Monday, February 28, 2011

Boise State Gymnasts Fall to #14

As mentioned in this blog, Boise State's gymnastics team did not score well enough last week to merit upward movement on the national scene.  Boise State is #14 this week, down from #12 a week ago and down from #11 two weeks ago.

Click on the story link to see the newest rankings:

Individually, Amy Glass is back to #8 in the all-around standings with an RQS of 39.290 while Hannah Redmon is sixth on the floor with a score of 9.876.  Those are the only two Broncos in the top ten.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Seven Broncos Earn Trip to NCAA Nationals

125--Alan Bartelli, Pac-10 fourth place
133--Andrew Hochstrasser, Pac-10 Champion
141--Levi Jones, Pac-10 second place
149--Jason Chamberlain, Pac-10 Champion
157--Adam Hall, Pac-10 Champion
165--Kurt Swartz, Pac-10 Champion
Heavyweight--J.T. Felix, Pac-10 runner-up

Boise State Has Now Won Five Conference Championships

Boise State is on fire with three conference championships this weekend.  That brings the total to five.

The Broncos have won WAC titles in:

1)  cross country
2)  football
3)  swimming and diving
4)  men's indoor track

and the Pac-10 Championship in wrestling.

Boise State Wins Third Conference Champion of the Weekend

With a dramatic performance, the Boise State wrestling team has turned back defending champion Oregon State on their home floor despite losing their star Kirk Smith to injury.

The Broncos are co-champions in men's track, champions of swimming & diving and now Pac-10 champions for the third time in four years and the sixth time in Boise State history.

BREAKING--Boise State Wins Pac-10 Championship!

Boise State has clinched the Pac-10 championship.  Boise State has 146 points to 133.5 for Oregon State.  The Broncos are out of reach.

BREAKING--Kurt Swartz Wins Pac-10 Championship at 165

Boise State's fourth champion of the night with a nice 4-0 win over Trevor Hall of Cal State Bakersfield.

BREAKING--Adam Hall Pac-10 Champion

Hall wins in triple overtime 3-2 over #2 seed Bubba Jenkins of Arizona State.  Way to go Adam!

BREAKING--Jason Chamberlain is Pac-10 Champion

In yet another breaking story brought to you first by this blog at 10:20 p.m. Boise time--

with a nice 5-2 win over Oregon State's #2 seed Scott Sakaguchi.  Chamberlain joins Felix, Jones and Hochstrasser at the NCAA Championships.  Congrats Jason!

BREAKING--Hochstrasser is Pac-10 Champion

With a 10-0 major over #3 seed Garrett Drucker of Oregon State.

Way to go Andrew!  Philadelphia bound!

Boise State Gymnasts Fall Short of 196 Again in Beating Utah State

Boise State once again roundly defeated an opponent with less than their best in a victory against Utah State this afternoon in Taco Bell Arena.


To reach nationals, the Broncos need a minimum of 196 and more likely 197.  This afternoon, they scored 195.475 to Utah State's 192.650.  Boise State actually performed better on the road (scoring 196.250 in Logan a little over a week ago) than they did in front of their home fans.  File that one away.


Boise State did do well on vault with a season-high 49.30.  The scoring went down from there, however.  The Broncos finished with just 48.750 on bars, 48.40 on beam and then rebounded to score 49.025 on the floor.  


Amy Glass tied Julie Wagner's record, set in 1994, with her seventh all-around win this season.  Hailey Gaspar tied her career-best on vault with a 9.950.  Glass was second with 9.90, Brittany Potvin-Green had a 9.875 and Amanda Otuafi scored a lifetime-best of 8.850.  


Lindsay Kazandjian came to life on the beam with a season-best 9.825 for her first win of the season and sixth of her career.  Glass led the Broncos on floor with a 9.90.  


Boise State will be passed this week by Arkansas, which scored a 196.500 in a win over Illinois-Chicago.  The Broncos should pass #12 Denver and Utah will have a qualifying RQS score, meaning Boise State slip another notch to #14.


Boise State hosts Southern Utah in their final home meet next Friday at 7 p.m.  The Broncos will finish the season on the road when they hope to resume their higher scores.



Boise State Wrestlers Responding Like Champions

Boise State may be #6 in the nation but with five disappointments at the higher weights, Boise State finds itself in a dogfight for the Pac-10 title.


Once again, the dog is Oregon State, which, like Boise State, advanced six wrestlers into tonight's finals.  Between the two teams, they have 60% of tonight's finalists.  Several of the finals will match wrestlers of Boise State and Oregon State, and obviously those head-to-head matchups are huge for the team title.


Oregon State received new life when unseeded Brice Arand defeated Kirk Smith, one of Boise State's top hopes, in the quarterfinal at 184 pounds.  Smith, who had shown just a slight limp throughout the match, limped noticeably after he had been defeated.  The word from Boise State is that Smith will now forfeit the remainder of the championships due to his injury.  I suspected this and now the team is left to carry on without him.    


The bad news spread to 197 pounds, where #1 seed Matt Casperson of Boise State was upset by unseeded Luke Macchiaroli of Arizona State.  Casperson too moves to consolation against unseeded Chad Hanke of Oregon State.  A Beaver win there would go a long ways in propelling the defending champions to another title.


Now, first Jacob Swartz and now #1 seed Matt Casperson have been defeated by wrestlers who weren't even seeded.  #4 Swartz lost at 174 pounds to unranked Eric Starks of Arizona State.  Casperson also lost to an unranked wrestler and to make matters worse, that unranked wrestler was from Oregon State, the team Boise State is trying to beat.  Casperson was content to lock his opponent and then run out of bounds for the entire three rounds, which ended in a 1-1 tie.  Then, as often happens in overtime where one move decides the match, Hanke was able to take down Casperson just before Casperson was trying to get out of bounds and won the match.


Casperson lost in the fifth-place match as well to Ryan Smith of Cal Poly.  Alan Bartelli got a break when he was awarded third place at 125 pounds by medical forfeit over #2 seed Ryan Mango.  Boise State gets five points.  Heavyweight J.T. Felix lost to Clayton Jack, however, and Oregon State gets three points for that.  Felix is guaranteed a spot at the NCAA National Championships.


Andrew Hochstrasser turned Boise State's fortunes around with a dominating 10-0 performance over Oregon State's Garrett Drucker.  Not only was it a head-to-head win over Oregon State, but a major decision for Hoch.  Well done sir!  Andrew is heading to Philadelphia for the NCAA National Championships.


Levi Jones gave a tremendous battle but lost 3-1 to #1 seed Boris Novachkov of Cal Poly in the Pac-10 championship match at 141 pounds.  Jason Chamberlain continued the surge with a 5-2 win over Oregon State's Scott Sakaguchi to be crowned Pac-10 champion at 149 pounds.  Adam Hall made it three Pac-10 champions for Boise State with a 3-2 win in triple overtime over Bubba Jenkins of Arizona State.


With just a few matches remaining,  Boise State leads 147.0 to 139.5 for Oregon State, with Arizona State (106.0), Stanford (103.0), Cal State Bakersfield (93.0), Cal Poly (88.5) and Cal State Fullerton (57.5) rounding out the field.




Here is how each Bronco wrestler has fared today:






125--Alan Bartelli scored a 12-0 major over Britain Longmire of Cal Poly
         lost to #1 seed Anthony Robles of Arizona State by a 14-1 major
        defeated Andre Gonzalez of Cal State Fullerton in consolation
        won third place by medical forfeit over #2 Ryan Mango of Stanford




133--Andrew Hochstrasser had a first-round bye
        defeated Frank Lomas of Cal State Bakersfield with a 16-2 major
        Beat Garrett Drucker of Oregon State 10-0 in a major decision for the Pac-10 Championship. 




141--Levi Jones received a first-round bye
        defeated Michael Mangrum of Oregon State 9-5
       lost to #1 seed Boris Novachkov of Cal Poly 4-3 in the championship.




149--Jason Chamberlain defeated Bakersfield's John Cardenas by Technical Fall 
         scored a 21-7 major over Timmy Boone of Stanford
         defeated Scott Sakaguchi of Oregon State in the final.




157--Adam Hall won by fall over Chris Stinnett of Cal State Fullerton
         beat Kyle Meyer of Stanford 10-3
         beat #2 seed Bubba Jenkins of Arizona State  in the final.




165--Kurt Swartz won a 9-0 major over Bryce Whitehead of Cal State Fullerton 9-0
        defeated Oregon State's Jonathan Brascetta 2-1
         defeated #4 seed Trevor Hall of Cal State Bakersfield in the final.




174--Jacob Swartz won by fall over Mark Savalle of Cal State Fullerton
         lost to #1 seed Colby Covington by a 10-2 major
         lost to unranked Eric Starks of Arizona State in consolation 
        defeated #3 seed Joseph Granata of Bakersfield for 5th place




184--Kirk Smith received a first-round bye
        lost to Brice Arand of Oregon State
        forfeited because of injury.




197--Matt Casperson defeated Kyle Bergstedt of Cal State Fullerton with a 9-0 major
         Lost to Luke Macchiaroli of Arizona State
        lost to unranked Chad Hanke of Oregon State 3-1 
        lost to  #4 seed Ryan Smith of Cal Poly for 5th place




285--J.T. Felix defeated Dylan Rush of Stanford 2-1
        defeated #1 seed Levi Cooper of Arizona State
         Felix lost to Clayton Jack of Oregon State 6-4.



The Possible Seeding Scenarios for WAC Men's Basketball

Just one week remains in the Western Athletic Conference men's basketball season, and that's a good time to take care of possible scenarios and tie-breaking procedures that may arise in determining seedings for the upcoming post-season tournament.


The conference standings look like this after last night's action:


1.  Utah State 13-1
2.  Boise State 9-6
3.  New Mexico State 8-6
4.  Idaho 8-7
5.  Hawai'i 7-7
5.  Nevada 7-7
7.  Fresno State 5-9
7.  San Jose State 5-9
9.  Louisiana Tech 2-12


Here is what we already know.  Utah State has won the regular season championship, will be the #1 seed and will receive a first-round bye for the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas.  Louisiana Tech at 2-12 will not make the eight-team field.  Boise State can finish no worse than third and Idaho & New Mexico State can finish no worse than sixth.  In a year in which the #2-8 teams are as balanced as ever in recent memory, that is about all we know at this point.  


So it's very helpful to know what happens to the teams in different scenarios using the league's tie-breaker procedures.  The first tie-breaker to be applied is head-to-head games if two teams are tied or, in the case of three or more teams (record against the other tied teams).  So let's start there.


Boise State owns a tie-breaker over Idaho with a season sweep over the Vandals.  
New Mexico State owns a tie-breaker over Idaho with a season sweep.
Idaho owns a tie-breaker over Hawai'i with two wins.
Idaho owns the tie-breaker with Nevada with a season sweep over the Wolf Pack.


The next tie-breaker is the comparison of the teams against the rest of the conference, beginning at the top of the standings and continuing down until the tie is decided.  If, after the teams are still tied after going through that comparison, the team's RPI is used to break the tie.


Boise State at 9-6 can finish no worse than third with a victory next Saturday over San Jose State.  If New Mexico State loses to either Utah State on Wednesday or to Nevada next Saturday, the Broncos clinch second place.  If both teams win out, they will tie for second.  Since the two teams split this season, the next tie-breaker is the comparison of the teams against #1 Utah State is the next tie-breaker.  New Mexico State would be seeded second because they would have a win over Utah State (the #1 seed) in that scenario.  But if New Mexico State loses to the other Aggies, Boise State is in control.  The two teams would have the exact record against other WAC teams except Fresno State and Louisiana Tech.  Boise State swept Fresno State while New Mexico State swept Louisiana Tech.  Since Fresno will finish the year higher, that is the deciding factor.  To sum up, New Mexico State owns the tiebreaker over Boise State if they beat Utah State but if they lose, Boise State owns the tiebreaker with a sweep over Fresno State.  There are other possibilities but I'll put those at the end of this story for reference and hope that we don't have to go there.


New Mexico State can finish second by defeating both Utah State on Wednesday and Nevada next Saturday.  As mentioned above, if Boise State beats San Jose State next Saturday and New Mexico State loses one of their two games, the best the Aggies can finish is third.


Idaho is 8-7 and can clinch at least fourth place with a win in Moscow Thursday night over Fresno State.  If New Mexico State loses a game, there are all kinds of possibilities, including a possible four-way tie for second place, that I'll address later.  I will mention that Idaho has good tie-breaker possibilities because of sweeps over both Fresno State and Hawai'i.


Hawai'i is 7-7 and can finish in that four-way tie for second.  For now, I'll look at the head-to-head possibilities for the Warriors.  They are tied with Fresno State for fifth.  The two teams play next Saturday so that game will break the tie if they are still tied at that point.  If Hawai'i loses to San Jose State but beats Fresno State, Hawai'i would win a tie-breaker with the Bulldogs.  If, however, Hawai'i beats San Jose State Thursday night and Fresno State loses to Idaho then beats Hawai'i, Fresno and Hawai'i will still be tied.  In that scenario, the teams would still be tied because they would have a split this season.  


In the balanced WAC this season, that is about all we know concerning head-to-head possibilities.  It is almost certain that there will be at least one tie that involves three or more teams.  In that case, the record against the other tied teams comes into play.  Let's look at that further.


There exists a chance that four teams could tie for second place.  Those would be Boise State, New Mexico State, Idaho and Hawai'i.  Again the first tiebreaker is record against the other tied teams.  For this scenario to occur, Boise State would have to lose to San Jose State, New Mexico State would have to split its two games, Idaho would have to beat Fresno State and Hawai'i would have to beat both San Jose State and Fresno State.  The first  tiebreaker would be a team's record against the other three teams.  


Boise State split with New Mexico State and Hawai'i and swept Idaho.  The Broncos are 4-2 against the other three teams.  New Mexico State split with Boise State and Hawai'i and swept Idaho.  The Aggies would also be 4-2.  Idaho split with Hawai'i and was swept by the other two teams so would be eliminated.  Hawai'i split with the other three teams and would be 3-3.  The tie between Boise State and New Mexico State cannot be broken head-to-head so we would use the next tiebreaker that starts with #1 Utah State.  If New Mexico State beats Utah State Wednesday night, they would own the tiebreaker since Boise State was swept by Utah State.  If, however, USU beats New Mexico State, Boise State would own the tiebreaker by virtue of a sweep over Idaho.  


You can see that it gets quite complicated.  We will know much more after Wednesday night and especially after Thursday night's games.  For now, I'll just present the different scenarios below that will provide easy-to-follow certainties.


1.  Boise State beats San Jose State
     New Mexico State loses a game


                Boise State finishes second


2.  Boise State beats San Jose State
     New Mexico State beats Utah State and Nevada
                New Mexico State finishes second because of win over Utah State; Boise State finishes third.


3.  Boise State loses to San Jose State
     New Mexico State loses to Utah State but beats Nevada
      Idaho loses to Fresno State
      Hawai'i and Nevada each lose one game next week
                 Boise State would be awarded second with a sweep over Fresno State and New Mexico State would be seeded third.  Idaho would be fourth with sweeps over both Hawai'i and Nevada, Nevada would be fifth with a sweep over Louisiana Tech and Hawai'i would be seeded sixth.


4.  Boise State loses to San Jose State
     New Mexico State loses to Utah State but beats Nevada
     Idaho loses to Fresno State
     Hawai'i beats both San Jose State and Fresno State
     Nevada beats Louisiana Tech
                  Boise State would be awarded second place with a sweep over Fresno State and New Mexico State would be #3.  Hawai'i would be fourth, Idaho fifth with a sweep of Nevada and Nevada would be sixth.  San Jose State would be awarded #7 because they split with Hawai'i and Fresno State would have two losses to Hawai'i.


5.   Boise State loses to San Jose State
     New Mexico State loses to Utah State but beats Nevada
     Idaho loses to Fresno State
     Hawai'i beats both San Jose State and Fresno State
     Nevada loses to Louisiana Tech

                 Boise State would be awarded second place with a sweep over Fresno State and New Mexico State would be #3, Hawai'i would be fourth, Idaho fifth and Nevada would be sixth.  The tie between Fresno State and San Jose State would be resolved by RPI (the two teams split and the two would have done exactly the same against every WAC team.)

6.  Boise State loses to San Jose State
     New Mexico State loses to Utah State but beats Nevada
      Idaho loses to Fresno State
      Hawai'i loses to San Jose State and Fresno State
      Nevada beats Louisiana Tech

                  Boise State would be awarded second place with a sweep over Fresno State and New Mexico State would be #3.  Idaho would be awarded fourth with a sweep over Nevada and Nevada would be fifth.  There would be a three-way tie for sixth--Hawai'i would be eliminated from that tie-breaker due to being swept by Idaho and would be seeded eighth.  Fresno State would be seeded sixth with a sweep over Hawai'i and San Jose State would be seeded seventh.

7.  Boise State loses to San Jose State
     New Mexico State loses to Utah State but beats Nevada
      Idaho loses to Fresno State
      Hawai'i loses to San Jose State and Fresno State
      Nevada loses to Louisiana Tech

                 Boise State would be awarded second-seed with a sweep over Fresno State.  New Mexico State would be third and Idaho fourth.  There would be a four-way tie for fifth--Fresno State would be seeded fifth with a sweep over Hawai'i.  San Jose State would be seeded sixth with a sweep over Louisiana Tech.  The Hawai'i-Nevada tie would be decided by RPI, since the two split and would have the exact record against every WAC team.  


8.  Boise State loses to San Jose State
     New Mexico State loses to both Utah State and Nevada
     Idaho beats Fresno State
     Nevada beats Louisiana Tech
     Hawai'i beats San Jose State and Fresno State

                   There would be a four-way tie for second place between Boise State, Idaho, Hawai'i and Nevada.  Idaho would be awarded second with sweeps over both Hawai'i and Nevada.  Boise State would then be awarded third seed with a sweep over Idaho.  Nevada would be seeded fourth with a sweep over New Mexico State and Hawai'i would be #5.  New Mexico State would be the #6 seed, San Jose State #7 and Fresno State #8.    

9.  Boise State loses to San Jose State
     New Mexico State loses to both Utah State and Nevada
     Idaho beats Fresno State
     Nevada loses to Louisiana Tech
     Hawai'i beats San Jose State and Fresno State

                   There would be a three-way tie for second place between Boise State, Idaho and Hawai'i.  Boise State would be 3-1 against the other two, Idaho would be 2-2 and Hawai'i 0-4.  Boise State would be seeded second, Idaho would be #3 due to a sweep over Hawai'i and Hawai'i would be seeded fourth.  Nevada would be #5 with a sweep over New Mexico State and New Mexico State would be #6, San Jose State #7 and Fresno State #8.  

10.  Boise State loses to San Jose State
      New Mexico State loses to both Utah State and Nevada
      Idaho beats Fresno State
      Nevada beats Louisiana Tech
      Hawai'i loses to San Jose State but beats Fresno State

                    There would be a three-way tie for second between Boise State, Idaho and Nevada.  Boise State would have a 3-1 record against the other two, Idaho would be 2-2 and Nevada 1-3.  Boise State would be the #2 seed.  Idaho would be awarded #3 with a sweep over Nevada and Nevada would be #4.  New Mexico State would be awarded fifth-seed because they split with Idaho and Hawai'i was swept by Idaho.  Hawai'i would be seeded sixth, San Jose State would be seeded seventh and Fresno State #8.  

11.  Boise State loses to San Jose State
      New Mexico State loses to both Utah State and Nevada
      Idaho beats Fresno State
      Nevada beats Louisiana Tech
      Hawai'i beats San Jose State but loses to Fresno State

                 There would be a three-way tie for second between Boise State, Idaho and Nevada.  Boise State would have a 3-1 record against the other two, Idaho would be 2-2 and Nevada 1-3.  Boise State would be the #2 seed.  Idaho would be awarded #3 with a sweep over Nevada and Nevada would be #4.  New Mexico State would be awarded fifth-seed because they split with Idaho and Hawai'i was swept by Idaho.  Hawai'i would be seeded sixth.  The tie between San Jose State and Fresno State would be decided by RPI since the two teams split and they have the exact record against every other WAC team.    


12.  Boise State loses to San Jose State
       New Mexico State loses to Utah State but beats Nevada
       Idaho beats Fresno State
       Hawai'i beats San Jose State and Fresno State
       Nevada beats Louisiana Tech


                  There would be a four-way tie for second between Boise State, New Mexico State, Idaho and Hawai'i.  Boise State and New Mexico State would have 4-2 records against the other three teams in the tie.  Idaho would be 2-4 and Hawai'i would be 2-4.  Boise State would be seeded second with a sweep of Fresno State and New Mexico State would be third.  Idaho would be awarded fourth with a sweep over Hawai'i and the Warriors would be fifth.  Nevada would be sixth, San Jose State seventh and Fresno State eighth.


13.  Boise State loses to San Jose State
       New Mexico State beats both Utah State and Nevada
       Idaho beats Fresno State
       Hawai'i loses to San Jose State but beats Fresno State

       Nevada beats Louisiana Tech


                   New Mexico State would be second with a 10-6 record.   Boise State and Idaho would be tied for third.  Boise State would be awarded second with a sweep over Idaho and Idaho would be fourth.  Hawai'i would be awarded fifth with a sweep over Fresno State, Nevada would be sixth, San Jose State seventh and Fresno State eighth.



14.  Boise State loses to San Jose State
       New Mexico State beats both Utah State and Nevada
       Idaho beats Fresno State
       Hawai'i beats San Jose State but loses to Fresno State
       Nevada beats Louisiana Tech

                   New Mexico State would be second with a 10-6 record.   Boise State and Idaho would be tied for third.  Boise State would be awarded second with a sweep over Idaho and Idaho would be fourth.  Hawai'i would be awarded fifth with a sweep over Fresno State and Nevada would be sixth.  San Jose State would be awarded seventh because of a split with Boise State and Fresno State would be seeded eighth.  

15.  Boise State loses to San Jose State
       New Mexico State beats Utah State but loses to Nevada
       Idaho beats Fresno State
       Hawai'i beats both San Jose State and Fresno State
       Nevada beats Louisiana Tech

                   This combination would result in a five-way tie for second place between Boise State, New Mexico State, Idaho, Hawai'i and Nevada.  Boise State, Nevada and New Mexico State would be 5-3 against the other four teams, Idaho would be 4-4 and Hawai'i would be 3-5.  New Mexico State would be awarded second with a split against Utah State,  Boise State would be awarded third with a sweep over Idaho and Nevada would be fourth.  Idaho would be awarded fifth and Hawai'i sixth.  San Jose State would be seventh and Fresno State eighth.  




NOTE:  This will be adjusted based on actual results Wednesday and Thursday.







                























Second Half Surge Lifts Boise State Over Nevada 72-66

Boise State completed a road sweep over Fresno State and Nevada for only the second time in school history with a 72-66 win in Reno last night.  Once again, senior guard La’Shard Anderson led the way with 23 points.

Anderson poured in a career-high 33 points in Boise State’s win over Fresno State Thursday night and is a strong candidate for Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week.  The only other time that Boise State was able to defeat both Fresno State and Nevada in the same road trip was in the 2007-08 season when the Broncos were WAC champions.

Boise State out-shot and out-rebounded the Wolf Pack last night in gaining their fifth consecutive victory and moving into sole possession of second place in the WAC.  It did not start out that way, as both teams were ice-cold from the field in the first half.  The Broncos were 10-26 (.385) in the first stanza while Nevada was just 9-24 (.375).  Boise State missed its first eight shots but stayed in the game because Nevada didn’t do much better (1-6 to start the game).   Coach Leon Rice’s team held the Wolf Pack scoreless in the final five minutes of the half to pull within one at 23-22. 

Whatever Rice is saying in the locker room is working.  Last night’s game marked the seventh time Boise State has come back from a halftime deficit to win. 

Daequon Montreal scored all 16 of his points in the second half to lead the onslaught and Robert Arnold finished with 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds.  Montreal scored the first five points in the second half as Boise State went on a 10-2 run to begin the second half.  The Broncos stretched the lead to 49-37 but the homestanding Wolf Pack battled back to pull within four with 15 seconds left. 

Jeff Elorriaga was fouled on the ensuing possession and canned both free throws to provide the final margin if victory. 

Boise State went on a sharpshooting spree in the second half, hitting 15-524 (62.5%) to take control of the game.  Anderson aided the cause with three steals to pass Chris Childs for fifth on the all-time single-season steals list.  Anderson, who passed Usitalo Thursday night for second all-time in his career, now has 189.  Only Childs (215) is ahead of Anderson.  It should be noted, however, that Usitalo played only two years at Boise State while Anderson and Childs played all four years.   


Olek Czyz led the Wolf Pack with 25 points and 11 rebounds.

Boise State is now 17-11 on the season and 9-6 in conference play, including a record of 9-7 on the road.  Nevada slipped to 11-17 and 7-7.

Boise State closes out the regular season with games in Taco Bell Arena against Cal State Bakersfield (Wednesday) and San Jose State Saturday night.


New Mexico State can pass Boise State for second place if the Broncos lose to San Jose State.  If Boise State defeats the Spartans, New Mexico State can finish in a tie with Boise State if the Aggies beat both Utah State Wednesday night and Nevada Saturday night.  Both those games are in Las Cruces.  The Aggies would then own the tie-breaker with Boise State with a win over regular season champion Utah State.  The combination of a Boise State win and a New Mexico State loss would clinch second place for the Broncos.  

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Boise State Surges to WAC Commissioner's Cup lead

Propelled by two conference championships today, Boise State shot to the front in the race for the Western Athletic Conference Commissioner's Cup.  The Cup rewards the conference school with the best overall sports program.  Boise State tied Utah State for the men's track championship this afternoon in Nampa and the Bronco swimming and diving team defended their title in San Antonio.  Louisiana Tech once again won the women's track title, edging Utah State.


Boise State won the Cup last year for the second time and is trying to make its final year in the WAC its best.  Basketball is the next sport to be decided early in March and gymnastics will be the last of the winter sports to wrap up.  That would leave just men's and women's golf, tennis and outdoor track, softball and baseball.


The best way to view the Cup competition is comparing the schools with how they did last year to find gains and losses.  The standings below show the difference from this year compared to last year.


Here are the standings after the competition today:


1.  Boise State 48.25 (+2.75)
2.  Utah State 42.00 (+1.75)
3.  New Mexico State 31.25 (-9.00)
4.  Hawai'i 30.50 (+3.50)
4.  Idaho 30.50 (-1.25)
6.  Fresno State 29.75 (-1.25)
7.  Nevada 28.00 (-8.00)
8.  Louisiana Tech 23.50 (+5.50)
9.  San Jose State 20.25 (-1.00)


The year-to-year difference shows the schools doing the best and the worst from last year's Cup race.  Boise State, Nevada and Fresno State always have the best spring sports and will gain the most from here.  


If you add the year-to-year difference to last year's Cup Standings, you would have:


1.  Boise State 95.00
2.  Fresno State 82.50
3.  Utah State 75.75
4.  Hawai'i 72.00
5.  New Mexico State 71.75
6.  Nevada 68.50
7.  Idaho 66.75
8.  Louisiana Tech 63.00
9.  San Jose State 50.75