Men's Basketball Weekly Release - Weekend Update

Feb. 1, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

WEEK 11 RECAP
Road teams went 4-0 in midweek MWC action in Week 11. BYU and UNLV remain tied atop the league standings after the Cougars beat Air Force (69-53) and the Runnin' Rebels rolled past TCU (70-58). In other midweek contests, San Diego State edged Colorado State (83-82), while Wyoming beat Utah (69-64).

Conference play continues on Saturday, February 2, when BYU visits Wyoming at 2 p.m. MT to kick off a tripleheader on The Mtn., followed by Air Force at TCU (5:30 p.m. CT) and New Mexico at UNLV (7 p.m. PT). Also on the slate that day is Utah at Colorado State (7 p.m. MT).

MWC ON TELEVISION
The 2007-08 MWC men's basketball package features a minimum of 100 games on national and regional television, including 27 to be broadcast nationally with 19 on CSTV and seven on VERSUS. Sixty-three of the 72 conference match-ups, and seven of eight MWC Championship contests are included in the television package. Seventy-five games will be shown on The Mtn. - MountainWest Sports Network, and two of the 100 televised contests will feature simulcasts on The Mtn. and CSTV.

MWC SUPPORTS COACHES VS. CANCER
On Saturday, February 2, MWC coaching staffs will wear sneakers as part of their gameday attire for the Coaches vs. Cancer "Suits and Sneakers" promotion. In addition, MWC game officials will use blue whistles in the "Calling for a Cure" campaign. Both events, which are part of the coalition between the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and American Cancer Society®, are designed to raise awareness about the fight against cancer and the importance that nutrition and physical activity plays in reducing people's risk of the disease.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
With one non-conference opponent (Cal State-Bakersfield at Wyoming, Feb. 6) remaining on the schedule, the Mountain West is on pace to record its ninth consecutive season with an overall winning percentage of 61 percent or greater in non-conference play. Last year, MWC teams combined to win a league-record 72.2 percent of their games outside of the conference. This season, MWC teams own a collective 82-41 (66.7%) mark against nonleague opponents.

MWC SCORING LEADERS
Nine of the 10 leading scorers in the MWC are juniors, led by Colorado State's Marcus Walker (18.4 ppg). Overall, the junior class accounts for 13 of the league's top 20 scoring averages. Air Force's Tim Anderson (5th/15.5 ppg) is the top-ranked senior, while BYU's Jonathan Tavernari (13th/13.5 ppg) is the only sophomore of the group. In addition, San Diego State's Billy White is contributing 8.9 points as the top freshman scorer.

NEWCOMERS HAVING AN IMPACT
Several MWC newcomers are making their mark this season as five junior college transfers (Colorado State's Marcus Walker and Willis Gardner, San Diego State's Ryan Amoroso and TCU's Henry Salter and John Ortiz) and two freshmen (SDSU's Billy White and BYU's Chris Collinsworth) find themselves ranked among the Conference's scoring and/or rebounding leaders. Walker leads the league in scoring (18.4 ppg), while Gardner is 18th (11.7 ppg). Salter ranks 10th and 16th in scoring (14.1 ppg) and rebounding (5.1 rpg), respectively, while Ortiz is 13th with a 5.4 rebounding average. Amoroso, the 2007-08 MWC Preseason Newcomer of the Year, is ranked eighth in rebounding (6.2 rpg), followed by White in ninth (5.9 rpg) and Collinsworth in 17th (5.0 rpg).

STRONG OUT OF THE GATES
Mountain West teams have a combined 95-20 record in contests in which they hold a halftime lead this season. New Mexico boasts a 14-2 overall record when holding the advantage at intermission. In conference play, Air Force (3-0), BYU (4-0), TCU (1-0) and UNLV (4-0) are all undefeated when taking a lead into the locker room.

HOME VS. ROAD IN THE MWC Home teams boast a 17-11 record in MWC play thus far in 2007-08, with BYU (3-0) and UNLV (2-0) each currently sporting undefeated marks vs. league opponents in their home venues. For each of the previous eight years, the MWC regular-season champion has won no fewer than six of its league outings at home.

For each of the last six years, the MWC regular-season champion has finished with no fewer than five road victories against conference competition. Only twice in the history of the Mountain West has a team claimed a share of the regular-season crown with a losing record in road games (Utah, 1999-00, 3-4; BYU and Utah, 2000-01, 3-4 each). UNLV shared the 1999-00 crown with the Utes but had a 4-3 record in MWC road games.

MWC IRONMEN
Three Mountain West players are averaging 35 minutes or more a game this season. Wyoming guards Brad Jones and Brandon Ewing, the league's top two ironmen a year ago, are making a bid to repeat the effort in 2007-08 as Ewing leads the MWC with an average of 38.26 minutes played, while Jones is third (35.89 mpg). Air Force's Tim Anderson ranks second, averaging 35.89 minutes on the court.