2010-2011 Mountain West Basketball Preview, Predictions Picks & Odds | Sportsbookbuzz.com

2010-2011 Mountain West Basketball Preview, Predictions Picks & Odds

The New Mexico Lobes far surpassed expectations last season, winning the regular season conference championship with a record of 14-2 in Mountain West play, and getting to 30 wins overall for the first time in school history. Losing two of the conference’s top-five scorers (Darington Hobson and Ramon Martinez) will make it difficult to repeat last season’s success, but talented guard Oairese Gary retums to lead the way.

With a 30-6 overall record, the BYU Cougars also won a school-record 30 games last season, including a 13-3 conference record to finish second in the Mountain West. Jimmer Fredette, who finished last season as the Mountain West’s leading scorer, has decided to retum for his senior season, giving the Cougars’ title chances this season a huge boost.

Tied for third in the cenference last season with 11-5 records in conference play were the San Diego State Aztecs and the UNLV Rebels. These two teams met in the Mountain West championship game after San Diego State upset New Mexico and UNLV upset BYU in the semifinals. San Diego State won the tournament. With all five starters from last season returning, 2010 looks extremely promising. The status of UNLV’s leading scorer last season (Tre’Von Willis) is still unclear. If his offseason arrest leads to a suspension, it would be a big blow to the team’s production.

The Colorado State Rams and the Utah Utes finished tied for fifth in the Mountain West with a 7-9 conference record. Colorado State returns all three of its top three scorers from last season (Dorian Green, Andy Ogide and Travis Franklin) and, while cracking the top four in this conference may be tough. they should improve in 200. Utah, on the other hand, lost a lot of talent this offseason, including – last year’s two leading scorers. They will need a great collective effort from the returning players to stay competitive this season.

The TCU Homed Frogs (5-0 conference) lost their second- and third-leading scorers from last year, but they do return a great building block in Ronnie Moss, who finished fourth in the Mountain West in scoring last year. The Wyoming Cowboys (3-13) have a ways to go, but the return of Afam Muojeke (injured last season) and last year’s leading scorer Desmar Jackson provides some hope. The Air Force Falcons (1-15) will try to rebound from a very poor season in 2010.