WEEK 10 REVIEW
Nailbiting thrillers dominated mid-week MWC action in Week 10 as three of four contests
were decided by a combined total of 12 points, with two of those games going into overtime.
On Tuesday, TCU rallied from an 18-point second-half deficit to defeat New Mexico (74-72),
while UNLV held BYU to its lowest scoring output of the season in a 70-41 victory over the
Cougars. Wednesday's two games were both overtime affairs as Air Force snapped a sixgame
road losing streak, defeating Wyoming (64-62) in Laramie on a last-second bucket for
the second straight year, while San Diego State went 8-of-8 from the free throw line in
overtime to hold off visiting Utah, 64-56, in Cox Arena.
All four MWC games on Saturday will be televised, with a pair of national broadcasts
highlighting the day's action. BYU and Utah square off in a rivalry match-up in Salt Lake
City that will air on VERSUS (2 p.m. MT), while San Diego State and Wyoming close out
the day in a CSTV-televised outing in San Diego (8 p.m. PT). Rounding out Saturday's
slate is a doubleheader on The Mtn.-MountainWest Sports Network featuring TCU at
Colorado State (1:30 p.m. MT) and Air Force at New Mexico (4 p.m. MT).
MWC ON TELEVISION
The 2007-08 MWC men's basketball package features a minimum of 100 games on national
and regional television, including 27 to be broadcast nationally with 19 on CSTV and seven
on VERSUS. Sixty-three of the 72 conference match-ups, and seven of eight MWC
Championship contests are included in the television package. Seventy-five games will be
shown on The Mtn. - MountainWest Sports Network, and two of the 100 televised contests
will feature simulcasts on The Mtn. and CSTV.
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
With one non-conference opponent (Cal State-Bakersfield at Wyoming, Feb. 6) remaining
on the schedule, the Mountain West is on pace to record its ninth consecutive season with
an overall winning percentage of 61 percent or greater in non-conference play. Last year,
MWC teams combined to win a league-record 72.2 percent of their games outside of the
conference. This season, MWC teams own a collective 82-41 (66.7%) mark against nonleague
opponents.
MWC SCORING LEADERS
The six leading scorers in the MWC are all juniors, led by Wyoming's Brandon Ewing (17.5
ppg). Overall, the junior class accounts for 12 of the league's top 20 scoring averages. Air
Force's Tim Anderson (7th/15.1 ppg) is the top-ranked senior, while BYU's Jonathan
Tavernari heads up the sophomore class, ranking 13th with 13.6 points a game. In
addition, San Diego State's Billy White is contributing 8.4 points as the top freshman scorer.
MWC IRONMEN
Three Mountain West players are averaging 35 minutes or more a game this season.
Wyoming guards Brad Jones and Brandon Ewing, the league's top two ironmen a year
ago, are making a bid to repeat the effort in 2007-08 as Ewing leads the MWC with an
average of 38.0 minutes played, while Jones is third (35.64 mpg). Air Force's Tim
Anderson ranks second, averaging 35.88 minutes on the court.
NEWCOMERS HAVING IMPACT
Several MWC newcomers are making their mark this season as five junior college
transfers (Colorado State's Marcus Walker and Willis Gardner, San Diego State's Ryan
Amoroso and TCU's Henry Salter and John Ortiz) and two freshmen (SDSU's Billy
White and BYU's Chris Collinsworth) find themselves ranked among the Conference's
scoring and/or rebounding leaders. Walker leads CSU and ranks second in the league
in scoring (16.8 ppg), while Gardner is 15th (12.9 ppg). Salter is the Horned Frogs' top
scorer (15.5 ppg) and rebounder (5.6 rpg), ranking fifth and 13th in the league,
respectively, while Ortiz is 16th with a 5.3 rebounding average. Amoroso, the 2007-08
MWC Preseason Newcomer of the Year, and White are ranked ninth (6.0 rpg) and 14th
(5.5 rpg), respectively. Collinsworth is tied for 18th with 5.1 rebounds per game.
INDIVIDUAL NOTABLES
Air Force's Tim Anderson has averaged 20.8 points over the Falcons' last four games,
including a career-high 30 points in a Dec. 30 outing at Wake Forest and a 27-point
performance in a Jan. 12 win over UNLV. Anderson, who came into the season with a
9.1 career scoring average, leads the Falcons and ranks seventh in the league with 15.1
points per game.
BYU teammates Trent Plaisted (15.9 ppg/9.1 rpg) and Lee Cummard (15.4 ppg/6.2
rpg) are currently the only two MWC players ranked among the league's Top 10 in both
scoring and rebounding.
Colorado State's Andre McFarland went 0-for-2 from three-point range in the Rams'
Jan. 12 loss at BYU, ending a streak of five consecutive games with at least two made
three-pointers. The freshman forward entered the contest having made 12-of-18 treys
over that five-game span. He leads the team with a 55.2 percent conversion rate from
behind the arc, hitting 16-of-29 attempts this season.
New Mexico's Jamaal Smith is averaging 9.7 points and 19.8 minutes per game off the
bench for the Lobos this sesason while shooting 56.8 percent (50-of-88) from the field,
including a team-high 53.5 percent (23-of-43) from 3-point range.
San Diego State's Lorrenzo Wade is enjoying a hot streak of late, leading the Aztecs to
a 4-1 record over the last five games, including the program's first 3-0 start to MWC
play. The junior forward, who is coming off back-to-back 20-point outings in wins over
New Mexico and Utah, has averaged 19.0 points and 5.6 rebounds over that five-game
span while also contributing 14 assists, eight steals and six blocks.
TCU's Henry Salter is 13-of-21 (61.9%) from three-point range over his last three games.
He has shot 60 percent or better from behind the arc in six games this season to lead the
league and rank second nationally in trey shooting percentage (51.6%).
UNLV senior guard Wink Adams has converted 65-of-72 free throws to lead the league
and rank ninth nationally (90.3%). A career 78.4 percent free throw shooter, Adams has
been perfect from the charity stripe in 10 of 17 games this season. His 5-of-7
performance in Wednesday's win over BYU marked the first time since Jan. 27, 2007
(10-of-12 vs. New Mexico) Adams had missed more than two foul shots in a game.
Utah sophomore Luka Drca has averaged 5.1 assists per game over his last six outings.
He leads the team with 43 helpers, despite coming off the bench.
Wyoming freshman center Adam Waddell will sit out the remainder of the 2007-08
season. The freshman center played in only six games for the Cowboys before suffering
a stress fracture in his left foot. He was averaging 4.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 11.7
minutes per game at the time of his injury.
