For the fourth time in the nine-year history of the Mountain West Conference, four
teams topped the 20-win mark, with BYU (27-7), New Mexico (24-8), San Diego State
(20-12) and UNLV (26-7) hitting the benchmark this season. In nine years of the
MWC, all 29 teams that have had 20 or more wins prior to "Selection Sunday" have
been invited to the postseason. Overall, the MWC has had 36 postseason bids since its
inception in 1999-2000.
BYU enters postseason action ranked No. 24 in the Associated Press poll and is
receiving votes in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll, along with UNLV.
BYU and UNLV were included in the field of 65 for the 2008 NCAA Tournament,
marking the seventh straight year the Mountain West has had at least one at-large
qualifier on Selection Sunday. In nine years, the MWC has had 20 NCAA bids,
including 12 at-large berths. New Mexico and San Diego State secured bids to the
National Invitation Tournament, while Utah was invited to participate in the
inaugural College Basketball Invitational.
Number eight seed and MWC Tournament champion UNLV (26-7) will square off
against No. 9 seed Kent State (28-6) in the Midwest Regional at the Qwest Center in
Omaha, Neb. Mountain West regular-season champion BYU (27-7) earned a No. 8
seed in the West Regional and will face No. 9 seed Texas A&M (24-10) at the Honda
Center in Anaheim, Calif. The two No. 8 rankings mark the two highest seeds the
Mountain West Conference has ever received in the same NCAA Tournament.
UNLV is meeting Kent State for the first time. BYU is 1-0 all-time vs. Texas A&M,
claiming an 83-81 victory in the two teams' only other meeting on Dec. 28, 1972.
UNLV earned the league's automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Tournament for the second
straight year, while BYU earned an at-large bid for the fourth time in six years. The
Runnin' Rebels are making their 16th NCAA appearance, while the Cougars will be
making their 22rd trip to the Big Dance.
First-round action of the NIT gets underway Wednesday, March 19, for New Mexico
and San Diego State. The Lobos, who are making their first appearance in the NIT
since 2002, received a No. 5 seed and will travel to No. 4 seed California (16-15). The
Aztecs, a No. 7 seed in their region, travel to No. 2 seed Florida (21-11) in their fourth
NIT appearance.
New Mexico is 1-3 all-time vs. California, while San Diego State captured a 63-62
victory in its only other match-up with Florida on Dec. 21, 1985.
BYU and UNLV are on opposite sides of the NCAA Tournament bracket, meaning
the only opportunity for the Cougars and the Rebels to dance with each other again
this season would be in the national championship game. The last time two teams
from the same league squared off against each other for the national title was in 1988,
when Kansas defeated Oklahoma, 83-79, as members of what was then known as the
Big 8 Conference.
COUGARS CAPTURE FOURTH MWC REGULAR-SEASON CROWN
With its fourth MWC regular season title, BYU becomes the first team in Mountain West
history to claim back-to-back outright regular-season crowns. This marks the second time
the Cougars have won consecutive championships, having shared back-to-back crowns in
1999-00 and 2000-01. BYU and Utah are now tied for the league lead with at least a share
of four regular-season championship titles apiece in nine years, followed by Wyoming
with two during that span. Air Force and UNLV have claimed one title each. Air Force
(2003-04), BYU, (2006-07, 2007-08), Utah (2004-05), San Diego State (2005-06) and Wyoming
(2001-02) are the only teams to date to win an outright MWC title.
REBELS CLAIM THIRD MWC TOURNAMENT CROWN
UNLV became the first team to claim back-to-back Mountain West tournament crowns,
defeating regular-season champion and top seed BYU, 76-61, in the tourney finals on March
15. The contest marked only the third time in league history the No. 1 and 2 seeds squared
off in the championship game. The Runnin' Rebels began their quest for a third MWC
Tournament crown with an 89-88 win over TCU in quarterfinal action and an 61-55 victory
over Utah in the semifinals before meeting up with the Cougars in the finals. For the second
straight year, a crowd of 16,000-plus was on hand to watch the championship game.
GOING DANCING
Over its nine-year history, the Mountain West has received 20 bids to the NCAA
Tournament, including 12 at-large berths. The MWC has had at least one at-large qualifier in
eight of those nine years, including seven straight. The only year in which the MWC sent a
lone representative to the Big Dance was in 2000-01, when BYU, Utah and Wyoming shared
the regular-season title and the Cougars captured the league's automatic bid by winning the
MWC Tournament. Below is a breakdown of the league's NCAA participants by year. The
Mountain West was not eligible to receive an automatic bid in its first year (1999-00). UNLV
and Utah earned at-large bids to the 2000 NCAA Tournament.
NATIONAL HONORS
A total of eight Mountain West individuals have been honored for their efforts on the court
this season. UNLV's Lon Kruger and New Mexico's J.R. Giddens have been named the
United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) District VIII Coach and Player of the
Year, respectively, with Giddens joining four other MWC student-athletes on the all-District
team. Additionally, the Mountain West placed seven student-athletes on the National
Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) all-District Teams, marking the seventh straight
year the league was represented by at least five honorees.
UNLV'S KRUGER NAMED FINALIST FOR HENRY IBA AWARD
In addition to his USBWA District VIII Coach of the Year award, UNLV head coach Lon
Kruger is one of 12 finalists for the organization's Henry Iba Award, which is presented
annually to the nation's coach of the year. Kruger has led the Rebels to a 26-7 overall record
and an 12-4 MWC mark this season, marking the first back-to-back 20-win campaigns for
UNLV since 2001-02 and 2002-03. In February, Kruger became the 32nd individual among
active Division I coaches to register 400 victories. He currently boasts a 408-274 (.598) record
over a 22-year collegiate career that has included stops at Texas-Pan American (1982-86),
Kansas State (1986-90), Florida (1990-96), Illinois (1996-00) and UNLV. At each of those
institutions, Kruger has produced at least one 20-win season within four years of his arrival,
racking up 10 NCAA Tournament appearances in the process. Kruger is only the second
head coach in college basketball history to lead at least four different schools to multiple
NCAA appearances (UNLV 2, Illinois 3, Florida 2 and Kansas State 4). He joins Jim Harrick,
who did it with Pepperdine (4), UCLA (8), Rhode Island (2) and Georgia (2). Last year, Kruger
became the fourth head coach to take three different teams to the Sweet 16 (joining Rick
Pitino, Bill Self and Tubby Smith).
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
The nation's longest active home win streak resides in the Mountain West Conference as No.
BYU has won 47 consecutive games in the Marriott Center. In addition, UNLV's 15-game win
streak at the Thomas & Mack Center is 11th nationally. The Cougars' 47-game run in Provo is
a new school and MWC record for consecutive home victories, breaking BYU's former mark
of 44 games, which ran from Feb. 19, 2000 to Jan. 16, 2003. The Cougars have not lost in the
Marriott Center since an 81-73 setback to Loyola Marymount on Nov. 18, 2005.
