MWC Men's Basketball Weekly Release No. 16
Feb. 18, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
WEEK 15 RECAP
Home teams posted a 6-2 record in Week 15 MWC action. League-leading BYU retained
its perch atop the league standings at 9-1 with victories over Colorado State (79-65) and
UNLV (74-48). The Runnin' Rebels defeated Air Force (58-51) in their other MWC matchup
to remain in second at 8-3. New Mexico climbed into third place at 7-4 with wins vs.
San Diego State (73-63) and TCU (64-48), while Utah took over fourth at 6-4 following a
72-66 win against the Aztecs. SDSU slipped into fifth place at 6-5 with its two losses. Air
Force sits in sixth at 5-6 after its loss to UNLV and a 72-66 win over Wyoming, while TCU
is in seventh following a 72-54 loss to the Cowboys. Rounding out the standings are
Wyoming (3-8) and Colorado State (0-10) in eighth and ninth place, respectively.
MWC CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK (FEB. 18)
TRENT PLAISTED, JR., F/C, BYU (SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS)
Plaisted, from San Antonio, Texas, recorded back-to-back 20-point games last week to lead
first-place BYU to a road win at Colorado State (79-65) and a home victory over UNLV (74-
48). He went a perfect 9-for-9 from the field while totaling 21 points in the Cougar win over
Colorado State. Plaisted added five rebounds and one steal in his 22 minutes on the court.
He followed with a game-high 22 points vs. UNLV. He made 8-of-17 field goals and went
6-for-8 from the charity stripe while adding seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and one
blocked shot. Plaisted scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half, connecting on 6-of-10
attempts to help BYU maintain its Conference lead. For the week, Plaisted averaged 21.5
points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 assists per game. He shot 65.4 percent (17-for-26)
from the field and 60.0 (9-for-15) percent from the free throw line.
J.R. GIDDENS, SR., G, NEW MEXICO (OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA.)
Giddens, an Oklahoma City, Okla., native, helped the Lobos to league wins at San Diego
State (73-63) and at home against TCU (64-48) last week. He averaged 23.5 points, 9.5
rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.5 blocks and 2.0 steals per game, converting 17-of-26 field goals
(65.4 percent) and 4-of-5 attempts from three-point range. At San Diego State, Giddens
notched his second straight double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. He shot 7-
for-8 from the floor, including a season-high three three-pointers, while adding four
assists, two steals and a career-high four blocked shots. Against TCU, Giddens had
game-highs of 25 points, eight rebounds and three assists. He also contributed two steals
and a blocked shot.
WEEK 16 PREVIEW
Seven of eight MWC contests will be televised in Week 16 action. San Diego State and
Wyoming kick things off Tuesday, Feb. 19, with a 7 p.m. MT meeting on The Mtn.-
MountainWest Sports Network. Two of three games on Wednesday, Feb. 20, will also be
broadcast on The Mtn., beginning with Colorado State at TCU (6:30 p.m. CT) and ending
with Utah at BYU (8 p.m. MT). Wednesday's New Mexico at Air Force contest (7 p.m. MT)
will not be televised. Saturday's slate will open with a tripleheader on The Mtn. - New
Mexico at Utah (12 p.m. MT), UNLV at Wyoming (2:30 p.m. MT) and Air Force at Colorado
State (7 p.m. MT), and close with a nationally-televised contest on CSTV, featuring BYU at
San Diego State (8 p.m. PT).
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 SCORING LEADERS
The six leading scorers in the MWC are juniors, led by Colorado State's Marcus Walker
(18.0 ppg). Overall, the junior class accounts for 14 of the league's top 20 scoring averages.
Air Force's Tim Anderson (8th/14.8 ppg) is the top-ranked senior, while BYU's Jonathan
Tavernari (14th/13.2 ppg) is the only sophomore of the group. In addition, San Diego
State's Billy White is contributing 8.2 points as the top freshman scorer.
HOME VS. ROAD IN THE MWC
- Over the previous eight years in the Mountain West, home teams have won 63
percent or more of the games in league competition. Thus far in 2007-08, home
teams hold a 31-17 (.646) advantage in MWC play.
- BYU (5-0) and UNLV (5-0) are the only teams who remain undefeated vs. league
opponents in their home venues this season. 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
at least five road wins vs. conference opponents. Currently, BYU (4-1), UNLV (3-3)
and Utah (2-2) have .500 or better records in road MWC contests.
- 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.
NEWCOMERS HAVING AN IMPACT
Several MWC newcomers are making their mark this season as four junior college transfers
(Colorado State's Marcus Walker, 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 MWC in scoring (18.0 ppg). Salter ranks 11th and
16th in scoring (13.7 ppg) and rebounding (5.0 rpg), respectively, while Ortiz is 14th with
a 5.3 average on the glass. Amoroso, the 2007-08 MWC Preseason Newcomer of the Year,
is sixth in rebounding (6.4 rpg), followed by White, who is tied for ninth (5.6 rpg), and
Collinsworth in 17th (4.9 rpg).
UNLV'S KRUGER CAPTURES 400TH VICTORY
UNLV Head Coach Lon Kruger reached a notable milestone with the Runnin' Rebels Feb.
19 victory over Colorado State, collecting his 400th career win as a collegiate head coach.
Among active NCAA Division I coaches, Kruger is the 32nd individual to register 400
victories, currently boasting a 401-273 (.595) record over a 22-year collegiate career that
has included stops at Texas-Pan American (1982-86), Kansas State (1986-90), Florida (1990-
96), Illinois (1996-00) and UNLV. At each of those institutions, Kruger has produced at
least one 20-win season within four years of his arrival, racking up 10 NCAA Tournament
appearances in the process. Kruger is one of just five coaches to take four different schools
to the NCAA Tournament (Jim Harrick, Eddie Sutton, Lefty Driesell and Rick Pitino) and
one of only three to lead four different teams to NCAA tourney wins (Harrick, Sutton).
20 WINS=POSTSEASON
With their respective victories on Saturday, BYU (20-5) and New Mexico (20-6) became the
first MWC teams this season to reach the 20-win benchmark. Additionally, UNLV (19-6) is
poised to join the Cougars and Lobos in the 20-win category. In the previous eight years of the
Mountain West, all 25 MWC teams that have had 20 or more wins prior to "Selection Sunday"
have been invited to the postseason. In 2007, BYU (25-9) and UNLV (30-7) each received
invitations to the NCAA Tournament, while Air Force (26-9) and San Diego State (22-11)
particpated in the NIT. Overall, the MWC has had 31 postseaon bids since 2000.
