Final Standings in MWC Close to a Dead Heat

It was an interesting year. The two teams that evolved as the best two teams in the Mountain West ended up being just that. I’m talking about New Mexico and San Diego State, of course, and both have been pretty solid throughout the year. The Lobos finished 19-9-1 (that cursed tie with San Jose State) and San Diego State finished at 20-10. That puts the Lobos atop the standings by .005 percentage points. Again, that cursed tie. San Diego State had their chances to overtake the Lobos but lost two of three at home to Fresno State. The Bulldogs ended up third with Nevada sneaking it at fourth with a losing record (13-16 and 19-34 overall). This all reminds me of the Eastern Conference in the NBA, especially in past years when terrible teams still made the playoffs.

You know what I’m talking about. Wolf Pack fans are saying “Anything can happen!” and they’re right. But that just proves a point I’ve been trying to make for years; end of year conference tournaments are worthless. If the Pack wins it all by the unlikeliest of circumstances, then what chance does the MWC have on proving they belong in the NCAA Tournament - at all?

That’s the lot of a one bid conference and the MWC is not the only one guilty of that. The SEC or other big boy conferences don’t have that worry as more than one team gets a bid. I could go on but I won’t. You know my position and you’ve heard it before.

Oh, and where is the MWC being held? In Albuquerque which should benefit the Lobos when they play the second game against Nevada this Thursday at 6 PM. Those two just finished a three game series where Nevada almost swept the Lobos. If nothing else, they know each other by now. The opening game will be Fresno State and San Diego State at 2 PM in the double elimination tournament.

Which team do I favor? Why San Jose State, of course. Sick humor. This is actually rather a tough decision as SDSU and New Mexico both have strong points; Lobo with offensive power and the Aztecs pretty good pitching. But, and this is a big but, I lean toward the Bulldogs of Fresno State.

They are hitting quite well (in a hitting conference) but the pitching is not nearly as good as I thought it would be. However, Ricky Tyler Thomas pitched 6+ innings in the first game with SDSU and shut them out while he was on the mound. I suspect he will start the first game of the tournament and I think he should prevail but the second half of the season was unkind for him. Fresno should win out if they get the pitching.

So there.