It was an ugly start to Western Athletic Conference play for Fresno State, which had won three men's basketball games in a row heading in.
The Bulldogs lost both their games, starting with a 72-53 defeat at Utah State on Thursday when the Aggies hit 65.1% of their shots -- the highest field-goal percentage by a Fresno State opponent since ... well, the archives are getting worked over. But, for now, it hasn't happened going back to at least Steve Cleveland's first season as coach in 2005-06.
We do know that it was -- by far -- the worst field-goal percentage allowed in a game by a WAC team this season.
Oh, and there's also this:
In 17 games, Fresno State has allowed seven opponents to make at least 50% of their shots. In 111 games, the rest of the conference combined has allowed nine opponents to hit 50% or better.
KO missing shots
Another issue for the Bulldogs in that loss to the Aggies was Kevin Olekaibe.
Olekaibe was held scoreless in the second half, which made it difficult for the Bulldogs to gain any ground on the Aggies. Not to mention it was just bizarre.
The Fresno State sophomore has had some great second halves this season, scoring more than a point a minute against Manhattan (22 points in 20 minutes), North Dakota State (20 in 16), and Arizona State (21 in 20) and went into the WAC opener averaging 12.0 points in the second half of games. More, it should be noted, than any of the other Bulldogs are averaging per game.
But Olekaibe missed all seven of his second-half shots against Utah State.
Defenses in the WAC are sure to game-plan against the Bulldogs' leading scorer, and it will be up to Fresno State coach Rodney Terry and Olekaibe to adjust.
But in the Bulldogs' past eight halves, Olekaibe has scored more than 10 once -- the 11 he had in the first half against the Aggies.
New top gun in WAC
Olekaibe was passed by Wendell McKines from New Mexico State as the leading scorer in the conference.
Olekaibe went into last weekend averaging 18.2 points per game and came out of it averaging 18.0. McKines went in averaging 17.9 per game and is now at 18.4.
The top five scorers in the WAC:
-- McKines, 18.4.
-- Olekaibe, 18.0.
-- James Kinney (San Jose State), 16.3.
-- Deonte Burton (Nevada), 15.5.
-- Preston Medlin (Utah State), 15.0.
McKines has nine double-doubles and if he continues to go crazy on the boards he will become only the 12th player in WAC history to have 1,000 points and rebounds in a career.
The Aggies senior already has scored 1,162 points and has 932 rebounds. He could hit that double-1,000 milestone against Fresno State on Jan. 28 in Las Cruces.
Who said that?
Utah State coach Stew Morrill took a little swipe at media that picked the Aggies to win the WAC this year -- the coaches had tabbed Nevada, in their poll.
"They are the pre-league favorite, no question about that, no matter what the media said. The coaches knew that Nevada is the favorite to win this league," Morrill said, before WAC play started.
Of course, on Saturday, Nevada beat Utah State 78-71, ending the Aggies' 33-game home winning streak and taking early control of the conference race.
The most surprising thing about the Aggies' loss? Utah State never held a lead in the game.
Where have you been?
Hawaii beat San Jose State -- the game, obviously, on the island. The Warriors are 7-2 since point guard Jeremiah Ostrowski joined them after spending the fall as a receiver on the football team.
The 5-foot-9 senior had eight assists in his first game back, a victory over UC Davis, and has 55 assists against only 15 turnovers and 11 steals since his return.
Ostrowski was the Warriors' third-leading receiver this season with 65 receptions for 687 yards and five touchdowns.
Does this make sense?
In five road games this season, Burton, the Nevada point guard, is averaging 25.6 points, 4.4 assists and has hit 52.6% of his shots.
At home and on neutral courts, he is averaging 10.5 points, 4.9 assists and has hit 34.5% of his shots.
On Monday, the sophomore was named the WAC player of the week after victories at Idaho (26 points) and Utah State (25 points).
"I love the road," Burton told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "Silencing the crowd is beautiful."
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