Men's Basketball Weekly Release - Weekend Update
Feb. 29, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
WEEK 17 RECAP
The top half of the MWC men's basketball standings remained intact following midweek
action in Week 17. On Tuesday, No. 25 and league-leader BYU edged third-place New
Mexico in overtime (70-69), while second-place UNLV defeated fourth-place San Diego
State (68-58). In Wednesday's league tilts, Wyoming topped Colorado State (77-67) and
TCU tripped up Utah (67-61).
Saturday's slate will feature a tripleheader on The Mtn., beginning with Utah at
Wyoming (2 p.m. MT) and followed by TCU at UNLV (4 p.m. PT) and Colorado State at
San Diego State (7 p.m. PT). Also taking the court on Saturday will be Air Force and BYU
(7 p.m. MT).
MWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK (FEB. 25)
BILLY WHITE, FR., F, SAN DIEGO STATE (LAS VEGAS, NEVADA)
White, a Las Vegas, Nev., native, led the Aztecs to wins at Wyoming (79-68) and at home
against league-leading BYU (69-65) last week, averaging a double-double and shooting
close to 74 percent from the field. At Wyoming, he collected his second career doubledouble,
scoring a game-high 19 points and adding a career-high and game-high 12
rebounds in 32 minutes of action. White scored 17 of his 19 points after intermission,
shooting 6-of-7 from the field and 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. For the game, he
connected on 7-of-8 field goals, while adding two assists and one steal. Against BYU, White
scored 15 points and collected game-highs in rebounds (eight) and blocked shots (a careerbest
four), and a game-high tying three steals and two assists. He connected on 7-of-11 shot
attempts vs. the Cougars. For the week, White averaged 17.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.0
assists, 2.0 steals and 2.0 blocks per game, while shooting 73.7 percent from the field (14-
for-19) and 75 percent from the free throw line (6-for-8).
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.
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 36-24 (.600) advantage in MWC play.
- No. 25 BYU (6-0) and UNLV (6-0) are the only teams who remain undefeated vs.
Conference 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, No. 25 BYU (5-2), New
Mexico (4-3) and UNLV (4-3) each have .500 or better records in road MWC games.
- 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.
20 WINS=POSTSEASON
No. 25 BYU (22-6), New Mexico (22-7) and UNLV (21-6) have all reached the 20-win
benchmark in 2007-08. Additionally, San Diego State (18-10) is on the threshhold of
hitting the 20-win plateau. 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 postseason bids since 2000.
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. New
Mexico's J.R. Giddens (7th/15.6 ppg) is the top-ranked senior, while BYU's Jonathan
Tavernari (13th/13.1 ppg) is the only sophomore of the group. In addition, San Diego State's
Billy White is contributing 8.8 points as the top freshman scorer.
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 four freshmen (SDSU's Billy White, BYU's Chris Collinsworth, New
Mexico's Dairese Gary and Wyoming's Mikhail Linskens) find themselves ranked among
Conference leaders in several key statistical categories. Walker leads the MWC in scoring
(18.0 ppg). Salter ranks 12th and 15th in scoring (13.3 ppg) and rebounding (5.0 rpg),
respectively, while Ortiz is 14th with a 5.0 average on the glass. Amoroso, the 2007-08 MWC
Preseason Newcomer of the Year, is fifth in rebounding (6.5 rpg) and 19th in scoring (10.5
ppg). White (5.9 rpg) and Collinsworth (4.9 rpg) are eighth and 16th, respectively, in
rebounding, with White also ranking fifth in steals (1.5 spg). Gary is eighth in assists (3.3
apg) and tied for sixth in steals (1.5 spg), while Linskens is eighth in blocked shots (1.1 bpg).
BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE
For the ninth consecutive year, home attendance at the nine MWC institutions has combined
to top the 1 million mark, tallying 1,052,532 fans to date. The MWC has ranked among the
top seven conferences nationally in attendance in each of its first eight years of existence.
New Mexico is averaging a league-high 14,146 fans through 17 contests this season at The Pit,
while BYU is second with an average attendance of 13,153 in 14 games in the Marriott Center.
MWC TIE-BREAKING PROCEDURES
General Procedure. All ties shall be broken in the order in which they occur, from top to
bottom, in the standings. Tied teams in the higher position shall be considered as separate
positions based upon their seeding (e.g., Team A and Team B are tied for first place in the
standings. By using the established tie-breaking procedures, it is determined that Team B is
the No. 1 seed and Team A is the No. 2 seed. Team C and Team D are tied for fifth place in
the standings. When using the tie-breaking formula to break the tie, Teams C and D are
compared separately against Team B first, then Team A). When comparing tied teams
against positions lower in the standings that are also tied, those lower-tied positions shall be
considered a single position for purposes of comparison.
Two-Way Tie. If two teams tie for a position, and one holds a win-loss advantage during
regular season play, that team receives the higher seed. If the two teams split their games
during the regular season, each tied team's record shall be compared against the team
occupying the highest position in the standings, continuing down through the standings
until one team gains the advantage, thereby gaining the higher seed. If two teams remained
tied, the tie shall be broken by a comparison of the two teams' NCAA RPI. The team with
the better NCAA RPI will gain the advantage.
Ties Between Three or More Teams. If three or more teams tie for a position, the combined
record of each of the tied teams against the other teams involved in the tie shall be compared
until an advantage is gained. If the multiple tie still exists, each of the tied teams' records
against the team occupying the highest position in the standings shall be compared,
continuing down through the standings until the tie is reduced to a two-team tie, at which
time the procedure shall revert to the two-way tie breaking procedure, until the tie is
broken. If teams remained tied, the tie shall be broken by a comparison of the two teams'
NCAA RPI. The team with the better NCAA RPI will gain the advantage.
