The Big 12 went all the way to the brink, peered over the other side into non-existence, and then veered away from the white light at the last minute. The patient is now resting comfortably in Austin, although it has lost a little weight.

After last week’s rumors that the University of Texas was all but signed up to head to the Pac-10, bringing Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and potentially Texas A&M or Kansas along for the ride, Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe pulled off perhaps the biggest longshot in the college sports year, reportedly in conjunction with an influential group of concerned citizens both within and outside of the world of college athletics, pulling Texas back from the brink with promises of SEC-type money and an ability for the Longhorns to start their own television network, the revenues of which they’ll be able to keep all for themselves. And, just as a little bonus, the remaining ten Big 12 schools (yes, it appears that for the near future, the Big 12 will have ten schools and the Big Ten twelve) will get to split the nearly $20 million in buyout penalties that Colorado and Nebraska must pay for leaving the conference. Maybe Christian Laettner’s shot and Doug Flutie’s pass were more exciting to watch, but Beebe’s last chance attempt at holding the Big 12 together will have a much larger long-term impact on the college sports landscape.

The Most Powerful Athletic Program in College Sports

Texas

The biggest winner here is Texas, on several fronts. According to Beebe’s projections, the Big 12’s next television deal coupled with projected income from a Longhorn television network could provide the university with between $20-$25 million annually, a marked increase from the estimated $10-$11 million they are currently generating.  And, the Longhorns get to remain in a conference with its historic rivals, many of whom were either in the position a few days ago of  doing whatever Texas decided it was going to do, or being left behind if Texas did leave. While the Big 12 was already painted as Texas and the 11 dwarfs before the last week, that image has been cemented in everyone’s minds now. Clearly that will be just another useful recruiting tool for Texas athletics.

Texas A&M

The Aggies come across as the only school in the Big 12 whose leaders were able to think of themselves in a way other than their relationship to Texas. If Texas had made the decision to head west, A&M was already well on its way to paving its own road to the SEC. Whereas before this mess, most would have pointed at Oklahoma or maybe Nebraska as the strong number two program to the Longhorn Ace, Texas A&M went a long way this week toward establishing their own identity. And then, of course, at the last minute the Aggies blinked. Fortunately for them, big daddy Texas still had their backs.

The Little Twelve

So what happens to the conference as a whole? It gets significantly richer, while being in the excellent position of dividing up a bigger pie up into fewer pieces. Beebe’s number should certainly be retired, and any time that he shows up at a Big 12 sporting event for the rest of his lifetime, they should roll out the red carpet for him, sit him down at a nice courtside throne and pay off a few cheerleaders to fan him with feathers and feed him grapes. Iowa State in particular was certainly on the verge of relegation to a mid-major program with Baylor likely not far behind. Missouri’s administrators, who not long ago talked of their involvement in the Big 12 in the past tense, have been saved as well from peddling their wares on the street corner. Kansas and its pre-eminent basketball program has been spared the indignity of either playing out of region in the Big East or asking for shelter from the Mountain West. And all these longtime rivals (or at least most of them) get to continue beating each other up on the playing field. Without a doubt, the 2010-11 season has just taken on some added significance.

Beyond all that, there are the details. First, is this league still the Big 12? We’ve put up with the Big Eleven still calling themselves the Big Ten if only because they were sorta old and quaint, perhaps a little senile, and who could blame them if they couldn’t count anymore. Sure the Atlantic 10 has 14 members, but the Atlantic 14 sounds like a really bad sequel to Ocean’s Eleven. But we really can’t have the Big 12 operating with ten members (assuming they actually stay at ten – more on that in a second), still calling itself the Big 12, can we? The easy solution is to just have the Big Ten and Big 12 swap logos, but something tells me we’re stuck with these names.

Next, the schedules should improve for the conference. As the Pac-10 gave up its claim as the only BCS conference to host a full schedule in football and a home-and-home round-robin in basketball, the Big 12 should be able claim that schedule for their own as its football championship goes on hiatus for awhile and it drops the dead weight at the back end of their basketball slate.

Then, there is also the issue of whether the Big 12 maybe gets a little bit of that expansion greed of its own and tries to reach into the MWC for a couple teams to move back to 12, giving the name meaning again and firing the football championship game back up. Air Force and BYU have already been mentioned, and while I’m not going to say for sure (things ‘round these parts have a way of changing rapidly), I don’t see that happening. The member institutions have this nice new television contract, so it doesn’t make a lot of sense for them to be interested in cutting in two new schools on the deal.

One interesting question that remains is the talk of this television money. The Big 12 still has existing television contracts with Fox (which expires at the end of 2010-11) and ESPN (which expires at the end of 2015-16). Renegotiating the Fox contract surely did not suddenly make the conference flush with all this cash, right? It had to be ESPN that came in to save the day, renegotiating their contract with the Big 12 to allow the conference to stick around. And, in the process, ESPN prevented a bidding war for the rights to the new Pac-16 conference (the Pac-10’s deal expires at the end of 2010-11) and stuck it to Fox a little, since the plans for the new Pac-16 conference network included Fox as an operating partner and perhaps as the main cable conference for the network.   It will be interesting to see the details about exactly where this conference-saving television contract came from at some point in the future.

Pac-10. Or 11. Or 12?

So, with the Big 12 (or 10, or god knows what) all set, where does that leave the Pac-10, which currently has 11 teams? Commissioner Larry Scott is not going to be able to reel in the big fish, but he’s still got a line out there, looking for a 12^th team with the likeliest target being Utah. And frankly, Utah is probably snapping around in the water just begging to get a bite of that hook. Utah is everything the Pac-10 is looking for, and the combination of Colorado and Utah was the likeliest set of invitees to the Pac-10 all along. Utah is a large state research institution in a big western market, and they match well with Colorado as their traveling partner in the Pac-10’s geographical clustered format. Utah athletic director Chris Hill has made it clear that  his school is happy in the MWC, but he would have a hard time turning down an offer from the Pac-10, which would certainly be more profitable.

Utah is Likely to be the 12th Member of the New Pac-12

While the Pac-10 may take a little heat in the general public for having missed out on Texas, the perspective I see is that they swung for the fences, and only wound up with a double. They still will likely end up with the schools they thought they had the best chance of getting at the start of this whole process, and the schools that were the best geographic and cultural matches. The talk is that they’ll still proceed with their plans for a conference cable network, as they’re still well positioned for their upcoming television negotiations (although there isn’t much chance they’ll get the type of money the Big 12 got), and they’ll now be able to hold the football championship game they wanted all along.

And, if the Pac-10 does wind up at 12, don’t expect them to force the Pac-10 moniker on us. They’ll at least be smart enough to call it what it is, the Pac-12.

Mountain West

With Utah apparently the next target for the Pac-10, the Mountain West could wind up basically trading Utah for Boise State. With Utah, the MWC would have been a very strong football conference,but without the Utes they’re basically back to where they were last season. The worst case scenario for the MWC is if the Big 12 does in fact try to get back to twelve teams by poaching a couple of the MWC schools, like Air Force and BYU. In that unlikely scenario, both the MWC and Boise State wind up the big, big losers in the whole affair, with the both sides wondering why they didn’t wait a few more days to make their union official. As it is, however, it looks like mostly a wash. But the college sports landscape may lose another of its big conference rivalries, with BYU and Utah being split up.

Will the MWC try to replace Utah? If so, it won’t be an upgrade; possible targets would be further WAC teams like Fresno State, Nevada or Utah State, but those conversations may be further down the road.

What’s next?

The next big story will likely be the Pac-10’s courtship of Utah, which shouldn’t really be a long and suspense-filled dalliance. After that, we may downshift into normalcy for awhile. Big Ten expansion has moved back over into the slow lane (although I don’t suspect that they are quite done yet), and Jim Delany’s original 12-18 month timetable is again the order of the day. With the Pac-10 and Big 12 pieces of the puzzle off the table (Orangebloods.com reports that the new TV deal for the Big 12 will lock the schools into the conference for the life of the deal), any further conference realignment will be focused in the east. The Big Ten, if it expands further, will still look at Notre Dame and several Big East football schools. There is talk of Memphis trying to buy its way into a BCS conference via FedEx CEO Fred Smith’s offer of up to $10 million annually for an invitation, and some talk that the Big East may be interested. The SEC could still be interested in some ACC football powers, although the SEC/ESPN contract that was once such hot stuff is no longer all that outrageous anymore. For the time being, however, it looks like we have passed the hyper-critical stage of conference realignment, with just three confirmed moves so far, and it looks like we have avoided the apocalyptic meltdown that was once a distinct possibility. At least until all these television contracts get ready to expire again.

Over the course of the next month until the NBA Draft on June 24, RTC will be rolling out comprehensive profiles of the 30-35 collegians we feel have the best chance to hear their names called by David Stern in the first round that night.  There won’t be any particular order to the list, but you can scroll back through all the finished profiles by clicking here.

Player Name: Paul George

School: Fresno State

Height/Weight: 6’9, 215

NBA Position: Small Forward

Projected Draft Range: Late lottery

Overview: To the casual fan, Paul George may be the least recognizable potential lottery pick, having spent his two collegiate seasons in relative obscurity on bad teams at Fresno State.  National television appearances were few and far between, but when George’s Bulldogs found their way onto ESPN, he made the best of it.  Last season George did a little bit of everything for the Bulldogs, averaging 16.8 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 3.0 APG and 2.2 SPG while hitting 91% of this free throws in 33 minutes per game.  Still, he rarely faced elite defenders in the WAC so there is some lingering concern over the quality of competition he was doing it against, but the general feeling is that his athletic gifts and skill set are such that he will learn to excel against any defense.   The key question that draftniks have about George is whether his potential and upside are worth the risk of taking him with a lottery pick, and it appears as we get closer to draft day that several teams are more than willing to give him a shot.

George's Athleticism is Eye-Popping

Will Translate to the NBA:  George’s ridiculous athleticism, nearly seven-foot wingspan and astonishing leaping ability are attributes that will serve him very well at the small forward position in the NBA.  He can get to the rim and finish over and through defenders when necessary.  He also has exceptional range on his jumper — well beyond the college three-point line — although he can sometimes rely too much on this shot given his athleticism (43% of his field goal attempts were from distance in his two-year career).  There are quite a few swing players vying for a minutes at the next level who can run and jump like George, but not many can also shoot the ball with consistency.  He has had a tendency to take poor shots on occasion, but George will likely cut down on his chucker mentality when he realizes that he will not need to be the primary scoring threat in the NBA.

Needs Work: The areas of George’s game that need the most work are his sometimes sloppy handling of the ball (nearly three turnovers per game) and a lack of defensive intensity (especially considering his physical tools).  These are manageable problems that can be improved upon with repetition and improved focus during game action, but they’re also the type of mistakes that will get him pulled from the game quickly at the next level.  We imagine that some of this derives from being the star offensive player on a bad team and is correctable through management of his minutes and improved basketball IQ.  In other words, coaching.

Comparison Players: Reliable small forwards who can shoot from distance like Trevor Ariza, Danny Granger and Rudy Gay are several of the more popular comparisons we’re hearing.  George is probably a bit more athletic than those players so if he can shore up his handle and improve his shot selection, these are reasonable target players for him.  Should he not improve on his deficiencies, though, then Dorell Wright may be a more apt comparison over the long run.

Best Case Scenario:  The best case scenario for George is that the sky is the limit for the physically gifted wing player.  He has the athleticism of a young Tracy McGrady and the jumper to ensure that defenders cannot leave him open on the perimeter.  He resolves the nagging issues relating to intensity, shot selection and focus and becomes a reliable starter in short order, followed by several seasons of borderline All-Star play.  We’re not sure we ever see him breaking into the rarefied air of an all-NBA selection, but he’s one of the few in this year’s draft class whose untapped potential leaves you wondering.

2013 Projection: In three years, we expect to see George starting for the team that selected him, acting as a key contributor (12/6) on the wing in the Ariza mold.  He has the athletic potential to become a lockdown NBA defender, and we expect that he will take on that challenge and live up to that possibility.  In fact, the defensive end more so than the offensive may be where George earns his keep in this league.  We also expect that the high-flying forward will have competed in a couple NBA Slam Dunk contests by this time.  Simply put, we expect that George will be a solid NBA player in three years — not a superstar, but a reliable wing for a borderline playoff team with his best years ahead of him.

Best NBA Fit: The ideal NBA fit for George coming out of the draft is a team that has consistent point guard play who will look to push the ball allowing George to terrorize transition defenders filling the lanes.  It will also allow George to get comfortable finding spot-up situations for his three-point game without having to worry about doing a lot of ball-handling in the initial stages of his career.  New Orleans and Chris Paul at the #11 slot would be a good situation for George, as would Memphis and Mike Conley at the #13 position.

Mountain West Tournament Quarters

• After a long day and a drive from Los Angeles, I got into the Thomas & Mack Center to see TCU down only four to BYU just about halfway through the second half. Just a couple of minutes later, the Cougars had extended the lead to double figures and the only intrigue left was how much Jimmer Fredette would score. TCU threw everything they had at him, including sophomore point guard Ronnie Moss just wrapping his arms around Fredette’s waist at times, but it was no use. Fredette did it every way: deep threes, pull-up jumpers, taking it to the hole and, of course, hitting 23 of his whopping 24 free throw attempts on his way to 45 points (a MWC Tournament record), including 30 in the second half. And, if that weren’t enough, he added six assists as well.
• Inside of a minute into the UNLV/Utah game, it was obvious it was going to be a physical game. Both teams tried to exploit the other teams inside, and Utah did so to the tune of 36 free throw attempts (of which they made 31). But if the Utes weren’t getting to the line, they were building a chimney; they made just 13 of their 40 field goal attempts, mostly because UNLV defenders were in their faces constantly.
• It’s been said before I’m sure, so you won’t mind if I say it again: UNLV getting to play this tournament on their home court every year is a huge advantage. While there were pockets of Utah fans, this was little different than a UNLV home game.
• After the Utes got three unanswered threes (by Marshall Henderson, Luka Drca and Chris Hines) wrapped around a David Foster rejection to cut what was a 13-point Rebel lead to just four at the half, the start of the second half was electric in the arena. But an early 12-3 run by the Rebels broke things back open and the rest of the half was the Runnin’ Rebels living up to their nickname.

WAC Tournament Quarters

(1) Utah State 84, (8) Boise State 60

• If Utah State has a weakness it’s against pressure defenses. Boise State was able to hang in the game at halftime trailing by just five by turning the Aggies over and getting easy baskets in transition.
• If you’ve followed WAC basketball at all this season you may wonder why Utah State’s Brian Green hits his elbow and points to the sky after every game. The answer? “These are my guns, I just reload them.” Green unloaded for 18 against Boise State, which was tied for the game high with both Tai Wesley and Pooh Williams.
• Boise State fans don’t really like Greg Graham. Will he be joining Hawaii’s Bobby Nash in the WAC coaches unemployment line?

(4) Louisiana Tech 74, (5) Fresno State 66

• Jamel Guyton is pretty good. He had 31 points and 11 rebounds for Tech, and was a much needed source of offense when the team was struggling.
• Kyle Gibson is still not right. He went 1-5 from the floor and finished with just 7 points. If you had asked me midseason he would have been my WAC POY, but with his ankle hurting he hasn’t been the same player, and the Bulldogs haven’t been the same team either. They will need another huge effort from Guyton to keep up with Utah State.
• Paul George announced he’s going pro via his twitter feed. If George does in fact go pro then Fresno will be back in rebuilding mode again next year.

(2) Nevada 87, (7) Idaho 71

• Luke Babbitt is one of the most consistent players in the nation. Nothing spectacular, he just goes out and gets his 20 points and doesn’t even crack a smile.
• When Nevada gets a balanced effort from role players like Brandon Fields and Joey Shaw then they are going to be tough to beat. If I’m a coach scheming against them, I’d take everyone else away and let Babbitt get his.
• Idaho is back to being … well, Idaho. Idaho had a senior-laden team and didn’t really make anything out of it this season, topped off by having a player call out the coach on twitter. Coach Don Verlin can succeed in Moscow, but it’s going to take a few years of his recruits to get the ship fully turned around.

(3) New Mexico State 90, (6) San Jose State 69

• When New Mexico State commits itself to defense they can be a terror. They finished with six steals and many easy buckets based on solid defense.
• San Jose State’s four-guard lineup was a fun little quirk early in the season and seemed like it could make them dangerous, but instead it just made them small and easily overpowered.
• Chalk reigned supreme in Reno on Thursday with all four top seeds advancing. Will make for a fantastic Friday night in Reno.

The Western Athletic Conference begins its postseason tournament here in The Biggest Little City in the World. The feature game of the afternoon pod is the #4-#5 seed matchup as Louisiana Tech takes on Fresno State to decide which set of Bulldogs will reign supreme in the WAC this season. Louisiana Tech sputtered out to end the season winning just one of its last five conference games, and they just weren’t the same without All-WAC second teamer Kyle Gibson down the stretch run. Gibson averaged 19 points a game for Tech and could have easily been a first team performer had he not missed several games, but he promises to be back for the stretch tourney run. The Fresno State Bulldogs have been the hardest team in the WAC to figure out. Steve Cleveland’s team has some of the best talent in the WAC in the form of future NBA players Paul George, Greg Smith and Sylvester Seay, but the west coast Bulldogs have a hard time putting it all together. Still they have scored some huge upsets in conference play, beating New Mexico State, Nevada and most recently Louisiana Tech just last Thursday. Will Gibson’s return be enough to get Louisiana Tech back on track and into the second round or will Fresno’s NBA talent finally gel and lead them to the semis? Find out whose NCAA dream will last at least one more day with us on RTC Live.

Sam Wasson of bleedCRIMSON.net and Travis Mason-Bushman of Vandal Nation are the RTC correspondents for the Western Athletic Conference.

As the WAC enters its final week of regular season play, Utah State has clinched at least a share of the WAC regular season title for the third consecutive season. The navy-clad Aggies earned the share with a 76-39 pasting of Fresno State. New Mexico State takes to the road with a chance to tie for the regular season title as the crimson-clad Aggies will face Nevada and Utah State. At the bottom of the standings it’s three teams — Idaho, Hawai’i and Boise State — fighting for the final two spots in the conference tournament which begins next week.

Current Standings

• 1) Utah State, 24-6 (13-2)
• 2) New Mexico State, 19-9 (11-3)
• T3) Louisiana Tech, 22-7 (9-5)
• T3) Nevada 17-11 (9-5)
• 5) San Jose State 14-14 (6-8)
• 6) Fresno State, 14-17 (6-9)
• 7) Idaho, 13-15 (4-10)
• 8) Hawai’i, 10-18 (3-11)
• 9) Boise State, 13-16 (3-11)

Team Breakdowns

Boise State, 13-16 (3-11)

The week’s results:  02/25 W @ Louisiana Tech, 72-59, 02/27 L @ New Mexico State, 95-92

Upcoming games:  03/04 vs. Hawai’i, 03/06 vs. San Jose State

After looking like they were going to be the odd man out of the conference tournament just a week ago, the Broncos have been re-energized by a road split at Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State. BSU pulled off the stunning upset over La. Tech, winning by 13 points, and then nearly pulled off another shocker mounting a huge second half comeback before falling just short by three at New Mexico State. The Broncos can play their way into the tournament as they host Hawai’i and San Jose State to end the regular season. A split by the Broncos could still end their season as Hawai’i would then own the tiebreaker over Boise State and a pair of losses would guarantee their missing the conference tournament.

Fresno State, 14-17 (6-9)

The week’s results:  02/23 W vs. Cal State-Bakersfield, 79-68, 02/27 L @ San Jose State, 72-45, 03/01 L @ Utah State, 76-39

Upcoming games:  03/04 vs. Louisiana Tech

The Bulldogs had a disastrous week of conference play, losing on the road at San Jose State and at Utah State by 27 and 37, respectively. In both games Fresno State was down big at halftime. FSU hosts Louisiana Tech on Senior Night in Fresno but a loss could drop them all the way to the seventh seed in the conference tournament.

Hawai’i, 10-18 (3-11)

The week’s results:  02/26 L vs. Utah State, 61-50, 02/28 W vs. Nevada, 74-63

Upcoming games:  03/04 @ Boise State, 03/06 @ Idaho

The Warriors finally broke through by snapping a nine-game losing streak, eight of those in conference. It couldn’t have come at a better time for Hawaii as their win over Nevada on Saturday came on a tumultuous day that saw the islands threatened by a tsunami. It was coupled with a loss by Boise State at New Mexico State and enabled the Warriors to have a chance to play their way into the WAC tournament in the final week of the regular season. Hawai’i will travel to the mainland to face Boise State and Idaho. UH lost to Idaho and defeated Boise State on the islands in the first meeting but all that matters to the Warriors is winning two games this week and they’re in the conference tournament.

Idaho, 13-15 (4-10)

The week’s results:  02/24 L @ New Mexico State, 74-57, 02/27 L @ Louisiana Tech, 60-49

Upcoming games:  03/04 vs. San Jose State, 03/06 vs. Hawai’i

After looking like they had earned themselves a spot in the conference tournament, the Vandals are in danger of missing it after getting swept on the road at New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech. Combined with stunning victories by Hawai’i vs. Nevada and Boise State at Louisiana Tech, the Vandals have just a one-game lead over the two schools with two games left to play. Idaho will host San Jose State and Hawai’i. The Vandals just need one victory to earn their spot in the conference tournament, however, they would certainly want to win both to ensure they don’t drop to the eighth seed and have to face Utah State or New Mexico State in the first round.

Louisiana Tech, 22-7 (9-5)

The week’s results:  02/25 L vs. Boise State, 72-59, 02/27 W vs. Idaho, 60-49

Upcoming games:  03/04 @ Fresno State, 03/06 @ Nevada

The Bulldogs finish the week on the road visiting Fresno State and Nevada with a chance to lock up the third seed in the conference tournament. Louisiana Tech was stunned by Boise State and dropped into fourth place but they were aided when Hawai’i returned the favor against Nevada to tie things up between the Wolf Pack and Bulldogs.

Nevada 17-11 (9-5)

The week’s results:  02/25 W @ San Jose State, 83-79, 02/28 L @ Hawai’i, 74-63

Upcoming games:  03/04 vs. New Mexico State, 03/06 vs. Louisiana Tech

The Wolf Pack split a pair of road games last week but are assured a top four finish in the conference. Nevada can lock up second place in the league behind Utah State if they can take care of business at home against New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech.

New Mexico State (19-9, 11-3)

The week’s results:  02/24 W vs. Idaho, 74-57, 02/27 W vs. Boise State, 95-92

Upcoming games:  03/04 @ Nevada, 03/06 @ Utah State

New Mexico State took care of business at home last week to set themselves up for one of the biggest road trips they’ve had in a long time. A pair of wins would give the Aggies a share of the regular season title with Utah State and the number one overall seed in the WAC tournament. A split would give them second place in the league but a pair of losses could potentially drop them to the three seed.

San Jose State 14-14 (6-8)

The week’s results:  02/25 L vs. Nevada, 83-79, 02/27 W vs. Fresno State, 72-45

Upcoming games:  03/04 @ Idaho, 03/06 @ Boise State

The Spartans split a pair last week but moved up to fifth place in the league where they’ll look to stay with a pair of games at Idaho and at Boise State. SJSU is looking for their best conference record and finish in over ten seasons. Should the Spartans lose both games they could potentially drop to the seven seed.

Utah State, 24-6 (13-2)

The week’s results:  02/25 W @ Hawai’i, 61-50, 03/01 W vs. Fresno State, 76-39

Upcoming games: 03/06 vs. New Mexico State

The UtAgs clinched at least a share of the WAC’s regular season title for the third consecutive season with a pair of victories over Hawai’i and Fresno State. Utah State will look to win the title outright as they host New Mexico State on Saturday. The crimson Aggies are one of only two losses suffered by Utah State in conference play this season. The UtAgs have already avenged their only other loss when they defeated Louisiana Tech.

UPCOMING GAMES

• 03/04 – Nevada vs. New Mexico State – 7:00 p.m. PT
• 03/04 – Idaho vs. San Jose State – 7:00 p.m. PT
• 03/04 – Boise State vs. Hawai’i – 7:00 p.m. MT
• 03/04 – Fresno State vs. Louisiana Tech – 7:00 p.m. PT
• 03/06 – Boise State vs. San Jose State – 3:15 p.m. MT
• 03/06 – Idaho vs. Hawai’i – 5:00 p.m. PT
• 03/06 – Utah State vs. New Mexico State – 7:00 p.m.
• 03/06 – Nevada vs. Louisiana Tech – 8:00 p.m. PT

Sam Wasson of bleedCRIMSON.net and Travis Mason-Bushman of Vandal Nation are the RTC correspondents for the Western Athletic Conference.

The top four teams in the league put on an strong showing in the ESPNU BracketBusters on Saturday with Utah State, New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech all picking up victories in their nationally televised games. Nevada came up just short against Missouri State leaving the league with a 3-1 record. The rest of the league did not fare as well as the remaining five teams went 1-4 in their BracketBusters games with San Jose State being the only team to win their non-conference matchup.

With BracketBusters out of the way, fans now turn their attention back to the league race. It’s down to the final two weeks of play and the top four teams still all have a chance to win the league. Utah State leads the race to the finish line at 11-2. Just behind the Aggies are the league’s other Aggies, New Mexico State at 9-3. Louisiana Tech and Nevada are tied at 8-4 in third place. The path to the regular season title appears to heads through Logan, UT, as the UtAgs finish with two of three at home including a showdown with second place New Mexico State. NM State hosts the Idaho schools before closing out the season on the road at Nevada and Utah State. Nevada likewise finishes with two on the road and two at home as they’ll head to San Jose and Honolulu this week before returning home to face New Mexico State and La. Tech. La. Tech also hosts the Idaho schools before finishing the season at Fresno State and at Nevada. With quality competition among the top four it’s anyone’s guess how the top four seedings will shake out but it’s guaranteed to be an exciting finish.

Current Standings

1. Utah State, 22-6 (11-2)
2. New Mexico State, 17-9 (9-3)
3. Louisiana Tech, 21-6 (8-4)
4. Nevada 16-10 (8-4)
5. Fresno State, 13-15 (6-7)
6. San Jose State 13-12 (5-7)
7. Idaho, 13-13 (4-8)
8. Hawai’i, 9-17 (2-10)
9. Boise State, 12-15 (2-10)

Team Rundowns

Boise State, 12-15 (2-10).  The Broncos split a pair of games against Big West foes as they defeated Cal State-Bakersfield 81-62 but fell 82-74 to UC Davis in an ESPNU BracketBusters game. The Broncos are fighting not only for their postseason lives but potentially their coach’s job as well. The Broncos head out on the road to face top half foes La. Tech and NM State this week. The Broncos lost by 15 to the Bulldogs in Boise while they were more competitive against the Aggies falling by just three.

The week’s results:  02/17 W vs. Cal State-Bakersfield, 81-62, 02/20 L vs. UC-Davis, 82-74

Upcoming games:  02/25 @ Louisiana Tech, 02/27 @ New Mexico State

Fresno State, 13-15 (6-7).  The Bulldogs lost a close contest to Big West leading UC Santa Barbara on Saturday in an ESPNU BracketBusters game. Fresno State had a chance to take the lead late in the game but a three pointer from Paul George clanked off the back of the rim and UCSB held on for the win. Up next for Fresno is a pair of in-state games against CS-Bakersfield and then a showdown at San Jose State, a battle for fifth place in the league and a chance to showcase two of the league’s most dynamic players in Paul George and Adrian Oliver.

The week’s results:  02/20 L vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 64-60

Upcoming games:  02/23 vs. Cal State-Bakersfield, 02/27 @ San Jose State, 03/01 @ Utah state

Hawai’i, 9-17 (2-10).  The slide continues for the Warriors as they’ve dropped eight in a row. Hawai’i fell on the road by 24 at New Mexico State in a game that wasn’t even that close. Then in an ESPNU BracketBusters game that the injury-riddled team would rather have not been playing, the Warriors lost to Cal Poly 102-89, again a game not nearly as close as the final margin indicated. UH fell behind by 21 points at halftime but to their credit they scored 59 points in the second half. Unfortunately for Warrior fans, the Mustangs scored 51 points in a half where defense was clearly optional. Hawai’i hosts Utah State and Nevada this week and perhaps the 59 point outburst is a sign that the Warriors are ready to emerge from the dark tunnel of losing.

The week’s results:  02/15 L @ New Mexico State, 88-64, 02/20 L vs. Cal Poly, 102-89

Upcoming games:  02/26 vs. Utah State, 02/28 vs. Nevada

Idaho, 13-13 (4-8).  The up and down season for the Vandals continues as they dispatched Seattle 82-72 only to fall to Long Beach State two nights later in the BracketBusters. Idaho appears to have clinched their spot in the WAC Tournament but need to win at least one more game to mathematically clinch a spot. UI travels to second place New Mexico State for a nationally televised game on ESPN2 followed by a trip to third place Ruston to take on La. Tech.

The week’s results:  02/18 W vs. Seattle, 82-72, 02/20 L vs. Long Beach State, 77-66

Upcoming games:  02/24 @ New Mexico State, 02/27 @ Louisiana Tech

Louisiana Tech, 21-6 (8-4).  The Bulldogs were two plays away from finishing the week 2-0 and two plays away from finishing the week 0-2. Instead they came away with a 1-1 record. A bad pass late in the game cost the Bulldogs a potential rare victory in Logan against Utah State but in their ESPNU BracketBusters game it was a banked three pointer by DeAndre Brown that gave the Bulldogs a 70-67 win over Northeastern. LTU hosts the Idaho squads this week before closing out the regular season on the road. The question for the Bulldogs is was the Northeastern victory enough to put them on the bubble? Aside from a loss at San Jose State, La. Tech doesn’t really have a bad loss. Their two non-conference losses were at New Mexico, a Top 15 team, and at Arizona. Conference losses to New Mexico State and Utah State are certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

The week’s results:  02/17 L @ Utah State, 67-61, 02/20 W @ Northeastern, 70-67

Upcoming games:  02/25 vs. Boise State, 02/27 vs. Idaho

Nevada 16-10 (8-4).  The Wolf Pack snuck out a victory over Fresno State 74-70 and lost a close game against Missouri State in the ESPNU BracketBusters. UNR head on the road to San Jose and Hawai’i this week. The game against the Spartans won’t be easy as SJSU has beaten both New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech earlier this season in San Jose and the trip to Hawai’i is never easy due in large part to the travel requirements. A road sweep this week will set up a demanding final week in which the Wolf Pack can potentially earn a regular season title with some help from Utah State’s opponents.

The week’s results:  02/17 vs. Fresno State, 02/20 @ Missouri State

Upcoming games:  02/25 @ San Jose State, 02/28 @ Hawai’i

New Mexico State (17-9, 9-3).  The crimson-clad Aggies earned a pair of victories last week with a 24-point win over depleted Hawai’i and then an 84-78 BracketBusters win over Pacific. NM State is now 5-0 in the BracketBusters event and they continued their domination of Pacific having won 30 of 38 meetings between the two schools. The Aggies host the Idaho schools this week. A home sweep will give the Aggies a chance to win at least a share of the regular season title with the northern navy-clad Aggies.

The week’s results:  02/15 W 88-64 vs. Hawai’i, 02/20 W @ Pacific, 84-78

Upcoming games:  02/24 vs. Idaho, 02/27 vs. Boise State

San Jose State 13-12 (5-7).  The Spartans earned the WAC’s only non-televised BracketBusters victory with their 77-66 win over Montana State. Up next for SJSU is Nevada and Fresno State at home. A home sweep can move Spartans up in the league standings and potentially set themselves up for a shot at a finish as high as fourth. The game at home against Fresno State gives the Spartans a chance to shine on national television on ESPNU.

The week’s results:  02/20 @ Montana State

Upcoming games:  02/25 vs. Nevada, 02/27 vs. Fresno State

Utah State, 22-6 (11-2).  The Aggies had the best week in the league defeating a pair of 20-win teams at home. Utah State escaped with a win over Louisiana Tech, 67-61, and dispatched of one of the Missouri Valley’s best in Wichita State, 68-58. USU has won 12 in a row and with an RPI of 33 has to be considered a strong bubble team. However, losses to Long Beach State (13-14) and Utah (12-14) don’t look good on the resume. The UtAgs can close out a regular season title if they’re able to take care of Hawai’i and Fresno State which could set up a one-game playoff for the regular season title and the top seed in the WAC tournament if the crimson-clad Aggies take care of their end of things.

The week’s results:  02/17 vs. Louisiana Tech, 02/21 vs. Wichita State

Upcoming games:   02/25 @ Hawai’i, 03/01 vs. Fresno State

UPCOMING GAMES

• 02/23 – Fresno State vs. Cal State-Bakersfield – 7:00 p.m. PT
• 02/24 – New Mexico State vs. Idaho – 9:00 p.m. MT (ESPN2)
• 02/25 – San Jose State vs. Nevada – 7:00 p.m. PT (Comcast SportsNet California)
• 02/25 – Louisiana Tech vs. Boise State – 7:00 p.m. CT
• 02/25 – Hawai’i vs. Utah State – 7:00 p.m. HT
• 02/27 – Louisiana Tech vs. Idaho – 7:00 p.m. CT
• 02/27 – San Jose State vs. Fresno State – 7:00 p.m. PT (ESPNU)
• 02/27 – Hawai’i vs. Nevada – 7:00 p.m. HT (Comcast SportsNet California)
• 02/27 – New Mexico State vs. Boise State – 7:00 p.m. MT (KTVB-Boise, AggieVision-New Mexico)
• 03/01 – Utah State vs. Fresno State – 7:00 p.m. MT (Bulldog Sports Network)

Sam Wasson of bleedCRIMSON.net and Travis Mason-Bushman of Vandal Nation are the RTC correspondents for the Western Athletic Conference.

After starting out conference play 0-2 the Utah State Aggies have stormed their way to the top of the conference. The Aggies are winners of ten straight and at 10-2, have a game and a half lead over second place New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech. The bottom of the league is starting to clear itself up as well as Idaho has gotten warm at the right time to move into seventh place. Boise State and Hawai’i are battling for the final conference tournament spot.

This weekend the WAC steps out of conference as they take on their BracketBusters foes highlighted by 20-6 Utah State hosting 20-6 Wichita State, 15-9 New Mexico State traveling to 16-8 Pacific, 20-5 Louisiana Tech traveling to 17-9 Northeastern and 15-9 Nevada traveling to 17-8 Missouri State. Additionally, Fresno State will face Big West leading UC-Santa Barbara. The rest of the WAC will face members from the middle of the standings in the Big West.

Current Standings

1. Utah State, 20-6 (10-2)
2. New Mexico State, 15-9 (8-3)
3. Louisiana Tech, 20-5 (8-3)
4. Nevada 15-9 (7-4)
5. Fresno State, 13-13 (6-6)
6. San Jose State 12-10 (5-7)
7. Idaho, 12-12 (4-8)
8. Hawai’i, 9-15 (2-9)
9. Boise State, 11-14 (2-10)

Team Breakdowns

Boise State

The week’s results: 02/07 L vs. Idaho, 79-55, 02/11 L vs. Utah State, 72-67, 02/13 L vs. Nevada, 88-80 (OT)

Upcoming games: 02/17 vs. Cal State-Bakersfield, 02/20 vs. UC-Davis

The Broncos have dropped three in a row and sit in last place in the WAC and with a loss at eighth place Hawai’i earlier in the conference season, the Broncos appear to be the team on the outside looking in at the postseason. They’ll need to start winning some games and hope for some help from the Hawai’i opponents as the conference schedule winds down if they hope to make the eight-team conference tournament. The Broncos step out of conference this week to face a pair of Big West foes in Cal State-Bakersfield and UC-Davis as part of the ESPN BracketBusters event.

Fresno State (13-13, 6-6)

The week’s results:  02/06 W @ Hawai’i, 61-51, 02/11 W vs. New Mexico State, 83-64, 02/13 L vs. Idaho, 68-59

Upcoming games:  02/20 vs. UC-Santa Barbara

The Bulldogs continue their up and down season. Following wins over Hawai’i in Honolulu and a beating of then-first place New Mexico State, the Bulldogs followed up with a loss at home to seventh place Idaho, 68-59. The Bulldogs were swept by the Vandals this season and sit two games ahead of the Vandals with four tough conference games remaining as they will play three of their final four conference games on the road at Nevada, at San Jose State and at Utah State before closing out the season with Louisiana Tech. Their sweep at the hands of Idaho could play a big factor in the seedings in the conference tournament.

Hawaii (9-15, 2-9)

The week’s results:  02/06 L vs. Fresno State, 61-51, 02/13 L @ Louisiana Tech, 66-60

Upcoming games:  02/15 @ New Mexico State, 02/20 vs. Cal Poly

It continues to be close but no cigar for the extremely shorthanded Warriors. Hawai’i has now lost six games in a row and outside of a 23-point loss to San Jose State in SJ, the Warriors have lost five of those six games by 10 points or less and four of those by six or less. Head coach Bob Nash received more bad news as guard Jeremy Lay will miss the remainder of the season due to injury. The Warriors take on second place New Mexico State before hosting Cal Poly for their ESPN BracketBuster game.

Idaho (12-12, 4-8)

The week’s results: 02/07 L @ Boise State, 79-55, 02/10 L vs. Nevada, 67-66, 02/13 L @ Fresno State, 68-59

Upcoming games:  02/18 vs. Seattle, 02/20 vs. Long Beach State

The Vandals avenged their stunning home loss to in-state rival Boise State by taking them to the woodshed in the return game. The Vandals handed BSU their worst loss in the rivalry series. Idaho followed that win up with an oh-so-close loss to Nevada in which they led by two points with six seconds left before losing on a three point play by Nevada’s Armon Johnson. The Vandals regrouped to knock off Fresno State who was coming off a big victory over New Mexico State. Idaho hosts a pair of non-conference games when Seattle and Long Beach State come to Moscow.

Louisiana Tech (20-5, 8-3)

The week’s results:  02/08 L @ New Mexico State, 70-68, 02/13 W vs. Hawai’i, 66-60

Upcoming games:  02/17 @ Utah State, 02/20 @ Northeastern

After leading the WAC through the first half of the conference schedule, the Bulldogs have gone 3-3 in their past six games and have a very long road trip for a pair of tough upcoming games, at Utah State and then all the way back across the country to face Northeastern in a televised ESPN BracketBusters game. The Bulldogs were the last team to beat Utah State when they trounced the Aggies 82-60 in Ruston.

Nevada (15-8, 7-4)

The week’s results:  02/06 L @ Utah State, 76-65, 02/10 W vs. Idaho, 67-66, 02/13 W vs. Boise State, 88-80

Upcoming games: 02/17 vs. Fresno State, 02/20 @ Missouri State

The Wolf Pack lost on the road at Utah State, 76-65, and stole a victory in Moscow 67-66 on a three-point play with under six seconds left to stun Idaho. Nevada then outlasted Boise State 88-80 in overtime. The Wolf Pack sit just one game behind both Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State with both teams still facing road trips to Reno. They’ll host Fresno State before heading on the road to face Missouri State in their ESPN Bracketbusters game.

New Mexico State (15-9, 8-3)

The week’s results:  02/06 W vs. San Jose State, 94-82, 02/08 W vs. Louisiana Tech, 70-68, 02/11 L @ Fresno State, 83-64

Upcoming games: 02/15 vs. Hawai’i, 02/20 @ Pacific

The Aggies briefly moved into first place with a pair of victories over visiting San Jose State and Louisiana Tech but fell back into a tie for second place after a loss to Fresno State in their building.  Against Louisiana Tech, the Aggies saw a 32-point swing as they were down by 15 points in the first half and up by 17 points in the second before holding on for a two-point win. In the loss against Fresno State the Aggies had one of their worst free throw shooting performances as they finished the game 9-of-26 from the free throw stripe. They had a higher shooting percentage from the three point line, 9-of-22, than they did from the charity stripe. The Aggies will look to bounce back against a depleted Hawai’i squad before heading west to face Pacific in their ESPN BracketBusters game.

San Jose State (12-12, 5-7)

The week’s results:  02/06 L @ New Mexico State, 94-82, 02/13 L vs. Utah State, 81-65

Upcoming games:  02/20 @ Montana State

The Spartans have now lost four in a row and dropped to 5-7 in the league after suffering Ls at New Mexico State and at Utah State. The Spartans play just one game, their ESPN BracketBusters game on the road against Montana State this weekend, one of two consecutive games outside the conference as they’ll face Seattle before heading down the home stretch in conference.

Utah State (20-6, 10-2)

The week’s results:  02/05 W vs. Nevada, 76-65, 02/11 W @ Boise State, 72-67, 02/13 W@ San Jose State, 81-65

Upcoming games: 02/17 vs. Louisiana Tech, 02/21 vs. Wichita State

The Aggies find themselves atop the conference with just four conference games left and with only one of the three games on the road they have the inside track to the regular season title. If they can win out and reach the title game of the WAC tournament, they could have a strong case for an at-large bid with wins over BYU and a would-be win over Wichita State. The Aggies can build that case for an at-large if they can defeat Wichita State this Saturday, however, losses to Long Beach State and Utah in the non-conference don’t help their cause.

UPCOMING GAMES

02/17

• Nevada vs. Fresno State – 7:00 p.m. PT (Comcast SportsNet)
• Boise State vs. Cal State-Bakersfield – 8:15 p.m. MT
• Utah State vs. Louisiana Tech – 9:00 p.m. MT (ESPN2)

02/18

• Idaho vs. Seattle – 7:00 p.m. PT

02/20

• Northeastern vs. Louisiana Tech – 1:00 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
• Missouri State vs. Nevada – 2:00 p.m. CT (ESPN2)
• Idaho vs. Long Beach State – 5:30 p.m. PT
• Montana State vs. San Jose State – 7:00 p.m. MT
• Pacific vs. New Mexico State – 7:00 p.m .PT (ESPNU)
• Hawai’i vs. Cal Poly – 8:00 p.m. HT
• Utah State vs. Wichita State – 10:00 p.m. MT (ESPN2)
• Boise State vs. UC-Davis – TBA

Sam Wasson of bleedCRIMSON.net and Travis Mason-Bushman of Vandal Nation are the RTC correspondents for the Western Athletic Conference.

Three sets of three teams, that’s how the standings look as the nine teams look to start the second half of the conference schedule. The top three teams are Utah State, winners of seven in a row, Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State. The middle tier is led by Nevada with the two California schools, San Jose State and Fresno State close behind. Then there are the bottom three teams. Boise State, Idaho and Hawai’i are all 2-7 in conference play and it appears that the three will battle for the final two spots in the WAC tournament.

Current Standings

1. Utah State, 17-6 (7-2)
2. Louisiana Tech, 19-4 (7-2)
3. New Mexico State, 13-8 (6-2)
4. San Jose State 12-10 (5-5)
5. Fresno State, 11-12 (4-5)
6. Boise State, 11-11 (2-7)
7. Idaho, 10-11 (2-7)
8. Hawai’i, 9-13 (2-7)

This week the ESPNU BracketBusters pairings were announced and the league received four televised games in the event.

• Sat., 2/20, Louisiana Tech at Northeastern, 1 p.m. (ESPN2 HD / ESPN360.com)
• Sat., 2/20, Nevada at Missouri State, 3 p.m. (ESPN2 HD / ESPN360.com)
• Sat., 2/20, New Mexico State at Pacific, 10 p.m. (ESPNU)
• Sat., 2/20, Wichita State at Utah State, 11:59 p.m. (ESPN2 HD / ESPN360.com)

The other five teams also face non-conference opponents as part of the event but their games will not be televised.

• UC Santa Barbara at Fresno State
• San Jose State at Montana State
• Long Beach State at Idaho
• UC Davis at Boise State
• Cal Poly at Hawai‘i

The WAC will certainly look to put its best foot forward in the BracketBusters event as two teams, New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech, will face conference leaders Pacific and Northeastern respectively while Nevada and Utah State will face two teams from The Valley in Missouri State and Wichita State.

Team Breakdowns

Boise State (11-11, 2-7)

The week’s results:  01/30 W vs. Fresno State, 65-49

Upcoming games:  02/07 vs. Idaho, 02/11 vs. Utah State

The Broncos have won two in a row in conference play after handling a Paul George-less Fresno State squad 65-59 in Boise. The Broncos led for most of the game and never trailed in the second half. Daequon Montreal and Kurt Cunningham each scored 13 points while Paul Noonan hit four three-pointers to finish with a dozen points. The Broncos earned a season split with Fresno State with the win and moved into a three-way tie for 7th place along with Idaho, their next opponent, and Hawai’i.

Fresno State (11-12, 4-5)

The week’s results:  01/30 L @ Boise State, 65-49

Upcoming games:  02/06 @ Hawai’i, 02/11 vs. New Mexico State

It appears the effects of losing leading scorer Paul George have caught up to the Bulldogs. Fresno State lost back-to-back games in the state of Idaho and both by similar margins. Their latest loss was a 65-49 loss at the hands of Boise State. The Bulldogs remain winless on the road and must face Hawai’i in Honolulu on Saturday before coming home to host New Mexico State. The Bulldogs are winless on the road in conference play.

Hawai’i (9-13, 2-7)

The week’s results:  01/30 @ Nevada

Upcoming games:  02/06 vs. Fresno State

The Warriors’ slide continues as they put up a valiant fight but still fell to Nevada 66-60 in Reno. The Warriors have lost six of their last seven games and with four of their next five games coming against the top four teams in the league, there is not much a light at the end of the tunnel. Hawai’i can take solace from the fact that they battled in Reno in a game in which nobody gave them a chance. Roderick Flemings scored 17 points for Hawai’i and they tied the game at 56 with four minutes left to play but six consecutive free throws in the final 37.5 seconds by Nevada was the difference.

Idaho (10-11, 2-7)

The week’s results:  01/30 W @ Seattle, 87-85,  02/03 L @ Utah State, 80-62

Upcoming games:  02/07 @ Boise State,  02/10 vs. Nevada

The Vandals had an up and down week, mostly down as they squeezed out a close win against Seattle 87-85 and then were spanked by Utah State on national television.  Although to be fair they played without leading scorer and team leader Mac Hopson, who was held out after violating curfew the night before the game. The Vandals travel to Boise State in a revenge game and an all-important game in the league standings. Should Boise State win, the Vandals would essentially be two games behind the Broncos in the league standings as BSU would hold the tiebreaker with Idaho. However, if Idaho can pull out a victory, it would put them a game ahead of the Broncos in the standings and ensure that the tiebreaker would require more than a look at the head-to-head results.

Louisiana Tech (18-4, 6-2)

The week’s results:  01/30 L vs. New Mexico State, 91-77, 02/04 W vs. San Jose State, 71-64

Upcoming games:  02/08 @ New Mexico State

The Bulldogs split a pair of games but remained in first place after getting manhandled by New Mexico State, as they used a 15-0 run to start their game against San Jose State en route to a 71-64 victory. The Bulldogs travel to New Mexico State where they’ll look to exact revenge for their loss just over one week ago.

Nevada (13-8, 5-3)

The week’s results:  01/30 W vs. Hawai’i, 66-60

Upcoming games:  02/06 @ Utah State, 02/10 vs. Idaho

The Wolf Pack nearly suffered deja vu as they allowed an undermanned Hawai’i squad to hang around before icing the game from the free throw line. Nevada jumped out to an early lead but allowed a 12-0 run to end the half to send them into halftime tied with Hawai’i. The second half was a back and forth battle before Nevada’s six made free throws in the final 37.5 seconds saved the Wolf Pack from another stunning loss. Nevada travels to Logan to take on league-leading Utah State on Saturday night and then a trip to Moscow, Idaho, to take on the Vandals.

New Mexico State (13-8, 6-2)

The week’s results:  01/30 W @ Louisiana Tech, 91-77

Upcoming games:  02/06 vs. San Jose State, 02/08 vs. Louisiana Tech

The Aggies handed Louisiana Tech their first home loss of the season in a convincing 91-77 victory in Ruston. They played arguably their best game in two seasons and got a major outing from Hamidu Rahman who scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and was named the WAC Player of the Week for his effort. The Aggies also got 24 points from their bench which proved to be the difference in the game. NMSU faces San Jose State and Louisiana Tech, the two teams they just faced, at home in Las Cruces as they try to keep pace with Utah State at the top of the standings. And they got another boost as the NCAA declared redshirt sophomore forward Troy Gillenwater academically eligible to play for the remainder of the season. New Mexico State filed an appeal on behalf of Gillenwater with the NCAA to grant him eligibility which ended in a favorable ruling. Gillenwater averaged 12.1 points per game last season as a redshirt freshman.

San Jose State (12-10, 5-5)

The week’s results:  01/30 L @ Utah State, 77-58, 02/04 @ Louisiana Tech

Upcoming games:  02/06 @ New Mexico State

The Spartans’ hot streak was cooled off by the red-hot Utah State Aggies. San Jose State trailed Utah State by just two less than a minute into the second half but a huge run by the USU buried San Jose State as they fell by 19 points, 77-58. Adrian Oliver scored 19 points for the Spartans. Against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, the Spartans fell behind 15-0 to start the game and could never recover. They were able to cut the lead to seven points midway through the second half but the initial deficit was too much to overcome. The Spartans wrap up their road trip on Saturday night against New Mexico State, a team they defeated in San Jose.

Utah State (17-6, 7-2)

The week’s results:  01/30 W vs. San Jose State, 77-58, 02/03 W vs. Idaho, 80-62

Upcoming games:  02/05 vs. Nevada, 02/11 @ Boise State

The league’s hottest team resides in Logan, Utah. The preseason pick to win the league has risen to the top of the standings after a rough 0-2 start. Since getting blown out by 22 at Louisiana Tech, Utah State has won seven in a row and has had just one close game, an overtime win at Nevada 79-72. The other six games have been decided by an average of 23.5 points. The Aggies host Nevada in a rematch of that classic battle earlier in the season in Reno before taking a road trip to Boise State and San Jose State.

UPCOMING GAMES

• 02/06 – New Mexico State vs. San Jose State – 7:00 p.m. MT (AggieVision, ESPN Full Court)
• 02/06 – Boise State vs. Idaho – 7:00 p.m. MT
• 02/06 – Hawai’i vs. Fresno State – 8:00 p.m . HT (KFVE Honolulu, Bulldog Sports Network)
• 02/06 – Utah State vs. Nevada – 8:00 p.m. (ESPNU)
• 02/08 – New Mexico State vs. Louisiana Tech (ESPN Regional)
• 02/10 – Idaho vs. Nevada – 8:00 p.m. PT (ESPN2)
• 02/11 – Boise State vs. Utah State – 7:00 p.m. MT
• 02/11 – Fresno State vs. New Mexico State – 7:00 p.m. PT

Sam Wasson of bleedCrimson.net and Travis Mason-Bushman of Vandal Nation are the RTC correspondents for the Western Athletic Conference.

Current Standings

1.  Louisiana Tech, 17-3 (5-1)
1.  New Mexico State, 12-7 (5-1)
3.  Nevada 12-7 (4-2)
3.  Utah State, 14-6 (4-2)
5.  San Jose State 10-8 (3-3)
5.  Fresno State, 10-10 (3-3)
7.  Hawai’i, 9-10 (2-4)
8.  Idaho 8-8 (1-4)
9.  Boise State, 9-11 (0-7)

The cream is starting to rise to the top as Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State lead the league at 5-1 but preseason pick Utah State is tied with perennial WAC power Nevada for third place at 4-2.  The battle for the middle of the league is being waged between a better-than-their-record-indicates San Jose State squad along with a slumping Fresno State and a beaten-up Hawai’i squad.  The battle for the WAC basement resides in the state of Idaho where the Broncos of Boise State are off to their worst league start ever and Idaho is off to a surprising 1-4 start.

Boise State (9-11, 0-7)

The week’s results:
01/16 L @ Utah State, 81-59
01/20 L vs. Nevada, 88-82

Upcoming games:
01/25 @ Idaho

Things did not get any better for the Broncos in the past week as they extended their losing streak to seven games after being blown out by Utah State and dropping a tight contest at home to Nevada.  The Broncos are now off to their worst start in league play ever and it’s their longest losing streak since the 2001-02 season.  Despite their seven-game losing streak, the Broncos are not out of contention just yet for a spot in the conference tournament.  Their in-state brethren, the Idaho Vandals, have won just one league game and with a game against Utah State before round one of the in-state showdown, it is conceivable that the Broncos could tie things up at the bottom with a win next week over Idaho.

Fresno State (10-10, 3-3)

The week’s results:
01/16 L @ New Mexico State, 86-77
01/21 vs. Utah State, 69-43

Upcoming games:
01/23 vs. Nevada
01/28 @ Idaho

The Bulldogs have lost three straight after starting league play 3-0.  Their latest setback was a thrashing at the hands of Utah State.  The Bulldogs’ bigger concern is the health of their leading scorer Paul George who sprained an ankle early in the loss and did not return.  His return to the court is up in the air and with a tough game against Nevada coming up, a hot start to the season is threatening to give way to a midseason slide.

Hawaii (9-10, 2-4)

The week’s results:
01/18 W vs San Jose State, 68-67
01/21 L vs. New Mexico State, 71-69

Upcoming games:
01/24 vs Louisiana Tech
01/28 @ San Jose State

The Warriors were involved in a pair of down-to-the-wire thrillers as they hosted San Jose State and New Mexico State.  They were on the winning side of one and the losing side of on, edging out San Jose State on a pair of free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining but then falling victim to a last second jumper from New Mexico State’s Jahmar Young.  The Warriors host their second league leading team when the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs come to town on January 24, and follow that up with a rematch against San Jose State.  A split of the two games would keep the Warriors in the middle of the WAC pack.

Idaho (8-8, 1-4)

The week’s results:
01/16 L @ Nevada, 76-68

Upcoming games:
01/23 vs. Utah State
01/25 vs. Boise State
01/28 vs. Fresno State

The Vandals are on a three-game losing streak after falling to Nevada on the road last week.  Idaho has a crucial three-game home stand starting with red-hot Utah State, then in-state rival Boise State in a game that could determine which of the two teams stays out of the WAC basement for the remainder of the season and ending with a game against a potentially Paul George-less Fresno State.  Idaho can put itself right back in the league race with a sweep of the home stand or, if they lose all three games, they could find themselves in the WAC basement.

Louisiana Tech (17-2, 5-0)

The week’s results:
01/21 L @ San Jose State, 87-76

Upcoming games:
01/24 @ Hawai’i

The Bulldogs’ winning streak came to an end in San Jose as the Spartans knocked off the league leader 87-76.   The loss snapped a 10-game win streak.  Kyle Gibson led the Bulldogs with 22 points but it was not enough to offset his career night by SJSU’s Adrian Oliver who scored 39 points.  The Bulldogs will look to get back on the winning track when they face Hawai’i.

Nevada (10-7, 2-2)

The week’s results:
01/16 W vs. Idaho, 76-68
01/20 @ Boise State, 88-82

Upcoming games:
01/23 @ Fresno State

The Wolf Pack beat the two Idaho schools, one at home and the other on the road to bounce back from their overtime loss to Utah State on national television.  The Wolf Pack improved to 4-2 and sit just a half game behind New Mexico State in the loss column.

New Mexico State (10-7, 3-1)

The week’s results:
01/16 W vs. Fresno State, 86-77
01/21 W @ Hawai’i, 71-69

Upcoming games:
01/23 @ San Jose State

New Mexico State is on a roll having won four in a row following a disappointing loss to Nevada back on January 4.  The Aggies have posted back-to-back comeback wins against Fresno State and Hawai’i.  Jahmar Young buried a last second 18-foot jumper with 0.9 seconds left on the clock to give the Aggies a win at Hawai’i.  That coupled with a loss by Louisiana Tech at San Jose State moved the Aggies into a tie for first place atop the WAC.  The Aggies face San Jose State on Saturday night in a game that will feature a couple of electric scorers in New Mexico State’s Jahmar Young and San Jose State’s Adrian Oliver, who torched Louisiana Tech for 39 points in SJSU’s win.

San Jose State (10-8, 3-3)

The week’s results:
01/18 L @ Hawai’i, 68-67
01/21 W vs. Louisiana Tech, 87-76

Upcoming games:
01/23 vs. New Mexico State
01/28 vs. Hawai’i

The Spartans split their two games, losing a heartbreaker to Hawai’i 68-67 when the Warriors hit a pair of free throws with 2.1 seconds left to win the game.  However, they bounced back to hand Louisiana Tech their first loss in conference play.  Adrian Oliver scored a career-high 39 points, one shy of the single game record of 40 set by Wally Rank on January 3, 1980.  The Spartans host league leading New Mexico State on Saturday in a game that should be a shootout.

Utah State (14-6, 4-2)

The week’s results:
01/16 W vs. Boise State, 81-59
01/21 W @ Fresno State, 69-43

Upcoming games:
01/23 @ Idaho

The Aggies have their mojo back.  After getting pounded by 22 at Louisiana Tech, Utah State has found whatever they were missing and is now the team doing the pounding.  Riding a four-game win streak the Aggies have beaten three of their past four opponents by an average of 30.7 points.  Their lone close game was an impressive overtime win in Reno, site of this year’s conference tournament.  The Aggies travel to Moscow, ID, to take on the Vandals where it will pit head coach Stew Morrill against long-time assistant Don Verlin who is now in his second season at Idaho.

UPCOMING GAMES

01/23 – Idaho vs. Utah State – 5:00 p.m. PT (ESPN360)
01/23 – Hawai’i vs. Louisiana Tech – 7:00 p.m. HT (KFVE Honolulu)
01/23 – San Jose State vs. New Mexico State – 7:00 p.m. PT
01/23 – Fresno State vs. Nevada – 7:00 p.m. PT (Comcast SportsNet California)
01/25 – Idaho vs. Boise State – 8:00 p.m. PT (ESPNU)
01/28 – San Jose State vs. Hawai’i – 7:00 p.m. PT
01/28 – Idaho vs. Fresno State – 7:00 p.m. PT

Sam Wasson of bleedCrimson.net and Travis Mason-Bushman of Vandal Nation are the RTC correspondents for the Western Athletic Conference.

The WAC opened up league play this past weekend and after the first weekend there were a couple of surprises.  The biggest surprise came from Utah State.  The Aggies went on the road to open up league play and lost to New Mexico State in a close game and then were blown out by Louisiana Tech two nights later.  The preseason pick to win the league by both the media and coaches has their work cut out for them if they hope to win the league title for a third consecutive season.

Standings

1) Louisiana Tech, 14-2 (2-0)
2) San Jose State, 8-5 (1-0)
3) Fresno State 8-7 (1-0)
T4) Idaho 8-5 (1-1)
T4) Nevada, 9-6 (1-1)
T4) Hawai’i, 8-7 (1-1)
T4) New Mexico State, 8-7 (1-1)
T8) Utah State, 10-6 (0-2)
T8) Boise State, 9-6 (0-2)

The league saw a significant drop in scoring in the first weekend of games.  Perhaps the familiarity of the offensive sets and plays had something to do with that but after two games Louisiana Tech leads the league in scoring and is averaging 79.5 points per game.  Five of the nine teams are averaging less than 70 points per game (in non-conference play seven of nine teams averaged at least 73 points per game) and Utah State has struggled to find their offense scoring just 56 points per game through two contests.

Team Breakdowns

Boise State (9-6, 0-2)

The week’s results:  01/02 L @ Fresno State, 71-68, 01/05 @ Hawai’i, 76-68

Upcoming games:  01/09 vs. New Mexico State, 01/11 vs. Louisiana Tech

The Broncos opened conference play on the road and were dealt two losses.  The Broncos led Fresno State nearly the entire game but Fresno State’s Paul George hit a layup and drew a foul on Boise State’s Robert Arnold to give Fresno State a 68-66 lead with 48.5 seconds left.  After Boise State tied the game up with 22.6 seconds left Paul George got another layup and was fouled giving the Bulldogs a 71-68 lead.  The Broncos were unable to hit the three-pointer as time expired as they let one slip away.  Against Hawai’i the Broncos trailed big early falling behind 21-7 with 8:59 left in the first half but by halftime they had erased the 14 point deficit and took a 28-27 lead into the break.  The Warriors went on a 12-2 run in the second half and built a lead they would not relinquish.  Boise State’s Daequon Montreal leads the Broncos in scoring in league play averaging 20 points per game and is sixth in the league in scoring through two conference games.  The Broncos are the second best team in the league in steals and are averaging 6.5 steals per game.  Despite their two losses the Broncos lead the league in assists per game averaging 15.0 per game.  The Broncos host New Mexico State and league leading Louisiana Tech this coming week. A minimum split of these two games at home is a must if the Broncos want to keep from falling behind in the league race.

Fresno State (8-7, 1-0)

The week’s results:  01/02 W vs. Boise State, 71-68

Upcoming games:  01/09 vs. Hawai’i, 01/11 vs. San Jose State

The Bulldogs played just one league game last week but they made it count as they rallied at home to defeat Boise State.  Paul George’s 21 points in the conference opener included two three-point plays in the final minute as they erased a 7 point deficit with 5:10 left to play.  George was 11-of-12 from the free throw line in the game.  The Bulldogs have a very favorable schedule to start league play with five of the first seven at home.  Fresno State leads the league in free throw percentage and are hitting 75 percent of their attempts. They are also fourth in the league in steals averaging 6.0 steals per game.  The Bulldogs host Hawai’i and San Jose State this coming week, a pair of games that the Bulldogs must win to establish themselves as an upper tier team in the conference.

Hawai’i (8-7, 1-1)

The week’s results:  01/03 L vs. Idaho, 59-52, 01/05 W vs. Boise State, 76-68

Upcoming games:  01/09 @ Fresno State, 01/11 @ Utah State

The Warriors split their opening weekend’s conference games as they fell 59-52 to Idaho in a defensive struggle.  The Warriors trailed 40-26 with 16:30 left to play but cut the Vandal lead down to four at 49-45 with 3:18 left to play but could get no closer.  The two teams combined to go just 26-of-43 from the free throw line as Hawai’i hit 14-of-21 and Idaho hit 12-of-22.  The Warriors rebounded two nights later as they hosted Boise State.  They used a 12-2 run early in the second half to put themselves comfortably ahead and then used a 14-for-15 performance from the free throw line in the final seven minutes to seal the deal.  In stark contrast to their previous game the Warriors hit 20-of-26 free throws (76.9 percent).  The Warriors lead the league in scoring defense through two games allowing just 63.5 points per game.  They are also third in the league in free throw percentage at 72.3 and have attempted the most free throws in the league with 47 attempts.  Paul Campbell leads the league in field goal percentage at 87.5 percent having hit 14-of-16 shots through two games.  The Warriors go on the road to Fresno State and Utah State this week.  A split of the two games would be considered a huge plus for the team.

Idaho (8-5, 1-1)

The week’s results:  01/03 W @ Hawai’i, 59-52, 01/04 L @ San Jose State, 78-75

Upcoming games:  01/09 vs. Louisiana Tech, 01/11 vs. New Mexico State

The Vandals split their road trip to Hawai’i and San Jose State as they held on for a hard fought 59-52 victory over Hawai’i but fell to the Spartans by three in a back-and-forth battle in San Jose.  Both teams shot above 50 percent for the game.  Mac Hopson led Idaho with 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.  Idaho held a six point lead early in the second half but were undone by a six-minute offensive drought.  Idaho is second in the league in three point percentage hitting 37.8 percent of their threes (14-of-37) and tops in the league in three point defense as opponents have hit just 7-of-28 through two league games.  The Vandals host league leading Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State this coming week and a sweep at home would put the Vandals in prime position as they play five of their next six conference games at home.

Louisiana Tech (14-2, 2-0)

The week’s results:  01/02 W vs. Nevada, 77-71, 01/04 W vs. Utah State, 82-60

Upcoming games:  01/09 @ Idaho, 01/11 @ Boise State, 01/14 vs. Fresno State

Doubters of Louisiana Tech’s gaudy 12-2 record in non-conference play were quickly silenced as the Bulldogs had a pair of statement victories to open league play.  The Bulldogs held off Nevada 77-71 and then obliterated preseason favorite Utah State 82-60.  Jamel Guyton led the way for the Bulldogs against the Wolf Pack scoring 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting and 6-of-7 shooting from the free throw stripe he added six rebounds and three steals and played 38 minutes.  Kyle Gibson played all 40 minutes against the Pack and added 17 points, seven rebounds and a pair of steals.  Against Utah State the Bulldogs trailed 2-0 but a three pointer gave them a 3-2 lead five minutes into the game and they would not trail for the remainder.  The Bulldogs held a 33-point lead at 69-36 before eventually winning by 22.  Magnum Rolle finished the game with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting and added 14 rebounds for another double-double.  Louisiana Tech hit 53.3 percent of their field goals, 50 percent of their three point attempts (7-of-14) and 73.3. percent of their free throws (11-of-15) in the rout.  The Bulldogs lead the conference in scoring at 79.5 points per game and have a +14.0 scoring margin per game, the second best margin in the league is +3.0 (Fresno State and San Jose State).  The Bulldogs are second in the legaue in field goal percentage having hit 50 percent of their shots, they are also the best field goal percentage defense allowing just 41.6 percent of their opponents shots to go in.  To go along with the defensive effort the Bulldogs lead the league in steals per game at 7.5.  The Bulldogs will look to further silence their critics as they travel to the state of Idaho this weekend to face Idaho and Boise State.

Nevada (9-6, 1-1)

The week’s results:  01/02 W @ Louisiana Tech, 77-71, 01/04 W @ NMSU, 77-67

Upcoming games:  01/09 vs. San Jose State, 01/13 vs. Utah State

The Wolf Pack earned a road split in one of the most difficult road trips in the WAC, the Ruston/Las Cruces trip.  After dropping a game to Louisiana Tech to start the conference season, the second consecutive season in which they’ve dropped the season opener, the Wolf Pack rebounded with a commanding victory over New Mexico State.  Though the final margin in the victory over New Mexico State was just 10 points, there was little drama in the second half.  Leading by just seven at the break the Wolf Pack never allowed the Aggies to get closer than five points (41-36) and held a 17-point lead at 71-54 with 3:43 remaining to play.  Luke Babbitt played 39 minutes and scored a game high 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.  He finished 10-of-14 from the floor and a perfect 3-of-3 from behind the three point arc.  It was Babbitt’s seventh 20-plus point performance and fifth consecutive.  It was also his 10th double-double in 15 games this season.  The Wolf Pack lead the league in rebounding margin at +8.0 per game and are averaging 40.5 rebounds per game.  They also lead the league in offensive rebounds per game at 13.5 and defensive rebounds per game at 27.0 per game.  Lack of bench production continues to be a concern for the Wolf Pack as an article earlier this week by the Reno Gazette-Journal’s beat writer Chris Murray reported that Nevada’s bench contributes just 43 minutes per game, lowest in the league.  They score just 11.7 points per game, third worst in the league.  The Wolf Pack host their next three conference games as San Jose State, Utah State and Idaho all come to Reno.

New Mexico State (8-7, 1-1)

The week’s results:  01/02 W vs. Utah State, 55-52, 01/04 L vs. Nevada, 77-71

Upcoming games:  01/09 @ Boise State, 01/11 @ Idaho

New Mexico State grinded out a 55-52 victory over Utah State to string together their fifth victory of the season.  Jonathan Gibson’s jumper with 17 seconds remaining gave the southern Aggies a three point lead and when Utah State’s three pointer with three seconds left hit iron New Mexico State fans breathed a sigh of relief.  The Aggies went through a six minute scoring drought allowing Utah State to climb back into the game but solid defense down the stretch, a rarity in Las Cruces this season, enabled the southern Aggies to hang on for the victory.  Unfortunately for Marvin Menzies and his crew the euphoria was short lived as Luke Babbitt and Nevada strolled into town two nights later.  The Wolf Pack dominated the Aggies from start to finish.  The Aggies never led in the game and there was just one tie, 2-2, 2:18 into the game.  The Aggie defense had no answer for Luke Babbitt and he scored inside and outside on the Aggies and finished with 26 points.  The Aggies did have five players finish in double-figures in scoring, generally a stat that leads to a win, however, the Aggies’ high-scoring combo of Jahmar Young and Jonathan Gibson mustered only 27 points combined (the duo averaged nearly 40 points per game combined in non-conference play).  The Aggies lead the league in turnover margin at +4.0 and are second in the league in scoring defense giving up 64.5 points per game.  The high flying Aggie offense has been grounded through two league games and are averaging 61.0 points per game, only bettering the 56.0 points per game their fellow Aggies from Logan have put up through two games.  New Mexico State takes the trip to the state of Idaho as they face Boise State and Idaho this weekend.  The Aggies and Broncos have had some wild affairs the past several seasons and the Aggies have never had a particularly easy time in Moscow, even when the Vandals were way down.  Their largest margin of victory over Idaho is just 10 points and last season they suffered their first loss at Idaho since joining the league in the 2005-06 season.

San Jose State (8-5, 1-0)

The week’s results:  01/04 W vs. Idaho, 78-75

Upcoming games:  01/09 @ Nevada, 01/11 @ Fresno State, 01/14 vs. Boise State

The Spartans played just one conference game on opening weekend but they made it count.  SJSU squeaked by Idaho in an offensive slugfest.  Both teams shot above 50 percent from the game but it was Adrian Oliver’s three pointer late in the game that proved to be the difference maker.  The Spartans won a conference opener for the first time since the 1998-99 season.  Adrian Oliver led the Spartans with 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting.  C.J. Webster added 21 points and 11 rebounds on 10-of-14 shooting.  The Spartans are second in the league in scoring at 78.0 points per game and are second best in the league in free throw shooting hitting 73.3 percent of their attempts.  The Spartans will fully kick off the conference season with road trip to face Nevada and Fresno State followed by a home contest against Boise State.  A 2-1 stretch in the three games could signal that San Jose State is ready to get out of the WAC basement.

Utah State (10-6, 0-2)

The week’s results:  01/02 L @ NMSU, 55-52, 01/04 L @ Louisiana Tech, 82-60

Upcoming games:  01/11 vs. Hawai’i, 01/13 @ Nevada

Shellshocked. That’s what the Aggie faithful must be feeling after a shocking 0-2 road trip to open conference play.  After losing a grinder against New Mexico State in a game that favored the northern Aggies, Utah State went on the road and suffered their second worst loss in conference play since joining the WAC (a 100-70 loss at New Mexico State in the 2007-2008 season was the worst).  The last time the Aggies started 0-2 in the WAC they were 10-3 heading into league play and finished just 9-7 but advanced to the conference championship game before falling to host New Mexico State by two.  It’s no time to panic if you’re a Utah State fan. History is on your side.  Two games into the conference season the Aggie offense is nowhere to be found.  The Aggies are averaging a league worst 56 points per game.  The Aggies are second worst in the league in three point shooting 23.1 percent a departure from their normally hot three point shooting.  Utah State hosts Hawai’i as they try to get in the win column and then two days later they travel to Reno for they always contentious battle with the Wolf Pack.

UPCOMING GAMES

• 01/09 – Idaho vs. Louisiana Tech – 5:00 p.m. PT
• 01/09 – Fresno State vs. Hawai’i – 7:00 p.m. PT
• 01/09 – Boise State vs. New Mexico State – 7:00 p.m. MT
• 01/09 – Nevada vs. San Jose State – 7:00 p.m. PT
• 01/11 – Fresno State vs. San Jose State – 7:00 p.m. PT
• 01/11 – Idaho vs. New Mexico State – 7:00 p.m. PT (ESPNU)
• 01/11 – Boise State vs. Louisiana Tech – 7:00 p.m. MT
• 01/11 – Utah State vs. Hawai’i – 7:00 p.m. MT
• 01/13 – Nevada vs. Utah State – 8:00 p.m. PT (ESPN2)
• 01/14 – San Jose State vs. Boise State – 7:00 p.m. PT
• 01/14 – Louisiana Tech vs. Fresno State – 8:00 p.m. CT (ESPN Regional)

Sam Wasson of bleedCrimson.net and Travis Mason-Bushman of Vandal Nation are the RTC correspondents for the Western Athletic Conference.

CURRENT STANDINGS:

1. Louisiana Tech (11-2)
2. Utah State (9-4)
3. Boise State (8-4)
4. Idaho (6-4)
5. Nevada (7-5)
6. Hawai’i (6-6)
7. San Jose State (6-5)
8. New Mexico State (6-6)
9. Fresno State (6-7)

The WAC has picked up a little steam in the non-conference now that they have finished facing the tougher opponents and has a non-conference record of 65-42.  In the past week of play it posted a 17-7 record in non-conference play.  Unfortunately the league had plenty of wasted opportunities to notch RPI-boosting wins and as a result the highest rated team in the RPI is Louisiana Tech at #69 and they are the only team with a Top 100 RPI.  Nevada is the next closest at #102.  With most of the team wrapping up their non-conference play in the next week against weak opponents, the league as a whole is the 14th rated league according to conference RPI, much lower than they had hoped for heading into the season and even behind the Colonial Athletic, Conference USA, West Coast Conference and Horizon League and just ahead of the Mid-American and Big Sky.

Boise State (5-4)

The week’s results:  12/19 W vs. Houston Baptist, 96-59, 12/21 W vs. Portland State, 69-62, 12/23 W vs. Montana State, 58-56

Upcoming games:  12/29 vs. Northwest Nazarene

Ike Okoye leads the Broncos nearly averaging a double-double with 14.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.  La’Shard Anderson is averaging 12.1 points per game.  Two other Broncos are averaging double-digits in scoring as Robert Arnold is averaging 11.0 points per game and Kurt Cunningham is averaging 10 points per game for the Broncos.

The Broncos are riding a three game winning streak and should make it four in a row before they head into league play on the road.  Boise State notched wins over Houston Baptist and then took down a pair of Big Sky opponents in Portland State and Montana State.  The Broncos host Northwest Nazarene on Tuesday, December 29.

Fresno State (6-7)

The week’s results:  12/19 W vs. North Dakota State, 68-54, 12/21 L @ Montana, 59-56, 12/23 L @ Oregon State, 73-65

Upcoming games:  12/28 vs. Colorado State

The Bulldogs have lost two in a row to drop below .500 on the season after losses at Montana and Oregon State.  The Bulldogs came up three points shy versus the Grizzlies in Missoula in a  game that was tied at halftime.  Fresno State led until 2:47 left in the game and trailed by one point with 41 seconds left but Montana’s Anthony Johnson drained a foul-line jumper to give the Grizzlies a three point lead.  Paul George scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the game but it was not quite enough.  Against Oregon State the Bulldogs led 4-2 early on but after a 9-0 run by the Beavers, the Bulldogs trailed the rest of the game.  Paul George once again led the Bulldogs scoring 15 points and grabbing nine rebounds.  George is averaging 17.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game this season.  Sylvester Seay is averaging 15.6 points and 5.5 rebounds while Greg Smith is averaging 11.5 points and 6.6 points per game.

The Bulldogs wrap up non-conference play at home against Colorado State on Monday, December 28.

Hawaii (6-5)

The week’s results:  12/22 W vs. College of Charleston (Diamond Head Classic), 84-71, 12/23 L vs. No. 20 UNLV (Diamond Head Classic), 77-53,  12/25 L vs. St. Mary’s (Diamond Head Classic), 84-75.

Upcoming games:  12/29 vs. Northwestern State

The Warriors picked up a solid win over College of Charleston in the Diamond Head Classic but were overmatched against No. 20 UNLV falling 77-53 and St. Mary’s on Christmas Day.  The Warriors will close out non-conference play against Northwestern State.

Roderick Flemings is averaging 15.0 points and 6.5 rebounds for the Warriors.  Petras Balocka is averaging a double-double with 10.4 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.  Dwain Williams and Hiram Thompson are both averaging double-digits in scoring with Williams at 12.0 points per game and Thompson at 10.2 points per game.

Idaho (6-4)

The week’s results:  12/22 L @ Portland, 82-52

Upcoming games:  12/29 vs. Lewis-Clark State (in Boise, ID)

The Vandals started the non-conference season with an impressive 94-87 win over Utah in Salt Lake City.  However, they ended the non-conference season with a disastrous 30-point loss to Portland.  Portland’s Jared Stohl torched the Vandals for 30 points on a school-record 10 threes.  Not helping the cause were the Vandals’ awful free throw shooting, 12-of-29 (41.4 percent) and they hit just 2-of-11 three point attempts.  Mac Hopson led the Vandals with 15 points while Marvin Jefferson pulled won eight rebounds.  The Vandals have a lengthy layoff to think about their last loss before they start conference play.  Idaho has a 12-day layoff before facing Hawai’i on the islands on January 3, 2010.

Louisiana Tech (11-2)

The week’s results:  12/19 W vs. McNeese State, 87-81, 12/22 W vs. UT-Pan American, 79-58

Upcoming games: 12/29 @ Houston

The Bulldogs continued their impressive play with a pair of victories over McNeese State and UT-Pan American.  The Bulldogs have one final non-conference test against Houston.  Louisiana Tech continues to have five players averaging double-digits in scoring and are led by Kyle Gibson who is averaging 21.1 points per game.  Two Bulldogs are nearly averaging double-doubles as Olu Ashaolu is averaging 11.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game and Magnum Rolle is averaging 11.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.

Nevada (7-5)

The week’s results:  12/19 W vs. Wagner, 74-61, 12/22 L vs. BYU (Las Vegas Classic), 110-104, 12/23 W vs. Tulsa (Las Vegas Classic), 99-68

Upcoming games:  12/28 vs. Portland

The Wolf Pack lost a shootout with the BYU Cougars in the Las Vegas Classic, 110-104.  The Pack led 50-46 at the half but BYU scored 64 points in the second half to erase the halftime deficit.  BYU’s Jimmer Fredette scored 33 points and dished out six assists and had three steals.  Armon Johnson nearly matched Fredette’s production for the Wolf Pack with 30 points and five assists.  Luke Babbitt scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Wolf Pack as well.  Nevada rebounded from the loss with a convincing 99-68 victory over Tulsa.  Luke Babbitt led the way for the Wolf Pack with 24 points and 11 rebounds.  Dario Hunt and Armon Johnson each chipped in 17 points as the Wolf Pack shot 56 percent (36-of-64) from the field for the game.

The Wolf Pack wrap up non-conference play against Portland on Monday, December 28.

New Mexico State (6-6)

The week’s results:  12/18 W @ Pepperdine, 78-72, 12/21 W vs. Alcorn State, 97-72, 12/23 W vs. Texas Southern, 79-75

Upcoming games:  12/28 vs. Prairie View A&M

The Aggies and head coach Marvin Menzies are on a three game winning streak but the bigger news for the squad is that they received a much needed boost in depth when is was announced that junior forward Wendell McKines was declared academically eligible and cleared to play with the team the rest of the season.  McKines suited up for the first time this season against Alcorn State, a 97-72 Aggie victory.  McKines scored eight points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out six assists. However, his presence was much more noticeable in the Aggies’ 79-75 victory over a pesky Texas Southern squad.  The Aggies played without starting center Hamidu Rahman who is averaging 12.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.  McKines stepped up and scored 18 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out another six assists as the Aggies avoided the upset against Texas Southern.

The Aggies host one final non-conference game at home versus Prairie View A&M as they try to push their record over .500 for the first time all season.

San Jose State (6-5)

The week’s results:  12/18 W @ UC-Irvine, 69-56, 12/21 L @ Northern Colorado, 93-69, 12/23 W @ Santa Clara, 74-68

Upcoming games:  12/28 vs. UC-Irvine

After a week without playing the Spartans took to the road for a three-game swing and came away with a 2-1 record.  The Spartans picked up a 69-56 victory over UC-Irvine but then traveled to Greeley, CO, and got whacked by Northern Colorado.  The Bears’ hit 18 three pointers en route the victory over the visiting Spartans.  SJSU rebounded with a solid 74-68 win at Santa Clara. The Spartans will wrap up their non-conference schedule with a return game from UC-Irvine as the Spartans try to sweep the Anteaters.

The Spartans have three players averaging double-digits in scoring as they’re led by Adrian Oliver at 19.9 points per game. Chris Oakes is averaging a double-double scoring 10.3 points and grabbing 11.4 rebounds per game and Justin Graham is averaging 10.4 points and 4.3 assists per game.

Utah State (9-4)

The week’s results:  12/18 L @ Long Beach State, 75-62, 12/21 W vs. Morehead State, 79-72, 12/22 W vs. Cal State-Fullerton, 83-60, 12/23 W vs. Weber State, 85-73

Upcoming games:  12/29 vs. Western Oregon

The Aggies should head into conference play on a four game winning streak.  After dropping a tough game at Long Beach State, the Aggies rebounded with three consecutive home wins versus Morehead State, Cal State-Fullerton and Weber State.  The Aggies’ game against Weber State pitted Stew Morrill against former assistant Randy Rahe.  It was the Aggies’ second win over Weber State this season and it earned them the Old Oquirrh Bucket which is awarded for basketball supremacy in the state of Utah each season.  The Aggies finished with a 5-1 record against their in-state rivals with their lone loss coming to BYU.

The Aggies have one final non-conference game versus Western Oregon before heading on the road to start WAC play.  Utah State has three players averaging double-digits in scoring and are led by Tai Wesley who is averaging 14.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.  Jared Quayle is averaging 12.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while Nate Bendall is averaging 11.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

UPCOMING GAMES OF INTEREST:

• 12/28 – San Jose State vs. UC-Irvine – 7:00 P.M. PT
• 12/28 – Nevada vs. Portland – 7:00 P.M PT
• 12/28 – Fresno State vs. Colorado State – 7:00 P.M. PT
• 12/29 – Louisiana Tech at Houston – 7:00 P.M. CT

The sports world may have told us that this was a college football weekend, but we know better, right?

CHEERS

That Kentucky vs. UNC is Meaningful Again.  Now that John Calipari is at Kentucky and his Cats are ranked in the Top 10 with a legitimate shot at postseason glory for the first time in a long while, it’s good to have this game on the early-season schedule.  UK rode a masterful 28-2 run to build an early 19-point lead behind John Wall’s 16/5/7 assts even though he spent much of the game cramping up, and the record crowd of 24k+ at Rupp Arena loved it… until UNC got their young legs settled in the second half, and a late 12-1 run got the Heels within one bucket with 0:33 remaining.  Eric Bledsoe and John Wall made five pressure-filled FTs to close it out 68-66 and UK moved to 8-0 on the season while UNC fell to 7-2.  One thing was clear, though — both of these teams are going to get a lot better before March – can we set a rematch in Indy on Semifinal Saturday four months from now?

Oregon State.  For putting an end to the discussion that was already gurgling (ahem) about the Pac-10 getting swept in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series.  The Beavers defeated Colorado 74-69 on Friday night to give the Pac-10 its first win in the Series, and through the weekend games, only Cal’s dominant home victory over Iowa State was the other.  The Big 12 now leads 8-2 in the matchup, and with two games remaining at Pac-10 venues, we’re still not coinvinced that the league will get another win (Oklahoma State @ Stanford & Texas A&M @ Washington).

Reggie Jackson. It didn’t count, but lordy…  Jackson damn near brough the entire world down with this ridiculous dunk (below) at the end of the BC-Miami (FL) game on Sunday.   Still, Jackson dropped 18/9 in a conference opener for both teams that showed both of these teams will be heard from in the ACC this season.  BC dominated the glass 43-19, but it was Jackson’s FTs (not a dunk) with three seconds remaining that gave BC the home win to go to 1-0 in league play.

Dunk to Win.  How about a dunk that did count?  On Saturday afternoon, Ole Miss’ Eniel Polynice broke free for a throwdown right before the buzzer that ended up being the winning margin, 81-79, over Southern Miss.  This was the capper on a wild game that saw the 7-1 Rebels come back from six pts down in the final minute to take the lead and win the game on that dunk.  We’ve yet to find online video of this play but it’s really impressive, so if someone finds it a link to the dunk only, please let us know.  Chris Warren added 20/6 assts for Ole Miss, while Gary Flowers contributed 20/8  for Southern Miss.  Afterwards, USM coach Larry Eustachy found time to throw Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury under the bus for not playing his team.  Good times.

JEERS

Gravity.  If you haven’t heard by now, Ohio State superstar Evan Turner took a nasty spill after attempting a dunk in the first few minutes of the Buckeyes’ 111-60 mauling of Eastern Michigan on Saturday afternoon.  He landed on the small of his back and broke two vertebrae which will shelve the early-season leading candidate for NPOY for at least eight weeks.  Ohio State will undoubtedly have trouble recovering from his loss during that time.  For a more detailed description and video of the fall, see our report from Saturday.

A 22-point Half.  You probably missed this on Friday night, but we didn’t.  Pitt and New Hampshire tried their best to set the game back fifty years with a wretched offensive performance during a 15-7 first half.  You read that right.  15-7.  The 22 combined points was the lowest for a half in the shot-clock era, which began in 1985.  It may as well have been 1955, though, as Pitt won 47-32 with the two teams combining for 31% shooting and Pitt in particular getting almost all of its points from two players — 23 from Ashton Gibbs and 19 from Brad Wanamaker.  In fact, the entire Pitt front line contributed a total of three points.  We’re not sure what exactly caused this, guys, but let’s please not let this happen again, ok?

She Looks Different With the Lights On.  Nouveaux-riche WCC powers Portland and San Diego are learning what it’s like to be Gonzaga after all these years.  Just one week after one of the most successful weekends in both schools’ basketball history, the giant red target that was placed squarely on their backs is weighing down both teams.  On Sunday, both teams took blowout losses at the hands of schools that were clearly fired up to get a shot at a team playing with the big boys into their arena.  Portland, the media RTC darling of a week ago,  lost its second straight game to a middie after finishing as the runner-up to West Virginia in the 76 Classic.  Idaho ran out to a 16-pt first-half lead and never looked back, holding Portland to 32% shooting and 6-22 from deep.  Things have been even worse for San Diego since returning as the runner-up in the Great Alaska Shootout.  The Toreros have dropped three straight games, including Friday night’s loss to UC Riverside and a 37-pt  (19% FG) stinker on Sunday at Fresno State (note: Brandon Johnson did miss the game for disciplinary reasons, but SD was still down 38 pts in this one at one time – ugh).  It was Idaho’s first win over a ranked team in 27 years and Fresno’s first win in five tries.  Both of these WCC teams are going to need to right the ship in home games this week (Denver and New Mexico, respectively) or be considered irrelevant by Christmas after such good starts.

Weekend Upsets.

• Wake Forest 77, #16 Gonzaga 75.  Wake used a thuggish play by Gonzaga’s Elias Harris in the first half to get themselves back into the game and force the smaller Zags to defend their imposing size (instead of vice versa) in the second half.  Harris struck his forearm into Chas McFarland’s neck with just over two minutes remaining in the first half and Gonzaga with a nine-pt lead, and was given a flagrant and immediately ejected (Harris’ interesting take: “I don’t know what happened.’) from the game.  Wake then turned that mistake into a seven-pt trip and was able to regain the lead heading into halftime with all the momentum.  In the second half, the Deacs built a sixteen-point lead behind two freshman — CJ Harris (19/4) and Ari Stewart (17/3) — even though star Al-Farouq Aminu was struggling (9/5 on 4-11 FG while in foul trouble).  Gonzaga came back thanks to Matt Bouldin’s 22/4/5 assts, but it wasn’t enough as Wake hang on for the fourth all-time victory at the Kennel by an opponent.  This came one week after Wake lost at home to William & Mary, but the Deacs are an interesting team if their freshmen continue to play at a high level.

• Charlotte 87, #18 Louisville 65.  Charlotte thoroughly dominated the injury-depleted Cardinals in their house on Saturday, running out to a 15-pt halftime lead and never seriously being threatened by the home team in the second half.  Louisville’s backcourt depth of Peyton Siva, Preston Knowles and Jerry Smith were all on the bench with injuries, but that doesn’t explain why Edgar Sosa and Reginald Delk combined for 4-15 from the field for a total of 11 points and gave up ten threes on the defensive end.  Or why the UL frontcourt was dominated (-11) on the boards.  This was Rick Pitino’s worst home loss while at Louisville, and we’re convinced that there are fundamental issues with his team this season that will not be solved even with every player healthy.  Charlotte, who lost by 42 to Duke earlier this season, got 21/14 from Chris Braswell and 20 pts (including four treys) from Derrio Green in the convincing victory.
• NC State 77, Marquette 73.  This is as surprising a win as we had all weekend, with as well as Marquette has played so far this season.  The Pack forced tough shooting nights out of Lazar Hayward (6-16) and Jimmy Butler (6-14), however, and were able to shred the MU defense for 54% shooting in a landmark road win for Sidney Lowe’s program.  There haven’t been many of these over his tenure.  In fact, only two in the last two years (at New Orleand; at Georgia Tech).
• Troy 81, Auburn 77. Auburn lost to Troy 81-77 at home on Friday night by allowing the Trojans to shoot 54% and rain thirteen threes (seven from Brandon Hazzard) on the Tigers’ heads.  Can Jeff Lebo survive this season?  Should he?  Is this an upset?

More Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series.

• #1 Kansas 73, UCLA 61.  UCLA definitely showed signs of coming out of its tailspin, especially with freshman forward Tyler Honeycutt coming off the bench to provide energy (3/6), if not much else.  Still, Kansas was never truly threatened despite a poor offensive game from Cole Aldrich (7 pts on 1-6 FG).  Markieff Morris picked up the slack, coming off the bench for a career-high 19 pts and 6 boards in the win.  One thing we’re getting tired of hearing is excuses for UCLA’s troubles this year in terms of NBA personnel losses.  It’s absolutely true that the Bruins have lost players, but the bottom line is that if the Ben Howland’s sophomore class of HS all-americans was as good as people expected, UCLA would be in the top 10 right now.  They aren’t, and UCLA is struggling.  Period.
• Missouri 106, Oregon 69. For the people out there who actually thought Oregon might compete in a down Pac-10 this year, here’s exhibit A as to why  not.  They quit when they’re down.  Missouri used two huge runs totaling 32-1 in the first half to dominate the turnover-prone Ducks, and this one wasn’t ever a contest.  Interestingly, TaJuan Porter came off the bench and only played six minutes (scoring zero points).  Missouri was scorching hot, hitting 58% for the game and raining fourteen threes over the course of the game.
• Kansas State 86, Washington State. 69.  Same story, different venue, as K-State ran all over Wazzu from the opening tip, building a 20-pt first-half lead and forcing their star Klay Thompson (22/6 and NINE turnovers) into a 5-15 shooting night.  KSU nailed ten threes compared to Wazzu’s one, and Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen each had 21 in another easy win for the Big 12.  This K-State team is good, folks.
• Oklahoma 79, Arizona 62. Oklahoma jumped all over visiting Arizona from the opening tip and Willie Warren played like the all-american we all think he is, dropping 25/4 assts on 10-14 FG in this one on Sunday.  Arizona lost its third straight as Sean Miller will try to right the ship this week against Louisiana Tech and San Diego State.

RTC Live.  Our correspondents caught games on both coasts and the midsection this weekend.

• Xavier 77, Kent State 61.  Back from a disappointing trip to the Old Spice Classic, Xavier looked happy to be back in the friendly and familiar confines of the Cintas Center Friday evening as they survived an early challenge from Kent State but pulled away in the second half to win, 77-61.  The Golden Flashes got up by as much as 12 deep into the first half, keeping Xavier under wraps by switching defenses frequently and relying primarily on a 3-2 zone that appeared to confuse the Musketeers, but Xavier head coach Chris Mack dispelled that notion, saying afterward that “the first ten minutes of the game were a direct result of our guys trying to over-share the basketball.  But that’s good.  That means they’re listening to their coaches and they trust us.”  In the midst of KSU’s changing defenses, Mack called guard Terrell Holloway “a calming influence for our team.”  Holloway contributed 13/5/2 steals to the Xavier cause and center Jason Love had a double-double with 10/10, but the star tonight was Jordan Crawford, whose 21 points came on 8-13 shooting from the floor, including 5-7 from three-point range.  KSU was still within a point six minutes into the second half, but a 9-0 Musketeer run put this one away.  Xavier will need all the calming influences they can get over the next couple of weeks, given the rest of their brutal non-conference schedule.  But don’t we always see this from Xavier?  They hover on the fringes of the rankings early, then overachieve at the end of the season and surprise everyone.  This is a win Xavier had to have…because they were “supposed” to win.  But if they keep winning the ones they’re supposed to win, and they learn from this tough early schedule…you never know.  Most of the basketball talk in Cincinnati these days is about the Bearcats.  Might want to keep an eye on this “other” Cincinnati school, too.
• California 82, Iowa State 63.  In a game where the home team didn’t appear to have the best players on the court, Cal used a second-half run fueled by hustle and grit to put away the Cyclones.  Patrick Christopher (20/11) broke out of his slump, while Jorge Gutierrez contributed with an efficient 12/4/3 assts, but it was the play of Omondi Amoke that really got Mike Montgomery’s attention in the postgame media interviews.  Monty said that the team got a little bit of their “swagger” back in this one, and it was apparent that the Bears were really concentrating on a Montgomery staple, rebounding, as Cal outboarded the bigger Cyclones to the tune of +19.  Iowa State got 21/6 from its star Craig Brackins and 17/10 from Marquis Gilstrap, but only nine FGs from the rest of the team, as the Bear defense took away all other options.  This was only the Pac-10′s second win in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series over the weekend.
• St. Mary’s 68, Utah State 63.   St. Mary’s broke Utah State’s 37 game home winning streak as senior Omar Samhan used his 22 points and 17 rebounds to power the Gaels (6-1) past the Aggies (4-3) 68-63 in Logan, Utah, on Saturday night.  Samhan’s partner in the frontcourt, Ben Allen, consistently got open at the top of the key and was able to hit four deep threes and ended the game with a stat stuffling line of 14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and a block. Nobody was bigger for the Gaels then freshman reserve forward Clint Steindl. One of head coach Randy Bennett’s many Australian recruits went 3-4 from behind the arc including what turned out to be the game winner, breaking the 63-all tie with 36 seconds left on the clock in front 10,000+ screaming Utah State fans.  Pooh Williams lead the Aggies with 15 points and had the ball in his hands following Steindl’s clutch three but was whistled for a charge that was questionable at that point in the game. St. Mary’s became the first non-conference team to win a regular season game at Utah State since BYU in January of 2001.
• Villanova 95, Maryland 86.  Villanova burned up the nets in a spectacular display of three-point shooting by Scottie Reynolds (25/5/8 assts) and Corey Stokes (18/3/3 assts) where the Wildcats lit up the Terps for eleven first-half threes.  They finished with sixteen on the evening, but it was really Nova’s  overlooked inside play on the boards that consistently held the Terps off of making a big enough run to get back into the game.  Villanova was +12 on the glass overall, but even more importantly, +13 on the offensive boards, meaning numerous additional possessions and three attempts.  As for Maryland, the enigma known as Greivis Vasquez must be pressing too hard this year because he turned in another weak performance — 12/3/7 assts on 3-9 FG and 7 turnovers.  Maryland must have Vasquez playing with fire and confidence to become the team that they were at the end of last season, and sometimes it takes a good portion of the senior year for players such as Vasquez to stop worrying about scouts and just let the game come again.  Maryland should be encouraged by its other guards’ play, as Sean Mosely blew up for 26/5 and Eric Hayes for 20/4, but this team will rise and fall with Vasquez this year.

Other Games of National Interest.

Friday Night

• #9 Michigan State 72, Wofford 60.  Another lackluster win by the Spartans, according to Izzo, who told media afterwards that some of his players were playiing for the names on the back of their jerseys, not the front.  Raymar Morgan’s 19/11 was the lone bright spot for MSU.
• #17 Florida 85, Jacksonville 67.  Jacksonville was able to stick around for most of this one until they had a five-minute scoreless drought to end the game, but it was UF’s threes — 12 of 20 attempts — including seven by the Gators’ starting backcourt of Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton that kept things just out of reach.
• #22 Texas A&M 74, Akron 62.  A&M slogged is way through a defensive battle to move to 7-1 behind Donald Sloan’s 17/3/4 stls and Derrick Roland’s 15/8.  Of notable concern for Mark Turgeon’s team is getting outrebounded (-3) by a MAC team in their building.

Saturday

• #5 Duke 80, St. John’s 71. Duke was tested but never seriously threatened by St. John’s as the Devils won their 73d consecutive game at home against a nonconference opponent.  Mason Plumlee got his first start since returning from a wrist injury, but it was Kyle Singler (17/8/3 assts/4 stls), Nolan Smith (16/3) and Jon Scheyer (15/6 assts) who led the way for Duke.
• #6 Purdue 101, Buffalo 65.  The Boilers nailed twelve threes in an undressing of Buffalo where they shot 52% for the game, well above their season average of 43% from the field.  E’Twaun Moore and Chris Kramer both had 14 pts in the win.
• #7 Syracuse 101, Maine 55.  The Orange also hit triple digits after dominating Maine to the tune of 60-12 in the first half of action, holding the Black Bears to a mere 4-31 from the field in that stanza.  Brandon Triche led Syracuse with 16 pts, and the team shot a scorching 65% for the game.
• #14 Georgetown 73, American 46.  Georgetown used its patented defense to lock up Jeff Jones’ American team to 27% shooting, and Greg Monroe had 9/13/3 assts/4 blks as the Hoyas quietly are showing signs of recovering from last year’s disaster.  Their next three games against Butler, Washington and ODU will be telling.
• #20 Butler 84, Valparaiso 67. Butler used a hot second half of shooting (69%) to pull away from Valparaiso and got a well-balanced effort from its stars Gordon Hayward (18/4/5 assts) and Matt Howard (16/5) to knock out Valpo despite allowing 53% shooting from the Crusaders.
• #21 UNLV 66, Santa Clara 63.  UNLV had to come back from an 8-pt halftime deficit in order to keep its perfect record intact, as Santa Clara fought and clawed itself into a lead despite the loss of star player Kevin Foster, who will miss the rest of the season with a broken foot.  Tre’Von Willis had all fourteen of his points after the break as the Runnin’ Rebs are off to their best start since the 1990-91 season.
• #23 Georgia Tech 79, USC 53.  This one seemed over early, as Georgia Tech ran out to an 18-0 lead before USC could find the basket, but then the Trojans went on a run themselves to cut the lead to three at 27-24 with 4:30 to go in the first half.  At that point, Tech went on another run spanning both halves to blow out the Trojans, who have no quality depth to speak of.  Alex Stepheson had 22/7 for USC in the losing effort and Derrick Favors had his second dub-dub of the season (10/11) for Tech.
• Rhode Island 86, Providence 82.  The Battle of Brotherhood ended with URI rallying from a 14-pt second-half deficit behind Keith Cothran’s 19/5.  Jamine Peterson had 20/11 for PC, but Marshon Brooks struggled (4 pts in 20 foul-plagued minutes).
• Temple 45, Penn State 42.  An ugly affair at Temple ended with Ryan Brook (19/8) nailing two late FTs to seal the game in this intrastate rivalry game.  Lavoy Allen had 8/12 for the Owls, but it was the play of PSU’s Talor Battle (8/5 on 3-15 shooting and no threes) that was notable here.
• Vanderbilt 67, DePaul 54.  DePaul continues to play competitive basketball this year, as Vandy needed a late push to put away the Blue Demons behind AJ Ogilvy’s 19/6 and Jeffery Taylor’s 18/4.  The foul line really hurt DePaul (5-14), especially Eric Wallace’s oh-fer (0-5) from the stripe.
• Illinois 84, Boise State 77. Illinois followed up its spectacular win over Clemson last week with a tough home win over Boise State as all five starters put up double figures.  Demetri McCamey led the way with 23 pts, and the Illini were able to force 23 turnovers which led to scoring opportunities.  They needed it because BSU was able to get the lead down to 2 pts in the last twenty seconds before Illini FTs sealed it.
• Missouri State 58, Air Force 48.  Definitely worth noting that Missouri State moved to 7-0 with wins over Auburn and Tulsa on its resume thus far.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out with the Bears being picked in the middle of the pack of the MVC by most preseason prognosticators.

Sunday

• #10 Washington 88, Cal State Northridge 76.  UW returned home licking its wounds from the first loss of the season in double-OT at Texas Tech last week to finally put down CSN after a second-half 17-2 run that opened up the game.  Isaiah Thomas (21/4/4 stls) and Quincy Pondexter (20/7/4 assts) led the way for the Huskies, who will face unbeaten Georgetown Saturday at the John Wooden Classic in Anaheim, CA.
• #13 Connecticut 79, Harvard 73.  UConn continued its trend this year of letting inferior teams hang around, as Harvard was able to push the Huskies all the way into the final few minutes despite a near-triple double from Jerome Dyson (24/14/9 assts) and great games from Kemba Walker (20/4/4 assts) and Stanley Robinson (18/12).  Harvard’s Jeremy Lin ran roughshod over UConn’s defense, torching the Huskies for 30/9/3 assts/3 stls in a scintillating performance that must have left Jim Calhoun shaking his head a little bit.  Four players scored all but five points for UConn in this one, and Dyson himself said he was exhausted afterwards — UConn will need to find more production to make a run in the Big East this season.
• #19 Clemson 72, South Carolina 61. The tigers continued their hardwood dominance of this series, winning the sixth straight between the two behind Demontez Stitt and Tanner Smith’s 14 each.  More importantly, they did it without a great game from their star Trevor Booker (7/7), who was routinely triple-teamed by the Gamecocks.  South Carolina, still banged up with two starters out of the lineup, hung around until the last few minutes, but they needed a better scoring game from Devan Downey (8/4/3 assts/5 stls on 3-15 FG) to have a realistic shot at this one.
• Notre Dame 90, UCF 72.  Notre Dame got 31 points from a player other than Luke Harangody (who had 29/7 himself) as Tim Abromaitis hit for a career-high 31/4 in his first start, which must encourage Mike Brey in looking for another consistent scoring option.  ND used a second-half run to pull away, but of serious concern has to be UCF hitting 51% of its own shots.  Also notable was Marcus Jordan hitting for 9/6 in twenty minutes off the bench, the best outing of his young career so far.
• Creighton 67, Nebraska 61. Despite being ice-cold from deep (1-10), Creighton was able to ride the 25/10 of Kenny Lawson, Jr., to a hard-fought intrastate victory over a Big 12 team to break a three-game losing streak.  This year’s Creighton team is all over the place — not sure what to expect from the Bluejays on a given night.

]]> http://rushthecourt.net/2009/12/07/atb-weekend-cheers-jeers/feed/ 0 http://rushthecourt.net/2009/10/30/rtc-2009-10-impact-players-southwest-region/ http://rushthecourt.net/2009/10/30/rtc-2009-10-impact-players-southwest-region/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:28:24 +0000 rtmsf http://rushthecourt.net/?p=12166

Ed. Note: the previous posts in this series (Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Atlantic South, Deep South, Mid-South, Lower Midwest, Upper Midwest and Mountains) are located here.

It’s time for the ninth installment of our RTC 2009-10 Impact Players series, the group of hot, dry, desert-y states known as the Southwest Region.   Each week we’ll pick a geographic area of the country and break down the five players who we feel will have the most impact on their teams (and by the transitive property, college basketball) this season.  Our criteria is once again subjective – there are so many good players in every region of the country that it’s difficult to narrow them down to only five  in each – but we feel at the end of this exercise that we’ll have discussed nearly every player of major impact in the nation.  Just to be fair and to make this not too high-major-centric, we’re also going to pick a mid-major impact player in each region as our sixth man.  We welcome you guys, our faithful and very knowledgeable readers, to critique us in the comments where we left players off.  The only request is that you provide an argument – why will your choice be more influential this season than those we chose?

Southwest Region (NM, AZ, NV, HI, southern CA)

• Rihards Kuksiks – F, Jr – Arizona State. Advice to Pac-10 coaches writing up their scouting reports for when they go up against Arizona State this season: when Rihards Kuksiks enters the building, get a man on him. Don’t bother waiting until the game actually starts. You don’t want him getting comfortable, because he’s the kind of shooter who can change a game just that quickly. The guy can touch the ball a few times and the next thing you know you’re down nine before the first TV timeout. Or you get a little comfortable with your late-game lead and after Kuksiks gets a couple of touches the lead is gone and you’re wondering how time can tick so slowly. You want numbers? Fine. Kuksiks is third in terms of returning individual leaders in 3-point field goal percentage (44.3%) in the country among players who hit at least two threes a game and finished 8th in that category last year. A recent article on FoxSports.com by Jeff Goodman reveals some other incredible stats: in games decided by 2 points or less, Kuksiks shot 47% from behind the 3-point line; against ranked opponents he shot 46% from beyond the arc, and in the loss to Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament’s second round last year, he put up his career high in points with 20, with 18 of those coming from long range. In other words, the man steps up during big games. If the numbers don’t interest you, then consider the fact that many of these threes are not from a hair behind the line. They are often from distance. And they are often clutch (ask Arizona about a couple of late ones he nailed in that February game last year). Most importantly, watch the form. It should be an instructional video. He gets good height on his jumper but doesn’t overdo it, and you can see how he gets his legs into the shot. He releases the ball out in front just a little bit, but then the follow-through is a perfect example of that “reach into the cookie jar” that basketball coaches start teaching kids from the moment they can lift a basketball. By the way, he’s 6’6 and more than happy to mix it up in the paint, if needed. My favorite bit about Kuksiks comes from an interview he did for a site called EuropeanProspects.com in which he was asked what kind of player he was. The first words out of his mouth? “I am a sharpshooter.”  This is confidence, not cockiness, from the big man from Riga, Latvia. But I think it’s just fine if there actually is a little cockiness there. Long-range shooters are like neurosurgeons. They’re often asked to do the most difficult things in their field…and if I get to the point where I need to depend on one, I want them a little bit cocky.

• Dwight Lewis – G, Sr - USC. There’s not much left for Dwight Lewis to work with at Southern Cal this season. Tim Floyd’s sudden resignation stemming from accusations of providing money to a confidant of O.J. Mayo to lure him to the Trojans and the early departure of DeMar DeRozan, Daniel Hackett and Taj Gibson has left the cupboard (almost) bare. In fact, USC wasn’t even playing that well with those key facets before a miraculous Pac-10 Tournament run resulted in a late NCAA berth and a near upset of eventual runner-up Michigan State in the second round. If the juniors stuck around, Floyd and the Trojans would have been up at the top of preseason rankings in the league with Washington and California. Instead, players and Floyd are both no longer involved and the success of the 2009-10 Trojans will fall largely into the lap of the leading returning scorer, guard Dwight Lewis. Lewis was the best shooter on last year’s squad, averaging 14.4 PPG on the heels of a dependable mid-range game, accuracy from the stripe (75% FT) and 106 three-pointers in his USC career, ranking in the top 20 in the program’s history. His 25 point performance at Oklahoma last year was the peak of a decent scoring season. Lewis is also the Trojans’ best perimeter defender and should lead a USC team under new coach Kevin O’Neill that will stress defense by strength and necessity. In order for the Trojans to avoid the NIT or worse (CBI or CIT or nothing at all), Lewis must bring his all-around game and senior leadership to the table every single game and practice amidst chaos within the USC program. Rather than bolting, Lewis is now the centerpiece and should have a tremendous impact on whether or not the Galen Center is half-empty or half-full for the upcoming season.
• Alex Stepheson – F, Jr - USC.  In the summer of 2006, Alex Stepheson was headed east to Chapel Hill, North Carolina as a vaunted four-star forward for the #1 recruiting class in America.  The class featured Brandan Wright (#8, 2007), Ty Lawson (#18, 2009) and Wayne Ellington (#28, 2009), all of whom are already in the NBA, and Deon Thompson, the senior starting PF for the defending national champs.  Not too shabby.  Unfortunately for Stepheson, however, he got caught up in a numbers game.  Tyler Hansbrough stayed in school all four years; Deon Thompson appeared likewise; Ed Davis, the wiry 6’10 jumping jack, was on the way.  There seemed to be too many capable forwards and not enough available playing time (as evidenced by Stepheson’s 14.5 minutes per contest in 2007-08).  So when his dad got sick 3000 miles away, it was a no-brainer.  USC beckoned with a short drive to his parents’ home as well as substantially more playing time.  UNC’s loss is definitely USC’s gain, as Stepheson already has an NBA body, and if you project out his per-game averages from two seasons ago at Carolina, he may also have an NBA game.  Consider that in his 15 minutes per contest, he averaged 4.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG and nearly a block — double the playing time and you’re suddenly looking at a player regularly putting up double-doubles and erasing two or three shot opportunities for the opponents per game.  Yeah, Stepheson might be the forgotten man amidst all of USC’s offseason troubles, but from a personal standpoint, he could also be walking into an all-Pac-10 team situation if everything goes well.  USC will undoubtedly have some ups and downs this year because of all the turmoil and turnover, but if you analyze things through a talent prism, you see that the Trojans already have two of the better players in the Pac-10 in Lewis and Stepheson.  Whether that will turn into wins depends on the supporting cast and how well players take to the curmudgeonly Kevin O’Neill’s system.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out in Troy this year, but make no mistake, Alex Stepheson will be heard from. 
• Tre’Von Willis - G, Jr - UNLV.  Like too many transplants to count in the greater Las Vegas area, Willis showed up in the desert two years ago looking for a fresh start.  His one year in Memphis under John Calipari didn’t work out as planned for the scoring machine out of Fresno, CA, as he found himself playing only six minutes per game and staring up at players ahead of him on the depth chart such as Chris Douglas-Roberts, Doneal Mack and Willie Kemp.  UNLV was only a seven-hour drive from his hometown, so he alighted west for the dry air, showgirls and promises of more playing time.  In 2008-09, as a redshirt sophomore for the Runnin’ Rebs, Willis routinely deferred to his elders within the program — Wink Adams, Rene Rougeau, Joe Darger — but he still made his mark, averaging 11.4 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 3.3 APG in 28.4 minutes per contest.  There were occasional whispers that he and the seniors didn’t get along all that well, which might have contributed to an otherwise lackluster season for Lon Kruger’s team (UNLV doesn’t typically aspire to first-round NIT losses), but Willis denied those claims and says on the record that he’s ready to lead UNLV back to their usual heights this year.  As a team captain and a preseason all-MWC first teamer, expectations are high, but Willis has offensive gifts that few others in this league have – there’s the nose for scoring and getting to the foul line, but his assist rate (#242) ranks in the top 250 in the country, which shows he also knows how and when to make the right pass.  The only knock on Willis’ game is that he needs to better understand shot selection – he shoots 32.4% from deep and 37.9% from inside the circle – numbers that must improve for Willis and UNLV to reach their full potential this season.  With incoming transfer from Kentucky Derrick Jasper running point, and Willis as the featured scorer hopefully providing more defined roles and cohesion, this UNLV team might just surprise some people in the league and around the country this season. 
• Nic Wise – G, Sr – Arizona. I’m unaware if what Nic Wise has had to endure at Arizona has ever happened to a college player. Kevin O’Neill, Lute Olson, Russ Pennell and Sean Miller represent the four coaches Wise has played for in four seasons in the desert. The hire of Miller for the long-term has stabilized a rocky situation in Arizona the last three seasons and it’s been Wise present to see the program crumble, pick itself up, fall down and dust itself off once again. Miller convinced Wise to stick around at Arizona for a final hurrah in an attempt to contend in a weakened Pac-10. The ex-Xavier headman is thankful Wise is returning to lead a roster that’s in full turnover/rebuilding mode, picking up the fallen pieces of another collapse at rival USC and hoping Miller’s exceptional coaching can lead the way and extend their record of consecutive NCAA appearances to 26 seasons in a row. Wise is a tremendous offensive player and a likely NBA first round pick if his game continues to improve under Miller. Playing with Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger, Wise led the Arizona attack to the tune of 4.6 APG. He was also very consistent providing another scoring punch alongside his fellow forwards, averaging 15.7 PPG on 45% FG, 85% FT and 42% 3pt while finishing in the Pac-10’s top ten in eight statistical categories in his breakout junior season. The pinnacle of last season came during two victories over tournament teams USC and UCLA in which Wise averaged 26.5 PPG, a stretch that allowed the Wildcats to become quite possibly the last team invited to the field on Selection Sunday as a #12 seed. Led by their own Big Three, Arizona defeated Utah and Cleveland State to garner one of the most unlikely Sweet 16 appearances that we can remember. The coaches acknowledged the tremendous all-around effort from Wise by naming him to the all-Pac 10 second team in 2008-09. Expect the Cats’ team leader to shoulder nearly all of the scoring load in this turnover year for Miller and Arizona that could vault Wise into first-team all-Pac 10 status.
• Luke Babbitt (MM) – F, Soph – Nevada. 16.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 86.4% from the free throw line (70th nationally), 43% from beyond the three-point line, and six double-doubles.  Not a bad freshman year, eh?!?  Mr. Babbitt, welcome to the big time, and welcome to the Preseason Wooden Award list.  Even if you’ve never seen him play, from his vitals and that stat line you can tell that Babbitt is the ultimate matchup problem, a quicker-than-you-think 6’9″ guy who shoots a high percentage from behind the arc but will gladly take to the paint to score or grab rebounds.  He, in tandem with backcourt running mate Armon Johnson, will be relied upon even more heavily this season to provide stability to a program that has had a rocky off-season.  Coach Mark Fox left to take the reins at Georgia, prompting two recruits to jump ship; other players have either transferred or will miss time for various disciplinary reasons.  You might remember that out of high school Babbitt was originally headed to Ohio State but decided to stick around and play in his hometown; he fell off of the national radar a little bit because of that, but had no trouble finding his way back, as we all know.  There will be no surprising anyone this season, that’s for sure.  All eyes will be on him from the start as his minutes, touches, and leadership duties all will increase from last year.  Because of the roster shake-up, the Wolf Pack have fallen a little in some people’s preseason WAC predictions, and how this amazingly talented sophomore — he’s already predicted as the 18th pick in NBADraft.net‘s 2010 mock draft — handles the increased responsiblities for this team will determine whether the program can get back to its first NCAA Tournament in three years.

Honorable Mention.  Jerime Anderson, UCLA.  Kyle Austin, UC Riverside. Keion Bell, Pepperdine.  Nikola Dragovic, UCLA.  Roderick Flemings, Hawaii.  Paul George, Fresno St.  Jonathan Gibson, New Mexico St.  Troy Gillenwater, New Mexico St.  Derek Glasser, Arizona St.  Derrick Jasper, UNLV.  Malcolm Lee, UCLA.  Drew Gordon, UCLA.  Armon Johnson, Nevada.  Cameron Jones, N. Arizona.  Roman Martinez, New Mexico.  Wendell McKines, New Mexico St.  TJ Robinson, Long Beach St.  Sylvester Seay, Fresno St.  Tyrone Shelley, San Diego St.  Jacques Streeter, Cal St. Fullerton.  Vernon Teel, Loyola Marymount.  Eric Wise, UC Irvine.  Jahmar Young, New Mexico St.

Sam Wasson of bleedCrimson.net and Travis Mason-Bushman of Vandal Nation are the RTC correspondents for the Western Athletic Conference.

Travis’ Predicted Order of Finish:

1. Idaho (11-5)
2. Utah State (11-5)
3. New Mexico State (10-6)
4. Nevada (10-6)
5. Louisiana Tech (8-8)
6. Fresno State  (7-9)
7. Boise State  (6-10)
8. San Jose State  (5-11)
9. Hawaii  (4-12)

Sam’s Predicted Order of Finish:

1. New Mexico State (13-3)
2. Utah State (12-4)
3. Nevada  (11-5)
4. Idaho (11-5)
5. Louisiana Tech  (9-7)
6. Fresno State  (6-10)
7. Boise State  (5-11)
8. San Jose State  (3-13)
9. Hawaii  (2-14)

All-Conference Team:

• Mac Hopson (G), Idaho
• Jahmar Young (G), New Mexico State
• Luke Babbitt (F), Nevada
• Sylvester Seay (F), Fresno State
• Magnum Rolle (C), Louisiana Tech

6th Man. Kyle Gibson (G), Louisiana Tech

Impact Newcomer. Steffan Johnson (G), Idaho

What You Need to Know. Once a solid multi-bid league, the WAC has struggled to gain national traction in recent years but appears poised to send multiple teams to the Big Dance after graduating just eight starting seniors in the entire league after last season. Five of the nine WAC teams return at least four starters and New Mexico State returns all five starters. The league also returns 14 of the 15 top scorers this season.

Travis’ Predicted Champion. Idaho (NCAA #12) — one and done.  The Vandals have a storied tradition in college hoops — in the early 1980s, Idaho dominated the Big Sky under legendary coach Don Monson, leading an unlikely charge to the 1982 Sweet 16. But that remains the high-water mark for Idaho basketball. In the first three seasons after joining the Western Athletic Conference in 2005, the Vandals were a perennial bottom-feeder.

Last year, Idaho hired Don Verlin, a longtime assistant at Utah State under Stew Morrill, to lead the Vandals out of the hoops wilderness. The move paid dividends far more quickly than anyone expected. Verlin’s Vandals posted one of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA basketball, going from an awful 8-21 to a respectable 17-16, despite having just seven scholarship players on the roster. It was the first winning season for Idaho hoops in a decade. The highest-profile sign of the turnaround was a much-celebrated season sweep of Idaho’s hated in-state rival, Boise State — another first-in-a-decade feat. The Vandals finished in a tie for third in the conference, but lost in the WAC Tournament’s opening round.

After going from “terrible” to “contender” last year, Verlin’s squad is poised to follow that up with a run to the WAC Tournament Championship. Six of Idaho’s top seven scorers return, including First Team All-WAC point guard Mac Hopson (16.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 5.9 apg) and big man Marvin Jefferson (9.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.8 bpg). Added to the mix are new depth and size in the post, along with probable conference Newcomer of the Year Steffan Johnson, a shoot-and-dish guard who earned First Team All-Big West honors at Pacific (14.5 ppg, 4.9 apg, 1.5 spg) and will likely pair with Hopson to form the WAC’s best backcourt. The Vandals’ best freshman get is Corey Stern, a Rivals three-star forward from Seattle who spurned Big 12, Mountain West and WCC offers in favor of Idaho. He’ll likely see solid playing time and may even start some games later in the season.

With an experienced cast on the floor (four of five projected starters are seniors), plenty of depth at most every position and one full year under Verlin’s system, it’s now or never for Idaho. Next year will be a bit of a rebuilding project, and the players know it. They’ll be motivated to go out with a statement season that will silence the naysayers and re-establish the Vandals as a hoops power in the Pacific Northwest.

Sam’s Predicted Champion. New Mexico State (NCAA #12) — 2^nd round. Head coach Marvin Menzies enters year number three as the head coach of the Aggies and after an up and down season last year that saw them fall seconds short of the WAC championship game, the Aggies are loaded and ready to make a run for the WAC championship. The Aggies lost no seniors this year, a stark difference from a year ago, and return virtually everyone to a team that finished tied for fourth in league play. The Aggies will be without their top rebounder Wendell McKines (Jr.) and fellow frontcourter Troy Gillenwater (Soph.) for first first half of the season due to academics. The Aggies will rely heavily on junior all-conference guard Jahmar Young and the team’s Jonathan Gibson, one of two Aggie seniors, to weather the first half of the season. If the two frontcourt stars are able to take care of academics and become eligible for the second semester, it will give the Aggies a shot in the arm and will be akin to a midseason blockbuster addition to an already deep team.

Other than the two players sitting out for academic reasons the Aggies lost center Chris Gabriel who opted to transfer after fellow freshman center Hamidu Rahman established himself as the top big man last season. However, the Aggies added a pair of frontcourt talents in BJ West (Cheneyville, LA) and Bandja Sy (Cergy, France) to go along with fellow frontcourter redshirt freshman Tyrone Watson (Ontario, Canada).

The Aggies are arguably the deepest team in the league and if and when McKines and Gillenwater return it will make the Aggies that much deeper.

Top Contenders:

• Utah State  (NCAA #12) — one and done.  It’s extremely tough to pick against the WAC-juggernaut Aggies, but they’ll be sorely missing conference Player of the Year Gary Wilkinson, who owned painted areas all across the WAC during his career with Utah State. Coach Stew Morrill is a genius at getting unheralded players to produce massive numbers so the Aggies are not at all out of the picture. But with the WAC deeper this year than any other in recent memory, his job may be just a little bit tougher.
• Nevada (NIT).  The Wolf Pack had a busy offseason and not all of it was good for the team. The biggest departure was not a player but a coach. Head coach Mark Fox left for the greener pastures of Georgia (read: the money of a BCS school). Taking over in Fox’s place is long time assistant David Carter. Carter was an assistant for both Trent Johnson (LSU) and Mark Fox (Georgia). Carter will be every bit as important as any player this season as the Wolf Pack hope to maintain their status as an elite WAC team. The team’s lack of depth could hurt the Wolf Pack as the season starts to hit the grind and fatigue or foul trouble could prevent them from winning close games late.

Top 10 RPI Boosters (all times local):

• Nov. 13. Idaho at Utah, 7 p.m.
• Nov. 17. New Mexico at New Mexico State, 7 p.m.
• Nov. 18. Utah State at Utah, 6:05 p.m.
• Nov. 21. Idaho at North Dakota State, 5 p.m.
• Nov. 27. Nevada at VCU, 7:30 p.m.
• Nov. 29. Nevada at North Carolina, 7:45 p.m. (Fox Sports Net)
• Dec. 2. Brigham Young at Utah State, 7:05 p.m.
• Dec. 9. Louisiana Tech at Arizona, 8 p.m.
• Dec. 15. New Mexico State at UCLA, TBA
• Dec. 22. Nevada vs. BYU, 7:30 p.m.

Key Conference Games (all times local):

• Jan. 2. Utah State at New Mexico State, TBA (ESPNU) — This opening-weekend battle of the Aggies will reveal much about both title-contending squads.
• Jan. 4. Nevada at New Mexico State, 9 p.m. (ESPNU) — The brutal opening weekend for NMSU continues and defending home court will be crucial.
• Jan. 13. Utah State at Nevada, 8 p.m. (ESPN2) — A rematch of the 2009 WAC Tournament title game, there’s no love lost between these squads.
• Jan. 25. Boise State at Idaho, 8 p.m. (ESPNU) — A vicious intra-state rivalry game, on national TV for the first time ever.
• Feb. 3. Idaho at Utah State, 9 p.m. (ESPN2) — Can Idaho hang with Utah State on the WAC’s toughest home court?
• Feb. 10. Nevada at Idaho (ESPN2) — A must-win home game for the Vandals and a chance for the Wolf Pack to demonstrate they’re still top dog in the conference.
• Feb. 17. Louisiana Tech at Utah State, 9:05 p.m. (ESPNU) — Are the Bulldogs going to be a threat in the conference tournament? This game should tell the tale.
• Feb. 24. Idaho at New Mexico State, 9 p.m. (ESPN2) — With just two weeks left in the regular season, a key road test for the Vandals and a huge opportunity for the Aggies.

Digging Deeper.

• Utah State head coach Stew Morrill is the elder statesman in the WAC and his coaching tree features five head coaches, including one in the WAC (Don Verlin, Idaho) in addition to Randy Rahe (Weber State), Blaine Taylor (Old Dominion), Terry Dunn (Dartmouth) and Jeff Jackson (Furman).
• Utah State holds the nation’s second longest home winning streak at 34 games, second only to Kansas’ 41-game home win streak.

Fun With KenPom. There may not have been a bigger difference between offensive and defensive efficiency for an NCAA Tournament team than exhibited by Utah State last season.  Stew Morrill’s squad was an excellent offensive team, ranking #17 nationally in offensive efficiency.  But they were very average on the defensive end, ranking #158 in that category.  It didn’t seem to hurt them much, though, as they still went 30-5 (14-2 in the WAC), and took Marquette to the last possession in the ir first round game of the NCAAs last year (losing 58-57).  

NCAA Tournament History. The last two years the WAC has been a one-bid league, but historically that’s been quite unusual for this conference.  In fact, other than 2003 when Tulsa was the sole WAC representative, you have to go back all the way to 1983 to find another year where only WAC team was invited to the Big Dance (Utah).  The league is 65-91 (.417) all-time, and a typical year sees at least two teams from the conference invited.  With the high number of players returning from last season throughout the league, it wouldn’t surprise to see the WAC move back to multi-bid territory very soon.

Final Thoughts. In the past four seasons the WAC has had four different conference champions in Nevada, New Mexico State, Boise State and Utah State. With the wealth of returning players from last season, the WAC will be as deep as it’s ever been and has hopes of returning to its multi-bid status this season. With non-conference games against North Carolina, Arizona and UCLA as well as battles with fellow mid-majors Utah, BYU, St. Mary’s, Virginia Commonwealth, New Mexico and UTEP ,this could be the season the WAC puts itself back in the national picture.

3/14 Update.  Crazy night in Reno last night – here’s our wrapup on the semis, and whatever you do, don’t offer the mascot $100 to attack the other mascot.  Stay safe out there, Nevadans!  Should be a great environment there tonight.

3/13 Update: here’s the live-blog for tonight’s WAC semifinal between Utah St. and New Mexico St., with the second semifinal between Louisiana Tech and the homestanding Nevada following it.

Hello WAC fans, and welcome to RTC Live’s ongoing coverage of the WAC Tournament from Reno, Nevada.  We have been fortunate to partner with Travis Mason-Bushman from Vandal Nation, who will be live-blogging and reporting from the Lawlor Events Center throughout the weekend.  The Tournament began last night with a single opening round game (Fresno St. defeated Hawaii), but the quarterfinals will begin in earnest on Thursday afternoon.  For additional information on this tournament, be sure to check out the comprehensive WAC Tournament preview put together by our regular WAC correspondents, Kevin McCarthy and Sam Wasson.

Travis will be live-blogging select games throughout the weekend, starting tomorrow with the quarterfinal matchup between #1 seed Utah St. and #9 seed Fresno St.   This has the potential to be an atypical high/low seed game, as Fresno took the slumping Aggies to overtime in a regular season meeting.  If you’re new to the site, the live-blog box will show immediately below this paragraph, and Travis will be taking comments and questions throughout the game.  Particularly insightful questions will be chosen for him to take into the media press conference and/or locker rooms afterwards.  Enjoy the WAC Tournament, and check back here daily to see which games we’ll be live-blogging next.

And be sure to check out the Idaho vs. Louisiana Tech game tonight, live-blogged below.