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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 Wire’s Player of The Year Watch List: Week Eight

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

Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

Who is in the running for Player of the Year? The list welcomes three new faces and the board has a new leader.

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 eighth week is as follows:

1. Derrick Alston Jr, junior guard Boise State (5 Points)

32 Points, 2 Rebounds and 6 Assists against Portland

23 Points, 9 Rebounds and 6 Assists against UTEP

17 Points, 5 Assists and 3 Rebounds against CSUN

Derrick Alston Jr. has made the jump in production we all hoped he would going into his junior season in Boise. After averaging 24 points a game this past week while the Broncos played in the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu and a home game this past weekend against CSUN, Alston has his team riding a three-game winning streak and nestled in sixth place in the Mountain West at 9-5 (1-1 MW).

Alston has made three past appearances in our top-five but hasn’t had a first place finish until now. That coupled with his consistency throughout the season has him in first place on our big board with 14 points total. He is a talented player with professional attributes but has been forced into a go-to scorer role that has him taking 14.7 field goal attempts a game (a conference-high). He can certainly score, but as a 6-9 guard, he also has a playmaking ability that is overlooked by the need to knock down shots.

Some help arrived at semester break, which could help distribute the offensive burden a bit and we should see the same consistent play from Alston Jr. that we have seen to thus far, but keep an eye on his ability to facilitate offense for others going forward. As it will be needed if the Broncos hope to break into the top-five of the conference and challenge the current big 3.

2. Malachi Flynn, junior guard San Diego State (4 Points):

14 Points, 7 Assists, 5 Steals and 5 Rebounds against Cal Poly

3.  Orlando Robinson, freshman forward Fresno State (3 Points):

24 Points, 7 Rebounds and 2 Blocks against San Francisco

27 Points, 5 Rebounds and 5 Blocks against UC-Riverside

4.  Corey Manigault, senior forward New Mexico (2 Points):

20 Points, 11 Rebounds and 4 Steals against UC Davis

5. Abu Kigab, junior forward Boise State (1 Point):

3 Points, 2 Assists and 1 Steal against Portland

11 Points and 10 Rebounds against UTEP

33 Points and 11 Rebounds against CSUN

Past Weeks:

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

Current Overall Point Totals:

Derrick Alston Jr, junior guard BSU (14 Points)

JaQuan Lyle, senior guard UNM (11 Points)

Sam Merrill, senior guard USU (11 Points)

Malachi Flynn, junior guard San Diego State (9 Points)

Jalen Harris, junior guard Nevada (9 Points)

Nico Carvacho, senior center CSU (7 Points)

Hunter Maldonado, sophomore guard Wyoming (7 Points)

Jazz Johnson, senior guard Nevada (6 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)

Isaiah Stevens, freshman guard Colorado State (4 Points)

Orlando Robinson, freshman forward Fresno State (3 Points)

Roderick “RJ” Williams, senior forward Boise State (3 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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Mountain West Basketball Power Rankings: Ringing In 2020

San Diego State is our first No. 1.

Contact/Follow @MWCwire

Two teams claim first place votes.

The Mountain West basketball season is at the midway point and now is a good point to start our weekly power rankings now that we know what teams are good or not so good.

San Diego State is one of just a handful of undefeated teams in the country and are No. 15 in the latest AP poll and are the only Mountian West team ranked in the polls.

Utah State is another early Mountain West contender but they are not quite at San Diego State’s level with a pair of losses and sitting at 12-2. New Mexico is also at 12-2 just like the Aggies and these three teams are the early contenders.

The rest of the league, or at least the middle, is a jumbled mess and will see some shuffling throughout these rankings over the rest of the season. When league play gets going there definitely will be some shuffling over the next month.

These initial rankings do have the Aztecs at the top but they do not own every first place vote as there are two votes allocated for Utah State.

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