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USA Today Sports Media Group

Sport

Jeremy Mauss

Mountain West Disappoints In NCAA Tournament, Again

Mountain West (Location) NCAA Tournament (Organization) NCAA Boise State Colorado State Michigan (Organization) MW San Diego State Nevada (Organization) SDSU

Mountain West Disappoints In NCAA Tournament, Again

Four bid league goes winless

Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire

Out before the first day ended

Fine! We will talk about the terrible NCAA Tournament performance from the Mountain West.

There will be more said about what happened to the Mountain West this year in the NCAA tournament, but for now, the league had yet another disappointing season with all four teams being knocked out before all the games ended on Thursday.

This tweet sums it up pretty well.

that's what you get for turning your back on Hoops Nation pic.twitter.com/HNDgJMAkfo

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) March 18, 2022

For some reason, the Mountain West has historically struggled in the Big Dance ever since the league was established over 20 years ago.

The conference itself has not played well and is just 5-17 in NCAA Tournament play with the current state of the 11 teams within the league.

So… not good.

Below is how the league fared since 2014 and the league has not won a game since 2018 which saw Nevada make a deep NCAA Tournament run. That team was extremely close to going to the Elite Eight but they fail to Loyola-Chicago.

2020 could have been a special year because San Diego State likely would have been a two seed, so things are skewed with the overall results. That Aztecs team would have been the best chance for a Mountain West team to make a legitimate Final Four run.

Before they fell to Utah State in the conference title game, there was some talk of them being a No. 1 seed as they were sixth in KenPom after the loss.

2014: 2-2 (SDSU advances to Sweet 16; New Mexico loses in first round)
2015: 1-3 (SDSU advances to second round; Boise State loses in First Four; Wyoming loses in first round)
2016: 0-1 (Fresno State loses in first round)
2017: 0-1 (Nevada loses in first round)
2018: 2-2 (Nevada advances to Sweet 16; SDSU loses in first round)
2019: 0-2 (Nevada and Utah State lose in first round)
2020: 0-0 (no tournament due to COVID-19)
2021: 0-2 (SDSU and Utah State lose in first round)
2022: 0-4 (Wyoming loses in First Four; SDSU, Boise State, Colorado State lose in first round)

This four-bid league this year showed promise but also seeding didn’t help. Wyoming was in the opening round game and with San Diego State and Boise State on the 8/9 seed line is basically a toss-up. As for Colorado State, the Rams had the best chance, at least according to the seed line to get a win.

However, when you dig a bit deeper there are some other reasons for why the league struggled.

In the preseason, both Michigan and Memphis were considered fringe-national title contenders. The Wolverines were No. 6 in the preseason rankings; while the Tigers were 12th and 16th in both major polls.

Injuries and other things happened to both teams and their regular season did not live up to their preseason expectations, but the tournament allowed for a second season, and those two are still in the tournament.

Now, Michigan and Memphis seem to be more healthy and took care of business.

Boise State might have been under-seeded by some as they were a double-champion within the Mountain West but their bad loss against a Q4 Cal State Bakersfield didn’t help their cause. Neither did losing to another Big West team in UC Irvine.

It is not just one thing because this is a long-term trend within the conference basically since its inception.

The defense of these teams also could be a reason for the struggles. Boise State and San Diego State came into the tournament ranked 21st and 3rd in adjusted defense per KenPom.

That is an issue because heading into the tournament, there are better offensive teams and if the defense shows any leaks there are issues. The Aztecs had a double-digit lead vs. Creighton, and the Broncos just fell behind early and could not catch up to Memphis.

On the offensive side of efficiency rating at KenPom, neither was great. San Diego State ended up 166 and Boise State was 85.

This doesn’t jive for Colorado State who had a double-digit lead and just collapsed in the second half vs. Michigan.

Results

Yes, there were games, and here is a bit of a recap — if you’re into relieving pain and suffering.

Indiana 66, Wyoming 58

The game was just out of reach for Wyoming as they were seemingly within six to eight points behind and just couldn’t get within striking distance vs. the Hoosiers. Indiana took advantage of every scoring chance they had by scoring 33 points off offensive rebounds. Turnovers were a big issue with 19 turnovers, which led to 17 points for Indiana. Hunter Maldonado had 10 turnovers and his 21 points were not enough to counter those issues.

Michigan 75, Colorado State 63

Everything was looking really good for Colorado State and its crew with a solid double-digit lead in the first half with it extending to 15 at one point. The Rams were forcing turnovers and having their way with Michigan.

Then the second half started and it looked like teams switched jerseys, because Michigan was forcing Colorado State to lose the ball.

“I think when the dust settles for these guys, and they don’t want to hear it right now, but it’s been an incredible season." –@coachNikoMedved

➡️ https://t.co/iQ07OUc46y

Proud of this team, the memorable season and our Rams fans 💚🐏 pic.twitter.com/8q5XT0MIRP

— Colorado State University (@ColoradoStateU) March 18, 2022

Also, the Wolverines started hitting shots from downtown by making four in the second half after missing all seven in the first half. Plus, fast-break points went Michigan’s way with 11 and outrebounded the Rams by 10.

Wolverines 7-1 star Hunter Dickinson had 21 points, but it was their guards of Eli Brooks (16 points), Frankie Collins (14) and Cale Houstan (13) that really took it to Colorado State.

Creighton 72, San Diego State 60

“Creighton, congratulations, they won the game,” Charles Barkley said during the post game show. “But San Diego State just choked this game away. Yes, choked. They only had to make one or two plays to win this game. Listen, they outplayed them for 39 minutes and gave the game away in the last minute. … Maybe I shouldn’t say choked, but they flat-out blew that game.”

This game also has a Mountain West team blow a double digit lead before falling in overtime. Foul trouble was an issue in this game as Mountain West’s defensive player of the year, Nathan Mensah, picked up his fourth early in the second half, then his fifth just 34 seconds after re-entering the game.

Not having Mensah was a big deal as was making only 10 of 17 from the foul line compared to the Blue Jays who made 20 of 24.

Aztecs Matt Bradley had multiple chances at the free throw line but came up short. The game was tied with seven seconds left in regulation and he missed the front end of a one-and-one. That play didn’t decide the game but it is one of many to why San Diego State couldn’t pull out the win.

Memphis 64, Boise State 53

Of all the games this weekend, this one was the most out of reach. Boise State fell behind early and was down 19 at the half. Give the Broncos credit for making it a game and pulling within single digits but they were unable to get their offense going early on and that ultimately is what cost them the game.

Also, Boise State was cold from three-point range and made just 6 of 21 and overall they shot just 31.5% from the field.

Fan Reaction

We asked for some fan reactions and got some solid responses.

Working on a piece that is about what f#*k went wrong for the Mountain West in the #NCAATournament.

Hit us up with your thoughts and we will get them in our piece we will do (once the tears go away)

— Mountain West Wire (@MWCwire) March 18, 2022

We will be a one bid league next season as a punishment for being rewarded with 4 teams this season. The selection committee is fickle.

— RJ Montaño (@RJMontano33) March 18, 2022

Combination of under/overseeding, leading to tough draws for particular teams, combined with a lack of composure when momentum swung against them.

— Jacob 'Jay' Salcido 🐺🍝🏳️‍🌈🇺🇦 (@LoboSauce_777) March 19, 2022

Just not enough supreme (4 and 5 star athletes) on MW teams to compete this time of year. Its just not enough to play well as a team without a superstar or two. There are some exceptions to the rules like St Peters but even they have better players then what's on these MW teams.

— Faulk (@BoiseState74) March 18, 2022

When you have teams like St. Peter’s, New Mexico State and Richmond competing and beating the big schools, there is no excuse for all Mountain West teams to fail year in and year out.

— Fake Wyo Sports (@FakeWYOSports) March 19, 2022

Umm….it sucks. No matter how much hype it gets each year, the MW is simply not as good as the other conferences. This is proven year after year.

— George (@ookaminomure) March 19, 2022