Mountain West teams bring low RPI, Kenpom rankings to Las Vegas
A capsule look at the 11 teams in the Moutain West men’s tournament:
1. SAN DIEGO STATE (23-8, 16-2)
Coach: Steve Fisher (362-193, 17th season)
Best nonconference wins: 72-58 over California
Worst losses: 49-43 to Arkansas-Little Rock, 53-48 to San Diego
Player to watch: G Trey Kell
RPI: 41
Kenpom: 39
Fast fact: The Aztecs have won the regular-season title the past three years.
2. FRESNO STATE (22-9, 13-5)
Coach: Rodney Terry (82-83, fifth season)
Best nonconference wins: 69-66 over Pepperdine
Worst losses: 77-65 to Cal Poly, 85-77 to Evansville
Player to watch: G Marvelle Harris
RPI: 82
Kenpom: 119
Fast fact: Fresno State has rallied to win seven times when behind at halftime.
3. BOISE STATE (20-11, 11-7)
Coach: Leon Rice (122-74, sixth season)
Best nonconference wins: 74-72 over Oregon
Worst losses: 74-72 to Montana
Player to watch: F James Webb III
RPI: 92
Kenpom: 96
Fast fact: The Broncos are the only conference team to beat top two seeds San Diego State and Fresno State.
4. NEW MEXICO (17-14, 10-8)
Coach: Craig Neal (59-37, third season)
Best nonconference wins: 76-57 over Northern Iowa
Worst losses: 83-78 to Auburn, 82-59 to Washington State
Player to watch: G Elijah Brown
RPI: 130
Kenpom: 127
Fast fact: New Mexico ended a four-game losing streak Saturday with a 71-66 victory over UNR.
5 UNR (18-12, 10-8)
Coach: Eric Musselman (18-12, first season)
Best nonconference wins: 72-69 over Santa Clara
Worst losses: 75-66 to Cal State Fullerton
Player to watch: G Marqueze Coleman
RPI: 124
Kenpom: 146
Fast fact: Musselman coached New Mexico’s Craig Neal when they were at the Rapid City (S.D.) Thrillers of the Continental Basketball Association.
6. COLORADO STATE (16-15, 8-10)
Coach: Larry Eustachy (85-47, fourth season)
Best nonconference wins: 84-78 over Northern Iowa
Worst losses: 99-90 to Texas-El Paso, 73-64 to Northern Colorado
Player to watch: G Antwan Scott
RPI: 190
Kenpom: 172
Fast fact: Until beating Air Force 87-73 to close the regular season, the Rams had lost five of six games.
7. UNLV (17-14, 8-10)
Coach: Todd Simon (8-7, first season)
Best nonconference wins: 72-69 over Indiana, 80-69 over Oregon
Worst losses: 66-56 to Arizona State
Player to watch: G Patrick McCaw
RPI: 142
Kenpom: 122
Fast fact: UNLV’s 25-12 Mountain West tournament record is the best in conference history.
8. WYOMING (14-17, 7-11)
Coach: Larry Shyatt (117-77, sixth season)
Best nonconference wins: 62-59 over New Mexico State
Worst losses: 70-55 to Indiana State, 83-82 to Montana State, 68-58 to Southern
Player to watch: G Josh Adams
RPI: 181
Kenpom: 171
Fast fact: Wyoming is the defending tournament champion.
9. UTAH STATE (15-14, 7-11)
Coach: Tim Duryea (15-14, first season)
Best nonconference wins: 73-70 over Weber State
Worst losses: 68-60 to Brigham Young
Player to watch: F Jalen Moore
RPI: 153
Kenpom: 156
Fast fact: This is the lowest seed for the Aggies in their postseason history. The previous lowest seed was No. 8 last season.
10. AIR FORCE (14-17, 5-13)
Coach: Dave Pilipovich (60-72, fourth season)
Best nonconference wins: 66-64 (OT) over New Mexico State
Worst losses: 90-80 to Army
Player to watch: F Hayden Graham
RPI: 222
Kenpom: 261
Fast fact: The Falcons are 3-16 in the Mountain West tournament, but they are 3-1 in the first round.
11. SAN JOSE STATE (9-21, 4-14)
Coach: Dave Wojcik (18-73, third season)
Best nonconference wins: 64-61 over Montana
Worst losses: 81-69 and 91-83 to Montana State, 78-75 to Santa Clara, 67-64 to Seattle
Player to watch: F Frank Rogers
RPI: 298
Kenpom: 253
Fast fact: San Jose State has a seven-game improvement over last season, 36th best in the nation.
