Steve Fisher was talking Mountain West Conference basketball early Monday, hoping the league season could end immediately.

"Right now," said Fisher, "we'd be conference champions. No one else has won a (league game)."

No such luck for the San Diego State coach.

This race might not be decided until the final week of play. It's that balanced, that close from best to worst.

	David Rottinghaus and Wyoming had won nine straight prior to losing in Kansas on Wednesday.

If football was an unforgettable experience for the Mountain West this season -- we're talking awful with a capital 'A' -- there is an excellent chance basketball could instead enhance the league's reputation.

The eight-team conference that sent three schools to the NCAA Tournament and another three to the NIT last year appears even better in 2002-03, proven by non-conference ratings that have consistently offered four teams in the top 50 of RPI.

The Mountain West has spent the past few months ranked among the nation's top seven conferences, often ahead of the Pac-10 and at times the Big East. Seven of the MWC teams have at least nine wins and six have at least 10. Utah beat then-No. 1 Alabama; Wyoming took out Texas Tech; SDSU defeated Hawaii; UNLV won at DePaul; BYU was victorious at Arizona State; Colorado State and Wyoming dismissed South Carolina.

More?

Entering the week, Mountain West teams had a 75-30 non-conference record, fourth best nationally.

Still, not one is near cracking the Top 25.

"We've had our teams all do some good things, and yet none have really done everything in terms of quality wins and impressive losses to (top 25 opponents)," said MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson. "That, and the fact many of our games are on too late in the East for many to see might hurt us with (top 25 votes). And yet, this should be the most competitive race we have ever had."

It is a race made even closer at Wyoming's expense. The Cowboys have won two straight regular-season titles and were many's pick to capture a third, but those odds lessened once preseason Player of the Year Marc Bailey was lost for the season with a knee injury.

Wyoming, however, had won nine straight before losing at Kansas by a 98-70 count Wednesday night.

"I feel pretty good about where we are entering conference," said Wyoming coach Steve McClain. "I've always believed that when a player goes down, no matter who he is, you can replace things like points and rebounds. We all have 13 players on scholarship and each one is accountable. I don't know yet if we'll be able to replace all the intangibles Marc gave us, things like toughness and ability in big games. He was always the one who came up with the clutch plays for us."

Said Fisher: "I don't know how good they would have been with him, but I know it's impossible for Wyoming to be better without Marc Bailey. But they're still very good ... This is going to be a knock-down, drag-out (conference). Someone is going to have to get lucky and win a bunch of close games if they want to run away from the pack."

It is a league defined by the athleticism of Nevada-Las Vegas, the experience of Wyoming, the defense of Utah and the potential of SDSU and Colorado State, not to mention the homecourt domination of BYU.

And yet the program that best defines the large strides MWC teams have made is Air Force. Third-year coach Joe Scott introduced the Princeton-style offense to a group of disciplined cadets, and more wins have followed each season. Air Force is 9-5 entering the week and ranks among national leaders in scoring defense and three-point shooting.

The Falcons -- which opened conference play by losing to SDSU 63-48 in Colorado Springs -- might not have the depth or size to contend for a Mountain West title, but they're certainly good enough to ruin others' pursuit.

Even a reeling New Mexico side, which is 5-8 under first-year coach Ritchie McKay, showed its potential in losing by just seven at Tennessee.

"There are just no easy places to play in this conference," says UNLV coach Charlie Spoonhour, whose team has assumed the favorite's role and offers the leading candidate for conference player of the year in senior point guard Marcus Banks. "It's a situation where if you think ahead just one game, you'll get beat."

Games of the Week

UNLV at BYU Thursday The Rebels -- 11-2 and among the favorites to win a Mountain West title -- will be seriously tested in the conference opener for both teams. BYU (11-4) has won a nation-leading 43 straight in Provo. Question is, can the Cougars contain UNLV? The Rebels are league's toughest team to guard off the dribble. BYU, which has lost two of three coming in, needs solid point guard play from Kevin Woodberry and Terry Nashif to have its streak reach 44. Arizona at UCLA Saturday UCLA coach Steve Lavin can forget about the controversy surrounding his job status for a few hours, for the No. 2 Wildcats have ways of making opposing coaches focus. Arizona guard Salim Stoudamire has found his stroke, having averaged 18.5 points in a sweep of the Washington schools. He also made all 10 free-throw attempts, running his league-leading percentage to 93.5 percent (29-of-31). Utah at San Diego State Saturday The Aztecs scored a precious conference road win at Air Force to open league, but haven't defeated the Utes since 1994. Utah has won 14 straight against SDSU and leads the series 42-8. But if the Aztecs defend as they did at Air Force (holding the Falcons to 38-percent shooting), SDSU has a legitimate chance of beginning conference 2-0 for the first time in seven seasons. Fresno State at Louisiana Tech Saturday The Bulldogs lost their first conference game at Hawaii on Monday and now face a Tech team that has won 13 of its past 15 league games. Antonio Meeking had his 20th career double-double for Tech last week against Hawaii. The senior forward is also shooting 65.8 percent from the free-throw line, after shooting 54.0 percent his first three seasons.

Tumbling Trojans
USC coach Henry Bibby probably didn't think it could get any worse than a 38-point home loss to Penn.

But it has.

The rebuilding Trojans (6-5, 2-1 Pac-10) lost sophomore point guard Brandon Brooks to a dislocated ankle and fractured fibula during practice on Tuesday. As a reserve, Brooks averaged 4.5 points and a team-high 3.5 assists in 10 games. He is gone for the season, leaving USC with starter Derrick Craven and reserve Robert Hutchinson as the only true point guards.

The injury came three days after USC was embarrassed by the Quakers 99-61, which came two days after the Trojans won at UCLA for the first time in 10 years.

"It was in the back of our minds that the guys might overlook Penn," said Bibby. "We had just won at UCLA and have Arizona coming in (Thursday). Some of our guys took Penn lightly. But that's what happens sometimes with a young ballclub that doesn't have a leader who can step in and get the entire team focused."

Bibby knew things would be rough this season, having lost a terrific trio in Sam Clancy, David Bluthenthal and Brandon Granville. Earlier in the week, Bibby threw a few players out of practice for missing a required shooting session.

One, junior forward Jerry Dupree, still hasn't found his way into Bibby's good graces. Dupree has played in just four games after being suspended to begin the season, and is averaging just 8.5 minutes.

"He hasn't been good, that's for sure," said Bibby. "He is not focused on basketball or his academics. He's not back to where he should be in order to help us win basketball games.

"I know it takes time (to rebuild), and for the most part I've been very pleased with the effort the guys are giving. I'm not discouraged. The kids are growing and learning what we want them to do, what kind of discipline it takes to be a good team. We're not as good as some people think and we're not as athletic as people think, but we're working hard to get better every day."

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