Category: San Diego State

Rocky Long Is Reportedly To Step Down As San Diego State Head Coach

Rocky Long Is Reportedly To Step Down As San Diego State Head Coach A new era in San Diego. Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire Long expeced to resign. It has been a wild few days for San Diego State football and it is wrapping up with multiple …

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Rocky Long Is Reportedly To Step Down As San Diego State Head Coach

A new era in San Diego.

Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire

Long expeced to resign.

It has been a wild few days for San Diego State football and it is wrapping up with multiple reports that head coach Rocky Long is going to step down with defensive line coach Brady Hoke taking over. This will be Hoke’s second stint as the Aztecs head coach.

There is a press conference scheduled for 2 p.m. PT to make the news.

This news comes after reports that Long was shopping himself as a defensive coordinator and meeting with Syracuse about that option early this week. When talking about those reports, Long was wishy-washy on giving a straight answer when asked about his status and San Diego State and him looking around at other jobs.

The San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that Long met with his staff today to tell them about the news is stepping down.

Long did say he hoped to meet with the staff and “plan on mapping out where we go from there.” Now that is the case as he is stepping away as he approaches his 70th birthday.

Long brought the Aztecs to heights it has not seen since Don Coryell who won 104 games. Long is second most in wins in Aztecs history with an 81-38 record and four seasons of 10 or more wins.

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Can San Diego State Be A No. 1 Seed?

What happens if the Aztecs keep on winning?

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San Diego State is a 1 seed. Can they stay there?

Contact/Follow  @aztecbreakdown & @MWCwire

Recently, Jerry Palm of CBS Sports released a new bracket projection and in it, San Diego State was the No. 1 seed in the South region. Aztec fans are not shy about telling you how good their team is, and the national media is starting to jump on the band wagon.

The first question that must be asked is, has SDSU earned a No. 1 seed at this point. I’d say they have.

They are 15-0, which isn’t easy regardless of who you play. They are ranked No. 1 in the NET, the system the committee uses to help seed teams. On top of that, SDSU is 6-0 in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games. The other No. 1 seeds are Duke, Butler, and Gonzaga, at 5-1, 8-1, and 3-1 in quad 1 and 2 games, respectively. The Aztec’s schedule isn’t the strongest at 103, but it is way ahead of Gonzaga’s at 213, so if you don’t complain about Gonzaga not beating anyone than you can’t complain about SDSU not beating anyone.

Could an argument be made for two other teams to jump up and take the spots of San Diego State and Gonzaga? Sure. However, that is not the same thing as saying San Diego State isn’t deserving.

Having established that San Diego State has earned a 1 seed to thins point, what do they need to do to stay there? It can be a little bit tricky. If they enter the tournament undefeated they will likely be a 1 seed.

Their record in quad 1 and quad 2 games at that point would likely be around 12-0 to 14-0 (counting the conference tournament) depending on how the rest of the conference does. That being said, KenPom has the odds of the Aztecs finishing undefeated at 6.4%. With travel and altitude being such big factors in the Mountain West, it’s tough to win on the road. In addition, this San Diego State team almost lost at home to San Jose State a few weeks ago. Anything can happen.

What if they only lose one game?

Matt Norlander said in the Eye on College Basketball podcast that he thinks if SDSU loses only one game, including the conference tournament, they will be a No. 1 seed, regardless of who the loss is to. I’m no bracketology expert, but I could see that happening. I think it would also somewhat depend on how the other teams that are high in the bracket perform. Teams like Kansas and Ohio State have more opportunities for wins against Quality opponents, so if they go on a tear and the Aztecs drop one to a Wyoming or Air Force team, I could see them falling out of that top spot.

What if they lose two games?

This is where things get interesting. Will the committee, who likely doesn’t watch much Aztec basketball due to late tip off times, put SDSU as a No. 1 seed if they’ve lost two games? Some of it would depend on who they lose to. If one of those losses is to Utah State in the conference tournament final, maybe the committee lets them keep the 1 seed. If they lose to Colorado State and UNLV at home in the same week (end of February), then it wouldn’t be hard for me to believe that the east coast bias would kick in and the committee would drop the Aztecs down the bracket.

As a point of discussion, I also wonder if SDSU should want the No. 1 seed. I know, but let me explain. Receiving a 1 seed would be an awesome accomplishment. That being said, making the first Elite 8 or even the first Final Four in school history would be a better accomplishment. As a one seed in the South region, which is where this bracket has them, SDSU would play the first two rounds in Sacramento, where some fans could travel but many wouldn’t, and then play the next weekend in Houston (assuming they make it that far). As a No. 2 seed in the West region (assuming Gonzaga remains the 1 seed) the first games would be played in St. Louis, and then the second-weekend games would be played in L.A. at the Staples Center.

The chance to play a sweet 16 game in front of a home crowd is very appealing. The argument could be made that a 1 seed would be more valuable than a home crowd, but it is something worth thinking about.

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Mountain West Wire’s Player of The Year Watch List: Week Nine

Mountain West Wire’s Player of The Year Watch List: Week Nine Take A Look At the Best Performances Around the Mountain West In Week Nine Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire Who is in the running for Player of the Year? Malachi Flynn creates a …

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Mountain West Wire’s Player of The Year Watch List: Week Nine

Take A Look At the Best Performances Around the Mountain West In Week Nine

Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

Who is in the running for Player of the Year? Malachi Flynn creates a two-way tie for first. 

The staff at the Mountain West Wire wanted to do something a little different this year. We are going to keep track of the top performers from teams around the Mountain West throughout the year and vote on who had the best performances that week. 

How it works description now at the bottom of the article

The order for the ninth week is as follows:

1. Malachi Flynn, junior guard San Diego State (5 Points)

16 Points, 5 Rebounds and 1 Assist against Fresno State

22 Points, 5 Rebounds and 4 Assists against Utah State

Malachi Flynn has been just what Aztec fans have been waiting for in the Brian Dutcher era. He runs this Aztec team with precision, knocks down shots in big moments and has San Diego State at 15-0 (4-0 MW) on the season.

Flynn had a big week, with the Aztec’s garnering a staple conference win against what looked like their biggest challenger in Utah State. He also has San Diego State ranked No. 7 in both the AP and Coaches polls and has contributed greatly to a defense ranked 12th in the nation per KenPom.

The Aztecs have ascended to another level of play with Flynn in the lineup and with this week’s first place finish, he is now tied atop the rankings with Derrick Alston Jr. of Boise State with 14 points each. This confirms his place in the conference for many covering the Mountain West this year and with the momentum he and the Aztecs currently have I can’t see too much disrupting his run for player of the year.

2. David Roddy, freshman guard Colorado State (4 Points):

17 Points and 5 Rebounds against Nevada

19 Points, 13 Rebounds and 3 Blocks against Wyoming

3. Jazz Johnson, senior guard Nevada  (3 Points):

9 Points, 4 Rebounds and 1 Assist against Colorado State

34 Points, 7 Rebounds and 2 assists against Boise State

4.  Bryce Hamilton, sophomore guard UNLV (2 Points):

20 Points, 6 Rebounds and 1 Steal against Utah State

15 Points, 3 Rebounds and 1 Steal against Air Force

5. Orlando Robinson, freshman forward Fresno State (1 Point):

23 Points, 14 Rebounds and 4 Assists against San Jose State

11 Points, 3 Rebounds and 2 Blocks against San Diego State

Past Weeks:

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3| Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8

Current Overall Point Totals:

Derrick Alston Jr, junior guard BSU (14 Points)

Malachi Flynn, junior guard San Diego State (14 Points)

JaQuan Lyle, senior guard UNM (11 Points)

Sam Merrill, senior guard USU (11 Points)

Jalen Harris, junior guard Nevada (9 Points)

Jazz Johnson, senior guard Nevada (9 Points)

Nico Carvacho, senior center CSU (7 Points)

Hunter Maldonado, sophomore guard Wyoming (7 Points)

Alphonso Anderson, junior guard USU (5 Points)

Carlton Bragg Jr., senior forward New Mexico (5 Points)

Lindsey Drew, senior guard Nevada (5 Points)

Justinian Jessup, senior guard Boise State (5 Points)

Justin Bean, sophomore forward USU (4 Points)

Amauri Hardy, junior guard UNLV (4 Points)

Orlando Robinson, freshman forward Fresno State (4 Points)

David Roddy, freshman guard Colorado State (4 Points)

Isaiah Stevens, freshman guard Colorado State (4 Points)

Roderick “RJ” Williams, senior forward Boise State (3 Points)

Bryce Hamilton, sophomore guard UNLV (2 Points)

Corey Manigault, senior forward New Mexico (2 Points)

Jordan Schakel, junior guard SDSU (2 Points)

Donnie Tillman, junior forward UNLV (2 Points)

Abu Kigab, junior forward Boise State (1 Point)

How It Works: 

Each person will award 15 points in total to five players and should award it as so:

1st place (Player of the week): 5 pts

2nd place: 4 pts

3rd place: 3 pts

4th place: 2 pts

5th place: 1 pt

The player with the most points total will be our player of the week and we will keep track of the point totals every week so that the player who has the most at the end of the year will receive the Mountain West Wire Player of the Year award. Just copy the players below and type your names above it like we do for the pick them docs we get and award your points. 

Now some guys made the list and others didn’t. A big thing to think about was consistency throughout the week. Something that hurt some guys was having a decent game one day and a bad one the other day. Guys who made the list had a great game one day and a good one on other days, or good games both days.

This column will come out on Sunday nights or Monday mornings depending on how late some games finish on Sundays. 

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Is Rocky Long Considering Taking A Defensive Coordinator Job?

Rocky Long is shopping himself to be a defensive coordinator?

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Is Rocky Long Considering Taking A Defensive Coordinator Job?

Will the Aztecs need a new head coach?

Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire

Rocky Long to the ACC?

Count this as news that came out of nowhere as Pete Thamel of Yahoo is reporting that San Diego State head coach Rocky Long is looking to be a defensive coordinator.

This is very odd that Long who is going to turn 70 in three weeks would leave the head coaching job of San Diego State to take a defensive coordinator job.

First of all, he is doing this all wrong because usually when one gets older they go from cold to warm weather and not the other way around.

Back to being serious, Long is getting up there in age and may want to slow down from being a head coach to being a defensive coordinator. The only school named is Syracuse is odd and if this is true it would stand to believe that he has spoken to other teams.

Also, it should be noted that Long gave a qualifier when discussing this report from Yahoo when speaking to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

“As of now, I’m still the head football coach at San Diego State,” Long said.

That ”as of now” is a very interesting phrase to a guy who went to a great length of mental gymnastics when discussing him looking to be a defensive coordinator.

Here is that exchange:

Informed of reports on Twitter, Long said, “I don’t let Twitter speak for me. There’s nothing on Twitter that I said.”

Is Twitter accurate?

“I don’t know,” he said. “I haven’t read any Twitter.”

Told that Twitter said he was at Syracuse, Long said, “I haven’t read it, so I’m not commenting.”

What Long would say is: “I haven’t made any obvious changes in my status. The coaching staff comes back from Christmas vacation on Wednesday and we have our first staff meeting and we plan on mapping out where we go from there.”

Long also would not comment on reports he was “shopping” for a defensive coordinator job at a Power Five school.

“I don’t talk about rumors,” he said.

What if Long had read Twitter, would his answer be any different than the short answers that clearly allowed for follow up questions? Also, why not give a full denial from the start instead of taking a handful of questions about the Twitter report?

 

This all seems very odd that Long would be putting himself out there to take a defensive coordinator role and also his responses are odd to fairly direct questions.

 

It should be noted that Long was not in the office but the staff was away for Christmas vacation and he said he was talking football but would not divulge with who.

Athletics director John David Wicker released a lengthy statement on this news and tried to spin it as Long spending time with other programs about his 3-3-5 defense. However, usually, those visits are rarely kept private and a lot of time those tours and conversations happen when the opposing team has spring practices.

“We have seen the reports circu

lating today concerning our head football coach Rocky Long. As he does every season, Rocky visits other programs throughout the country to talk about his unique 3-3-5 defense and to get ideas he may wish to implement into our program.

“After every season, as I do with all our programs, I sit down with Rocky to discussways that we can improve our program. We are currently in that process now.

“I am proud of the many successes on and off the field by our football program. We are one of 13 programs to make 10 consecutive bowl seasons and one of just 10 schools to reach double-digit victories in four of the last five seasons.

“As I have stated many times since accepting the position at San Diego State, Rocky Long will be our head coach as long as he wants to be, and Rocky Long is still our head coach.”

Overall, this is one of the wildest offseason news reports that has been out there. Long is a guy who can coach at San Diego State as long as he wants and on a certain level it makes sense he would want to slow down at 70 but he doesn’t want to stop coaching altogether.

 

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Short-Handed San Diego State Tops Utah State,77-68

San Diego State is the class of the Mountain West after taking care of Utah State in Logan.

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Short-Handed San Diego State Tops Utah State

Aztecs earn a big Mountain West road win

Contact/Follow @MWCwire

SDSU could be a top 10 team after this win

This game seemed set for the Utah State Aggies to pull out an upset victory. They were coming off a loss, had gotten their all-league big man back, and the Aztecs were missing their starting center. Someone forgot to tell San Diego State as the short-handed Aztecs beat the Aggies in Logan, Utah 77-68.

In the first half, the Aztecs handed it to the Aggies, however, the free throw line kept the Aggies close. San Diego State got some solid play from Matt Mitchell and Trey Pulliam in the first, but 10+ fouls by the Aztecs put Utah State on the line, allowing them to stay within striking distance. Utah State had to feel pretty good going into the break down just seven.

After the break the Aztecs kept pushing the tempo and the scoreboard, extending their lead up to 16. But halfway through the second the Aggies went on a run behind Sam Merrill, who had been quiet for most of the first half, and Neemias Queta. But every time the Aggies cut the lead to seven the Aztecs hit a big shot to extend the lead.

Merrill led the Aggies with 26 points, while Queta recorded a double-double (15 points and 13 rebounds). No other Aggie was in double figures, although Abel Porter played well and ended up with nine.

San Diego State had four players in double figure scoring. Flynn led the way with 22 points; including a perfect 10-10 from the line. Mitchell followed up with 19 points and seven rebounds. Jordan Schakel had 11 points and shot 3-4 from beyond the arc. Yanni Wetzell scored 10 points, had five rebounds and played some strong defense on Queta.

With four teams losing in the top 10 on Saturday, all signs point to the Aztecs not just moving up but likely into the top 10 of both the AP and coaches poll.

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Mountain West Football: Bowl Season Winners and Losers

We look at the biggest winners and losers from the Mountain West’s seven bowl games.

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Mountain West Football: Bowl Season Winners and Losers

We look back to take stock of the biggest winners and losers from the Mountain West’s seven bowl games.

Contact/Follow @MattK_FS & @MWCwire

Some encouragement and some letdowns from the postseason that was.

Well, it had to end sometime.

The Mountain West wrapped up bowl season with a 4-3 record and certainly brought with it a great deal of excitement. While it’s naive to tease out a lot of meaning from what amounts to seven exhibitions, we can still look back one last time to see who stood out and who might be thinking a lot about what might have been in the long off-season.

Here are Mountain West bowl season’s winners and losers.

Winners

Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl – Utah State wide receiver Siaosi Mariner. He didn’t get all that much attention in the vacuum to replace all of last year’s pass-catching star power, but Mariner’s bowl performance — seven catches, 113 yards, two touchdowns — helped to put a bow on what was arguably the best season by an Aggie wide receiver in the last ten years.

New Mexico Bowl – San Diego State running back Jordan Byrd. The Aztecs thumping Central Michigan was easily the most surprising result of the Mountain West’s bowl season, but the most pleasant part of that surprise was the surge from a running game that often scuffled in 2019.

Byrd, making a return home to his native New Mexico, finally put up the kind of numbers (17 carries, 139 yards and a touchdown) we’d been accustomed to seeing from San Diego State in years past, providing a glimmer of encouragement that, along with a young receiving corp, the pieces are in place to make a leap forward next fall.

Mitsubishi Las Vegas Bowl – Boise State defensive end Chase Hatada.  A lot of things weren’t pretty in the desert, but the senior Hatada finished his collegiate career with perhaps his finest effort. While Curtis Weaver was relatively quiet against Washington, Hatada finished with six tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks.

SoFi Hawaii Bowl – Hawaii quarterback Cole McDonald. Despite being briefly benched for some reason, McDonald put on an aerial show that rivaled some of the best performances of Hawaii quarterbacks past. In the process, he set the new Mountain West record for passing yards in a bowl game by throwing for 493 yards and four touchdowns on 28-of-46 pass attempts. It seems almost certain, then, that something will have to give in the Warriors’ ongoing quarterback shuffle, but we’ll probably have to wait until summer to learn more.

Cheez-It Bowl – Air Force running back Kadin Remsberg. Tailbacks in the Falcons offense don’t often receive a typical RB1 workload, but if anyone doubted that Remsberg had played at an all-conference level for two straight years before Air Force’s win over Washington State, consider that doubt removed.

Remsberg’s 26 carries were both a career high and the most by a Falcons runner this year and he made them count, rushing for 178 yards and a late touchdown that sealed the deal against the Cougars.

Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl – Wyoming running back Xazavian Valladay. Well, this one is an easy call. Any time someone accounts for nearly 300 yards of total offense like Valladay did against Georgia State (204 yards rushing and 7.8 yards per attempt, 91 receiving yards on three receptions, and two touchdowns), that someone is definitely a winner.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl – Nevada wide receiver Elijah Cooks. Like Mariner, Cooks quietly put together a strong 2019 and saved the best for last. While the Wolf Pack may have come up short against Ohio, you can’t place too much blame on the junior wide receiver, who finished with 14 catches, 197 yards and a touchdown on 17 targets.

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#13 San Diego State at Utah State: Game Preview, TV, Live Stream, Radio Schedule, Odds & More

#13 San Diego State at Utah State: Game Preview, TV, Live Stream, Radio Schedule, Odds & More The Aztecs has up-mountain battle ahead of them. – Contact/Follow @ErwinSports and @MWCwire. San Diego State is a slight 2-point underdog going into the …

#13 San Diego State at Utah State: Game Preview, TV, Live Stream, Radio Schedule, Odds & More

The Aztecs has up-mountain battle ahead of them.

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– Contact/Follow @ErwinSports and @MWCwire.

San Diego State is a slight 2-point underdog going into the Logan, Utah for Saturday’s matchup.

The No.13 ranked Aztecs are underdogs because of how well Utah State defends home court in one of the loudest arenas in the Mountain time zone.

Both teams knew this was going to be a fight for the top of the mountain west early in the conference schedule.

KenPom had graded this game as an “A” early in the season before San Diego State had started their unpredicted undefeated run.

Coming out of December, this was the game the Aztecs knew they would need to show the reigning champs who’s boss.

The underlying storyline here is that the Utah State Aggies were supposed to roll through UNLV on New Year’s Day in preparation for San Diego State.

The Aztecs don’t want to play a team favored by 7 only to lose by 17.

Now, the Aggies have been in the mountains licking their wounds and licking their chops for the last 2 days.

The Aztecs will be out Nathan Mensah and Aguek Arop. Mensah’s down-low presence on both ends of the court has been tough to fill.

Joel Mensah played significant minutes in rotation during their matchup against Fresno State, even contributing 8 points and 2 rebounds. With the elevation, the rotation will likely resemble a rotation of Joel Mensah, Yanni Wetzell, and Nolan Narain at the 5-spot.

On offense, eyes are going to be on Malachi Flynn. Not only has Flynn been their on-court leader and presence, but he also can get Matt Mitchell going. Mitchell was the number 2 scorer in last year’s loss at Logan, UT with 15 points. However, foul trouble limited his minutes to get more going.

They know it’s an up-mountain battle their facing. But here’s one silver lining to this: The last time the Aztecs were ranked in the top 25 and faced the Aggies, Xavier Thames dropped 31 points in a 74-69 overtime victory.

WHO: San Diego State (14-0, 3-0 MWC) at Utah State (13-3, 2-1 MWC)

WHEN: Saturday, January 4, 2020 — 7 P.M. PT / 10 P.M. ET

WHERE: Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, Logan, Utah.

TV: CBS Sports Net

STREAMING: FuboTV – get a 7-day free trial

RADIO: 1360-AM, 101.5-FM

SERIES HISTORY: 11-5 SDSU, Utah State has won the previous 2 matches, which are Utah State’s only two victories against the Aztecs since joining the MWC.

PREDICTION: San Diego State 61, Utah State 60

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Jan. 4 Mountain West Basketball Scoreboard, Schedule, Odds

Get ready for a Saturday slate of Mountain West games

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Jan. 4 Mountain West Basketball Scoreboard, Schedule, Odds

There are some great games this weekend.

Contact/Follow @MWCwire

Odds, picks and more on an MW hoops Saturday.

Wyoming at Colorado State, 1 p.m. ET, TV: AT&T SportsNet

KenPom: Rams -12

Jeremy: Colorado State

Logan: CSU

Larry: Colorado State

Eric: Colorado State

Ted: Colorado State

Boise State at Nevada, 6 p.m. ET, TV: CBS Sports Network

KenPom: Wolf Pack -5

Jeremy: Nevada

Logan: Nevada 

Larry: Boise State

Eric: Boise State

Ted: Boise State

San Jose State at Fresno State, 7 p.m. ET, TV: Mountain West Network

KenPom: Spartans -6

Jeremy: Fresno State

Logan: Fresno

Larry: Fresno State

Eric: San Jose State

Ted: San Jose State

Air Force at UNLV, 10 p.m. ET, TV: ESPNU

KenPom: Rebels -6

Jeremy: UNLV

Logan: UNLV

Larry: UNLV

Eric: Air Force

Ted: Air Force

San Diego State at Utah State, 11 p.m. ET, TV: CBS Sports Network

KenPom: Aggies -1

Jeremy: San Diego State

Logan: *deep breath* USU

Larry: San Diego State

Eric: San Diego State

Ted: San Diego State by 25

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Mountain West Basketball Best Player At The Midway Point

Halfway through the season, who has been the best player in the Mountain West? A month later, let’s see how the numbers have changed. Contact/Follow the author @aztecbreakdown Top player halfway through the season. Earlier this season I took a look …

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Halfway through the season, who has been the best player in the Mountain West?

A month later, let’s see how the numbers have changed.

Contact/Follow the author @aztecbreakdown

Top player halfway through the season.

Earlier this season I took a look at who have been the best performers in the Mountain West this basketball season. Without of conference play officially over, and most teams having played about half of their games, it is time to revist the topic.

I used the same exact methodology as before, just with up to date numbers. If you remember the stats and what they represent, skip ahead to the rankings. The explanations are below if you’d like a refresher, or missed the first article.

To do my research, I looked at 3 advanced analytics for every player in the conference, took the Z-Scores of each statistic, and then averaged it out.

The three analytics are: Points over Expectation, Player Impact Plus-Minus, and Wins Added. All three of these stats measure specific things, and count contributions on both sides of the ball, as opposed to just counting offense or defense. Let’s quickly go over what each statistic does.

Points Over Expectation – Also known as POE, this is an efficiency stat. It takes into account the number and type of shots a player takes (or defends) and compares the outcome to what an average player would’ve done with the same number and type of possessions. A score of zero is the equivalent of an average player.

POE takes into account the number of shots, therefore the higher usage a player has, the more likely they are to be farther from 0. So players that are really efficient on large volume are the ones that get good scores here. Since basketball is about scoring more points than your opponent, someone who can score, and defend, at an efficient level is a valuable player. The number given is points per game relative to an average player. For more on POE click here.

Player Impact Plus Minus – Also known as PIPM, this is an impact stat. Basically, it measures how well a player has performed in the role they’re in. A player being used in the way that best suits their skill set will have a higher score than a player who is talented in certain areas but not able to show that talent off. As an example, if Nico Caravacho was asked to shoot 3 pointers all game he would hurt his team, as that’s not his skill set.

This statistic is important because no matter how purely talented a player might be, if the player doesn’t use the talents correctly it will hurt the team and prevent winning. PIPM also makes adjustments for the quality of opponents, which POE does not. Quality of opponents is an important factor when determining who has been the best so far. The number represents points per 100 possessions relative to an average player. For more on PIPM click here.

Wins Added –  Wins added is an estimation of how many wins a player has provided for their team. It takes the contributions a player has made and compares them to the other players on the team, the opponents faced, and the amount of wins the team has, and gives out a number for how many wins can be attributed to that player. It is similar in concept to Win Shares, which can be found on sports-reference.com, it just uses a better methodology.

As you can see, these stats measure different things, but they are all relevant in the conversation of “who has been the best player so far” and they help cover up each others weaknesses. With that, let’s look at the top players so far. For reference, when using Z-Scores, the maximum score is basically 3, while 0 is average, and the worst possible is -3. (Technically, with this sample size, the maximum is 6.72. With Bell Curves however, it is rare to find a score greater than 3.)

20. Caleb Morris, Air Force. Averaged Z-Score: 1.056. 10.2 Pts. 2.8 Rebs. 1.8 Ast.

19. Jazz Johnson, Nevada. Averaged Z-Score: 1.073. 16.4 Pts. 3.4 Rebs. 1.8 Ast.

18. Alphonso Anderson, Utah State. Averaged Z-Score: 1.095. 11.5 Pts. 4.8 Rebs. 1.3 Ast.

17. Ryan Swan-Ford, Air Force. Averaged Z-Score: 1.118. 13.1 Pts. 3.2 Rebs. 1.8 Ast.

16. K.J. Feagin, San Diego State. Averaged Z-Score: 1.128. 7.3 Pts. 3.1 Rebs. 3.6 Ast.

15. Nate Grimes, Fresno State. Averaged Z-Score: 1.200. 12.8 Pts. 9.6 Rebs. 0.7 Ast.

14. Diogo Brito, Utah State. Averaged Z-Score: 1.263. 8.9 Pts. 4.3 Rebs. 2.7 Ast.

13. Abel Porter, Utah State. Averaged Z-Score: 1.340. 7.1 Pts. 2.4 Rebs. 3.8 Ast.

12. Lindsey Drew, Nevada. Averaged Z-Score: 1.348. 12.6 Pts. 5.8 Rebs. 4.1 Ast.

11. Matt Mitchell. San Diego State. Averaged Z-Score: 1.474. 11.1 Pts. 4.4 Rebs. 1.5 Ast.

10. Roderick Williams, Boise State. Averaged Z-Score: 1.486. 11.9 Pts. 8.3 Rebs. 0.6 Ast.

Roderick Williams comes in at 8th in PIPM, and 14th in POE. He can’t stretch the floor, or hit free throws at a consistent rate, but he helps control the glass (8th in the nation in defensive rebounding percentage, 69th in offensive) and is an efficient scorer despite his shooting limitations. In addition, Williams is currently 8th in the nation at drawing fouls, which would be more impressive with a better free throw percentage, but can still help a team win games by taking the opponents’ bigs off the floor. Even though other players get all the hype, the Broncos’ offense is 13 points better per 100 possessions when Williams is on the court.

9. Carlton Bragg Jr., New Mexico. Averaged Z-Score: 1.493. 13.5 Pts. 10.8 Rebs. 0.8 Ast.

Since the last post Carlton Bragg has dropped down to 10th in PIPM, no doubt in relation to his suspension. He also checks in at 18th in POE. New Mexico was off to a good start, with wins against Wisconsin and New Mexico State, before Bragg was suspended along with J.J. Caldwell. Bragg is one of the best rebounders in the country, ranking 20th and 16th in defensive and offensive rebounding, respectively. There is no doubt that if New Mexico can get Bragg back it will help their chances at making the tournament. At the time I’m writing this there has been no information released as to why Bragg was suspended.

8. Yanni Wetzell, San Diego State. Averaged Z-Score: 1.674. 10.7 Pts. 6.2 Rebs. 1.1 Ast.

Yanni Wetzell is probably the player who was mentioned as being a snub the most after the first time I did this exercise a few weeks ago. He has quickly become a fan favorite in San Diego with his beautiful post moves and his smooth New Zealand accent. Yanni comes in at 5th in PIPM and 39th in POE. He only shoots 59% on free throws, and he hasn’t been the shooter from deep that Aztec fans expected. He is a really good back to the basket scorer however and is comfortable passing out of double teams. He has been a great glue guy for the Aztecs, doing everything they need him to do during the game.

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Mountain West Basketball Power Rankings: Still No Unanimous Pick At No. 1

Mountain West Basketball Power Rankings: Still No Unanimous Pick At No. 1 San Diego State is still No. 1 Contact/Follow @MWCwire Two teams claim first-place votes, again. A reminder that these rankings range from Dec. 23 through 29th, so keep that …

[jwplayer 18QegcJn-sNi3MVSU]

Mountain West Basketball Power Rankings: Still No Unanimous Pick At No. 1

San Diego State is still No. 1

Contact/Follow @MWCwire

Two teams claim first-place votes, again.

A reminder that these rankings range from Dec. 23 through 29th, so keep that in mind if these power rankings go out later in the week.

There was not a lot of basketball played during the Christmas holidays with Boise State being out in Hawaii for a few games and a bunch of non-Division I games on this past Saturday.

Having said that, the amount of movement was minimal this week due to the lack of games. One change that happened was that the Aztecs pulled within one first-place vote of being unanimous. Last week, Utah State had two first-place votes but now they are down to one.

The top four remained the same but it was Boise State who swapped spots with Colorado State to go to No. 5 after it went 3-1 with its one loss only being to Georgia Tech.

Besides that it was a boring week for those rankings with the lack of interesting games. That will all change once league play resumes in full force.

Previous Rankings: Week 1

Rank Team Previously
1. San Diego State (11-first place votes) 1st
2. Utah State (1-first place votes) 2nd
3. New Mexico 3rd
4. Nevada 4th
5. Boise State 6th
6. Colorado State 5th
7. UNLV 7th
8. Air Force 8th
9. Fresno State 9th
10. Wyoming 10th
10. San Jose State 10th

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