Men's Basketball Weekly Release No. 18
March 3, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
WEEK 17 RECAP
Little changed in the Mountain West standings following Confernece action in Week 17.
Nationally-ranked BYU held on to the top spot with victories against New Mexico (70-69
in OT) and Air Force (76-57), while second-place UNLV defeated San Diego State (68-58)
and TCU (74-55) to stay a game back of the Cougars. New Mexico and SDSU are in third
and fourth place, respectively, as the Aztecs added an 86-62 win over Colorado State to
their loss to the Runnin' Rebels. Utah fell to TCU (67-61) and Wyoming (72-64) to remain
in a three-way tie for fifth place with Air Force and the Horned Frogs. The Cowboys also
beat Colorado State (77-67) and are in eighth, followed by the Rams in ninth.
MWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK (MAR. 3)
JOSEPH TAYLOR, SR., F, WYOMING (LOS ANGELES, CALIF.)
Taylor, a senior from Los Angeles, Calif., collects his first career weekly Mountain West
honor after leading the Cowboys to a 2-0 record last week with wins at Colorado State
(77-67) and at home against Utah (72-64). At CSU, he scored a career-high 21 points on
8-of-10 shooting from the field, while collecting nine rebounds, two blocks and two
steals. Taylor followed with a 12-point, six-rebound, two-block performance in the
Cowboys' win over Utah. Against the Utes, he converted on 55.6 percent of his field
goals and tallied two blocked shots, one assist and one steal. For the week, Taylor
averaged 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals per game, while shooting
68.4 percent from the field (13-for-19) and 75 percent from the free throw line (6-for-8).
WEEK 18 PREVIEW
Seven of eight games will be televised as the 2007-08 MWC regular-season schedule wraps
up this week. UNLV and New Mexico will square off Tuesday in a nationally-televised
outing on CSTV (7 p.m. MT). In a pair of broadcasts on The Mtn.-MountainWest Sports
Network, Colorado State visits Utah (7 p.m. MT) and Wyoming travels to No. 24 BYU (8
p.m. MT) on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Also on tap for Wednesday is a nontelevised
meeting between TCU and Air Force (7 p.m. MT). Saturday's four-game slate
will include a nationally-televised contest on VERSUS between Utah and UNLV (1 p.m.
PT), as well as a tripleheader on The Mtn., featuring San Diego State at Air Force (1 p.m.
MT), New Mexico at Colorado State (3:30 p.m. MT) and No. 24 BYU at TCU (7 p.m. CT).
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.
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
(17.9 ppg). Salter ranks 12th and 16th in scoring (13.3 ppg) and rebounding (5.0 rpg),
respectively, while Ortiz is 12th with a 5.2 average on the glass. Amoroso, the 2007-08 MWC
Preseason Newcomer of the Year, is fifth in rebounding (6.6 rpg) and 18th in scoring (10.9
ppg). White (6.0 rpg) and Collinsworth (5.0 rpg) are eighth and 15th, respectively, in
rebounding, with White also ranking fifth in steals (1.5 spg). Gary is tied for seventh in assists
(3.3 apg) and sixth in steals (1.5 spg), while Linskens is tied for eighth in blocks (1.0 bpg).
MWC SCORING LEADERS
The five leading scorers in the MWC are juniors, led by Colorado State's Marcus Walker
(17.9 ppg). Overall, the junior class accounts for 13 of the league's top 20 scoring averages.
New Mexico's J.R. Giddens (6th/15.6 ppg) is the top-ranked senior, while BYU's
Jonathan Tavernari (13th/13.0 ppg) is the only sophomore of the group. In addition, San
Diego State's Billy White is contributing 9.1 points as the top freshman scorer.
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 1,096,305 fans to date. New Mexico is
averaging a league-high 14,146 fans through 17 contests this season at The Pit, while No.
24 BYU is second with an average attendance of 13,438 in 15 games in the Marriott Center.
The MWC has ranked among the top seven conferences nationally in attendance in each of
its first eight years of existence.
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 40-24 (.625) advantage in MWC play.
- No. 24 BYU (7-0) and UNLV (7-0) 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. 24 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. 24 BYU (23-6), New Mexico (22-7) and UNLV (22-6) have all reached the 20-win
benchmark in 2007-08. Additionally, San Diego State (19-10) 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.
