Monday, Feb. 2, 2004 | 9:11 a.m.
Gonzaga has worn the tag. So have such teams as Kent State, Princeton and Valparaiso in recent years.
Now it appears it is Air Force's turn to carry the moniker of "Cinderella" in the world of Division I college basketball.
The Falcons, who face UNLV tonight at the Thomas & Mack Center in an ESPN nationally televised game, were expected to be much improved in their fourth year under former Princeton guard and assistant Joe Scott. Some preseason projections even had them escaping the Mountain West Conference cellar for the first time in history. And junior guard Tim Keller was a first team all-conference selection.
But nobody expected Air Force, which hasn't had a winning season since a 15-10 mark in 1977-78, to be 15-2 and on the verge of running away with the Mountain West Conference championship in early February.
Even energetic Scott acknowledged he was surprised that his squad, which returned three starters from last year's 3-11 MWC team, was a perfect 5-0 heading into tonight's game with the Rebels (11-6, 2-3).
"Not with three road games," Scott said before his team began a practice at the Cox Pavilion on Sunday afternoon. "The amazing thing is, out of our first six (conference) games, we have to go on the road for four of them, which is the worst schedule in the league. It's a tough road."
Especially when you consider the Falcons had won just one previous MWC road game in 28 tries heading into this season.
But Air Force already has won conference games at Colorado State (65-57), New Mexico (68-42) and San Diego State (57-43). They also swept conference preseason favorites BYU (74-52) and Utah (62-49) at home for the first time in school history.
Scott, who said before the start of MWC play he hoped his team could win one conference road game this year, could have four in hand before even hitting the conference halfway point with a win against UNLV tonight.
"And the thing is, they're just killing people," Rebels coach Charlie Spoonhour said. "Air Force is not just beating people, they're mutilating them."
Indeed, in a conference where most outcomes are decided in the low single digits -- Colorado State has played three consecutive overtime games -- Air Force's average margin of victory is 16.6 points.
"Air Force is definitely scary," Rebels center J.K. Edwards, who had a career-high 21 points (9 of 9 from the field) and 10 rebounds in UNLV's 89-80 win against New Mexico on Saturday night, said. "You've got to guard everybody and treat them all the same. They all can shoot and they all can backcut you (for a layup)."
It's not just the Falcons' Princeton-style offense, which thrives on backdoor layups and 3-point shooting, that is causing havoc for opponents this year. Air Force is also leading the nation in defense (47.1 points per game). Only SEC power Auburn broke the 60-point barrier against the Falcons and none of the first 17 opponents even managed to score 25 points in the first half of a game.
The Falcons forced 19 turnovers in their 57-43 win at San Diego State on Saturday night and also had 14 steals. The Aztecs entered the contest averaging 75.7 points per game.
"Our defense has been terrific," Scott admitted. "Anytime you hold somebody to 43 points in their building in this league, that's saying something. Teams in this league are only scoring about 48 points a game against us. But (tonight against UNLV) is going to be another big challenge. They're good at home. They've got guys who can score. And we haven't done a good job in the past of stopping them."
But those Air Force teams weren't nearly as talented or confident as this one, which brings a school-record 13-game winning streak into the contest. Scott points to a 49-44 victory at Cal in the championship game of the Office Depot Golden Bear Classic in Berkeley on Dec. 28 as the turning point of the season.
"We had never won a game on the road against a team of that caliber before," Scott said. "And it was the matter of how we did it. We were down five points with about six minutes to go and we went on a 10-0 run. The guys made the plays. I didn't call plays. I didn't do anything. The guys won the game on their own. Ever since that game we've gotten better and better and better."
Saturday night's win against San Diego State before a season-high crowd of 11,027 at Cox Arena meant the Falcons had met one of Scott's early goals of finishing with a winning record for the first time in 26 years.
"We're ready to take the next step," he said. "Air Force in the NIT would be a huge accomplishment for this program."
NIT? Heck, the Falcons are just a handful of wins from 20 victories and a potential NCAA tournament date.
Scott was asked if he minded the "Cinderella" references.
"When you've been as bad as we have been I assume that's why were Cinderella," he said. "If we keep doing this over the next couple of years we won't be called a Cinderella anymore."
Until that the day, the glass slipper seems to fit just fine for the high-flying Falcons.
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