Mountain West Men’s Tournament capsules
1. NEW MEXICO
RECORD: 28-3, 14-2 MWC
BEST NONCONFERENCE WINS: California, Texas A&M, Dayton
PLAYER TO WATCH: Dairese Gary. The junior guard runs the show for the Lobos with consistency and efficiency. He averaged 20.3 points in the past three games, and had 25 assists and five turnovers in the past six games.
FAST FACT: The Lobos have started the same five players -- MWC Player of the Year Darington Hobson, Roman Martinez, A.J. Hardeman, Phillip McDonald and Gary -- in all 31 games.
COACHSPEAK: "I've always said, and I totally believe this, I think coaches get too much credit when things are going really well and they probably get too much heat when things aren't going well." -- Steve Alford
2. BRIGHAM YOUNG
RECORD: 28-4, 13-3
BEST NONCONFERENCE WINS: Arizona State, Arizona, Texas-El Paso
PLAYER TO WATCH: Jimmer Fredette. A first-team All-MWC pick for the second straight year, the junior guard ranks in the league's top 10 in seven statistical categories, including second in scoring (19.7) and first in 3-point field-goal percentage (.494).
FAST FACT: The Cougars scored 70 points or more in 29 games, including 14 straight to finish the regular season.
COACHSPEAK: "There's no doubt, there's four teams in this league that deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament. The team that wins three games in three days is in. The rest of us are going to have to sit around and wait to be invited." -- Dave Rose
3. UNLV
RECORD: 23-7, 11-5
BEST NONCONFERENCE WINS: Louisville, Arizona, UNR
PLAYER TO WATCH: Tre'Von Willis. The junior guard scored 27 and 32 points in this season's two losses to Utah, shooting 18-for-35 from the field and 20-for-25 on free throws.
FAST FACT: In conference games, the Rebels rank first in scoring defense (63.0), field-goal percentage defense (.403), field-goal percentage (.480) and assists per game (17.2).
COACHSPEAK: "The chemistry is great. From start to finish, we've consistently made progress. We had a little dip there with that three-game losing streak." -- Lon Kruger
4. SAN DIEGO STATE
RECORD: 22-8, 11-5
BEST NONCONFERENCE WINS: Arizona, UC Santa Barbara
PLAYER TO WATCH: Kawhi Leonard. The 6-foot-6-inch forward was voted MWC Freshman of the Year. He averaged team highs of 14.4 points and 9.6 rebounds, and posted nine double-doubles in 16 league games.
FAST FACT: The Aztecs, entering the conference tournament as the No. 4 seed for the third straight season, have won 10 consecutive regular-season meetings with first-round opponent Colorado State.
COACHSPEAK: "We're not a young team. We've got a lot of new faces, but we've played a season with these new faces." -- Steve Fisher
5. COLORADO STATE
RECORD: 16-14, 7-9
BEST NONCONFERENCE WINS: Colorado, Montana
PLAYER TO WATCH: Dorian Green. The freshman point guard leads the league by clocking 34.8 minutes per game. He averages 11.7 points, but was held scoreless in the Rams' 68-55 loss at San Diego State last week.
FAST FACT: The Rams are 0-8 against the MWC's top four teams this season, losing by an average of 19.3 points.
COACHSPEAK: "There's not a coach in the world who doesn't feel like he's got to win one more game. We're happy we drew San Diego State, and we're ready to go. San Diego State has as much athletic talent as anybody in the West." -- Tim Miles
6. UTAH
RECORD: 14-16, 7-9
BEST NONCONFERENCE WINS: Utah State, Illinois
PLAYER TO WATCH: Carlon Brown. In two victories over UNLV, the junior guard shot 13-for-24 from the field and totaled 34 points. He came off the bench in both games.
FAST FACT: The Utes boast the winner of the past two Defensive Player of the Year awards. David Foster, a 7-foot-3-inch sophomore, followed in the footsteps of departed Luke Nevill. Foster set a Utah season record with 113 blocked shots, despite missing two full games and the second half of two others.
COACHSPEAK: "It's a great matchup (with UNLV), a Thursday night prime-time game and it should be a great crowd. Everybody knows we beat them twice, so their teeth will be out." -- Jim Boylen
7. TEXAS CHRISTIAN
RECORD: 13-18, 5-11
BEST NONCONFERENCE WINS: Southern Methodist, Texas State
PLAYER TO WATCH: Ronnie Moss. The sophomore point guard ranked seventh in the nation in assists per game (6.0). He had four double-digit assist performances, making him the only player in the conference with 10 or more assists in more than one game.
FAST FACT: TCU also finished 5-11 in the MWC last year to get the seventh seed in the tournament.
COACHSPEAK: "They came in and kicked our tail. It's going to be a huge test for our kids' character to see how we respond to what just happened. It was a bad way for us to go out on our floor." -- Jim Christian, on Saturday's 107-77 loss to BYU, the Horned Frogs' next opponent.
8. WYOMING
RECORD: 10-20, 3-13
BEST NONCONFERENCE WINS: Northern Colorado, Loyola Marymount
PLAYER TO WATCH: Desmar Jackson. A third-team All-MWC selection, the freshman guard averaged 18.5 points in the last 11 regular-season games.
FAST FACT: Afam Muojeke, voted the league's top freshman a year ago, suffered a season-ending knee injury Jan. 20. The Cowboys went 2-9 in the 11 games he missed.
COACHSPEAK: "We talk about the big picture. We only have one senior and one junior in the program, so it is a big-picture idea." -- Heath Schroyer
9. AIR FORCE
RECORD: 9-20, 1-15
BEST NONCONFERENCE WINS: Niagara, UC Davis
PLAYER TO WATCH: Evan Washington. The junior guard is the only Air Force player to start all 29 games. He scored a career-high 23 points in a 70-63 victory over Wyoming on Jan. 30, stopping the team's 22-game conference losing streak.
FAST FACT: The Falcons scored 56 points or fewer in 15 of 16 MWC games, and nine times finished with a score in the 40s.
COACHSPEAK: "We're a little disappointed with the fact that the season has turned out as it has, yet the guys have continued to work very hard and stay focused." -- Jeff Reynolds
