Here are this week’s capsules for the men’s basketball teams of the Mountain West Conference as provided by beat writers from around the league.
AIR FORCE
With the season’s two final games at Clune Arena coming up this week, Air Force will say goodbye to a deep senior class largely beset by misfortune.
The class includes Ethan Michael, a backup center who missed the entire season after a knee injury in August led to his fifth knee surgery. He’s awaiting a sixth surgery.
There is also Kamryn Williams, last year’s team MVP, who tore his Achilles tendon on Dec. 31, ending his career.
The four others have avoided season-ending injuries, but have had their own struggles. Justin Hammonds spent a night in the emergency room this year after flying face-first into the railing behind Air Force’s basket. He missed three games with that concussion and later missed three more this year with a rib injury.
DeLovell Earls started 22 games as a sophomore but just 10 since, as leg injuries have limited his time and ability. He has missed 12 games this year with injuries.
Max Yon sat two games with a deep thigh bruise in January, then four more games as he took a leave from the team for personal reasons. He had scored in double figures in each of the five games before his absence, but hasn’t reached that mark once in five games since returning.
Finally there’s Marek Olesinski, the team’s leading scorer in conference games at 11.7 points per game. He’s the only Falcon to start all 26 games this year, but he’s been in a walking boot most of the time away from the court with injuries to both feet. The injuries have limited his consistency, as he has gone scoreless in three games this year.
“I wish they were all better and healthier, just for them,” coach Dave Pilipovich said. “But they understand there’s much more here than just playing basketball. They’re excited about their assignments and where they’re going.”
This group is doing more than just playing out the string, as Air Force (12-14, 5-10 MW) still has a chance to make up a 2½-game deficit for sixth place in the Mountain West and earn a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
This week’s games: vs. Nevada, 7 p.m. MT Wednesday (Root); vs. Utah State, noon Saturday (Root)
– Brent Briggeman, The Gazette (Colorado Springs)
BOISE STATE
Before the 2013-14 season, the Boise State basketball team’s workout shirts read “214” on the front, motivation for improving their 214th-ranked field goal percentage defense.
The Broncos finished 223rd.
“It didn’t really work out how we planned,” sophomore forward James Webb III said.
But the focus on defense, along with concepts introduced by then-new assistant Danny Henderson have taken hold this season as longer, more athletic players like Webb, Montigo Alford and Chandler Hutchison have entered the lineup. Boise State is 104th nationally, allowing opponents to shoot 41.4 percent, on pace for the best by a Bronco team since 1968-69, the year the school became a four-year institution. The 60.6 points per game allowed is on pace for the best since 1988-89.
“We’re doing something defensively, that’s never happened here before and we’ve had some great defensive coaches and great defensive teams,” coach Leon Rice said. “For us to do it is pretty neat. That’s why we’ve won 10 out of 11. We have a lot of guys contributing and getting better right in front of our eyes. That’s what we need to go forward in this league.”
Rice pointed out that whatever Mountain West team has the best or nearly the best defense is often the one that wins the league. Boise State has held San Diego State, Air Force, San Jose State, UNLV and Nevada to less than 50 points. Never in team history had the Broncos held more than three conference opponents to less than 50.
This week’s games: vs. New Mexico, 9 p.m. MT Tuesday (ESPNU); at San Diego State, 6 p.m. MT Saturday (ESPN2)
– Dave Southorn, Idaho Statesman
COLORADO STATE
J.J. Avila may already have played his last game at Moby Arena.
The senior forward said Monday that he might have to sit out Wednesday night when the Rams (23-5, 10-5) host San Jose State (2-24, 0-14) in their final home game of the season, because of back spasms.
“I’m just not sure,” Avila said. “I’m just trying to be healthy to help us later down the road. I’m not trying to push it, because I was in a lot of pain against Air Force.”
Avila, grimacing for much of the second half, scored 18 points and pulled down seven rebounds last Saturday in the Rams’ 66-53 win over Air Force. He left the game for good with more than 10 minutes remaining, when officials stopped play so coach Larry Eustachy could replace his injured player.
“Air Force is a tough team, and I couldn’t afford to not be out there for that game,” Avila said. “I thought it would feel better, because I did a lot of stuff before (the game), but sometimes you’ve just got to play through some stuff.”
Eustachy said he expects Avila to play Wednesday night but said he was leaving that decision up to the player.
“He felt a lot better today,” Eustachy said. “He didn’t practice, but I think he’ll play.”
Avila is one of the top players in the Mountain West this season, ranking among the league leaders in scoring (fifth at 16.1 points a game), rebounding (fourth at 7.5 a game), assists (tied for seventh at 3.0 a game) and steals (second at 1.9 a game).
This week’s game: vs. San Jose State, 7 p.m. MT Wednesday (MW Digital Network)
– Kelly Lyell, Fort Collins Coloradoan
FRESNO STATE
Fresno State is 27 games into its season, but point guard Cezar Guerrero is just 10 into his and it appears that he and the Bulldogs are fitting together and finding more of a comfort level at the offensive end, which could be a factor for a team needing wins down the stretch in the conference race.
There are issues defensively with this team, certainly. But the Bulldogs in their two games last week put up 73 points against Colorado State and 79 at Utah State, which are the two highest scoring games they have had in the Mountain West against any team not named San Jose State.
They are attacking zone better, taking advantage of opportunities in transition, moving and sharing the basketball more efficiently and in Guerrero have another shooter to put on the floor against zone. In the loss to the Rams, Guerrero hit 8 of 13 shots including 2 of 3 at the 3-point line, scored 20 points, had an assist and a couple of rebounds. Against the Aggies, he as 4 of 6 including 2 of 3 on 3s and had 14.
“I’ve been feeling great just getting back in the groove of things as well as just finding the right situations to get my open shots and things and getting back into the groove with my teammates,” Guerrero said. “We’re meshing really well together right now.”
In the Bulldogs’ three games before taking on Colorado State at the Save Mart Center, the consistency was not there. Guerrero had eight baskets total in a victory over San Jose State, a loss at UNLV and a victory against Boise State, then eight in the win over the Rams.
He got only four shots at UNLV, three against Boise State.
“I think he stepped forward obviously in scoring the ball, but I think timing and rhythm, that just takes time,’’ coach Rodney Terry said. “You don’t make up 17 games in seven, eight, nine games. He was in the best shape of his life to start the year prior to not knowing he wasn’t going to play. But it’s hard to flip the switch that quick in terms of saying he’s going to be the guy we thought he would be this year. I give him a lot of credit. He’s hung with it and he has gotten better.
“We need him playing at a high level for us. We need another shot maker. We need another guy that can shoot the basketball and score the basketball. He’s a guy that we were going to count on to do that for us for the majority of the year. It’s important.’’
This week’s games: at Wyoming, 7:35 p.m. MT Wednesday (CBS Sports Network); vs. New Mexico, 8 p.m. MT Saturday (ESPNU).
– Robert Kuwada, Fresno Bee
NEVADA
The Wolf Pack’s season has been a nightmare on the court. It took a hit off the court last Saturday.
Starting point guard Marqueze Coleman, a team captain, and key reserve forward Kaileb Rodriguez were suspended prior to Nevada’s game at Boise State for a violation of an unspecified team rule, with coach David Carter calling the act “very immature.” Neither player traveled for the game as the Wolf Pack was buried by the Broncos, 78-46. After the loss to Boise State, Carter said he was “very, very disappointed” in both players.
“It’s the lack of commitment for the program,” Carter said. “It’s the lack of commitment for your teammates. That’s what it boils down to. It shows that you don’t care about the team or you’re giving up and you want to do your own thing. It’s a selfish act. That’s what’s disappointing.”
The players apologized to the team before Monday’s practice and were reinstated for Wednesday’s outing at Air Force. Both Coleman (9.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.6 apg) will no longer start. The Wolf Pack players said they were disappointed in Coleman and Rodriguez but are ready to forgive and move on.
“They’re a part of our team,” sophomore guard D.J. Fenner said. “They’re our brothers. I love both of them to death. When you’re part of a family, you do certain things that disappoint, but that doesn’t mean we hate them or are going to hold it against them. We’ll open our arms when they come back and take them with us.”
This week’s games: at Air Force, 7 p.m. MT Tuesday (NevadaWolfPack.TV); vs. San Jose State, 4 p.m. MT Saturday (NevadaWolfPack.TV).
– Chris Murray, Reno Gazette-Journal
NEW MEXICO
The frustration is mounting and Hugh Greenwood seems to have had enough.
The fourth-year starter on Saturday, after a 76-68 home loss to UNLV, handed the program its first six-game losing streak since the 1970-71 season, said the current batch of Lobos simply doesn’t put in the same amount of work as the successful teams of recent seasons, which has won three consecutive Mountain West Tournaments and two of the past three league championships.
“It’s really tough. This is not how I wanted to go out,” said Greenwood, one of the most successful starters in MW history. “Having said that, there’s still three games left then the Mountain West Conference Tournament. … We’re confident moving forward. I think with the success we’ve had the last three years, this is just something we’re not used to. I think with a lot of guys coming in here for the first time, I don’t think it means as much as it should. They don’t understand what Lobo basketball is about and it’s about winning and competing and playing for championships. … That’s what I said to the fellas, it’s got to mean something to them.”
Greenwood, who since the age of 15 has lived away from home to focus on basketball, either at New Mexico or at the Australian Institute of Sport before that, said too many of his teammates only workout during designated practices or training sessions. Lobos of recent seasons were notorious for being gym rats and putting in hours upon hours of work on their own time (current Chicago Bulls teammates Tony Snell and Cameron Bairstow in particular, but they were hardly the only ones).
This season’s team with nine new players and five more newcomers on the coaching and supports staff, simply doesn’t have the same mentality and there are only so many hours the NCAA allows a coaching staff to require of its student athletes.
When Craig Neal started dropping such hints to the media more than a month ago about his players not putting in the same amount of extra work as recent Lobo teams, he was lambasted by many for throwing his players under the bus. When Greenwood did so on Saturday, many Lobo fans felt it was a long overdue message from the respected team leader.
The frustrations at New Mexico aren’t simply about losing, but about what the team has evolved into — a hesitant offensive unit that seems afraid of the moment when games are close. The team was very much in most of their league losses before late game gaffs or outright meltdowns led to losing leads or not being able to get over the final hump of tied or one possession games.
The team that was 6-3 through the first half of league play has gone 0-6 since and is now needing a minor miracle to get out of the March 11 play-in game of the MW Tournament (the top six seeds get byes into the quarterfinals). No matter how much extra work the team puts in now, there is already a wait-until-next-year feel around Albuquerque.
This week’s games: at Boise State, 9 p.m. MT (ESPNU); at Fresno State, 8 p.m. MT (ESPNU)
– Geoff Grammer, Albuquerque Journal
SAN DIEGO STATE
The Aztecs made a surprise add to their active roster last Saturday at San Jose State: Dwayne Polee II.
The fifth-year senior played for the first time since his Dec. 22 collapse from what has since been diagnosed as cardiac arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat that can alter the flow of oxygen to the brain and cause fainting. It is not considered life threatening. Polee played 13 minutes in the 74-56 win against the Spartans and finished with three points, one steal and one turnover.
His numbers might not have reflected it, but the 6-foot-7 wing provided the Aztecs with a perceptible lift, beginning with the emotional ovation he received from the partisan crowd of San Diego State fans at San Jose State’s Event Center. He first entered the game with 7:03 left in the first half and the Aztecs trailing 22-17. When he subbed out five minutes later, they led by three – a 14-6 swing. In all, San Diego State was plus-13 points with him on the floor despite his limited minutes.
About a week after collapsing against UC Riverside and remaining on the floor for 15 minutes while paramedics attended to him, Polee underwent a catheter ablation – an outpatient procedure where an electrode is threaded through an artery in the groin and cauterizes the abnormal heart cells causing the electrical disturbance. In late January, he received clearance to resume light fitness workouts.
Polee and his family signed a liability waiver that coach Steve Fisher described as “standard” for students with certain medical conditions. The university also received multiple second opinions before clearing him last week to participate in full practices and games.
Said Polee, whose Aztecs host Boise State on Saturday: “The main doctor I’ve been working with, Dr. Doug Gibson, he broke it down for my mom and me, that this isn’t life threatening and that even if it were to happen again – and he doesn’t think it will – it’s 100 percent not life threatening. I’ve seen six doctors. They all said the same thing.”
This week’s game: vs. Boise State, 6 p.m. MT Saturday (ESPN2)
–Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune
SAN JOSE STATE
The Spartans gave Mountain West-leading San Diego State trouble for a half, but their school-record streak of losses to Division I teams continues.
San Jose State has gone more than a calendar year since last beating a major college basketball team. It’s streak of 29 straight defeats is the longest in the country.
That should easily reach 30 games when the Spartans travel to Colorado State, which is trying to further polish its NCAA Tournament resume.
The final beacon of hope to end the futility seems to be Saturday at Nevada. That’s the sight of the team’s only Mountain West win in its nearly two seasons in the league and where it last beat a D-1 squad.
If the Spartans can’t win there, home games to close the season against Boise State and UNLV offer little hope and the basketball team could be in line to repeat its fate two years ago in which it had fewer wins than their football team.
Spartan fans at least took solace that year in the fact that the football team had a banner year, going 11-2 and winning a bowl game. That the basketball team won just nine games in George Nessman’s final year as coach (the team was actually a solid 9-6 before its leading scorer was suspended for the year by administration) was a minor footnote.
But this year, the Spartans went just 3-9 on the gridiron. One of those wins was against an FCS team, meaning the two highest profile teams at San Jose State have combined for just two wins over major college competition this academic year. Yes, 2014-15 can’t end soon enough.
This week’s games: at Colorado State, 7 p.m. MT (ESPN3); at Nevada, 4 p.m. Saturday (MW Digital Network).
– Jimmy Durkin, San Jose Mercury News
UNLV
Two weeks ago, freshman guard Patrick McCaw had emerged as a reliable third scorer for UNLV. Now, he needs to be a leader.
The absence of leading scorer Rashad Vaughn means McCaw and sophomore forward Chris Wood are left to carry the offense for the Rebels (15-12, 6-8 Mountain West).
“Patrick continues to step up. He has become one of our primary options,” coach Dave Rice said. “Patrick just continues to get better, and his role has changed throughout the season.”
McCaw has made 10 straight starts, and in his past 11 games he has averaged 12.9 points while shooting 46.7 percent (50 of 107) from the field. He made a total of 10 3-pointers in the Rebels’ past two road games.
In a 76-68 win at New Mexico on Saturday, McCaw scored 22 points and Wood had 17. Unexpected help came from senior guard Jelan Kendrick (17 points, seven assists) and freshman forward Goodluck Okonoboh (12 points, five blocks). McCaw has been handling more point guard duties, and Okonoboh, a solid defender in the low post, has started to look for his shots and score more.
“Goodluck is playing his best basketball of the year right now,” Rice said.
Vaughn, the star of the freshman class, is recovering from Feb. 18 knee surgery and is questionable to return for the conference tournament in mid-March.
“Rashad is going to make a 100 percent recovery,” said Rice, adding there is “no set timetable” for Vaughn’s potential return.
Rice’s calm sideline demeanor has annoyed fans for a long time. Finally, in the second half of the game against the Lobos, Rice drew the first technical foul in his four years. Randy McCall hit him with the tech after the coach mildly protested a play and wandered several feet onto the court.
“I deserved it,” Rice said. “I was pretty animated.”
This week’s games: at Utah State, 7:30 p.m. MT Tuesday (CBS Sports Network); vs. Wyoming, 6 p.m. MT Saturday (CBS Sports Network).
– Matt Youmans, Las Vegas Review-Journal
UTAH STATE
Currently on a season-long four-game winning streak, several Aggies were not even aware of that fact.
They have totally bought into coach Stew Morrill’s “one game at a time” approach. The Aggies (16-10, 9-5) continue to remain in the top half of the league standings.
“I keep saying this, but they’ve been great,” Morrill said of his players. “In terms of their work habits, in terms of their mental focus, they’ve tried to give you everything they’ve got. I’ll always be able to say this was a really good group to finish with.”
Morrill is retiring at the end of this season after 17 years as Utah State’s coach.
“We want to win as many games as we can for coach,” said Aggie forward Jalen Moore, who leads the team in scoring (15.5 ppg) and rebounding (6.8 rpg).
The winning streak, which is currently tied with San Diego State for the longest active one in the conference, will be tested this week. Morrill is aware of the challenges of finishing strong. But he made sure to point out a fact during a press conference Monday.
“The positive thing for our team right now is, I told them before the game the other night, ‘it doesn’t look like you’re going to finish 10th. That’s where you were picked, and it doesn’t look like you’re going to finish there,’” Morrill said.
“I’ve been on them all year to prove they were better than that. Even if we don’t win another game, we’re probably not going to finish 10th. We’d like to win some more, but they can feel pretty dang positive about what they’ve done to this point and keep trying to do some more things.”
Morrill picked up his 400th win at Utah State in last Saturday’s 85-79 win against Fresno State. He is the eighth active coach to reach that milestone at their current school. Morrill is 400-153 at the Aggie helm.
“As I look at this profession and all the things that go on in this profession, I feel very fortunate to have done it as long as I’ve done it, to have had as many good players as I’ve had, as many good assistant coaches who have coached at three really fine universities and to be able to walk away on my own terms,” Morrill said. “Not a lot of guys get to say all those things. I feel like it’s been a really good ride.”
This week’s games: vs. UNLV, 7:30 p.m. MT Tuesday (CBS Sports Network); at Air Force, noon MT Saturday (Root).
– Shawn Harrison, The Herald Journal, Logan, Utah
WYOMING
Senior forward Larry Nance Jr. is probable for Wednesday’s home game with Fresno State after missing the last four with mononucleosis.
Nance traveled with the team last Tuesday to Nevada, but didn’t play. He’s been participating in workouts since the team returned to Laramie Thursday, and had a doctor’s appointment Monday.
“He gained a little weight back on the Nevada trip,” coach Larry Shyatt said. “He looks 100 percent better and sounds 100 percent better.”
Nance leads UW in scoring (16.3 ppg), rebounding (7.2 rpg) and blocked shots (1.2 bpg). In conference play, Nance averages 18.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game).
Wyoming (21-6, 10-4) went 2-2 without Nance, including a 64-58 come-from-behind win at Nevada where the Cowboys were down 27-13 at halftime. Wyoming has pushed the tempo offensively the last two games — both wins — and done a good job of taking care of the ball with 33 assists and only 13 turnovers. Shyatt said UW will continue to do that even with Nance back.
– Robert Gagliardi, Wyoming Tribune Eagle/WyoSports
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