With his Air Force Falcons at 13-1 after winning the Cable Car Classic tournament in Santa Clara, Calif., coach Jeff Bzdelik might have been feeling on top of the world Saturday.
But instead, he was casting a wary eye upon the beginning of Mountain West Conference play Wednesday night when Air Force meets Colorado State in Fort Collins.
“Everybody in our conference is playing so well and at such a high level,” Bzdelik said. “If we’re not at our very best, we can be in trouble. Personally, I think there are six or seven teams in the conference that are capable of winning the title.”
The Falcons take a nine-game win streak into conference play. Air Force beat George Washington 66-52 on Thursday and routed Santa Clara 78-48 on Friday for the Cable Car Classic title.
Air Force’s only loss was to Duke 71-56 in Kansas City, Mo., on Nov. 20. The Falcons have been sharp since, climbing to 23rd in The Associated Press poll. Included in their win streak is a 67-53 victory over Texas Tech in Kansas City and a 94-58 rout of Wake Forest at the World Arena in Colorado Springs.
“George Washington is a very, very good team and we had to play well to beat them,” Bzdelik said. “Santa Clara is tough to beat on its home floor and we led from start to finish.”
Going into the Cable Car Classic, all five AFA starters were scoring in double figures. Junior guard Tim Anderson has slipped to an average of 9.9 points.
Senior forward Jacob Burtschi was selected MVP of the Cable Car Classic and pulled even with senior forward Dan Nwaelele for the Falcons’ scoring lead. Both are averaging 14.4 points.
Air Force is shooting 54.2 percent from the field this season, including 45.7 percent on 3-point attempts, and averaging 75.5 points to 53.4 for opponents.
MWC teams were 86-32 in nonconference play through Friday.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
