Notes on Rejection Sunday

By Ron Kantowski

Monday, March 16, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Observations from Rejection Sunday, which is what Selection Sunday becomes when your big guys underachieve and you can’t beat San Diego State on your home floor:

• OK, I know that Joe Lunardi guy is an expert on this stuff, but on Tuesday, “Joey Brackets” had five Mountain West teams getting into the NCAA tournament. Two got in. The Amazing Kreskin couldn’t have foreseen USC coming back from 15 down at halftime to beat Arizona State in the Pac-10 championship game. Still ...

• ... Grain of salt, meet Joe Lunardi’s midweek field of 65.

• Everybody was saying what a great year it was in the Mountain West, and from top to bottom it was. But at the very top, there weren’t enough nationally ranked teams. There weren’t any. So there were fewer quality wins once conference play began. And so fewer Mountain West teams are going dancing.

• Mid-major conferences are better off when they’ve got one terrific team ruling the roost. Such as the Rebels during the Tark years. Such as Utah during the Majerus years. Those teams got No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. When was the last time that happened in the Mountain West?

• Note to ESPN’s Stephen Bardo. Utah State is in Logan, not Provo.

• Turning Selection Sunday into Rejection Sunday at a college campus near you: USC, Temple, Mississippi State and Cleveland State.

• New rule: New Mexico coach Steve Alford cannot complain about anything until the Lobos win a first-round game in the conference tournament under his watch.

• Did you catch Alford whining about the officials at halftime of his team’s game against Wyoming? He’s like Mikey, that Life cereal kid. He hates everything.

• Contents of the official Steve Alford Coaching Start-Up Kit: Red sports jacket, monkey, tin cup.

• Speaking of red jackets, there were no issues about the Thomas & Mack security this year. In fact, MWC fans posting on the Internet commented on how smoothly everything ran.

• Which means Psycho Sarah Cummard didn’t throw any punches after husband Lee’s team lost to San Diego State in the semifinals. I heard the Aztec fans were merciless, though.

• San Diego State may have drafted a three-year extension for holding the Mountain West Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center by beating the Rebels on their home court ...

• Then again, considering how the MWC presidents do business, maybe not. Remember The Mtn? My sister lives in San Diego and she still can’t get Aztec games on TV without paying extra.

• Utah State beat the other Nevada team, the UNR Wolf Pack, on its home floor, too. These coaches need to stop worrying about where the games are played and tell their teams to take good shots and block out on the boards.

• The MWC championship game between Utah and San Diego State attracted a crowd of 10,307. Not bad, but those who say Cox Pavilion in San Diego isn’t big enough to accommodate the Mountain West are wronger than UNLV trainer Dave Tomchek’s plaid tie on plaid shirt combo for the San Diego State game.

• Everybody says the Rebels need a big guy to take it to the next level. Well, sure, everybody needs one of those. But it might be easier to recruit some 6-6 forwards who can run and jump, like San Diego State’s Lorrenzo Wade and Kyle Spain.

• Lorrenzo Wade in the NBA? I could see it for the former Cheyenne High star, if he plays in the Summer League like he did in the MWC tournament.

• With the exception of Ryan Amoroso, everybody in San Diego State’s lineup can create a shot. With the exception of Wink Adams, everybody in UNLV’s lineup had to wait until a shot developed out of the offense.

• The Rebels’ bench is woefully thin whenever they play an athletic team such as San Diego State.

• Steve Fisher doesn’t get a lot of credit for his knowledge of the X’s and O’s but San Diego State appeared to be extremely well coached.

• Dr. James Naismith wouldn’t believe this, but there’s a Web site called NITology. You know, for people who follow the NIT bracket. UT-Martin was on the bubble Sunday morning.

• Overheard on press row: “I can’t wait to see UNLV’s practice for the NIT on Monday.” The inference: The Rebels would rather have a tooth pulled than practice for the NIT. UT-Martin, on the other hand ...

• Somebody called this year’s Sugar Bowl the NIT of college football. Once Alabama was eliminated from national championship contention, it had no interest in playing Utah for No. 2. Not a bad analogy.

• The head fake is the most under-utilized move in college basketball. Every time Utah’s Lawrence Borha tried one, he got a wide-open shot.

• Rivals.com asked its college basketball staff how they would tweak the NCAA tournament. Mike Huguenin says at-large teams with a losing record in conference play should not receive a bid. Jason King says the regular-season champions should receive the automatic bid. Steve Megargee says the play-in game should feature the top two bubble teams. Former UNLV star Greg Anthony says he wouldn’t change a thing.

• But Anthony gets the last word: “It starts with a nip, then a tuck, then the next thing you know, you end up with Joan Rivers.”