Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson was smiling all the way to the bank Saturday night.
Seated courtside with the BYU-Gonzaga game in front of him, Thompson appeared to be watching his computer to check on San Diego State in double overtime as it moved on to the Sweet 16.
“We had two Sweet 16 teams in our previous 11 years,” Thompson said. “This validates what a good basketball conference we are. . . . These guys can play.”
This means a league-record seven NCAA credits for the MWC. Each game represents one credit per team. BYU will leave all of its earnings from this tournament with the MWC when it joins Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference for non-football sports next season.
“You don’t play these for units. We’re just trying to make a name for the league,” Thompson said. “The Rose Bowl championship (TCU), two Sweet 16s; it’s a dang good year. . . . We have a lot to look forward to.”
Of course, BYU’s next loss will be its last game as a MWC member. The school bolted the league it helped form for an independent course in football and the WCC in most other sports.
Still, Thompson greeted BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe with a big hug as BYU came off the floor.
“Tom’s fine. This is all business,” Thompson said. “You have to look out for yourself.”
Ball care.
Richmond coach Chris Mooney noted before the game that the key would be turnovers, and his team had to take care of the ball.
Even with Morehead State’s defense applying full-court pressure the majority of the game, the Spiders gave up the ball just six times against the Eagles.
“Tonight’s game was incredible,” Mooney said. “We had six turnovers in the game against a team that pressed every possession. … I’m proud how we won both games and how we went about our business.”
The Spiders had three turnovers in Thursday’s 69-66 triumph over Vanderbilt, nine for the two regional games.
Not since Ainge.
BYU is headed to its first Sweet 16 in exactly 30 years, since folk hero Danny Ainge carried the sixth-seeded Cougars to 1981 NCAA Tournament victories over Princeton (No. 11 seed), UCLA (No. 3) and Notre Dame (No. 2) on his last-second shot before losing to Ralph Sampson-led Virginia, a No. 1 seed.
“We’re looking forward to being able to play (in the Sweet 16),” BYU guard Jimmer Fredette said after Saturday’s convincing victory over Gonzaga. “He led his team to the Elite Eight. We realize that. We see that coast-to- coast layup he made (against Notre Dame) and everything. It’s a great moment for this school.”
