (3-6)
The week’s results: 12/13 W @ Texas-El Paso, 87-80; 12/15 L @ UCLA, 100-68
Upcoming games: 12/18 @ Pepperdine; 12/21 vs. Alcorn State; 12/23 vs. Texas Southern
The Aggies finally notched a victory in a rivalry game this season as they stunned previously undefeated UTEP 87-80 on UTEP’s home court. The game saw the ejection of head coach Marvin Menzies midway through the first half of the game but assistant head coach Mick Durham rallied the troops and the Aggies battled from 11 points down in the second half to pull out the much-needed win. For the second consecutive season the I-10 rivalry game played in El Paso was a heated one an in the past two games played at The Don Haskins Center the two teams have combined for nine technical fouls and two ejections (five technicals in 2008 and four in 2009 and one ejection in each game). The Aggies couldn’t sustain the momentum as they were drilled by UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins put together their most complete game of the season and the Aggies were no match. The team also received tough news as the two post players who sat out the first semester due to academic ineligibility, Wendell McKines and Troy Gillenwater, were declared ineligible for the second semester as well. McKines and Gillenwater were both starters on last season’s team and both averaged over 10 PPG with McKines averaging a double-double last season, the only player in the league to do so.
The Aggies face Pepperdine on Friday and then return to Las Cruces to close out three non-conference games before the start of league play.
San Jose State (4-4)
The week’s results: None
Upcoming games: 12/18 @ UC-Irvine; 12/21 @ Northern Colorado; 12/23 @ Santa Clara
The Spartans did not play any games in the past week but will make up for it with four non-conference games before the end of the New Year. The Spartans will play the next three on the road as they travel to UC-Irvine, then to Northern Colorado and then back to California to play Santa Clara, all before Christmas.
Adrian Oliver leads the Spartans averaging 17.4 PPG and 6.0 RPG. Justin Graham is averaging 10.5 PPG and 5.5 RPG and center Chris Oakes is averaging a double-double with 10.3 PPG and 11.4 RPG.
Utah State (6-3)
The week’s results: 12/12 W vs. Utah Valley, 87-56; 12/16 W @ Cal State-Bakersfield, 68-51
Upcoming games: 12/18 vs. Long Beach State; 12/21 vs. Morehead; 12/22 vs. Cal State-Fullerton; 12/23 vs. Weber State
The Aggies rebounded from their loss to St. Mary’s with back-to-back blowout wins. The Aggies stomped in-state rival Utah Valley to re-establish the winning feeling at Dee Glenn Smith Arena and then went on the road and defeated Cal State-Bakerfield. The Aggies had five players score in double-figures against Utah Valley. Tai Wesley recorded a double-double against CS-Bakersfield scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
The Aggies wrap up their road non-conference slate against Long Beach State before returning home to host the Basketball Travelers Invitational.
UPCOMING GAMES OF INTEREST:
- 12/18 – New Mexico State at Pepperdine – 7:30 P.M. PT
- 12/18 – Utah State at Long Beach State – 7:00 P.M. PT
- 12/18 – San Jose State at UC-Irvine – 7:00 P.M. PT
- 12/19 – Fresno State vs. North Dakota State – 7:00 P.M. PT
- 12/21 – Fresno State at Montana 7:00 P.M. MT
- 12/21 – San Jose State at Northern Colorado – 7:30 P.M. MT
- 12/22 – Nevada vs. BYU – 7:30 P.M. PT (ESPN Full Court)
- 12/22 – Idaho at Portland – 7:00 P.M. PT
- 12/22 – Utah State vs Cal State-Fullerton – 8:00 P.M. MT
- 12/23 – Fresno State at Oregon State – 5:30 P.M. PT
- 12/23 – San Jose State at Santa Clara – 7:00 P.M. PT
- 12/23 – Nevada vs. Tulsa or Nebraska – TBA
