MWC still a Utes' movement

Maybe Steve McClain is onto something.

Here is what the Wyoming men's basketball head coach said in answer to the question "Is Utah really that far ahead of everyone else in the Mountain West Conference this year?"

"Not really," McClain said before pausing. "I mean, I think they're a team you have to respect.

"You have to respect their talent. You have to respect their coach. But I think coaches like to say that so if you lose to Utah, you can say 'Oh, they're the best team in the conference, you're supposed to lose to them.'

"But when you look at how hard it is to win on the road, I think it's going to go down to the wire for who can win the conference. I could be wrong, but I think that every team has the ability to play well at home so it's going to be tough."

McClain said the basketball race could be every bit as competitive as the league's first football championship, which resulted in a three-way tie.

"I still haven't seen enough of every team, but I think when you looked at how wild the Mountain West Conference was in football, I think you're going to see the same thing in b-ball."

The inaugural MWC basketball season starts on Monday with UNLV hosting BYU, No. 18 Utah playing at San Diego State and Colorado State hosting New Mexico.

Rick Majerus has turned Utah into one of the most respected programs in college basketball since taking over in 1989.

Under Majerus, the Utes have made it to the NCAA Tournament seven times including an Elite Eight appearance in 1997 and a runner-up finish in 1998. He was won or shared seven WAC titles.

For years, coaches have rightfully talked up Majerus and his team. But if the preseason is any indication, McClain could be right.

Without a strong backcourt, the Utes have already been mildly upset by Weber State and got drilled 75-55 at unranked Louisville (9-3) on Thursday night to snap a nine-game win streak.

Here's a glance at the MWC teams in alphabetical order:

* AIR FORCE (4-7): Reggie Minton's team might not be as deep or talented as the others, outside of the trio of Jarvis Croff, Tyron Wright and Tom Bellairs. But the Falcons have already shown signs of improvement. One-point losses to Long Beach State, Portland State and an eight-point loss to St. Louis at the beginning of the year are signs that the Falcons should be more competitive this season.

* BRIGHAM YOUNG (10-2): As it stands now, the Cougars look like legitimate contenders for the MWC title if they can stay healthy. They have gotten off to a good start thanks in large part to Mekeli Wesley and Terrell Lyday, but an injury to any one of head coach Steve Cleveland's starters could mean a long season ahead as his bench is very thin.

* COLORADO STATE (10-4): Ritchie McKay is for real. And so are his Rams.

A year after McKay guided CSU to the quarterfinals of the postseason NIT in his inaugural season, his team is turning heads again. Every one, including McKay, thought his team would struggle without the backcourt of Andre McKanstry and Milt Palacio, but that hasn't been the case.

After a 1-3 start, the Rams have rebounded nicely, including a 55-54 upset of then-No. 16 UCLA on Dec. 22 and a close loss to Michigan.

Two big reasons for the Rams' success are veteran forward Ceedric Goodwyn and junior college transfer Aki Palmer.

* NEW MEXICO (8-7): Hot and cold. Up and down. An unheard of five home losses. An unthinkable 70-68 upset of then No. 2 ranked Arizona. So it has gone for the Lobos thus far under new head coach Fran Fraschilla and without the services of All-America center Kenny Thomas.

The positives for New Mexico are that Lamont Long is finally starting to live up to his top billing and the team has shown it can play in spurts. The negatives are the Lobos don't have a strong presence inside and will struggle to be consistent.

* SAN DIEGO STATE (5-7): One day, Steve Fisher will fulfill his goal of putting San Diego State on the college basketball map. That day is not now and won't be this season.

"We are a team at this moment that has had stretches in most games where we've played decent to good basketball and we've also had stretches where we've played poor to awful basketball," Fisher said. "Our goal is to get consistency.

"I think we will probably be up and down with our play all season. We are hopeful Marcelo Correa and Myron Epps can be catalysts and leaders of this team."

* UTAH (11-3): Until another team proves otherwise, the Utes are still the class of the league. This year, however, Utah has been more vulnerable than in previous years, so that should give hope to all seven other MWC coaches.

But now that Majerus has Hanno Mottola back in the middle of the lineup running things alongside Alex Jensen, the nod still goes to Utah. Once Majerus' improving backcourt finds its rhythm, the Utes will be even stronger.

* WYOMING (8-4): Christmas came early for the rest of the MWC while the Grinch paid McClain a visit. His top player, Ugo Udezue, had knee surgery on Dec. 14. To get an idea of what the 6-foot-8 big man means to the Cowboys, this analogy is appropriate: losing Udezue is the equivalent of UNLV losing Kaspars Kambala.

McClain has done about the best that he can with what is left. That might not be enough to overwhelm many MWC foes, but it may be enough for the Cowboys to get by -- as long as LeDarion Jones and Josh Davis continue to step up.

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