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Mountain West Conference Update

By Brad Best

bestbrad4@earthlink.net

February 16th, 2005

Mountain West Conference Update

With the Mountain West Conference (MWC) sending three teams to the NCAA tournament each of the last few years and a couple more teams to the NIT, this definitely looks to be an off year for the conference. With the notable exception of Utah, mediocrity abounds among the remaining seven teams. And short of winning the MWC, the rest of the pack will be hard pressed to make the NCAA tourney. As a whole, Mountain West teams are 0-17 this season against top 25 ranked teams. Utah itself is currently ranked #15.

Frontrunners: Utah, led by sophomore center Andrew Bogut, is basically a lock for March Madness, having posted a 16-game win streak as part of their 21-3 record (9-0 conference). Bogut is excelling under Coach Ray Giacoletti scheme and is being considered by some to be the overall number one pick in the NBA draft. The left-handed big man from down under leads the conference with 19.5 points and 11.7 rebounds per game.

Air Force at 15-8 (6-2, 2^nd in MWC) is proving that last season’s success was not a fluke, even though head coach Joe Scott moved on to Princeton before the start of the season. The Cadets clock management, discipline, and outside shooting make them a tough match-up for many teams that rely on creating turnovers and transition buckets. 

Surprises: UNLV was projected by many to finish first or second in conference this season but are currently sixth with only a 3-6 conference record. With their own killer B’s, Blankson, Blassingame, and Beck, the Runnin’ Rebels appeared in good position to take a run at the top and were shooting for the NCAA tournament. Odartey Blankson has been the only star of the three and averages 17.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. 

Wyoming, conversely, was supposed to bring up the rear and is sitting at third in conference. Winners of four straight and led by point guard Jay Straight with 17 points and 5.5 assists per game, the Cowboys are the biggest positive surprise this year. For a brief moment it looked like San Diego State would be that kind of surprise team as they opened conference with road victories at BYU and UNLV, but they have since slipped to a 4-5 conference record.

The Rest: Colorado State has three, seven footers on the roster but hasn’t found a way to use size to their advantage. Starting center Matt Nelson averages 15 points and nearly six boards per game but doesn’t get enough touches. This team won the MWC tourney two years ago and got the automatic bid to the Big Dance but hasn’t been able to build on that success since.

New Mexico is hanging around at fourth in conference and features one of the best conference players in Danny Granger. Granger was out for several games with a knee injury but seems to have found his stride and his stroke again.

BYU had a tremendous home court advantage in past seasons but has proved beatable at home this year. With the loss of Rafael Araujo and Mark Bigelow who provided inside outside scoring last season, the Cougars haven’t found adequate replacements. Only Mike Hall averages in double figures this year.

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