Two names being connected to the upcoming coaching vacancy at the University of Colorado are from the Mountain West Conference.
Air Force coach Jeff Bzdelik, in the midst of the Falcons’ best season ever, has been mentioned all season as possibly being in line for the CU job. Now Wyoming coach Steve McClain is said to be interested, but in both cases, the connections are based on speculation and nothing official.
McClain didn’t give the report of his interest any credence during Monday’s MWC coaches conference call, and CU athletic director Mike Bohn wasn’t talking.
Wyoming athletic director Tom Burman said he had heard about the report but had no other comment. As for McClain’s future at Wyoming, Burman noted the number of games remaining on the regular-season schedule and the conference tournament. The Cowboys reached the tournament’s championship game last year.
“Last year, there was a lot of talk about Steve’s future,” Burman said. “At the end of the year, we’ll review the season and the nine years Steve has been here as a whole.”
It has been a rough year for coaches in the MWC. New Mexico’s Ritchie McKay and Utah’s Ray Giacoletti have experienced uncomplimentary fan and media pressure. Colorado State’s Dale Layer and TCU’s Neil Dougherty are living with teams in the bottom half of the standings.
TCU athletic director Daniel Morrison complimented his team’s effort and hard work on the floor in a conference that is much better than a year ago.
But here’s the kicker: “We’d like to have more victories,” Morrison said. The Horned Frogs are 10-13 overall and 2-9 in conference play.
Rest stops
Discussions have gone back and forth on the benefits of having a bye on the schedule that shortens a week’s schedule from two games to one.
San Diego State has benefited the most, winning two games after a bye in the schedule. The Aztecs beat Colorado State 81-76 on Jan. 13 after a bye and Air Force 62-41 last week after some extra days off.
Air Force benefited from being in the right place at the right time in its schedule when playing Saturday at New Mexico.
With most of the cadets restricted to the grounds on a lockdown because of possible academic cheating, there was a contingent of cadets in the stands at The Pit.
The extra cheering section came from members of the academy’s track and field team that was in Albuquerque for a meet.
More viewing
The conference’s television network, the Mtn., is beefing up its coverage.
Tim Neverett is the host of “Around the Mountain,” a new feature involving media from around the conference Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. Also, “It’s a Numbers Game” (Wednesdays at 6 p.m.) delves into statistics and records. The network also has scheduled a basketball awards program March 5 at 7 p.m.
Getting greedy
With Air Force ranked No. 17 in The Associated Press poll and No. 15 in RPI, which takes into consideration record, strength of schedule and strength of opponents’ schedule, UNLV at No. 12 in the RPI and BYU No. 23, conference commissioner Craig Thompson has been confident of getting three teams in the NCAA Tournament.
But Monday, he brought up a fourth, San Diego State.
“All four could be in contention for an NCAA berth,” Thompson said.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
