Mountain West Connection: All Posts by Chris Hondros

Do The Haka! The 'Bows Are Back

2013-05-15T04:53:32Z

The University of Hawaii is re-branding their program again: this time, with all sports renaming themselves as "Rainbow Warriors."

Let's just stop right there and realize what this possibly means:

Rainbow stripes on their green unis.
Complete set of new unis altogether.
Rainbow-H helmets make a comeback.
SURFING KING KAMEHAMEHA HELMETS MAKE A COMEBACK!

For those of you who don't know why this is important:

a. You're probably 16 years and younger or

b. Know nothing about the University of Hawaii and their completely awesome uniform history.

One thing we know for sure, that throwback night with SDSU on November 16 will be a lot of fun. Warrior_no8 sent me an email of his rendered version of what the unis might look like:

EPIC!!!!

Of course, our readers' can't be the only ones who have some fun, so I made some renderings of how I feel what Under Armor should do this season:

Hawaii Warrior Renderings

Hawaii Warrior Renderings 2

Now the next thing that needs to happen is that the athletic department needs to reconcile with Vili the Warrior.

Mountain West Connection: NOW WITH T-SHIRTS!

2013-05-08T20:04:24Z

The Mountain West Connection shop is open for business! However, with 14 designs, how do we know where to start? Let's go through them together: shall we?

MWC AIR FORCE SHIRT:

Via GameDay Depot

Whether you're a f****** flyboy, or a upstanding, good, ethical cadet of the United States Air Force Academy, this Mountain West Connection shirt is for you. With the blog logo in blue, white and silver, and the slogan "Because we're in the mountains, and also in the West," this shirt is a perfect addition to your gameday collection.

MWC BOISE STATE SHIRT:

Via GameDay Depot

GO! ORANGE! GO BIG BLUE! FIGHT! FIGHT! BSU! The schools fight song puts orange first, so we put orange as the primary color in our shirt. Let's face it, at least when I was in undergrad, orange was the tough color to buy for orange-outs at the games, so this shirt fixes that problem. Plus, you know you're supporting your favorite Mountain West website. Now why wouldn't you want that?

MWC COLORADO STATE SHIRT:

Via GameDay Depot

Any Colorado State fan can be proud of this shirt. Not only is there one, but two tones of gold showcasing the Rams proud uniform history in one shirt. There's just no orange, because that would be weird looking with actual gold...

MWC FRESNO STATE SHIRT:

Via GameDay Depot

This shirt is a sure fit for Fresno State supporters in the Dog Pound. With Cardinal being the base color for this shirt (THE ACTUAL SHADE OF RED BULLDOG FANS! NEVER FORGET IT), this shirt is a must have for the family member who comes to the games with you and doesn't have appropriate gameday wear.

MWC HAWAII SHIRT:

Via GameDay Depot

DISCLAIMER: I actively tried to make a rainbow logo with a green shirt to make this retro, it didn't work out.

Say Aloha to style with your Mountain West Connection Hawaii shirt. The Warriors are the furthest west of all the schools and also have their own mountains. This shirt is perfect for hiking up Mauna Kea, chilling in Waikiki or better yet: making your own skewers in the parking lot of Aloha Stadium.

MWC NEVADA SHIRT:

via custom.gamedaydepot.com

A pack always needs a leader. A leader needs to show he's one. Why not get this shirt to be a leader among Wolfpack fans? Show those rival fans up north who's more a true fan, and those "rival" fans down south why you're the superior school.

MWC NEW MEXICO SHIRT:

Via GameDay Depot

Steve Alford may have left, but you as a fan will always be true to your team no matter how dismal it seems. With FOOTBAW BAWB leading the Lobos on the gridiron, New Mexico fans need a way to show their loyalty to their favorite blog and our favorite coach!

MWC SAN DIEGO STATE SHIRT:

Via GameDay Depot

Show your support for Rocky Long U by picking up this shirt and jumping in The Show! Whether you're causing chaos in Viejas Arena, screaming at the Q, or just eating fish tacos somewhere, make sure you're wearing this shirt to support the colors of the best college team in Southern California.

MWC SAN JOSE STATE SHIRT:

Via GameDay Depot

Spartan fans, you're in the Mountain West now, so why not get a little something to make it official? Wear this around and show it off to your Stanford and Cal friends. When they start laughing at you, feel free to kick them in the Spartan Pit of Death.*

*Pit of Death only valid in Ancient Sparta. Please do not make a Pit of Death.

MWC UNLV SHIRT:

Via GameDay Depot

Work with the odds that I give you during the football season, and show off your stylish Mountain West Connection UNLV shirt with it. Good for parties, gameday or floating down a flooded parking lot.

MWC UTAH STATE SHIRT:

Via GameDay Depot

Aggie fans can say it all to BYU and Utah fans with this shirt: "We've moved on to better places while you're stuck with high expectations and hopes but low results." Utah State alumni can take pride in this shirt, as they have a blog who covers them and named them the site's favorite team (due to some clever hacking, but they may have won nonetheless).

MWC WYOMING SHIRT:

Via GameDay Depot

Before there was Cowboy Altitude, there was Mountain West Connection. For you Pokes who still read us, we appreciate it, and therefore, this shirt is for you. Just don't let Dave Christensen see it...he might call you out for not staying true to a Wyoming-centric blog.

MOUNTAIN WEST CONNECTION SHIRT:

Via GameDay Depot

This shirt screams, "I DON'T HAVE A FAVORITE MWC TEAM, I JUST LOVE THIS BLOG!" This was the original design of our t-shirt, so you can act like a hipster toward your other friends who have school specific shirts (i.e. "I had the shirt before they had the other designs").

Via GameDay Depot

Is this the ONLY blog you ever read? Are you a die-hard Mountain West Connection member? Have you been reading since the blog's beginning in 2007? This shirt is for you. Perfect for those chilly Saturdays in the fall where you're watching football for 12 straight hours and you're too cheap to turn on the heater.

"This is awesome! But where do I find these shirts?"

Simple, just click the store link at the top of the website, and it will take you to our Gameday Depot store:

So get out there and shop!

2013 NCAA Tournament: Wichita State Needs To Stay Hot With The Three

2013-04-04T11:33:07Z

Three point shooting is where many teams live and die. You tend to see it in teams like La Salle and Boise State where the play-makers are mostly guards who shoot from either just inside the arc, or more likely, outside the arc, 40-50% of the game.

Wichita State is not one of those teams. Most of their scoring will come from their forwards Cleanthony Early or Carl Hall. Early is a different kind of forward however: one who will occasionally shoot a three-point field goal when he's hot.

Outside of the first game in the NCAA Tournament, where neither Wichita State or Pitt could make a three-pointer to save their lives, the Shockers have made 45% of their attempted shots beyond the arc. This isn't just from a small sample either: Wichita State has averaged 20 three-point attempts in those games (as well as the first game).

Early, surprisingly, is not the go to three-point shooter on this team: Malcolm Armstead, Ron Baker, Tekele Cotton and Fred Van Vleet have all contributed to this high percentage. What makes this team especially intriguing from beyond the arc is that when one player is hot, all of them seem to warm up simultaneously. By understanding the fact that many of the three-pointers that are being made come off the transition, one then realizes, that Wichita State becomes more dangerous than what is just seen on paper.

Compare this to Louisville, who has not shot well from the three-point line in this tournament (only shooting 4-13 on average, but in contrast has averaged 82.0 PPG compared to Wichita State's 72.8 PPG). For the Shockers to have a chance to win, they don't need to go gung-ho on attempting three-pointers, but they need to stay efficient in making them.

Louisville will not make the same mistake that Ohio State did, in underestimating the Shockers. The mistake that the Shockers will have to capitalize on, is Louisville defending the wrong man and the three-point opportunity that will open up gradually.

Unofficial EDSBS Meet-up Nawlins

2013-04-03T19:26:34Z

This is totally last minute, but here goes:

As a few of you know already, I'm going to be in New Orleans for a conference from this Saturday, April 6 to Thursday, April 11. I want to do a more informal meetup for those who can make it. I'm staying in the CBD on Camp Street, and my availability is pretty much any day but Wednesday. Sunday and Monday are the best days for me, but Tuesday also works (my poster session is from 5:30-8 PM).

Suggestions for a meeting place would be ideal, because frankly, i have no idea where the hell i'm at/going...

So if you can make it and want to be involved, comment below. We'll all have a REAL GOOD TIME without Pitbull or Dr. Pepper. It would be pretty awesome to get to know the people we all think we know on the internet, or at least i hope so...

This is totally last minute, but here goes:

Suggestions for a meeting place would be ideal, because frankly, i have no idea where the hell i'm at/going...

2013 NCAA Tournament West Regional Final: Wichita State Defeats Ohio State 70-66

2013-03-31T03:05:04Z

"FINAL FOOOOUUUUR! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP-CLAP-CLAP! YOU DON'T WANT TO GO TO WAR...WITH THE SHOOOOOOOOCKERS! DON'T START NO STUFF, WON'T BE NO STUFF!" The sea of yellow that was Wichita State fans exploded when the clock struck double zero.

In front of a 75/25 pro-Ohio State crowd, Wichita State did what they do best, play physical basketball, completely dominating the Buckeyes for a period and a third. And when Ohio State found life and started to fight back, going on a 25-9 run, Wichita State started to play scrappy, like the little engine that could. That engine not only just believed that they could, they did.

Gregg Marshall got on the podium, went behind his players, pointed to his fans and gave them a Hollywood thank-you kiss, acknowledging them. Carl Hall was named to the NCAA West Regional All-Tournament Team, and Malcolm Armstead was named Most Outstanding Player.

The victory was not just one for the team, it was also one for the Missouri Valley Conference as well. With the Shockers Final Four appearance, it will be the MVC's first since Indiana State's 1979 Tournament run, in which the Sycamores fell in the National Title game.

The Buckeyes looked overwhelmed in the first half, despite out-sizing the Shockers, as Wichita State's defense provided so much hectic chaos, that any response from a player's sloppy defense earning a mediocre foul, drew the perfect "O" face from shocked Buckeye players.

You want to fully realize how frustrated the Shockers made Ohio State? Off a weak foul called by the referees, Thad Matta was in the referees face, a good minute or so the after the final buzzer had gone off. After constant screaming for about 30 seconds, Matta stormed off the court, in front of gleeful Shocker fans, his face as red as his tie.

Deshaun Thomas was the only high point in the first half for the Buckeyes, scoring 9 points, while the team as a whole shot 24.2%. Wichita State was all over the boards as well, collecting 27 rebounds compared to Ohio State's 17 at the half.

After the second half began, the Shockers continued their dominance on the board, leaving the Buckeyes looking dazed and confused, like miscreant teenagers high in a Kansas wheat field. Then Cleanthony Early went down and out with an injury, giving the Buckeyes an opportunity to strike back.

All of a sudden the Buckeyes became more aggressive, causing Wichita State to commit sloppy fouls. Early came back in, but Ohio State continued on a 25-9 onslaught. As the team from the Big 10 was looking bigger and stronger (as it probably should have), it was an unorthodox, disjointed play, with one minute left in the game, that effectively ended the game.

Fred Van Vleet missed a three-point field goal badly, Tekele Cotton dove and rebounded, tossing it back to Van Vleet, who bounced it in for two. A quarter of Staples Center exploded, and in the most twisted sound wave you could possibly hear, from court-side, it was almost as loud as the whole Buckeye contingency.

The Buckeyes wound up only making 31.1% of their shots, with Thomas scoring 23 points and LaQuinton Ross adding 19 points in 22 minutes off the bench. The Shockers, on the flip side, shared the ball effectively: Armstead collected 14 points, Early and Van Vleet both had 12 and Cotton added ten. Ron Baker, who celebrated his 20th birthday with a historic win, the pep band playing with fans singing "Happy Birthday", scored nine points (going 9-9 from the charity line) and four rebounds.

Let the mid-majors rejoice, the Shockers are headed to the Promised Land.

2013 NCAA Tournament: Wichita State Dominates La Salle

2013-03-29T05:34:02Z

Thursday night at Staples Center had originally promised to be a thriller, thanks to a fantastic finish to the Ohio State-Arizona game. But the only team who looked alive throughout the whole game was Wichita State as the Shockers absolutely dominated La Salle, 72-58.

Wichita State started the game on a 14-2 run thanks to 10 seemingly easy points by Carl Hall. Outside of a made free throw, La Salle had a 6:30 field goal drought which ended at 12:35, thanks to Tyrone Garland. Later in the first, La Salle went on an 8-2 run, but was only able to cut the lead to 10 points.

The Shockers finished the half on a 9-1 run to take a 16 point lead at the half, as Hall went into the locker room with 14 points (7-8 FG) and 6 rebounds. The Explorers shot an abysmal 26.7% in the first half (thanks to Garland shooting 2-10 and Ramon Galloway shooting 2-9), while the Shockers shot 53.3%.

Shockers head coach Gregg Marshall was not content with the halftime lead: "It's not going to stay between 10 and 20 (the lead) all half. I would rather push it up above 20 and see how they react. It's up to you"

That push came immediately thanks to quick three-point field goals by Ron Baker and Malcom Armstead to push the lead to 22 and force a timeout. La Salle responded with urgency, as the Explorers went on a 10-0 run over four and a half minutes to cut the lead to 12.

However they couldn't get any closer than 11 points (on a couple free throws by Sam Mills). Armstead kept the Shockers comfortably in front, scoring 12 points in the second half (including 8 points over the course of 3:23 when La Salle was trying to put a run together). LaSalle got flustered late, and started drifting away from what kept them competitive early (Jerrell Wright), and Wright wound up sitting some late because he was worn out from running end to end.

Only three of La Salle's five playmakers went into double-digits, as Wright and Garland both scored 16 points, while Galloway scored 11. For the Shockers, Armstead led the way with 18 points, followed by Hall with 16 and Baker who scored 13. Cleanthony Early, who came into this game shooting red-hot in this tournament, scored only eight points and seven rebounds.

Rebounding was a huge problem for La Salle, as Wichita State out-rebounded the Explorers 47-29. The Shockers were all over the floor, fighting for loose balls up in the air and on the ground, as they only let La Salle collect nine rebounds off their own boards.

LaSalle head coach John Giannini credited Armstead's clutch performance in the second half:

"He [Armstead] was absolutely huge. He had three, four big buckets in a row and we were scoring. But if we get the stops, all of a sudden, that 10, 11, 12-point game is a four to eight point game"

Carl Hall was easily the man of the night. The senior who had overcome all sorts of challenges, from transferring in from a junior college to fainting due to a heart condition, probably summed up the teams emotions in the post-game interview:

"It's like I'm in a dream still with this whole Elite Eight situation. So we're just trying to take advantage and take it one game at a time."

The Shockers dream continues to live on, and with a match against Ohio State on Saturday, the dream world won't stop until the clock ticks zero.

2013 NCAA Tournament: Media Eatery At The West Regional

2013-03-29T01:26:11Z

There's a reason why any and every large event should be held at Staples Center. The media buffet turns you into straight-up royalty, and it's all thanks to the Staples Center Heroes of Lore. Who are they? Let me regale you.

First, one gets to treat themselves to a salad with fresh greens (not your typical, nutrition-free iceberg crap) and choice of dressings. Each head was picked out by Phillip of Compton, the legendary hero who obliged to leave his home in South Central in order to bring glory to his name. How did this come to be? He was to find 1500 heads of lettuce, each with a perfect spherical visage and the interior shaped like a rose. Then, only then were those heads brought back to the oracle of the Staples Center for inspection, and later brought out to the buffet.

The side dishes introduce you to the "SoCal" Mexican style gourmet food, starting with grilled spring vegetables and Mexican rice. Why spring vegetables? Because only the choicest squash is selected and spiced for the tastes of the elite here at the media spread mecca that is Staples. The rice was prepared by Ed of Ipus, who fulfilled a Staples Center prophecy in which he kicked out his father from his chef throne.

The next thing down the row is the entrées: cheese enchiladas or quesadillas as an option for meek little vegetarians, chicken quesadillas or chipotle-style chicken fajitas with extra tortillas for the real men. The free-range chickens were hunted down by O'Ryan, who as a result, earned the title of master huntsman. The quesadillas were hand-prepared by Hip Poly, a woman who was at one point considered queen of Amazon.

With a salsa bar at the end allowing the consumer to appeal to their tastes, and limited Scoville scale tolerance, this meal is surprisingly even better than what the regular concessions Staples Center has to offer. Each salsa was tested by Jason, leader of the Angelnauts. Jason was tasked with this by the council of Staples Center in order for him to win the hand of Medea, at the Pastry Concessions.

What should I say about the sweet tasting dessert that was spread before me? Bananas on the highest order were picked and sent directly to our fine center. The apples that were spread were picked by the American Hercules himself, as one of his twelve labors was to run them back on the Interstate numbered 10 and spread them out for the media, without a trace of trash or dust on them.

The churros were imported from the finest street vendors. Staples Center obtains the cinnamon that is sprinkled on the churros from the only the finest cinnamon importers. The hero A. Jacks, was summoned to prove his might by grinding each individual cinnamon stick until it was fine as the sands of Santa Monica.

So let Cowboys Stadium and Lucas Oil Stadium have their brand new facilities and giant screens. Let the Verizon Center keep its central locality to the rest of the DC area. I'll take Staples Center over all of them, with their great food options and their personnel service. Though honestly, it's all Greek to me.

2013 CBI Tournament: Semifinal Recaps

2013-03-28T04:59:17Z

Final - 3.27.2013	1	2	Total
Western Michigan Broncos	20	32	52
George Mason Patriots	27	35	62

Complete Coverage >

In a game with low shooting and high scoring runs, George Mason pulled out the win, thanks mainly to Jonathon Arledge. The Patriots went on an 18-0 run over the course of nine minutes in the first half to overcome a slow start. Even though the Broncos attempted a comeback in the second half, they could pull no closer than seven points.

Both teams shot the ball poorly: Western Michigan shot 35.8% (25% from the three-point line) and George Mason shot 36.7% (12.5% from beyond the arc). However, what killed the Broncos was that they turned the ball over 23 times and fouled the Patriots in shooting opportunities (which GMU capitalized on, making 24-28).

For the Patriots, Arledge was the big hero, scoring 23 points and five rebounds. Sherrod Wright scored an additional nine points and both Erik Copes and Marko Gujanicic scored eight. Bryon Allen and Corey Edwards were key players who didn't score: Allen collected four rebounds, seven assists and two steals and Edwards had two rebounds, two assists and five steals.

For the Broncos, David Brown led the way with 13 points, four rebounds and two assists. Along with him were Shayne Whittington and Brandon Pokley, who scored 12 and ten points respectively. While Western Michigan collected 32 rebounds as a team (compared to George Mason's 28 points), they could not hold on to the basketball.

Final - 3.27.2013	1	2	Total
Santa Clara Broncos	34	47	81
Wright St. Raiders	36	33	69

Complete Coverage >

In Dayton, Wright State took a two point lead into the half, thanks to a buzzer-beating dunk by A.J. Pacher. The Raiders couldn't hang on to the momentum though, as Kevin Foster scored 21 second half points to lead Santa Clara to victory. The "Other" Broncos came out swinging in that second half, going on a 19-4 run, not allowing Wright State to cut it closer than seven points at any point in the final period.

Despite shooting better overall in the game (54.2% compared to the Broncos 48.4%), Wright State did not have near as many attempts as Santa Clara. The Broncos out-rebounded the Raiders 33-25 and forced 15 turnovers, while only committing six themselves.

Foster followed up his 34-point masterpiece against Purdue with yet another fantastic performance. His final tally was 33 points, four steals and three assists. Evan Roguemore added 16 points, five assists and two rebounds, while no other Bronco contributed more than nine points.

On the other side, Pacher finished his night with 17 points, eight rebounds and two assists, while Jerran Young and Miles Dixon scored 13 and ten points respectively.

George Mason and Santa Clara will now face off in a best-of-three championship series beginning April 1. Can the Patriots win the CBI trophy before they head to the Atlantic 10? Or will Kevin Foster and company reign supreme and take the trophy to the West Coast?