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| Thursday, February 6 Updated: February 7, 6:29 PM ET For MWC, it's NCAA bracket or 'bust' By Ed Graney Special to ESPN.com |
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Marc Bailey admits he is a tad surprised at the consistency, the countless wins, the ability of Wyoming's basketball team to seemingly not stumble a bit in his absence. "I think it says a lot for the system, that it's just not about one guy," said Bailey. "I didn't really have to say much to the (other players). They knew they would have to stick together. I'm really happy for them."
And yet, it's a battle to remain on top. Wyoming could not have hoped for a better showing since Bailey was lost for the season Dec. 19. The Mountain West Conference's preseason player of the year tore his ACL, taking from the Cowboys their senior leader and one of the nation's best mid-range games. Still, the Cowboys have won 13 of their past 15 and sit in a three-way tie for first with Utah and BYU at 4-1. Bailey went down and seniors Donta Richardson (16.8 ppg) and Uche Nsonwu-Amadi (13.7 ppg, 10.6 rpg) stepped up. "We didn't change a thing," said Cowboys coach Steve McClain, whose team dropped its first conference game at San Diego State on Monday. "I think the worst thing we could have said is 'Marc is hurt. We need to shake things up.' "We continued to run the same sets and run the same offense and play defense the same way we always did. We have confidence in all our players. We have guys who have been here four years, and it's nice to know they can take care of things." That experience will be needed in the second half of what has become a wicked conference race. Five teams are separated by 1½ games, a group that does not include arguably the league's most gifted side in UNLV. The Rebels are struggling at 13-6 overall and 2-4 in conference, but have the comfort of knowing they host the conference tournament. If anything, the Mountain West continues to prove itself one of the nation's most underrated conferences. Power ratings this week place the league at No. 6, ahead of the Pac-10 and Conference USA. The Mountain West also leads the nation in shooting (46.6 percent), followed by the SEC and Big 12. Four teams -- BYU (19), Utah (23), UNLV (45) and Wyoming (52) -- sit in the top 60 of RPI. It will be a shock if the league doesn't again earn at least three NCAA Tournament bids, and perhaps more should a team like SDSU repeat its three-day magic of last March. But all the impressive numbers does not guarantee positive perception of one's league. The Mountain West annually struggles to be viewed in a higher light by many nationally. One thing is for sure: It is not a conference that bemoans its absence from Bracket Buster Saturday, which promotes itself as "18 mid-major teams, some trying to impress the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee and others looking for more national exposure." Pairings for the first annual event (Feb. 22) were released this week and the participating teams hail from several conferences, including the WAC, West Coast and Mid-American. It does not include the Mountain West. BYU and Utah were approached initially about participating in the Bracket Buster, but quickly declined. A message came from the top. "My own personal opinion is we don't need it, don't want it and am not interested," said Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson. "It's not to say this isn't very good for the conferences involved. There are some very good teams in it and I'll watch a lot of the games myself. "But we have been able to schedule teams like Gonzaga and Creighton and Hawaii on our own. We can get those games on our own television package on our own merit. Why would we want to be involved with this? I'm looking at USA Today on the Bracket Buster and reading words like 'lesser leagues' and 'ambitious.' That is just not for us. "We rank ahead of the Pac-10 in power ratings. Do you think they were called to participate in Bracket Buster?" Excellent point. Should be an interesting MWC race into March.
The WAC Perception "It is a great day for the 18 teams in the event and could help some of those on the (NCAA Tournament) bubble," said Louisiana Tech coach Keith Richard, whose team hosts Northern Iowa of the Missouri Valley in one matchup. "It is national exposure for each program and their leagues. That is a big thing." The WAC is certainly involved in the day's marquee games, with Tulsa traveling to Gonzaga and Fresno State playing at Creighton. But what about perception? "I will continue to contest that the WAC is not a mid-major conference," said league commissioner Karl Benson. "We have sent multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament and won games. Maybe by playing in the (Bracket Buster), we will continue to be labeled by many as a mid-major conference, but I maintain we are not." "It is unfortunate that the mid-major label has been placed on these 18 teams. Look at who Creighton and Gonzaga and Tulsa have beaten in the NCAA Tournament. Early on, the criticism was that our conference relegated itself downward by participating in (the Bracket Buster). At the time, we argued the conference is looking for television opportunities and high profile opponents. This event should be able to provide all that." And still, the bottom line: Bracket Buster Saturday is being promoted as a collection of mid-majors seeking respect. "You know, I'm glad we're in it, but wasn't necessarily for it," said Tulsa coach John Phillips. "It will give our guys another opportunity to prove themselves against a quality opponent on a tough court. But we were already scheduled to play Gonzaga. Once the game became part of this, it was moved right in the middle of conference play. That makes travel tough."
Around the West The Beavers are 11-7 overall, finished the first half of Pac-10 play at 4-5 and are coming off their first road sweep of USC and UCLA since 1988. First-year head coach Jay John is getting strong play from freshman point guard Lamar Hurd (4.1 apg), along with leading scorer Phillip Ricci (17.2) and forward Brian Jackson (12.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg). Jackson, a senior, was named conference Player of the Week after averaging 22 points and 6.5 rebounds against the Trojans and Bruins. Seemingly always battling injury, Jackson is playing as well as he has in years. "We have gotten closer to playing 36, 37, 38 minutes of good basketball each game," said John, whose teams hosts Cal and Stanford this week. "Early on, we could not execute on offense, which set us up for very poor defense. We just gave people baskets. But we're much better at that now and we have also improved our defensive rebounding. Both of those things are reflected in our play."
Nevada took out first-place Fresno State on Saturday and enter road games against Boise State and Texas-El Paso a definite conference contender. Four-year coach Trent Johnson's team has won six of its past seven and nine of its past 12. Sophomore forward Kirk Snyder has scored double figures in 18 of his past 19 games and leads the WAC in double-doubles with seven. Imagine the season Nevada might be having had it won close games. The Wolf Pack is 1-6 when final margins are fewer than five points. Still, Johnson continues to point his team in the direction of a postseason bid. The game at Boise State -- a program much improved under first-year coach Greg Graham -- takes on special meaning for Johnson. He played for the Broncos from 1974-78 and his wife is from Boise. "I was contacted (about the Boise State job last year)," said Johnson. "When you're that close to a place and still have family there, there's always a special place in your heart. But I was hired at Nevada to build a program and we still have a long ways to go. I want to fulfill my requirements for the people of Reno and those at the university."
Bennett guided the Gaels to nine wins (three in conference) last season and has them fighting for a top-three finish this year. St. Mary's lost at second-place San Diego by a 76-69 count on Wednesday, but is still 11-9 overall and 4-3 in conference. Which WCC team has played first-place Gonzaga toughest so far? St. Mary's, which led with under seven minutes left before falling by three at home.
Who's Hot Micheal Morris: A unique spelling on his first name and a unique player for a 6-4 guard. The Colorado State freshman and son of former NBA player Chris Morris leads the Mountain West in blocks with a 3.0 average. Morris had five blocks in a 72-69 road victory against San Diego State last Saturday.
Who's Not New Mexico: Ruben Douglas and his scoring outbursts aside, there is a reason the Lobos are looking at their first non-winning season in 20 years. They rank last among Mountain West teams in shooting (41.9 percent) and shooting defense (51.1 percent) during conference play.
Quote to Note Ed Graney of the San Diego Union-Tribune is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at ed.graney@uniontrib.com. |
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