<a href='http://mb4.scout.com/futahstatefrm3.showMessage?topicID=13721.topic' target='_blank'>Battle for First</a>

Very complimentery article towards Nevada, USU and the WAC, but I am just not willing to say that my Aggies can come into the WAC and compete for first place. This will be Nevada's year. I think La Tech and Hawaii will be right there, as well.

I don't know how they can tell anything before practice has even started..Who knows how the various newcomers will adapt or how injuries will play out..I take these preseason polls with a pretty big grain of salt..

Nevada has to find somone to step up and take Pinkney's rebounds and even more importantly his leadership role. No easy task.

I have never seen this USU team play a game. On paper they look a little small across the board and they also have to adjust to new arenas, new refs and players they haven't faced before. Again, no easy task..

Every team has question marks and concerns..This is a very tough league and I don't really see it as a two team race..If it is like most seasons in the WAC, some teams will play better than expected and some will play worse..

I admit to a massive bias here and I think Nevada should do fine but it's a long season (which hasn't even started yet) and lots of things can and will happen..I don't think anybody can look past any team in this league.

Right now, it's Nevada and friends.

USU in my eyes is unproven. Certainly they'll be (at least) the upper middle team in the WAC, but how they handle in the depth of the WAC remains to be seen. This is the right year to be coming into the conference though, we aren't expected to be that awesome this year.

I've only seen parts of their games and some highlights, but IMO, there's plenty of reason to think USU will challenge Nevada. Last year, Pacific swept 4 games from the WAC, including the two best teams (Nevada and UTEP). Meanwhile, USU was a double overtime and miracle comeback away from sweeping 3 games from Pacific. That alone indicates USU is on par with the best of the WAC.

It's true that USU will be playing in strange arenas, generally in front of bigger crowds than they saw in the Big West. But considering they play Utah and BYU every year, they're no stranger to playing on the road in front of large, vocal crowds. I'd say Hawaii is probably the only road game that's significantly different and tougher than what they're used to, and if anything, Hawaii has an even tougher time winning on the road than visiting teams do on the islands. WAC teams are also unfamiliar with playing in the Spectrum, which likely replaces the Don as the craziest atmosphere in the WAC.

USU returns 4 of their top 5 scorers. Add a solid PG (Daniels), a 1st team JC all-american (Spicer), and a few other solid recruits, and there's a real possibility that they could be improved.

I am not saying that USU could not win the league..They certainly could..I just think the article's point that it is a two team league is not a valid one...I think Hawaii, La Tech, Boise and Fresno are right in the mix too..NMSU is vastly improved too...This is a tough and deep league.

nvspuds Wrote:I am not saying that USU could not win the league..They certainly could..I just think the article's point that it is a two team league is not a valid one...I think Hawaii, La Tech, Boise and Fresno are right in the mix too..NMSU is vastly improved too...This is a tough and deep league.

I will go out a limb and predict a 2 race....
It will be Nevada or Utah State
Hawaii could be the dark horse.

But still too early to talk about basketball.
My eyes are still glazed over after watching the Hawaii/Boise State football game till 2:00 in the morning, then reading and posting post game messages on the BroncoCountry.com boards till 3:00....what a game!!!!! Too bad the rest of the college football fans did not get a chance to see it.............

P.S. I am real glad to see some college basketball fans posting here.
I am only one out of about eleven college basketball fans in Boise....

Need to get Jayhawker to post here!!!!!@

I don't think NMSU can win the WAC B-ball regular season championship this year, but I do think NMSU could be very dangerous come WAC tournament time.

Let's put it this way:
Utah St has a stronger BB program year in and year out than any team in Utah over the last 6 years. Utah is right there, but we've won 4 out of the last 5 games with Utah, including a 26 point shulacking of Utah last year. Utah is considered one of the best teams in the MWC. This year they are ranked second to Air Force in the MWC. From what I hear, Air Force lost their best player in Welch. Therefor, Utah should have the best preseason team in the MWC. I'd bet my house that Utah St beats Utah this year.

So where would the best MWC team fit in the WAC this year? Second? First? Third?

We'll see.

At this point, I'd pick Nevada and USU above any MWC team, but it wouldn't be at all surprising if one or two teams from the MWC stepped up and turned out to be every bit as good. With exception of Air Force, the top MWC teams have a lot of roster turnover. Potential slow starts as they readjust could really hurt their conference ranking and make it difficult to get more than one tourney bid...we can only hope, anyway. :)

FWIW, Collegehoops.net (CHN) ranks WAC & MWC teams as:
<47. Nevada
55. Air Force
64. Utah St.
72. UNLV
75. Hawaii
79. Utah
92. New Mexico
108. TCU
113. LaTech

What have you heard about Welch? In CHN's <a href='http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/preview/2005/55.htm' target='_blank'>Air Force preview</a>, they indicate he's out until "at least the middle of December." With essentially the same lineup as last year, you'd figure AFA would be fairly predictable (very good, but not great). If Welch doesn't come back, they could slip to mediocre.

UNLV loses three key players (Blankson, Beck, Blassingame). They have some highly touted recruits, but odds are that it will take time for them to gel. SG Umeh should pick up some scoring load. Joel Anthony is a guy I was really impressed with, and think could be poised for a breakout year.

Utah loses both Bogut AND Jackson...ouch!

So Nevada and USU get UNLV and Utah, respectively, in November. Coming so early in the year, I really like the odds in both games. However, I'm willing to discuss this house bet.
Here's mine...

Keep in mind, the picture doesn't do it justice. What's your's like?

Looks like something we play football and basketball in, actually, Clpack... Kibbie Dome vs. your house?

clpack Wrote:At this point, I'd pick Nevada and USU above any MWC team, but it wouldn't be at all surprising if one or two teams from the MWC stepped up and turned out to be every bit as good. With exception of Air Force, the top MWC teams have a lot of roster turnover. Potential slow starts as they readjust could really hurt their conference ranking and make it difficult to get more than one tourney bid...we can only hope, anyway. :)

FWIW, Collegehoops.net (CHN) ranks WAC & MWC teams as:
<47. Nevada
55. Air Force
64. Utah St.
72. UNLV
75. Hawaii
79. Utah
92. New Mexico
108. TCU
113. LaTech

What have you heard about Welch? In CHN's <a href='http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/preview/2005/55.htm' target='_blank'>Air Force preview</a>, they indicate he's out until "at least the middle of December." With essentially the same lineup as last year, you'd figure AFA would be fairly predictable (very good, but not great). If Welch doesn't come back, they could slip to mediocre.

UNLV loses three key players (Blankson, Beck, Blassingame). They have some highly touted recruits, but odds are that it will take time for them to gel. SG Umeh should pick up some scoring load. Joel Anthony is a guy I was really impressed with, and think could be poised for a breakout year.

Utah loses both Bogut AND Jackson...ouch!

So Nevada and USU get UNLV and Utah, respectively, in November. Coming so early in the year, I really like the odds in both games. However, I'm willing to discuss this house bet.
Here's mine...&nbsp;

Keep in mind, the picture doesn't do it justice. What's your's like?&nbsp;

Not only does Utah lose Bogut and Jackson but they lost Justin Hawkins and Calbert Chaney. Way to go, NewMags! Way to raid the best BB program in the MWC of one of its best players!

Utah returns two starters in Drisdom (6-3 215 Sr) and Markson (6-7 198 Sr). They also lost their new recruit, Misha Radojevic, to injury. He was likely to be their starting PF.

Now they are looking at the following line-up:
Ricky Johns 6-3 190 Jr. (JC transfer)
Tim Drisdom 6-3 215 Sr.
Jonas Langvad 6-11 236 Jr. (primarily a perimeter type player)
Bryant Markson 6-7 198 Sr (a light weight PF who will get beat on the boards by larger PFs)
Chris Jackson 6-11 245 Sr (A very slow and awkward player)

They've been talking about starting their redshirt frosh, Luke Nevill 7-1 250. Even if they do play Nevill, he's a freshman and will in all likelihood play like a freshman.

Tim Drisdom isn't a great outside threat, so their outside shooting will not open up their inside game. Mark Jackson was the guy who they counted on for this aspect of their game. I'm sure Ricky Johns will have a hard time adjusting to D1 ball as most JC transfers do. Markson was eaten alive last year by Nelson and Harris when the Utes played Utah St. Bogut was left to fend for himself in the middle (he did a good job of it, but was in for a losing battle without help). They don't have Boguy this year to make up for their lacking an inside game. Who'll pick up the slack? Jackson? no. He hasn't shown any promise up till now. He's been plagued by back problems for quite some time. Jonas Langvad is a soft European type player. He has a lot of room to improve.

Meanwhile Utah St returns 4 out of 5 starters from last season, a season in which they clobbered Utah by 26 points. Utah St also had one of its best recruiting classes in history.

Who will you pick? As for me and my house, we'll pick the Aggies! :)

Props to Nevada on the preseason respect! It will be fun to see a team come into the Spectrum and give the Aggies a run for their money. Looking forward to it!