{"id":4713,"date":"2014-03-15T14:02:58","date_gmt":"2014-03-15T18:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=4713"},"modified":"2014-03-15T14:33:32","modified_gmt":"2014-03-15T18:33:32","slug":"2014-ctc-the-mountain-west-312","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=4713","title":{"rendered":"2014 CTC: The Mountain West (3\/15)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Mountain West feels to me like one of those bands that you liked a whole lot when no one had ever heard of them and then a new album goes mainstream, and everyone loves them and you want to scream “I knew they were awesome before anyone had ever heard of them,” but nobody would even care more than a shrug of the shoulders if you did.\u00a0 I have loved this conference for a very long time and reveled in its rise to prominence, but now I think it be a little too hyped, particularly since BYU left a couple years ago (can anyone tell me why they thought the WCC was an upgrade?).\u00a0 But, there is still some AWESOME basketball in this conference even if this year was a major down year for the MW.\u00a0 They still have two teams that I could argue are elite, Final Four contenders and then a whole lot of don’t-sleep-on-me teams – all the way down to Fresno State and even Air Force.<\/p>\n

Top-seeded San Diego State got the majority (17) of the championship picks here.\u00a0 New Mexico got 6 of the other 8, with Boise State picking up the remaining 2.\u00a0 No one has anyone lower than Boise doing much of anything.\u00a0 GrossSr is trying to defend his 2013 MWC title this year.\u00a0 J is the only one that has more than one MWC championship.<\/p>\n

CHAMPIONSHIP (March 15th – 48 points)<\/h1>\n

#1 San Diego State vs #2 New Mexico<\/strong>
\nI’m not gonna lie, of all the great games on tap for today, this might be the one I am most looking forward to.\u00a0 These two teams have become fierce rivals, particularly this year, when they are both head and shoulders above the rest of the league.\u00a0 Both teams had tougher tests in the semis than they expected, but both survived to give us the rubber match that we were looking for.\u00a0 SDSU took care of tournament host, UNLV, while New Mexico had to deal with a Boise team that really wanted to extend their season.\u00a0 Can’t wait for this one.<\/p>\n

This is as big as it gets here in the CTC.\u00a0 Becks and Lohse are the only two with nothing at stake here.\u00a0 7 people (Bry, J, Mac, Primm, Stritts, Stumpf, Teddy) have New Mexico here.\u00a0 The other 16 all have the Aztecs.\u00a0 A New Mexico title will give J the MWC title outright and a perfect MWC.\u00a0 If SDSU wins, we will have a 4-way tie between Alexi, Gersh, RDoc, and Stri – who would all be perfect.<\/p>\n

SEMIFINALS (March 14th – 32 points each)<\/h1>\n

#1 San Diego State vs #4 UNLV<\/strong>
\nSan Diego State held Utah State to 39 points in a 73-39 blowout (interestingly, Arizona beat Utah at about the same time on Thursday, 71-39), flexing their muscles for the rest of the league to see.\u00a0 Meanwhile, UNLV – at home against an really undermanned Wyoming team – barely won, but won just the same, setting what could be an interesting semifinal if the Rebels come to play, since they are tough to beat in this building.<\/p>\n

Primm, Stritts, Stumpf, and Teddy went for the UNLV upset pick, while the other 21 all have SDSU.\u00a0 16 people took the Aztecs to win this tournament.<\/p>\n

San Diego State 59 – UNLV 51<\/em><\/p>\n

#2 New Mexico vs #6 Boise State<\/strong>
\nWith Boise’s “upset” of Nevada, we got the 4 best MWC teams to the semifinals, setting up what could be a great night in Vegas.\u00a0 New Mexico handled a hot Fresno team to get here and are one step away from the much-anticipated rubber match with San Diego St.\u00a0 But, Boise is not done yet – they want a return trip to the Dance and the only way they will get it is to win two more games.<\/p>\n

This is a big swing game in the CTC, actually.\u00a0\u00a023 people still have a shot at points here, as only Colton and Dave had Nevada here and have already lost.\u00a0 8 people (Becks, GrossSr, Lazarow, Lohse, Lynch, PapaCim, Scoot,\u00a0WaTers) have Boise here, with Becks, Lohse, and Lynch going for Boise to take down what would be a lucrative championship for them.\u00a0 The other 15 all have the Lobos, including 7 (Bry, J, Mac, Primm, Stritts, Stumpf, Teddy) who have UNM winning this tournament.<\/p>\n

New Mexico 70 – Boise State 67<\/em><\/p>\n

QUARTERFINALS (March 13th – 16 points each)<\/h1>\n

#1 San Diego State vs #8 Utah State<\/strong>
\nI am not surprised that the Mountain West had a team in the top\u00a010 in the country for most of the year, and I’m not surprised that they have a team that has a real outside shot at a #1-seed in the NCAA Tournament.\u00a0 I actually thought that New Mexico would be a top 10 team.\u00a0 Wait…what?\u00a0 It wasn’t New Mexico?\u00a0 It was San Diego State?\u00a0 Wow!\u00a0 Another fantastic coaching job by the great Steve Fisher, as he just flat-out develops players.\u00a0 Xavier Thames is his newest creation – the all-everything point guard who wasn’t all-anything before Fisher got his hooks into him.\u00a0 Now, the Aztecs are legitimately relevant nationally and ready for the Dance.\u00a0 They open the MWC tournament with a Utah State team that pulled a Houdini-like escape in their opening round game with Colorado State.<\/p>\n

All 25 people have SDSU winning this one, with 16 of them picking the Aztecs to cut down the nets.<\/p>\n

San Diego State 73 – Utah State 39<\/em><\/p>\n

#4 UNLV vs #5 Wyoming<\/strong>
\nThis UNLV team is not your typical UNLV team in that, well, they weren’t all that good.\u00a0 Part of that was because of an injury to Roscoe Jones (who is now healthy) and a suspension to Bryce DeJean-Jones (who has been reinstated), but even at full strength, they were lackluster.\u00a0 They caught a break with their quarterfinal matchup though (ya know, other than playing the whole tournament on their campus – like usual) in that Wyoming’s best player, Larry Nance Jr., is out with a broken leg.\u00a0 Without Nance, the Cowboys offense is inept and they lose probably the\u00a0best rim-protector in the M-West on defense.\u00a0 But, anything can happen in March.<\/p>\n

Only 5 (Becks, Caleb, Colton, Lynch, PapaCim) went with Wyoming here – none taking them any further.\u00a0 Of the 20 with UNLV, Primm, Stritts, Stumpf, and Teddy all have them going to the finals.\u00a0 This is probably the first CTC ever where no one took UNLV to win this tournament.<\/p>\n

UNLV 71 – Wyoming 67<\/em><\/p>\n

#2 New Mexico vs #7 Fresno State<\/strong>
\nI still think the Lobos have top 10 talent.\u00a0 And, that was before I knew that Cameron Bairstow would turn into an absolute stud overnight.\u00a0 The most improved player in the country, Bairstow went from a nice role player to possibly usurping his teammate, Kendall Williams, for MWC Player of the Year.\u00a0 And, they are very well-coached by Noodles Neal, who has a wealth of NBA experience along with a pretty nice Harley.\u00a0 Neal’s kid, Cullen, is a rising star, as well.\u00a0 This is a fun team to watch and is probably smarting from the loss to Harvard in the tournament last year.\u00a0 They open the MWC with a Fresno team that has been playing well, but who barely survived Air Force in the opening round.<\/p>\n

All 25 entries have UNM winning here.\u00a0 7 of them (Bry, J, Mac, Primm, Stritts, Stumpf, Teddy) have the Lobos winning it all.<\/p>\n

New Mexico 93 – Fresno State 77<\/em><\/p>\n

#3 Nevada vs #6 Boise State<\/strong>
\nThese seedings should be switched.\u00a0 Boise is the 3rd-best team in the conference and Nevada is the 7th.\u00a0 But, the wins and losses didn’t show that, so Boise had to play an opening round game to get to this matchup.\u00a0 Well, they sort of had to play it.\u00a0 San Jose State didn’t really show up, as the Broncos led 46-14 at the half and cruised to a 31-point win.\u00a0 Now, they get a shot at a Nevada team that seems to be doing it with smoke and mirrors.<\/p>\n

Despite the better seed and the first-round bye, only 6 people (Chris, Colton, Dave, Mac, Primm, Teddy) have Nevada here.\u00a0 Colton and Dave have the Wolfpack reaching the finals.\u00a0 The other 19 all have Boise here with\u00a05 having them losing in the finals (GrossSr, Lazarow, PapaCim, Scoot, WaTers) and 3 having them win it all (Becks, Lohse, Lynch).<\/p>\n

Boise State 75 – Nevada 62<\/em><\/p>\n

OPENING ROUND (March 12th – 8 points each)<\/h1>\n

#8 Utah State vs #9 Colorado State<\/strong>
\nLarry Eustachy’s squad took a real step backwards in Fort Collins this year, but that was to be expected with the massive graduation losses the Rams had.\u00a0 They will have just about everybody back next year, so they may return to some sort of quality form, though just because they’re coming back doesn’t necessarily make them any better on the court.\u00a0 The Rams will take on a Utah State team that expected to make a\u00a0bigger splash in their first year in a borderline power conference.\u00a0 They didn’t – even at home, where they have historically been unbeatable…they believe – and now they have to figure out if they can recruit the athletes to compete at this level.\u00a0 I am not saying they can’t, but the M-West and the WAC are totally different ballgames on a night-in and night-out basis.\u00a0 The winner here will take on #1 San Diego State in the quarters.<\/p>\n

11\u00a0people (Bry, Caleb, Chris, Doogan, GrossJr, GrossSr, Lazarow, Mac, PapaCim, Stumpf, Teddy) have CSU in the minor upset here.\u00a0 No one has either of these teams beating San Diego State in the quarters.<\/p>\n

Utah State 73 – Colorado State 69<\/em>
\nMADNESS!!!\u00a0 With 1:35 left in the game, Colorado State led 66-57.\u00a0 You see the final…WOW!\u00a0 Spencer Butterfield hit the big three to complete one of the craziest comebacks you’ll see during these two weeks.\u00a0 What a devastating way for the Rams season to end.\u00a0 Utah State will play with house money on Thursday against #1 San Diego State.<\/span><\/p>\n

11 people missed out on the upset pick here in dramatic fashion.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

#7 Fresno State vs #10 Air Force<\/strong>
\nFresno State enters the MWC tournament playing as well as anyone outside the two elite teams.\u00a0 They have a nice combination of experience and youth and have won 8 of their last 10.\u00a0 They are one of the best teams in the nation at protecting the ball, as they only turn the ball over on an incredible 14.3% of possessions (which ranks 8th in the nation).\u00a0 They take on an Air Force team that they beat twice this year and that ranks 305th in the nation in turnovers committed.\u00a0 However, AFA has been pretty solid and pretty tough to beat this year.\u00a0 Both teams have real sleeper potential, but unfortunately they are lined up with #2 New Mexico in the quarters, who probably won’t fall victim to falling asleep.<\/p>\n

7 people (Bry, Caleb, Dave, Lazarow, Primm, Scoot, Stritts) have AFA here.\u00a0 No one has either of these teams beating New Mexico in the quarters.<\/p>\n

Fresno State 61 – Air Force 59<\/em>
\nWhile it wasn’t as mad as the first game, this was another devastating collapse in the waning minutes.\u00a0 With 2:28 left, Air Force held a 57-51 lead, but was outscored 10-2 to finish the game, including two clutch free throws by Alex Davis to keep alive the sleeper potential of Fresno, who is playing really well.\u00a0 Despite the 10th-place finish in a down MWC, Air Force actually had a decent season marred with close losses – and that’s exactly how it ends.<\/span><\/p>\n

7 people miss the upset pick here.\u00a0 Bry, Caleb, and Lazarow must already be sick of the Mountain West tournament, as those three all fell victim to BOTH of these crazy comebacks to spoil upset picks.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

#6 Boise State vs #11 San Jose State
\n<\/strong>Boise State was supposed to have a really, really special year.\u00a0 They didn’t.\u00a0 They had everyone back off of a tournament team and just floundered all season long.\u00a0 They played okay in the noncon, but didn’t pick up any quality wins.\u00a0 Then, into conference play, they stumbled over and over, finishing in the middle of a down MWC.\u00a0 That said, they still had a shot to pull out a decent season until the final 4 games when they suffered a 20-point loss at Fresno, a double-OT home loss to Nevada, and an OT loss to Air Force.\u00a0 The collapse was complete.\u00a0 And, what doesn’t make any sense is that they have two of the best guards in mid-major land – Anthony Drmic and Derrick Marks.\u00a0 Fortunately, for them, while they didn’t get a bye, they do get the next best thing – a game against a putrid SJSU team.\u00a0 The winner of this one (almost assuredly Boise) will take on #3 Nevada – another winnable game.\u00a0 There is really a clear path for the Broncos to make the semis here and then take their chances with the big boys.<\/p>\n

No one has San Jose State beating Boise in this game, but this is still quite the important game for CTC.\u00a0 Becks and Lohse have Boise winning the whole thing.\u00a0 GrossSr, Lazarow, PapaCim, Scoot, and WaTers have them going to the finals, but losing.\u00a0 A whole slew of other entries have them beating Nevada before losing in the semis.<\/p>\n

Boise State 83 – San Jose State 52<\/em>
\nIt turns out Boise did get a first round bye after all.\u00a0 There isn’t much to say about a game that was 46-14 at halftime.\u00a0 That’s an embarrassing introduction to the MWC tournament for SJSU.\u00a0 Boise moves on to the quarters to face Nevada.<\/span><\/p>\n

Everyone got this right, including quite a few with a lot at stake, particularly Becks and Lohse, who have BSU winning this tournament.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

CTC UPDATE<\/h1>\n

Championship Picks<\/strong><\/p>\n