Toyminator's 1999 Mountain West Conference Preview

It's been awhile since a new, major conference hit the college basketball scene, but when a group of schools from the bloated WAC conference got tired of traveling around the country, switching divisions every year, and losing money left & right, they bolted and formed the Mounain West Conference. Unfortunately for the WAC, the best programs (Utah, New Mexico & some would say, UNLV) were part of that group, leaving the WAC without even an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Even though the MWC doesn't have an automatic bid this season, that shouldn't be a problem with the talent returning. Utah, New Mexico & Wyoming should all have good enough seasons to earn at-large bids, and if the newcomers are as good as advertised, UNLV may join them! With everyone back from last season, Wyoming may be a huge sleeper who may push New Mexico & even Utah for the conference title. BYU may also cause some problems for the top 4 with a group of talented players that we haven't seen in Provo for quite some time. As for the rest, they will just be fodder the top half of the conference.

ON THE RISE: Utah
Yeah, I know...how can they be rising when they're already on top? Simple, they keep getting better! Sure, they lost the best point guard in the country in Andre Miller. On the other hand, they've lost a big-time player every year and just keep rolling on. Last year's squad was on its way to the Final Four again, but Coach Majerus was simply outcoached and his players outhustled by a hungry Miami team. This year, look for them to make a run again, this time with a boatload of players to wear teams down. And just wait until the following season!

IN DECLINE: Colorado St.
Coach McKay did a great job last year to get a group of overachievers to the NIT. Unfortunately, with an inexperienced backcourt, only one guy who can score, and not as many cupcakes in the conference, the Rams are due to fall this season. They won't be a bad team. They just will have trouble winning enough conference games to get to the postseason this season. But, at least their not like San Diego St.!

1. UTAH

Strengths: Good shooting & rebounding team. Excellent team defense. Experienced frontcourt. Great depth. Limit their turnovers.
Weakness: Inexperienced PG. Lack of quickness.
Outlook: Loss of Miller will cost them a few games, but their is too much talent & depth to not match last season's success.

2. NEW MEXICO

Strengths: Deep, solid backcourt. Good team quickness. Potentially explosive offense. Good 3-pt & FT shooting team.
Weakness: Lack of inside scoring. Questionable team defense. Too many turnovers.
Outlook: If Robinson can play under control and Walker score inside, then Lobos should be better than last season.

3. WYOMING

Strengths: Excellent offense. Good rebounding team. Experienced & deep. Limit their turnovers.
Weakness: Suspect team defense. Poor 3-pt & FT shooting team.
Outlook: If defense improves, could win conference title. A definite sleeper!

4. UNLV

Strengths: Good team quickness. Talented set of newcomers. Good depth. Good ball handling.
Weakness: Questionable team chemistry. Poor outside shooting. Poor FT shooting team.
Outlook: Talented set of players who need to play as a team this year in order to succeed. A NCAA bubble team maybe.

5. BYU

Strengths: Good shooting team. Solid, deep backcourt. Good inside scoring.
Weakness: Poor team defense. Too many turnovers. Questionable PG.
Outlook: Definitely improving. Loss of Bigelow hurts, but the newbies should ease the pain. NIT is possible.

6. COLORADO ST.

Strengths: Decent shooting team. Limit their turnovers.
Weakness: Poor rebounding team. Questionable backcourt. Little depth.
Outlook: Goodwyn should put up some big numbers, but rest of team needs to contribute more. NIT might be a stretch.

7. AIR FORCE

Strengths: Good rebounding team. Limit their turnovers.
Weakness: Horrible shooting team. Poor team defense. No true PG.
Outlook: Falcons can score, but have trouble holding teams below 80! But they may not end up in last place this year!

8. SAN DIEGO ST.

Strengths: Defense that creates many turnovers.
Weakness: Defense that can't stop anyone from scoring. Can't shoot or rebound either!
Outlook: Sure this team sucks, but at least they're young so Fisher has some hope for improvement. Not this season, though.

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Last updated on 10/4/99 by toyminator@prodigy.net