Tuesday and Wednesday's slate of games were probably the worst all year. San Diego State beat Utah 85-53, UNLV beat TCU 94-79, and BYU beat Air Force 90-52 in front of a sold out Clune Arena. In the closest game, New Mexico beat Wyoming at home, 68-57. Not only were the matchups bad, but the games were just horrible to watch. Every game was a total beat down in which the losing team forgot how to play defense.
The good news? As our reward for enduring such horrible games, the Mountain West is giving us a fantastic slate of games for Saturday. San Diego State travels to a sold-out Thomas & Mack Center looking to add yet another big win to their resume. New Mexico travels to Moby Arena to face Colorado State, both need this win to put them on the right side of the bubble. Even our third best game has some storyline and wouldn't be bad to watch. Utah faces BYU in the Mariott Center before yet another sold out crowd. Then, of course, there has to be a horrible game, and there is. In the battle of the bottom feeders, Wyoming hosts TCU in the first home game of the Fred Langley era.
Last Week's best game:This one is hard to give out, since all the games were so bad, but Wyoming kept the score close at The Pit against New Mexico before letting the game get out of control at the end. Who would have thought that Wyoming-New Mexico would get a Game of the Week award...
Three things about MWC Basketball
The Examiner (?) takes a look at how realistic it is that Jimmer Fredette can start at the NBA level.
Apparently CSU's Travis Franklin comes from a tough childhood that included going through Hurrican Katrina. The Denver Post relays it pretty well in this post.
Ed Graney, the Las Vegas Review-Journal's sports columnist, points out many problems with the UNLV basketball team.
MWC Standings
By RPI:
| Team | RPI |
| BYU | 2 |
| San Diego State | 5 |
| UNLV | 25 |
| Colorado State | 42 |
| New Mexico | 68 |
| Air Force | 92 |
| Utah | 133 |
| TCU | 164 |
| Wyoming | 267 |
By Record:
| Team | Conference Record | Overall Record |
| San Diego State | 9-1 | 22-1 |
| BYU | 9-1 | 22-2 |
| Colorado State | 6-3 | 16-7 |
| UNLV | 6-4 | 18-6 |
| New Mexico | 5-4 | 17-7 |
| Air Force | 4-6 | 13-10 |
| Utah | 3-7 | 10-14 |
| TCU | 1-9 | 10-15 |
| Wyoming | 1-9 | 8-16 |
Saturday's Matchups:
TCU @ Wyoming
1:30 P.M. MT
Saturday
The Mtn.
Utah @ BYU
4:00 P.M. MT
Saturday
The Mtn.
San Diego State @ UNLV
5:00 P.M. PT
Saturday
CBS College
New Mexico @ Colorado State
7:00 P.M. MT
Saturday
The Mtn.
First thoughts? Why the overlapping times? The first half of New Mexico @ Colorado State is at the same time of the second half of the San Diego State @ UNLV game. It is Saturday, so you aren't entirely restricted to Primetime like you are during the week.
Game of the Week: San Diego State @ UNLV
Honorable Mention - New Mexico @ CSU
New Mexico @ CSU would have been the game of the week, but San Diego State @ UNLV just has much higher stakes. Both games will be interesting to watch and I won't want to miss both. UNLV needs another marquee win to solidify their spot in the NCAA Tournament, while the winner of New Mexico @ CSU stays in the hunt for a 4th NCAA Tournament bid for the MWC. Great headlines.
Follow Mountain West Connection via Twitter and Facebook for News Quick Hits and Random Nonsense.
Follow rebelfan1_ via Twitter for News on UNLV and the Mountain West Connference.