Jan. 16, 2012
Mountain West Men's Basketball Weekly Release - Jan. 16, 2012 
A Top-25 clash decided in the final second. A six-point, double-overtime decision. Two wins by visiting teams. All that and more highlighted the opening weekend of Mountain West play last Saturday, setting the stage for what promises to be another exciting race for the regular-season crown.
Notables:
- The Mountain West is the only conference in the country whose teams all have winning records. UNLV (16-3) is one of 11 teams (Syracuse 19-0; Murray State 18-0; Baylor 17-0; Kentucky 17-1; Middle Tennessee 17-2; Saint Mary's 17-2; Creighton 16-2; Ohio State 16-3; Southern Miss 16-3; Oral Roberts 16-4) with at least 16 victories.
- With one non-conference game left on the regular-season schedule (Feb. 8, TCU vs. SMU), the Mountain West is on pace to post the best composite out-of-conference record in the league's 13-year history. MW teams are a collective 99-26 (.792) against non-conference foes in 2011-12, which ranks ahead of the high of .722 (96-37) the league finished with during the 2006-07 campaign. The 2008-09 season is the only other year in which MW teams surpassed the 70 percent win mark in non-conference play, going 101-40 (.716).
- San Diego State (74-14) is one of six teams (Kansas 82-9; Duke 82-12; Kentucky 81-13; Ohio State 80-14; BYU 77-15) to achieve 74 or more wins since the beginning of the 2009-10 season.
- San Diego State's 69-67 win over UNLV in last Saturday's Conference-opening Top-25 clash resulted in movement for both squads in this week's national polls. The Aztecs climbed to No. 16 in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN rankings, while the Runnin' Rebels slipped to 14th and 20th in the AP and Coaches' polls, respectively. New Mexico continues to receive votes in both polls, garnering 61 by the AP voters and 41 from the coaches. The Mountain West is one of six conferences (ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, SEC) to have multiple teams ranked in both polls.
- The Mountain West has the sixth-best conference RPI through games of January 15, according to Collegiate Basketball News. Four Mountain West teams are listed among the top-60 of the Jan. 16 NCAA RPI report, with UNLV leading the pack at No. 10. Colorado State is second at 22nd, followed by San Diego State (37th) and New Mexico (56th). The Mountain West is one of six conferences with multiple teams in the top-22 of the RPI.
- Fans from around the Mountain West can have their men's basketball questions answered by MW Senior Writer Mick McGrane in McGrane's Mailbag. Questions can be submitted several ways - by email (mick@themwc.com), through Twitter (@MWCMick), or by comment on McGrane's Take, the MW official blog on TheMWC.com
- The 2011-12 MW men's basketball schedule features a minimum of 80 telecasts available on a national basis. All 56 Conference regular-season match-ups and all eight MW Championship contests are included in the television broadcasts. MW fans have the opportunity to watch men's basketball games on the league's family of networks - The Mtn. (DirecTV 616), CBS Sports Network (DirecTV 613) and NBC Sports Network (DirecTV 603).
| Coming Up in Mountain West Men's Basketball |
| Game |
Time |
TV |
| TUESDAY, JANUARY 17 |
| *BOISE STATE at COLORADO STATE |
8 p.m. MT |
The Mtn. |
| WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18 |
| *WYOMING at AIR FORCE |
6 p.m. MT |
The Mtn. |
| *TCU at No. 14/20 UNLV |
7:30 p.m. PT |
The Mtn. |
| *No. 16/16 SAN DIEGO STATE at NEW MEXICO |
8 p.m. MT |
CBSSN/4SD |
| SATURDAY, JANUARY 21 |
| *BOISE STATE at TCU |
2:30 p.m. CT |
The Mtn. |
| *COLORADO STATE at WYOMING |
4 p.m. MT |
The Mtn. |
| *AIR FORCE at No. 16/16 SAN DIEGO STATE |
7 p.m. PT |
The Mtn./4SD |
| *NEW MEXICO at No. 14/20 UNLV |
7 p.m. PT |
CBSSN |
| Legend |
| * - Mountain West game. |
| # - TCU Film/Television/Digital Media Production. |
| CAPS denotes Mountain West team. |
| The Mtn. - The MountainWest Sports Network |
DirecTV 616 |
| CBSSN - CBS Sports Network |
DirecTV 613 |
| NBCSN - NBC Sports Network |
DirecTV 603 |
| Rankings listed according to Associated Press / USA Today Coaches' Top-25 polls. |
| All dates and times subject to change. |
| Live stats available for most games. |
