Mountain West Capsules

Steve Addy

Wednesday, March 6, 2002 | 10:18 a.m.

Here is a capsule look at the Mountain West men's basketball tournament, which begins Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

1. Wyoming

Record: 20-7, 11-3 MWC (RPI 56)

First round: vs. No. 8 Air Force, noon Thursday. Won season series 2-0.

Top player: Junior small forward Marcus Bailey. Though his offensive touches were reduced, he led the Cowboys with 13.9 points per game in league play and shot 53 percent.

Don't overlook: Senior forward Josh Davis. Preseason MVP had a down year, as his averages slid to 11.9 points and 7.4 rebounds, but he is capable of dominating.

Why they will win: Great balance, and they've learned how to win away from Laramie. Their five road wins in league play were the most ever by a Mountain West team.

Why they won't win: Guards Donta Richardson and Jason Straight take too many shots, leaving Davis and Bailey fighting for crumbs over long stretches.

Coach Steve McClain says: "We're only worried about Air Force. If you start worrying about the next night and the next night, you're not going to be there."

2. Utah

Record: 20-7, 10-4 MWC (RPI 24)

First round: vs. No. 7 Colorado State, 6 p.m. Thursday. Won season series 2-0.

Top player: Junior forward Britton Johnsen. The conference MVP isn't great at anything, but is very good in most areas (13.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg).

Don't overlook: Sophomore shooting guard Nick Jacobson. His conference season was up and down, but he can take over with 3-point shooting (45.1 percent).

Why they will win: The Utes are one of the nation's top 3-point teams (40.5 percent), and their tall, lanky lineup makes them uniquely difficult to guard.

Why they won't win: Live by the 3, die by the 3, as the Utes showed in Big Monday losses to UNLV and Wyoming. They can be rattled by pressure defense.

Coach Rick Majerus says: "For UNLV, this isn't a tournament. These are home games. It's a tremendous advantage. The tournament favorite would have to be UNLV in any case."

3. UNLV

Record: 18-9, 9-5 MWC (RPI 67)

First round: vs. No. 6 New Mexico, 9 p.m. Thursday. Split season series 1-1.

Top player: Junior forward Dalron Johnson. Took over as the Rebels' dominant player and averaged 16.9 points and 6.9 rebounds without being needlessly flashy.

Don't overlook: Junior point guard Marcus Banks. He's an electric presence. His 36-point night against SDSU was the league's best individual performance.

Why they will win: They're the league's hottest team, winning 10 of their last 12. And they're at home, where they've won eight straight since Jan. 21.

Why they won't win: They live too dangerously. Sooner or later, there won't be a comeback to rescue them. Also, poor rebounding may catch up with them.

Coach Charlie Spoonhour says: "We're happy the tournament is here in Las Vegas. But in conference tournaments, (homecourt advantages) are negated to a certain degree."

4. Brigham Young

Record: 17-10, 7-7 MWC (RPI 46)

First round: vs. No. 5 San Diego State, 2:30 p.m. Thursday. Split season series 1-1.

Top player: Junior small forward Travis Hansen. Aside from team-high averages of 15.5 points and 6.4 rebounds, he'll dive into a brick wall for a loose ball.

Don't overlook: Senior forward Eric Nielsen. He has tailed off in MWC play, but scored a career-high 29 in the Cougars' 81-76 win over Stanford on Dec. 22 at the Mack.

Why they will win: Last year's tournament champs usually play well on UNLV's court. Their 2001 experience should come in handy this week.

Why they won't win: Well, duh. The Cougars didn't have a conference road win (7-0 at home, 0-7 away), so winning three in three days seems unlikely.

Coach Steve Cleveland says: "We haven't distinguished ourselves in terms of finishing out games on the road. We've beaten every team in the league. We've also lost to every team."

5. San Diego State

Record: 18-11, 7-7 MWC (RPI 52)

First round: vs. No. 4 BYU, 2:30 p.m. Thursday. Split season series 1-1.

Top player: Senior power forward Randy Holcomb. NBA prospect should have been MWC player of the year after averaging 16.6 points and 8.9 rebounds in league play.

Don't overlook: Senior shooting guard Al Faux. He's not even on scholarship, but he averaged 16.7 points and wants the ball down the stretch.

Why they will win: The Aztecs have the league's best combination of inside-outside firepower. If Holcomb doesn't get you, their gunners will.

Why they won't win: Point guard play has been their albatross. Remember how Marcus Banks dominated Deandre Moore?

Coach Steve Fisher says: "We have as good a chance as anyone going into the tournament and that's a good feeling. If I had said that in the past, I would've been lying."

6. New Mexico

Record: 16-12, 6-8 MWC (RPI 58)

First round: vs. No. 3 UNLV, 9 p.m. Thursday. Split season series 1-1.

Top player: Junior shooting guard Ruben Douglas. Led the MWC with 17.5-point average (all games) and scored 61 in two games against UNLV. The Rebels have their hands full again.

Don't overlook: Sophomore center Patrick Dennehy. Ignoring his odd walk-off at Air Force, he has averaged 12 points and eight rebounds since Feb. 2.

Why they will win: Douglas is on fire (27.5 ppg in last four games), and the Lobos seemingly haven't stopped playing hard despite their stressful season.

Why they won't win: The Lobos haven't been the same since point guard Marlon Parmer quit the team Jan. 22. They're 4-7 without him.

Coach Fran Fraschilla says: "We've been through tough times, we've been through injuries and we've come through it with our heads high."

7. Colorado State

Record: 12-17, 3-11 MWC (RPI 162)

First round: vs. No. 2 Utah, 6 p.m. Thursday. Lost season series 0-2.

Top player: Junior power forward Brian Greene. He carried the injury-plagued Rams most of the season, averaging 16.3 points and 7.6 rebounds.

Don't overlook: Junior guard Andy Birley. Made a league-leading 38 3-pointers in MWC play, shooting 44 percent from the arc. Leave him open and you'll pay.

Why they will win: Because every team will overlook them, even if they say they won't. Also, 7-foot freshman center Matt Nelson has come on strong.

Why they won't win: The Rams' talent is simply too thin and too young. They went 1-6 on the road.

Coach Dale Layer says: "We certainly ended the season on a positive note (beating BYU in overtime). This is probably the most confident our group has been all season."

8. Air Force

Record: 9-18, 3-11 MWC (RPI 190)

First round: vs. No. 1 Wyoming, noon Thursday. Lost season series 0-2.

Top player: Sophomore forward Joel Gerlach. He averaged 11.2 points and shot 53 percent, but is capable of 25-point games.

Don't overlook: Senior guard Lamoni Yazzie. Bona fide 3-point threat who averaged 12.4 points and shoots 86 percent on free throws.

Why they will win: OK, they won't win, but no one is eager to play the Falcons. Nine of their 11 MWC losses were by eight points or fewer.

Why they won't win: Opponents have figured out how to minimize the Falcons' backdoor layups. Also, Air Force rarely gets a favorable whistle.

Coach Joe Scott says: "We've played the teams in this conference extremely close. We know we can compete."