11/14 Basketball Preview

(0-1) (1-0)Marriott Center 7PM MT TV: NONE
BYU looks to be very difficult this year after they thrashed last years Big West champs Long Beach State on the road last week. The Cougars get a regional foe to come to the Marriott Center and this game should be beat down. BYU likes to run the floor and score points while Idaho State is a fairly decent defensive team BYU should be able to have their way with the Bengals.

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Clune Arena 7PM MT TV:NONE

It looks like the Falcons are trying to stockpile wins before they hit conference play. The Falcons did go 2-0 in their home 3 team tournament last weekend, but now the are bringing in Western State College who are a Division II school. This division II is a common theme this week for the MWC a loss here would be brutal for the conference's RPI. Air Force has no business playing or losing to this team.

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NIT Season Tip Off Bank of America Arena 7:30 PM PT TV:

This game will be huge for the conference because it will be one of the few if any time that the Utes or the conference will be on ESPN, and if the Utes can get this win then they will head to Madison Square Garden for 2 more games in the NIT Season Tip Off Final 4 and be on ESPN or ESPN2. The win would also increase the conference RPI which is very important if the MWC wants to place as many teams as possible in the NCAA. Back to the preview the Utes so far have not had too many struggles while defeating USC Upstate and now High Point, but this Washington team will provide a much stiffer challenge. Washington last year went 19-13 where they defeated one ranked opponent last year and that was when Oregon was ranked 7th last year, but beyond that they beat teams they should beat and lost to most teams when they were the underdogs. This years Washington team hopes to actually prove their worth after last seasons expectations, but this years team did lose 7-0 center Spencer Hawes to the NBA, but besides that the Huskies return 4 starters. For Utah this is a drastically different team with a defense first mentality and with JUCO stud Tyler Kepkay who manages the guard spot for the Utes. This game most likely will come down to if Luke Nevill can dominate, but this will be tough because this is essential a home game for U-Dub.