Category: Men’s Basketball

Towards a Better Basketball Conference

With the Lobos getting the weekend off, it feels as good as a time as any to revisit a topic that’s been going through my mind a lot recently: conference realignment. After half of the teams in the Mountain West batted their eyelashes at the Big 12 – and were all turned down – it feels like the conference is in a weird place right now and needs to do something to survive. Especially given that none of the Power 5 conferences are likely to be looking for new members and the gap between the haves and the have-nots seems like it’s growing every day. The Mountain West is pretty solidly one of the best of the rest, but the truth is, it feels hard to imagine the conference ever joining the ranks of the elite in football, which is where most of the attention is focused these days.

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About Men’s Basketball’s Unbalanced Schedules

The next two games for the Lobos present a great opportunity to discuss the unbalanced schedule that happens in the Mountain West. The Lobos’ next two games are against the only two teams that they play once this season in SJSU (at home) and Air Force (on the road). Because of the current structure of the Mountain West, with 11 teams and an 18-game conference schedule, every year each team plays two teams only a single time, with both a home and away matchup against the other eight teams. Since the start of the 2013-2014 season, when that structure was put in place, the conference has seen a few teams get unfair unbalanced schedules (both good and bad). This has led to some unfair advantages, and in some cases, huge disadvantages. First off, we will look at each year and see what the numbers tell us and break down who caught the breaks in the schedule and who didn’t for all 11 teams. Then, we will look at the possible solutions for this problem, and determine if there is a way that to bring as much schedule balance as possible.

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Men’s Basketball Game 24 Preview: SJSU

The Lobos gutted out a win at UNLV on Wednesday, overcoming the absence of two starters thanks to some solid team play. They’ll have to do it again on Saturday, as both Tim and Dane are still out for this game against SJSU. Although they are towards the bottom of the conference, the Spartans aren’t pushovers, so the Lobos will still need to get good performances by the entire roster if they’re going to keep pace with the conference leaders.

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Men’s Basketball Game 22 Preview: Nevada

The Lobos are on a roll right now, having won 4 straight games and moving just a half game back of first place in the conference. They now head on the road to take on the only team ahead of them: the Nevada Wolf Pack. You probably remember what happened last time these two teams faced each other, as it is now required to be mentioned at least eight times each Lobo game, so you know the Lobos haven’t forgotten either. I’m sure they’ll be ready for this one.

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Men’s Basketball Game 21 Preview: Utah State

The Lobos are now on a three-game winning streak and are riding as high as they’ve been all season. They’ll take this high into their rematch with Utah State, who the Lobos lost to out in Logan in a game that began the three-game losing streak that the Lobos just pulled themselves out of. It clearly won’t be an easy game, but if the Lobos keep playing well, they’ll have a good shot at getting their revenge.

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Men’s Basketball Game 19 Preview: Boise St.

It might have got a little lost in the media shuffle, but the Lobos played a basketball game against CSU this past Saturday. And they played really well! Their impressive win snapped a three-game losing streak and put them right back in the hunt for a conference title. Tuesday night, they’ll take on the first-place Boise State Broncos, where a win would put them in a great position going forward.

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Men’s Basketball Game 18 Preview: CSU

The Lobos are in a bit of a skid, having lost three straight conference games, all of which saw them with second-half leads. Unfortunately, things don’t get easier from here, with another tough road swing staring them in the face. First up is Colorado St., who are one of the hottest teams in the conference and tend to play well at home. It won’t be an easy one, by any measure, but a win could be just the thing to get the team back on track, and talk some Lobo fans off the ledge.

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