Mountain West Makes Me Look Good

I seem to have a decent grasp on this basketball thing (certainly more of a grasp than, on, say, Pennsylvania family law...), because I said this on Wednesday night:

Don't sleep on any of the Mountain West teams--New Mexico, BYU, UNLV, and San Diego State. I saw a few games this year, and they were the most satisfying to watch. These teams did a lot with their talent, and that was satisfying to see in this frustrating year.

Well, the MWC Semis, I think, proved that assessment correct. You'd be hard pressed to find two better games this week, and as opposed to so many teams who are squandering chances to get in to the tournament so far this week, San Diego State and UNLV made strong cases for inclusion in the field, regardless of the result of tonight's championship game.

SDSU had the weakest resume of the four semi-finalists, but seems to have cemented their spot with their second win over New Mexico this season. Billy White and Kawhi Leonard (a name you will be hearing a lot more from in the future...) played outstanding basketball, and SDSU managed to squeak out a win despite an atrocious shot clock situation, the second large shot clock blunder of Friday's games.

With the game tied at 62 and 2:50 left, New Mexico's Dairese Gary drove the lane and put up a desperation layup that clearly did not draw rim. With 1 second left on the shot clock, the Lobos' A.J. Hardeman pulled down the rebound, went back up, clearly did not release the ball until after the shot clock expired, and scored. Yet there was no call, no violation, not a peep from the officials. Why? Because the Thomas & Mack Center had gotten so loud that the officials could not hear the shot clock buzzer. SDSU coach Steve Fisher was rightly incensed and called a timeout to give the officials a chance to review the video, which they did. And with the video evidence unequivocally showing a violation resulting in no basket, the officials promptly....told Steve Fisher they couldn't review the play because there had been no call made on the floor. A complete travesty that preserved New Mexico's 64-62 lead at the time.

SDSU admirably retained their composure, and D.J. Gay hit an absolutely enormous 3 (for 3 of his 5 points on the night....nice timing) with 1:38 left to put the Aztecs up 70-66. But SDSU wasn't out of the shot clock woods yet. A Dairese Gary 3 had brought New Mexico within one point at 70-69, and SDSU had the ball with 11 seconds left. D.J. Gay badly missed a 3 pointer, and New Mexico rebounded and called timeout with 7 seconds remaining. The only problem was, Gay's 3 had not hit the rim, and so there had actually been a shot clock violation with 11.4 seconds remaining. Remarkably, the officials seemed to be on the verge of putting those seconds back on the clock for New Mexico's final possession! Justice prevailed however, and New Mexico was only left with 7 seconds to score a winning basket. Dairese Gary got all the way to the rim but missed with 1 second left, and Kawhi Leonard rebounded and was fouled. Ballgame. Final Score 72-69.

Also, there was a second thrilling game to come. UNLV and BYU started the game with sizzling shooting on both ends. Here's the play-by-play:

18:34	3-0	BYU	Jackson Emery made 3-pt. Jump Shot
18:16	3-3	UNLV	Chace Stanback made 3-pt. Jump Shot
18:04	6-3	BYU	Jackson Emery made 3-pt. Jump Shot
17:37		BYU	Personal foul on Michael Loyd Jr.
17:28	6-6	UNLV	Chace Stanback made 3-pt. Jump Shot
17:17	9-6	BYU	Jimmer Fredette made 3-pt. Jump Shot
16:59	9-9	UNLV	Tre'Von Willis made 3-pt. Jump Shot
16:29	11-9	BYU	Jimmer Fredette made Leaning Jump Shot
16:09	11-9	UNLV	Darris Santee missed Jump Shot
16:01		BYU	Defensive Rebound by Noah Hartsock
15:54		BYU	Loose ball foul on Noah Hartsock
15:54			TV Timeout
15:43	11-12	UNLV	Oscar Bellfield made 3-pt. Jump Shot, Assist Anthony Marshall
15:17	14-12	BYU	Michael Loyd Jr. made 3-pt. Jump Shot, Assist Jimmer Fredette

By this point, the arena was rocking, and wouldn't stop until the final horn. Jimmer Fredette was frustrated by the smothering defense of Tre'Von Willis, who late in the game lived up to the basketball roots of his last name by limping back to the locker room with a bum ankle and then limped back out soon after to play the final possessions. UNLV got great contributions from Willis, Brice Massamba, Kendal Wallace, Oscar Bellfield, and Chace Stanback, and the Rebs put on a brilliant performance of tremendous ball movement and shooting to sustain a consistent lead. BYU switched to zone to climb back in it late, and went ahead 61-59. But UNLV, like SDSU, showed grit and poise and pulled out the game despite a late surge by Jimmer Fredette. Yet another great game. Final Score 70-66.

The takeaway from these games for anyone who actually watched them is not that New Mexico and BYU are not as good as advertised. Far from it. SDSU and UNLV simply put on great performances with a bid on the line. BYU still showed how absolutely dangerous they can be, with a plethora of dead-eye shooters (Fredette, Jackson Emery, and Jonathan Tavernari), a burgeoning post presence in freshman Brandon Davies, and a lightning quick point guard in Michael Loyd, Jr. They also played the game without important freshman contributor Tyler Haws, who was out for the game with an eye swollen shut from a stray finger the night before. He will be back for the tournament .They push push push on offense and can put points up in a hurry. They will be a very tough 4 or 5 seed. I look for good things from the Mountain West in the dance. And tonight's championship game should be a treat.