Mountain West Tourney Preview

Many sportsbook customers who bet on college basketball are expecting that a team coming from the Mountain West Conference might make some noise in the NCAA Tournament this season. We'll see what happens, when BYU and New Mexico join host team UNLV and the rest of the league for the conference tournament.

Odds To Win Mountain West Conference Championship
March 10-13, Las Vegas

• BYU -150
• Colorado State +3000
• New Mexico +200
• San Diego State +500
• UNLV +250
• Utah +1500
• Field +5000

BYU (-150 to win MWC) has always been known for its wide-open style of play and terrific shooters, and indeed the Cougars boast that once again. This offensive-mided group is led by Jimmer Fredette, who is one of the most explosive scorers in the country. Fredette has had nine games where he has scored 25 points or more, and he is danegrous from anywhere. In fact, he's 47% from three-point land and 88% from the line, and that is among the nation's best in both categories. Jackson Emery and Jonathan Tavernari can also drain the three, and this contributes to the team's 83 ppgm, tops in the country. What may be a bit different this year than last is that the Cougars have been able to play a little defense as well; they hold opponents to just 40% from the field and have a guy who can block shots in Noah Hartssock. Coach Dave Rose doesn't overtax his players either; only one of them (Fredette) averages as many as 30 minutes a game. The stone in BYU's shoe has been New Mexico; the Lobos beat them in Albuquerque as well as Provo this season, by a total of six points.

NEW MEXICO (+200 to win MWC) has had its best year ever for coach Steve Alford, and the Lobos go into the Mountain West tournament on a 15-game winning streak. The major cog here is Darington Hobson, a JUCO transfer who led the team in scoring, rebounding and assists, rivaling Ohio State's Evan Turner as a do-everything player. The Lobos played relatively injury-free this season; in fact, the same five players started every game. Alford, however, doesn't have a lot in the way of depth, so in this tournament format, where no one gets rest once they get into it, they might have to take advantage of the opportunity to give players rest in the early games. New Mexico swept BYU, which is seen by many as their major competition in this tournament, but they had to settle for season split against both San Diego State and UNLV, losing to the latter at the "Pit."

UNLV (+250 to win Mountain West) does not bring a lot of size to the table; in fact, no one on the roster had more than 30 blocked shots. What Lon Kruger highlights is speed and quickness, defense and staying power. He uses a lot of players; eleven of them average at least ten minutes a game. They're out there putting pressure on the ball and trying to create turnovers. Over the last four games, UNLV allowed only 51 points per game. Guard Derrick Japser, who's missed nine games, should be getting back to action for them here, and that's good for the rotation. They've got a dependable guy handling the ball much of the time in Oscar Bellfield, who leads the league in assist-turnover ratio. Tre'Von Willis, however, is the guard who is the most dynamic player on the floor, getting to the line almost three times as much as anyone else on the team. The Rebels scored win over BYU and New Mexico, along with Louisville and Nevada. The tough assignment may be the first-round game against Utah, who swept them in the regular schedule. As a team that doesn't necessarily have an at-large bid guaranteed, UNLV has as much of a chance as anybody to win this tournament, as the Rebels are double-tough when playing at home.