The Mountain West gets Snubbed

by Jeremy Mauss on Mar 15, 2009 6:38 PM PDT

Selection Sunday is over and only 2 Mountain West teams get into the field of 65 with Utah gettting a higher then expected five seed and will open against Arizona in Miami on Friday. Then BYU is rematching last year game against Texas A&M and in Philadelphia and is seeded 8th. San Diego State was left out because of teams like Cleveland State, USC, and Mississippi State winning their conference titles.

I felt with San Diego State making its way to finals and beating another top 25 RPI team, that would have put them in, but they most likely were one of the first four out and will do well in the NIT.

Below is early analysis from ESPN

Utah
(24-9)

Seed: 5
Conference: MWC
Conf. rec: (12-4)
AP: NR
PPG: 71.2
OPP PPG: 63.9
VS. Top 25: 0-2
Last 12 Games: 10-2
Notable Results: Gonzaga (W by 1), @Oklahoma (L by 18), @Utah St. (L by 2)
Seven-footer Luke Nevill is a force inside for the Utes. Everything revolves around him. Utah can knock down shots, too, featuring three players shooting better than 40 percent from 3-point land. However, they don't force many turnovers at all.

Arizona
(19-13)

Seed: 12
Conference: Pac-10
Conf. rec: (9-9)
AP: NR
PPG: 72.1
OPP PPG: 68.4
VS. Top 25: 2-1
Last 12 Games: 7-5
Notable Results: @Kansas (W by 17), Ariz St. (lost 3 times), Washington (W/L), UCLA (W/L)
The Wildcats are another team that lives and dies by the 3-pointer. Chase Budinger and Nic Wise are deadly from deep, and in a run-and-gun game, this team has few rivals. But ask them to play halfcourt defense, and it's hard to watch. Plus, without bench depth, every foul hurts.

BYU
(25-7)

Seed: 8
Conference: MWC
Conf. rec: (12-4)
AP: 25
PPG: 77.4
OPP PPG: 64.7
VS. Top 25: 2-2
Last 12 Games: 10-2
Notable Results: Wake Forest (L by 7), Utah (W/L), Arizona St. (L by 1), Utah St. (W by 5)
The Cougars are normally a good-shooting team, although they enter the tournament in a little bit of a funk. Most of the scoring comes outside the paint from the trio of Lee Cummard, Jimmer Fredette and Jonathan Tavernari. A team with athletic wings could provide trouble.

Texas A&M
(23-9)

Seed: 9
Conference: Big 12
Conf. rec: (9-7)
AP: NR
PPG: 71.7
OPP PPG: 66.3
VS. Top 25: 2-4
Last 12 Games: 8-4
Notable Results: Oklahoma (lost twice), LSU (W by 11), Missouri (W by 10)
A&M made its bones playing half-court, dominating the boards, and getting to the line. They've got enough size to bang with anyone, and they usually won't be run out of the gym. But they're not excellent from the field, and struggle against teams with high shooting percentages.

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