It may end up being the best game played in the West this season. New Mexico snapped BYU's 15-game winning streak (tops in the nation for barely 24 hours after Kentucky lost Tuesday) behind a career-high 25 points from Dairese Gary. Lobo fans (check this guy out) stormed the floor after the win. KRQE-TV has highlights from The Pit.
BYU was none too pleased with the officiating in the game. Coach Dave Rose walked on the court with 3.3 seconds left to "mockingly shake referee Larry Spaulding's hand," according to Jay Drew of the Salt Lake Tribune. A happier New Mexico coach Steve Alford was singing the praises of Gary. "He's a warrior. He just doesn't let you account for him. He does what he has to do to will his team to win. Anytime we got them in a man situation, we just thought Dairese could take those guys." The win pulled the Lobos within a half-game of BYU in the Mountain West race. The teams meet again February 27.
Don't Make Ramon Sessions Angry. You Wouldn't Like Him When He's Angry
Portland State defenders sagged off Weber State's Ramon Sessions in a clash of Big Sky powerhouses. Sessions showed his disapproval by shooting 9-11 from the floor, including 2-3 from three-point range. After one basket, Sessions shouted "Ya'll think I can't shoot!" as he passed the PSU bench, wrote Andrew Aragon of the Deseret News.
Walk-On Bruin Makes Walk-Off Basket
UCLA guard Mustafa Abdul-Hamid knows he won't have a pro basketball career, which is why he's spent his college years interning for the mayor of L.A. and studying in Morocco. Before this season, he'd played a total of 82 minutes. But last Thursday he made a shot that even All-Americans dream about -- a buzzer-beating, top-of-the-key three-pointer to give UCLA a 62-61 victory over Washington. The win deprived the Huskies of what would've been only their 4th win ever at Pauley Pavilion.
Cal-Fullerton, Titans of the Comeback
The Cal-Fullerton Titans managed two incredible comebacks this week. Saturday they trailed UC Santa Barbara by 16 points with 16:26 left. The Titans responded with 50 points in the next 16:22 of the game to take a three-point lead with four seconds left. But UCSB's Orlando Johnson hit a three, and the Titans lost in OT. On Tuesday, they were down 9 with 4:41 left against independents Cal-State Bakersfield, then held the Roadrunners scoreless for the next four minutes to take a two-point lead. But CSB's Donovan Bragg hit a shot to send that game into overtime. The Titans prevailed in the extra period this time.
A.I.'s (Almost) Gone, Long Live A.O?
San Jose State guard Adrian Oliver had himself a week, scoring 39 points against Louisiana Tech then 22 against New Mexico State. SJSU got wins over the top two teams in the WAC, and Oliver earned national player of the week honors. Oliver, who transferred from Washington because he wasn't a big enough part of the offense, has a permanent green light from coach George Nessman: "There's some shots that
Adrian takes that we would never let other guys put up," Nessman told the San Jose Mercury News' Mark Emmons. "But Adrian makes an inordinate number of them. And when he does, that
has a tendency to spook the defense. It's like: 'What do we do now?'"
Don't Close the Door on Arizona's Streak
The U of A's 25-year streak of NCAA Tourney appearances seemed very unlikely to continue after the offseason turmoil that led to Sean Miller's hiring. But the Wildcats aren't just keeping pace in the Pac-10, they're a few bounces away from being undefeated in conference. Arizona's three conference losses (at USC, vs. WSU, and at OSU) have been by a total of just 11 points. They left nothing to chance against conference leaders Arizona State on Saturday, spanking them in Tempe by 19 points. (Hear much more about Arizona in my weekly Pac-10 podcast with CougCenter's Jeff Nusser.
West in the Polls
AP: BYU #12, Gonzaga #13, New Mexico #23. Also receiving votes: UNLV, Saint Mary's, Cal.
Coaches: Gonzaga #8, BYU #10. Also receiving votes: New Mexico, Saint Mary's, UNLV, Cal.
Mid-Major: Gonzaga #1, Saint Mary's #7, Northern Colorado #10, Portland #22, Weber St. #25.
West on National TV (times PST)
Thursday:
UCLA @ Oregon, 7:30 p.m., FSN
Gonzaga @ Santa Clara, 8 p.m., ESPN2
Portland @ San Francisco, 8 p.m., ESPNU
Saturday:
Washington St. @ Washington, 12:30 p.m., FSN
Pacific @ UC Riverside, 5 p.m., ESPN
Hawai'i @ Nevada, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Sunday:
Cal @ Arizona, 12:30 p.m., FSN