Who could have guessed that No. 24 Colorado State would be carrying the banner for the Mountain West in men’s basketball as league play is about to begin? Anyone?
The league’s preseason media poll projected the Rams to finish fifth. That continues to be a popular topic in the locker room.
“Our guys are all business,” Colorado State coach Larry Eustachy said. “They are on a mission. They want to prove people wrong.”
Colorado State (13-0) opens its conference schedule Wednesday with a 7 p.m. game at Moby Arena against Boise State. The Broncos (10-3) were picked to finish second, behind favorite San Diego State (10-3), in the preseason poll. Also rated higher in the preseason were New Mexico (8-4) and UNLV (9-3).
To be fair, CSU began the season as something of an unknown. The Rams returned senior stalwarts J.J. Avila (14.5 points per game this season) and Daniel Bejarano (11.2), but the roster includes a slew of new players.
“We knew what we had,” CSU junior guard Joe De Ciman said.
The addition of forwards Stanton Kidd and Tiel Daniels and guards Gian Clavell and John Gillon has transformed Colorado State into a balanced, versatile unit that can win in different ways. Including Kidd (12.5) and Clavell (10.3), Colorado State has four double-figure scorers. Three others contribute six or more points per game.
CSU is outshooting its opponents .464 to .424 from the field and claims the rebounding battle by almost six per game.
“We can score at all five positions with certain lineups,” Eustachy said. “That makes up for a lot of mistakes. And this has the potential to be the best defensive team I’ve ever coached.”
According to , the Mountain West rates just 10th among Division I conferences in team RPI and could be considered something of a disappointment through nonconference play. The only other Mountain West team in the national rankings is San Diego State, which is No. 25 in the USA Today coaches poll. CSU is No. 24 in both major polls.
The Mountain West is relatively young, with the rosters of the 11 teams numbering 94 freshmen or sophomores. Inexperience may contribute to spotty shooting. Four MW teams are hitting less than 30 percent on 3-pointers, including traditional powers San Diego State (.280) and New Mexico (.271).
“The conference is not as deep as my first year (2012-13) here,” Eustachy said. “But I think the upper half is every bit as strong.”
Following is a brief look at the MW title contenders:
Colorado State (13-0) – Rams are rolling, and the experience of earning road victories in hostile environments at Colorado, Denver and New Mexico State should help in conference play.
San Diego State (10-3) – Always athletic, the Aztecs don’t have a bad loss, having come up short against Arizona, Washington and Cincinnati. A lack of dependable outside shooters can be an Achilles’ heel in tight games.
Boise State (10-3) – Broncos must do without all-conference senior swingman Anthony Drmic, who will undergo season-ending ankle surgery. Drmic and fellow senior guard Derrick Marks are career 1,400-point scorers.
UNLV (9-3) – With no returning starters, the young Runnin’ Rebels squad has the usual highs (win over Arizona) and lows (needing OT at home to beat Portland State). But there’s a big and bouncy upside.
Wyoming (11-2) – As usual, the Cowboys are dominating the league’s defensive statistics. But even with Larry Nance Jr. (14.5), Wyoming may lack the firepower to win consistently on the road.
New Mexico (8-4) – Lobos lost three standouts — Cameron Bairstow, Alex Kirk and Kendall Williams — and if sophomore Cullen Neal (ankle) must redshirt, there may not be enough playmakers.
Tom Kensler: Tkensler@denverpost.com or
