Mountain West Notebook
by Brad Best
The Mountain West Conference men’s basketball is off to a solid start in early non-conference play, with a combined record of 36-10. Going into Saturday, five teams were undefeated, but that got trimmed to two teams as BYU, San Diego State and Air Force each lost for the first time. Even so, in a year that many saw as rebuilding for the future, the conference looks to be competitive, especially considering BYU’s showing against North Carolina.
The New Mexico Lobos lead the pack with their 6-0 start. The have easily won their five home games by an average of more than 30 points per game. The only competitive contest was a seven-point victory over Colorado in Boulder. Southern Utah and Mississippi are next up on the schedule. Junior Chad Toppert and Senior J.R. Giddens are the leading scorers so far, each averaging 13 points per game. Toppert is averaging 9 points per game from beyond the arc and is shooting 53% percent from long range. Giddens is an athletic guard who can break down defenses and score inside and out, and thus far he’s doing just that.
The TCU Horned Frogs are an improving team that is off to a quick 4-0 start. With two seniors and three juniors in the starting lineup, this veteran bunch should be able to move up the standing this season. They’ve had an easy time of it so far, but they will travel to Lubbock to square off against Bobby Knight’s Red Raiders next week.
BYU has breezed through its first four opponents as expected. Then came Louisville as part of the Las Vegas Invitational. The Cardinals were minus center David Padgett, who suffered a knee injury last week as well as senior forward Juan Palacios, so BYU had a timely opportunity to face a top 10 opponent on a neutral site and made the most of it with a two-point victory. Then on Saturday night they got a chance to play No. 1 North Carolina. Junior Trent Plaisted impressed a national audience with 24 points and 17 rebounds but it was not enough to upset the Tar Heels.
Next in line is San Diego State, where freshman and transfers are making an immediate impact in the Aztecs 5-1 start. They could field a pretty solid squad simply by starting their two transfers (Ryan Amoroso and Kelvin Davis) and three true freshmen (Tim Shelton, Billy White and D.J. Gay). With that lineup, they would have three guys averaging in double figures and a fourth averaging 9 points per game. Returning players Lorenzo Wade and Kyle Spain lead the team in scoring. The Aztecs got their first real test against Cal and came up short in the second half, after holding a seven-point edge at the break.
Air Force is a bit of a surprise to be at 5-1, as Tim Anderson is the only returning starter. But with all their games at home so far and no marquee opponents, it’s hard to determine how they’ll do against tougher foes. Andrew Henke, last year’s sixth man, and Anderson are the only two scorers in double figures, but Air Force likes to control the clock and limit possessions. Most recently they knocked off winless Mississippi Valley State. Montana handed the Falcons their only defeat in the Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge. The real test will come next against Washington State.
The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels had a pretty easy time in their first three contests, leading to a 3-0 start. But Louisville came to town, and even without two of their starters, they handed UNLV a 20-point defeat. This broke a 19-game home win streak for the Rebels. Wink Adams and Curtis Terry are the two most proven returning players from last season and lead the team with 12 points apiece per game. Only Matt Shaw scored in double figures for the Rebels in their loss to Louisville. UNLV rebounded nicely in defeating arch-rival Nevada by 13 on Saturday, after leading by only a point lead at the half.
The Colorado State Rams stumbled in their first game at Montana, losing by 36 points in their first game. Then they surprised Pac-10 opponent Oregon State by beating them by 13 and went on to win the Top of the World Classic. They were 3-1 going in to the Stanford on Saturday, but had a miserable first half and ended up losing by 20.
Wyoming is 2-2, having played just one game at home. Saturday night they squared off against a tough Wichita State team from the Missouri Valley Conference. At half it was a one-point game, but the Shockers’ three-point shooting helped them coast to a 12-point victory over the Cowboys. As expected, guards Brandon Ewing and Brad Jones lead the team in scoring, but it has to be disconcerting that Jones is also the leading rebounder. The Cowboys big men need to step up at least on the defensive end if the team is going to succeed.
Utah is at the bottom of the conference with a 2-2 mark. They lost on the road against Washington and then fell by 15 points at home to Santa Clara. Johnnie Bryant is leading the team in scoring with 14 points per game and is playing a valuable sixth man role. Luke Nevill is averaging 13 points and 7 rebounds per game. More was expected of returning starter Shaun Green, who is averaging 28 minutes per game but only producing 2 points per game. Next up is Weber State.
