Conference season is upon us and the college hoops world here at SB Nation hoops put together a blogger run power 16. New Mexico does make the list at 15 and BYU is on the outside looking in, but with some encouragement from Coug Center. The top five are:
15. New Mexico Lobos
Coming out of the starting gates hot the Lobos 12-0 start is laudable, but do they have staying power? That remains to be seen for the now 14-2 team. As part of a Mountain West Conference, which has four teams with RPI rankings of 40 or higher, New Mexico is seeking their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1999. Yes, that would be the Kenny Thomas era. This year's team features combo-guard Darington Hobson, the team's leader in points, assists and rebounds. Please note his slumping field-goal percentage though. Steve Alford's coaching staff may need to address that.
Somebody needs to give BYU a little love, so it might as well be me. They might not be as good as their #6 Pomeroy rating, but they're not far behind. They've got one thing that every team wants: An explosive scorer in Jimmer Fredette. He's awesome. Will people believe after they slap around UNLV and UTEP?
--- Coug Center