The Bracket Big Board takes into consideration past returns,
current performance and expected future gains in determining who should
be included among the field of 65 (31 automatic and 34 at-large bids).
Essentially, the Bracket Big Board is a cheat sheet designed for
amateur bracketologists if they were filling out a Tourney Pick ‘Em ’10 entry today. The Bracket Big Board is updated every Monday until the dance card is officially unveiled March 14.
Currently standing atop the underappreciated Mountain West,
the Lobos are the lone wolves in a conference with a rather unimpressive NCAA tournament
history.
Since the league’s basketball inception in 2000, postseason
respectability has remained elusive. Though the MWC has churned out multiple
bids in nine of its past 10 seasons, only two teams have managed to escape
Round 1. Overall, the conference sports a rather pathetic 8-22 record (26.7%) in
the Big Dance. "Footloose" the MWC is not.
But the new decade ushers in optimistic feelings and another
chance for the MWC to gain the national attention it deserves. Steve Alford’s
club – and to a similar extent Dave Rose’s BYU team – has the best odds of
tasting sweetness.
Although ranked in the top 15 in both polls, few have actually
watched a single minute of New Mexico basketball, especially viewers east of the Mississippi. Often broadcasts
have been aired at strange hours or on sparsely distributed networks. Even when
games have been accessible, eyeball-gouging quadruple overtime women’s hoops
games have kept the Lobos in the dark. Due to an almost complete lack of
exposure – more eyes have probably watched Isaiah Thomas coaching train-wrecks
at Florida International – the Mountain West titans have unintentionally become
the masked luchadores of college basketball, sans colorful Spandex.
Despite its dwarfish viewership, Danny Granger-U has quietly
established itself as one of the country’s more formidable foes posting a gaudy
23-3 record. With non-conference wins over Cal,
Texas A&M and Dayton
along with key league victories over BYU and, most notably, at UNLV, the Lobos’
resume is rich. In total, they boast seven RPI top 50 wins, the second-most in
the country. Against teams ranked inside the RPI top 100, they’re 11-2.
Indiana’s
former Boy Wonder has done a marvelous job with his young team (Roman Martinez
is the Lobos’ lone senior). Swingman Darington Hobson has developed into one of
the more well-rounded performers in the West. Meanwhile, Martinez, a gritty glue guy who routinely
fills up the stat sheet, ranks 13th nationally in individual efficiency
checking in with a 127.8 offensive rating.
Collectively, Alford’s bunch has excelled offensively,
particularly from distance. Four players (Hobson, Martinez, Dairese Gary and Phillip McDonald)
average at least 11 points per game. Based on their 24th ranked
offensive efficiency and twelve 80-plus point performances, they can light up
the scoreboard. More importantly for tournament play, they’ve rarely turned over
the rock and won several games away from "The Pit," a feat they’ve struggled to
achieve versus difficult opponents in recent years.
Defending the basket, New
Mexico definitely could improve. According to
KenPom.com, it ranks 64th in D-efficiency. Outside forwards A.J.
Hardeman and Will Brown, the Lobos are suspect interiorly. As a result, they’ve
occasionally been pushed around in the paint, indicative in their 48.6 shooting
percentage allowed inside the arc (210th nationally).
Still, despite its shortcomings defensively, the masked men
from Albuquerque
have enough offensive power and skill players to earn the Mountain West
its second ever Sweet 16 berth.
Here are this week’s risers and fallers on the Triple-B:
*For games played through Sunday, February 14
*RPI data provided by Rivals
*Efficiency stats from kenpom.com
On the Bubble: UAB (19-5), San Diego St. (18-7), Cincinnati (15-9), Northwestern (17-8), Notre Dame (17-9), Washington (17-8), Memphis (18-7), Tulsa (19-6), Texas Tech (16-8), Arizona St. (18-8)
Dropped Out: St. Mary’s, UAB
Conference Breakdown: American
East (1), ACC (7), Atlantic Sun (1), Atlantic 10 (6), Big 12 (7), Big
East (7), Big Sky (1), Big South (1), Big Ten (5), Big West (1),
Colonial (1), Conference USA (1), Horizon (1), Ivy (1), Metro (1),
Mid-American (1), Mid-Eastern (1), Missouri Valley (1), Mountain West
(3), Northeast (1), Ohio Valley (1), Pac-10 (1), Patriot (1), SEC (5),
Southern (1), Southland (1), SWAC (1), Summit (1), Sun Belt (1), West Coast (1), WAC
(1)
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Image courtesy of Getty