MWC Men's Basketball Weekly Release

Five of the nine MWC teams will open the 2007-08 campaign on their home court.

Nov. 6, 2007

Complete Release in PDF Format

EXHIBITION RESULTS

Wednesday, October 31
Brock University 66, @AIR FORCE 63 (exh.)

Thursday, November 1
@COLORADO STATE 81, Regis 75 (exh.)
@UTAH 83, Montana Tech 40 (exh.)

Friday, November 2
@BYU 91, Laval Rouge et Or 60 (exh.)
@NEW MEXICO 94, Eastern New Mexico 50 (exh.)

Saturday, November 3
@WYOMING 88, Regis 62 (exh.)
@COLORADO STATE 107, Chadron State 76 (exh.)

Monday, November 5
@SAN DIEGO STATE 63, Point Loma Nazarene 53 (exh.)

Tuesday, November 6
LCC International at TCU (exh.), 7 p.m. CT
CSU-Pueblo at WYOMING (exh.), 7 p.m. MT
Washburn at UNLV (exh.), 7:30 p.m. PT
Northwest Nazarene at UTAH (exh.), 7:30 p.m. MT

Wednesday, November 7
Bryant University at BYU (exh.), 7 p.m.

UPCOMING REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE

Friday, November 9
Fresno State Tournament (Fresno, Calif.)
SAN DIEGO STATE vs. Liberty, 5:30 p.m. PT
COLORADO STATE at Montana, 7 p.m. MT
NEW MEXICO at Colorado, 7 p.m. MT
South Carolina Upstate at UTAH, 7 p.m. MT
Montana State at UNLV, 7:30 p.m. PT
AIR FORCE TOURNAMENT
Dartmouth at AIR FORCE, 8 p.m. MT

Saturday, November 10
AIR FORCE TOURNAMENT
VMI or Northern Colorado at AIR FORCE, TBD
BYU at Long Beach State, 2 p.m. PT
Angelo State at TCU, 7 p.m. CT
CU-Colorado Springs at WYOMING, 7 p.m. MT
Fresno State Tournament (Fresno, Calif.)
SAN DIEGO STATE vs. Portland, 8 p.m. PT

Sunday, November 11
Fresno State Tournament (Fresno, Calif.)
SAN DIEGO STATE at Fresno State, 4 p.m. PT

*Mountain West Conference game.
All times listed are local to game site and subject to change.
Rankings are listed in order of Associated Press/USA Today-ESPN Coaches poll.

2008 NCAA TOURNAMENT IN DENVER
The road to the 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Division I Championship runs through Denver, as the Pepsi Center (19,555) will serve as one of eight host facilities for the first- /second-round session of the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. Tickets for the March 20 and 22 contests are sold out, but the NCAA will conduct an open practice day, showcasing all eight teams at the Denver site, on Wednesday, March 19, 2008.

MWC CHAMPIONSHIP RETURNS TO LAS VEGAS
The MWC Championship returns to the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev., for the sixth time in the league's nine-year history. The MWC Tournament was held in Las Vegas from 2000-2003 before moving to Denver's Pepsi Center for three years (2004-06). The 2009 and 2010 MWC Tournaments will also take place at the Thomas & Mack Center.

NEW FACES IN THE CROWD
During the offseason, there were 61 coaching changes in men's basketball at the Division I level. The Mountain West is one of two conferences (Missouri Valley) that underwent five coaching changes during this period. Jeff Reynolds takes over the reins at Air Force after serving as the Falcons' assistant coach the previous three seasons. Former North Dakota State skipper Tim Miles is the new head coach at Colorado State, while former Iowa head coach Steve Alford begins his first season in charge of the New Mexico program. Utah heads into the `07-08 season under the direction of former Michigan State assistant coach Jim Boylen, while Heath Schroyer takes over at Wyoming after serving as associate head coach at Fresno State for the past two years.

HOME OPENERS
Five of the nine MWC teams will open the 2007-08 campaign on their home court. Colorado State has won all eight of its home openers in Moby Arena since the inception of the Mountain West Conference in 1999, while Air Force has won six straight home openers at Clune Arena. Below is a look at MWC home openers since 1999-2000:

HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE
The Mountain West Conference boasts two of the nation's Top 15 longest home win streaks. BYU, which ranks second behind Memphis (32), brings a 31-game win streak at the Marriott Center into the 2007-08 season, while UNLV, tied for 10th, is riding a 17- game win streak at the Thomas & Mack Center. Here is a look at the nation's longest active home court win streaks entering the 2007-08 season (data from NCAA website):

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS AT HOME
Air Force boasts the nation's third-best non-conference home win streak with 34 consecutive victories in Clune Arena. Duke leads all of Division I basketball with a 51-game home win streak over non-conference opponents, followed by Sam Houston State (35 games). Below is a look at the nation's longest active non-conference home win streaks entering the 2007-08 season (data from Stats, Inc.):

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS ON THE ROAD
Air Force has also been successful in its non-conference outings away from Clune Arena, as the Falcons are currently tied for the nation's longest win streak in non-conference road games with five consecutive wins on their opponents' home courts. UNLV is tied for the sixth-longest active win streak in non-conference road contests with four straight wins. Below is a look at the nation's longest active non-conference road win streaks entering the 2007-08 season (data from Stats, Inc.):

MWC PLAYERS IN THE NBA
As of October 30, 2007, NBA opening-day rosters featured 13 individuals who played their collegiate careers at current Mountain West Conference institutions, including Colorado State's Jason Smith, who was selected as the No. 20 pick in the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft by the Miami Heat, then immediately traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Jason Smith, Colorado State (Philadelphia 76ers)
Danny Granger, New Mexico (Indiana Pacers)
Kenny Thomas, New Mexico (Sacramento Kings)
Kurt Thomas, TCU (Seattle Supersonics)
Louis Amundson, UNLV (Philadelphia 76ers)
Joel Anthony, UNLV (Miami Heat)
Marcus Banks, UNLV (Phoenix Suns)
Shawn Marion, UNLV (Phoenix Suns)
Andrew Bogut, Utah (Milwaukee Bucks)
Michael Doleac, Utah (Minnesota Timberwolves)
Andre Miller, Utah (Philadelphia 76ers)
Theo Ratliff, Wyoming (Minnesota Timberwolves)
Justin Williams, Wyoming (Sacramento Kings)