SB Nation - Edvinas Ruzgas

UNLV looks to pad resume as they host TCU

David Fucillo — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:00:29 -0000

Next Game

Wednesday, Feb 24, 2010, 8:00 PM PST
TV: The Mtn.
Thomas & Mack Center

UNLV continues their run through the bottom of the Mountain West as they host the TCU Horned Frogs. After a three-game struggle, UNLV rebounded over the weekend to blast Colorado State 70-39. It was UNLV's first complete effort in quite some time. TCU was blown out at home 68-51 by San Diego State, as they have alternated wins and losses the last three weeks, with their wins coming against the two MWC bottom-dwellers.

The last time these two teams met, TCU got a fairly balanced offensive effort, but Tre'Von Willis scored a career-high (at the time) 30 points, and was strongly supported by Chace Stanback's 19 points, and another 10 from Matt Shaw. Since that game, while UNLV has battled with the titans of the MWC, while TCU has dropped to 4-8 in conference and is looking for anything to right the ship.

UNLV is once again a heavy favorite and looking to add to a tournament resume that is close to enough, but maybe not quite there. The three straight losses dropped UNLV into the 40s in RPI. While that's certainly not enough to exclude them from the tournament, the biggest worry is the on-going surge of a school like Connecticut. The Huskies currently stand at 17-11 with an RPI of 41 after a monster home upset of West Virginia. While it should come down to the numbers, if you're a believer in any kind of East Coast bias, you might be getting a little nervous.

I think my own nerves just come from last season's slide into the NIT. If you're not a lock for the tournament, you never know what might get in your way. After all, a mid-major like Northern Iowa should roll to their conference title. But upsets along the way could take away from the pool of at-large bids. This applies to any conference. Teams like UNLV want favorites winning conference tournaments, not Cinderellas.

In the meantime, all the Rebels can do is win the games on their schedule. And after UNLV's showing against Colorado State, there is no reason for them not to take care of business against TCU. The Horned Frogs do bring some talent to the table. They're led by Ronnie Moss and his 14.4 ppg and 6.3 apg. UNLV actually contained him fairly well last time, holding him to just 9 points. Moss generally gets help from Zvonko Buljan (12.0 ppg/8.5 rpg) and Edvinas Ruzgas (10.8 ppg).

UNLV will be looking for another balanced effort. Tre'Von Willis has been the key throughout the season, but UNLV is at its best when he doesn't have to carry the entire scoring load. Anthony Marshall has been stepping up his game as of late, and these late season games could be great confidence boosters for him heading into postseason play. Chace Stanback is the de facto #2 guy on this team, but if Marshall can become a consistent contributor, UNLV will be in great shape. If they can get sufficiently healthy by March, they could be rolling quite deep into the conference tournament.

UNLV Rebels

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Tre`Von Willis	26	29.4	5.6	11.7	48.2	1.2	4.1	29.9	5.5	6.6	84.2	0.8	3.1	3.9	3.5	2.4	1.2	0.2	2.5	18.0
Chace Stanback	27	25.4	3.7	8.8	42.2	0.8	2.7	29.2	1.7	2.1	80.7	1.6	3.9	5.5	1.3	1.6	1.4	0.8	2.6	9.9
Oscar Bellfield	27	28.1	3.4	8.1	41.6	1.3	3.6	36.1	1.3	1.8	73.5	0.7	1.8	2.6	4.4	2.0	0.9	0.2	2.4	9.4
Matt Shaw	25	16.0	2.8	5.5	50.4	1.0	2.1	45.3	1.0	1.4	74.3	0.9	2.2	3.1	0.4	0.6	0.3	0.6	2.2	7.4
Derrick Jasper	21	24.5	2.6	5.6	46.2	0.4	1.6	26.5	1.1	2.2	48.9	0.5	4.3	4.9	2.9	1.3	1.1	0.4	2.2	6.8
Kendall Wallace	27	19.1	2.2	5.4	40.8	1.7	4.3	38.8	0.5	0.6	76.5	0.4	1.3	1.7	1.1	0.5	0.3	0.0	1.8	6.6
Anthony Marshall	27	17.3	2.0	4.8	40.8	0.0	0.9	4.3	1.0	1.8	56.3	0.7	1.9	2.6	1.4	1.4	1.2	0.3	1.7	5.0
Darris Santee	27	12.7	1.9	3.1	60.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.9	1.5	56.1	1.0	2.5	3.5	0.1	0.6	0.3	0.5	1.9	4.6
Brice Massamba	27	12.8	1.6	2.3	72.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.6	64.3	1.0	1.0	2.0	0.3	0.6	0.1	0.4	2.2	4.3
Justin Hawkins	27	12.1	1.1	3.0	37.8	0.3	1.0	25.9	0.9	1.3	69.4	0.5	0.7	1.3	0.7	0.4	0.9	0.2	0.9	3.6
Steve Jones	27	10.6	0.6	1.5	36.6	0.1	0.5	15.4	0.4	0.5	76.9	0.6	0.6	1.2	0.4	0.4	0.1	0.0	0.9	1.4
Todd Hanni	5	3.4	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.6	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.2	0.6	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.0
Tyler Norman	6	2.7	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.3	0.5	0.0	0.3	0.5	0.2	0.2	0.0
Mychal Martinez	5	1.8	0.0	0.6	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0

TCU Horned Frogs

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Ronnie Moss	27	33.9	4.9	12.6	39.1	1.9	5.3	35.9	2.7	4.0	68.2	0.6	2.6	3.2	6.3	3.7	0.8	0.3	2.1	14.4
Zvonko Buljan	26	28.0	4.4	9.8	44.9	0.8	3.1	25.0	2.4	3.3	72.1	2.0	6.5	8.5	2.2	3.4	0.7	0.3	3.0	12.0
Edvinas Ruzgas	27	31.0	3.8	7.6	49.8	2.0	4.7	42.2	1.3	1.8	69.4	0.6	2.3	2.9	0.6	0.7	0.5	0.0	1.5	10.8
Greg Hill	25	20.2	2.3	5.9	39.2	1.3	4.0	32.0	1.7	2.0	82.4	0.3	1.6	2.0	1.0	1.2	0.7	0.1	1.6	7.6
Nikola Cerina	27	20.7	2.0	4.1	48.2	0.3	0.7	36.8	1.3	2.3	59.0	1.2	2.9	4.0	0.6	1.3	0.3	0.6	3.2	5.6
Kevin Butler	27	23.8	2.2	3.9	57.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.6	61.4	2.7	2.2	4.9	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.6	2.6	5.4
Garlon Green	26	16.7	1.3	3.3	41.2	0.2	1.2	20.0	1.2	1.7	71.1	0.6	1.8	2.4	0.3	0.8	0.2	0.3	2.0	4.2
Xavier Roberson	25	12.5	1.4	3.4	41.2	0.8	1.9	42.6	0.5	0.7	72.2	0.2	0.9	1.1	0.9	1.0	0.6	0.0	1.8	4.1
Keion Mitchem	27	18.3	1.5	3.5	42.1	0.6	1.9	32.7	0.3	0.5	69.2	0.4	1.4	1.9	1.5	1.0	0.6	0.0	1.3	3.9
Tory Woods	3	1.7	0.3	1.0	33.3	0.0	0.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.7
Logan Lancon	9	4.0	0.2	0.8	28.6	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.1	0.2	50.0	0.2	0.4	0.7	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.0	0.7	0.6
Marin Bavcevic	4	1.8	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.0
Zach Huie	2	1.5	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.0

Willis and Stanback carry UNLV to 79-70 victory over TCU

David Fucillo — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 06:00:21 -0000

Final - 1.23.2010	1	2	Total
UNLV Runnin Rebels	38	41	79
TCU Horned Frogs	30	40	70

Complete Coverage >

Tre'Von Willis and Chace Stanback provided yet another impressive dual performance to carry UNLV to a 79-70 victory over TCU. UNLV jumped out early, but TCU clawed their way back to the game thanks to some red hot 3-pt shooting. However, TCU was unable to get over the hump against a determined UNLV squad. Stanback provided another consistent performance with 19 points, included numerous coming from his now favorite mid-range jumper position.

Willis led the team with 30 points and even though the conference season is not quite halfway done, Willis has to be considered on the short list for conference player of the year. He's scored 20+ in every conference game, while mixing in rebounds and assists, and being a steady performer at the line. There are some very talented players in the Mountain West, and Tre'Von Willis is definitely one of them.

UNLV was in control for most of the first half, going up by 8 at the halfway mark. The lead would have been even greater, if not for the lights-out shooting of the Horned Frogs, who hit six first half three pointers. UNLV was answering primarily with 2s, but solid defense kept them in the lead. UNLV's offensive performance was a bit more diverse early on, as the big men got in on the act, with Massamba, Santee, and Shaw combining for 22 points.

UNLV relaxed a bit in the second half, and TCU kept on firing up the basketball, cutting into the Rebel lead. Greg Hill and Edvinas Ruzgas were key as they each hit three 3-pointers. After cutting the lead to one possession on a couple occasions, TCU was able to tie it up at 60 with 8:35 to go. However, a 9-0 UNLV run seemed to put the game out of reach. TCU cut the lead back down to 2 points in the final minute, but UNLV hit their free throws and generally did what was needed to put away a tough game.

The last time these two teams met in Ft. Worth, TCU pulled out a 7 point win, in a game in which they outrebounded and simply outplayed the Rebels. This afternoon was not a repeat performance, as UNLV outrebounded TCU and generally hounded them most of the game.

Up Next
UNLV: The Rebels head home to face a struggling Air Force team still looking for their first conference win. Given that UNLV blew their last home game against Utah, they better not be looking past the Falcons, as bad as they might be. UNLV has their "bye" next Saturday, so with BYU still a couple games away, I don't think they get caught looking past the Falcons.

TCU: The Horned Frogs find themselves in a bit of a rut at this point, with a pair of difficult matchups coming up this week. TCU travels to Colorado State on Wednesday and then hosts New Mexico on Saturday. Colorado State appears to clearly not be in the top tier of teams in the conference, but is still better than the lower tier of teams. They'll be needing this win, so TCU could be in for a tough game.

UNLV looks to hold serve in tightening MWC race

David Fucillo — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:00:22 -0000

Next Game

UNLV Runnin Rebels
@ TCU Horned Frogs

Saturday, Jan 23, 2010, 3:00 PM PST
TV: CBS College Sports
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum

Complete Coverage >

While BYU is holding on to the title of best team in the conference, the battle for #2 team has tightened up, with the expected teams of UNLV, New Mexico and San Diego State all sitting together at 3-2 in conference. The Rebels have the arguable edge with wins over the other two teams, but they'll need to keep taking care of business this afternoon on the road at TCU. TCU was a small part of the eventual unglueing that was the 2008-2009 UNLV Rebels season. Inconsistency might be the best description for TCU at this point, as they have not been able to get any sort of sustained winning streak going to date. UNLV has to avoid a letdown if they want to keep pace in the conference race.

TCU is led by sophomore guard Ronnie Moss with 13.7 ppg, followed by senior forward Zvonko Buljan with 13.4 ppg and senior guard Edvinas Ruzgas with 12.7 ppg. Buljan leads in rebounds as well with 9.3 rpg while sophomore forward Kevin Butler follows with 5.6 rpg. Buljan was selected to the preseason all-MWC team. The Frogs are 8-3 at home this season and will be looking for their second straight home win against UNLV. Last season TCU was the first conference loss in a slate of games that decimated a UNLV season that was gaining steam leading up to that game.

The Rebels seem to finally be finding a consistent #2 scorer to pair with Tre'Von Willis. Chace Stanback took some time to get going, but has now scored double digit points in 4 straight games, culminating in a career high 19 on Wednesday at Colorado State. If UNLV can continue to consistently get 14-17 points from Stanback, it will ease Willis' scoring load. Since conference play began, Stanback is 5th in the league in both scoring (13.6) and rebounding (7.4). Meanwhile, Tre'Von Willis has put up 20+ points in all five conference games. Willis is the #2 scorer in the MWC with 16.9 points per game, but is leading the conference since conference play began with 23.0 point per game.

UNLV Rebels

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Tre`Von Willis	18	27.3	5.4	11.2	48.3	1.1	3.9	27.1	5.1	5.8	87.5	0.9	2.9	3.8	3.1	2.4	1.1	0.2	2.8	16.9
Oscar Bellfield	19	27.0	3.6	8.5	42.6	1.2	3.3	34.9	1.6	2.1	75.0	0.8	1.8	2.6	4.6	2.1	1.2	0.3	2.8	10.0
Chace Stanback	19	24.0	3.6	8.6	42.3	0.7	2.4	28.9	1.9	2.4	82.2	1.7	3.8	5.6	1.3	1.7	1.6	0.7	2.5	9.9
Derrick Jasper	19	25.0	2.7	5.9	46.4	0.5	1.8	26.5	1.1	2.3	48.8	0.6	4.1	4.7	2.8	1.4	1.2	0.5	2.3	7.1
Kendall Wallace	19	18.1	2.3	5.4	42.2	1.7	4.2	41.8	0.6	0.8	73.3	0.5	1.4	1.9	0.9	0.4	0.4	0.0	1.8	6.8
Matt Shaw	19	16.2	2.3	5.2	43.9	0.8	2.0	39.5	1.2	1.6	76.7	0.8	2.1	2.9	0.4	0.6	0.4	0.6	2.5	6.5
Anthony Marshall	19	16.9	1.9	5.6	34.9	0.1	1.1	4.8	1.0	1.7	57.6	0.8	1.3	2.1	1.3	1.4	1.3	0.3	1.6	4.9
Darris Santee	19	12.4	1.8	2.9	61.8	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.1	1.9	56.8	1.1	2.8	3.8	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.6	1.9	4.7
Brice Massamba	19	11.6	1.5	2.1	72.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.1	1.7	65.6	1.3	0.8	2.1	0.3	0.4	0.2	0.3	2.2	4.2
Justin Hawkins	19	12.3	1.2	3.0	40.4	0.4	1.2	36.4	1.2	1.7	68.8	0.6	0.7	1.3	0.6	0.5	0.7	0.3	0.9	4.0
Steve Jones	19	11.4	0.6	1.9	33.3	0.1	0.6	9.1	0.5	0.6	81.8	0.6	0.6	1.2	0.5	0.4	0.1	0.1	1.1	1.8
Todd Hanni	4	3.5	0.0	1.3	0.0	0.0	0.8	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.3	0.8	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.0
Tyler Norman	5	2.6	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.0	0.2	0.6	0.0	0.0	0.0
Mychal Martinez	4	1.5	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0

TCU Horned Frogs

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Ronnie Moss	19	33.1	4.4	12.2	36.4	1.9	5.6	34.0	2.9	4.5	65.1	0.6	2.5	3.1	6.4	3.7	1.0	0.3	2.2	13.7
Zvonko Buljan	19	28.6	4.9	10.4	47.2	0.8	3.2	25.0	2.8	3.8	74.0	2.2	7.1	9.3	2.5	4.1	0.7	0.3	3.3	13.4
Edvinas Ruzgas	19	31.7	4.5	8.7	51.5	2.2	5.3	41.6	1.6	2.2	73.2	0.7	2.4	3.1	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.1	1.5	12.7
Kevin Butler	19	24.8	2.6	4.3	59.8	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.3	2.2	59.5	3.2	2.4	5.6	0.8	0.6	0.8	0.6	2.6	6.5
Greg Hill	17	19.1	2.0	5.4	37.0	1.0	3.6	27.9	1.5	1.8	80.6	0.3	1.6	1.9	1.3	1.4	0.8	0.2	1.5	6.5
Keion Mitchem	19	20.1	1.8	4.1	43.6	0.7	2.3	32.6	0.4	0.6	72.7	0.6	1.4	2.1	1.7	0.9	0.6	0.0	1.4	4.7
Garlon Green	19	16.8	1.5	3.4	43.8	0.3	1.1	23.8	1.4	2.0	71.1	0.7	1.7	2.4	0.2	0.9	0.2	0.4	1.9	4.6
Nikola Cerina	19	17.8	1.6	3.1	51.7	0.2	0.5	30.0	0.8	1.4	57.7	1.1	2.6	3.7	0.7	0.9	0.3	0.5	2.9	4.1
Xavier Roberson	18	11.8	1.2	3.1	39.3	0.6	1.6	34.5	0.7	0.9	75.0	0.2	1.0	1.2	0.9	1.1	0.6	0.0	1.4	3.7
Tory Woods	3	1.7	0.3	1.0	33.3	0.0	0.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.7
Logan Lancon	9	4.0	0.2	0.8	28.6	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.1	0.2	50.0	0.2	0.4	0.7	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.0	0.7	0.6
Marin Bavcevic	4	1.8	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.0
Zach Huie	2	1.5	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.0

DTN's Basketball Game Preview :: Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. TCU Horned Frogs

Seth C — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:00:17 -0000

INFORMATION:	Detail
OPPONENT:	TCU Horned Frogs (5-3, 0-0)
LOCATION:	Daniel-Meyer Coliseum : Ft. Worth, Texas
DATE:	December 8, 2009
TIME:	6:00 p.m. CST
TV:	The Mountain
RADIO:	Affiliates
GAME CAST:	Fox Sports

Game Day Stat:

TCU: The Horned Frogs aren't really great at anything, but they're not bad at anything either. Average offensively (108th adjusted offensive efficiency) and average defensively (157th adjusted defensive efficiency). The one number that does stick out is that TCU has already shot 195 3-point shots for the year (that's an average of 24.375 per game) which seems unbelievable and I keep thinking that this isn't right, but I'm pretty sure that it is. If the threes are falling, then I think the Horned Frogs have a good chance.

Texas Tech: As good as the defense continues to be (despite giving up 92 points against Washington), which is 22nd in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency, the offense is slowly but surely coming around. Adjusted offensive efficiency is sitting at 67th in the nation, and that figure is slowly but surely climbing as the season progresses. I'm perfectly fine for the offense to be behind the defense at this point.

Player Focus:

TCU: PG Ronnie Moss is almost a one man show, as the sophomore is scoring 18 points and dishing out over 7 assists a game. The main beneficiary of Moss' play is senior SG Edvinas Ruzgas, who's scoring 15 points a game. As a side note, both Moss and Ruzgas are shooting over 44% behind the 3-point line and Moss has thrown up 52 3-point shots, while Ruzgas has shot 47. Most likely, you'll probably see the Texas Tech defense focus on the perimeter of these two players

Texas Tech: SF Brad Reese shot Texas Tech to a 9 point lead against Washington on Thursday night, in part because he made 3 of 5 3-point shots. Reese has run a little hot and cold with his 3 point shots. For the season, Reese is only hitting 33.3% of his 3-point shots and despite the fact that he was tremendous on Thursday, I'd say that Reese cannot fall in love with the 3-point shot, but rather he must continue to work mis-matches on his mid-range game.

Needs Repair:

TCU: Defensively, the Horned Frogs struggle quite a bit. TCU is allowing 1.02 points per possession (that's not good) and opponents are shooting an eFG% of 49.2% against the Frogs, which is okay, but when a team allows so many points per possessions and allows an offensive rebound percentage of 37%, then this team is going to struggle to win games. Key for the Red Raiders will be to hit the boards.

Texas Tech: Just to remind everyone how tough it is to win on the road, Texas Tech beat the #10 team in the country on Thursday night at home, but found a way to allow the number 210th ranked Stephen F. Austin team to play them within a bucket. It's different on the road, and if this team doesn't constantly remind themselves of that fact, then I will. This team better be ready to play a close, tight game on Tuesday.

BtB 2009-10 Mountain West Preview

Chris Dobbertean — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:00:29 -0000

Last season, the Mountain West's eternal Utah rivals represented the conference in the NCAAs, with both Utah and BYU falling in the first round. The Utes fell victim to in a now-traditional 12 over 5 upset, while the Cougars lost to Texas A&M for the second straight tourney. San Diego State could've been the third pick MWC team to make the field of 65, but the Committee passed on the Aztecs, despite their run to the conference title game. SDSU recovered to make it to the NIT semis. UNLV looked to be a solid bet for the tourney midseason, but a 4-6 finish to the MWC season, featuring three losses to the Aztecs, doomed them to the NIT as well.

Teams like the Utes, Aztecs, Rebels, and New Mexico all lost significant contributors during the offseason, but they also brought in plenty of new blood. How quickly they can integrate their talented newcomers will determine if they can pose a serious threat to BYU, the team who lost the least after 2008-09, at the top of the league.

When you add in Wyoming, who managed to finish 7-9 in the league last season, six of the league's nine members have gotten to the point where they're competitive night in and night out. That means TCU and Colorado State really need to raise their games and the league can only hope that Air Force can get back to the level they reached back in the early and mid-00s.

On the schedule front, there will be one big change this season. In a bid to improve non-conference scheduling and attract more national attention, the Mountain West and Missouri Valley conferences will face off in their first-ever challenge series this season.

More on the nine teams of the Mountain West after the jump.

Let's start with a look at last season's final MWC standings.

Mountain West Conference Standings

(updated 3.31.2009 at 10:02 PM EDT)

	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
BYU Cougars	12	4	25	8
Utah Utes	12	4	24	10
New Mexico Lobos	12	4	22	12
San Diego St. Aztecs	11	5	26	10
UNLV Runnin Rebels	9	7	21	11
Wyoming Cowboys	7	9	19	14
TCU Horned Frogs	5	11	14	17
Colorado St. Rams	4	12	9	22
Air Force Falcons	0	16	10	21

Now here are my picks for the 2009-10 season, presented in reverse order. If a team name appears as a red link, click it to visit that school's SBNation site throughout the season for more in-depth analysis. You can also visit our Mountain West site, the Mountain West Connection.

Air Force (last NCAA: 2006) If Jeff Reynolds' Falcons played offense as well as they play defense, they'd return to contention. Thanks to the graduation of the team's three leading scorers from last season, that doesn't look likely this season. The Academy's top two returnees, 6-4 junior guard Evan Washington and 6-8 junior F/C Grant Parker, averaged a combined 12.8 ppg last season, so it could be another long season in Colorado Springs. The Falcons will participate in the Reggie Minton Invitational against Dickinson State, then either Northern Colorado or Texas Southern. They'll also face Niagara in UTEP's Sun Bowl invitational.

Colorado State (last NCAA: 2003) This season, there isn't a ton of hope up I-25 in Fort Collins either. Leading scorer Marcus Walker (17.1 ppg) is gone, and while sophomore PG Jesse Carr (8.8 ppg, 2.5 apg) is back from the injury that cut his freshman season short, he lacks targets in the backcourt. 6-9 junior Andy Ogide, who averaged 10+ points and nearly 6 boards a game in his first season after transferring from Ole Miss, anchors the frontcourt, while 6-7 junior Travis Franklin (6.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg) will have to boost his production. The Rams travel to Eugene for a round-robin that features host Oregon, UC Davis, and Winston-Salem State. CSU also welcomes Denver and Colorado to Moby Arena, while they visit UCLA.

TCU (last NCAA: 1998) Jim Christian lost leading scorer Kevin Langford (13.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg), but has two good building blocks remaining--6-9 Croatian Zvonko Buljan, who earned conference Newcomer of the Year honors in his first season out of junior college, averaging 12.3 points and almost 8 boards a game, and 6-6 Lithuanian senior Edvinas Ruzgas (10 ppg), the team's main perimeter threat. 6-2 sophomore Ronnie Moss (10.2 ppg) is also back, and the addition of JC transfer Greg Hill--another 3-point specialist--and freshman PG Xavier Roberson, is enough to ensure the Horned Frogs' backcourt should be strong. There isn't much experience in the frontcourt beyond Buljan though. Christian hopes 6-7 freshman Garlon Green, the brother of Dallas Maverick Gerald, 6-10 JC transfer Cheick Kone (from Mali), and 6-9 Nikola Cerina (from Serbia) can provide some help. TCU will participate in the West region of the NIT Season Tip-Off, where they have to face hosts Arizona State in their first game.

Wyoming (last NCAA: 2002) The Cowboys lost three key performers off a team that couldn't even manage a .500 mark in the Mountain West last season (and lost a CBI home game to Northeastern), including PG Brandon Ewing (18.5 ppg, 5 apg), SG Sean Ogirri (14.4 ppg), and 6-7 F Tyson Johnson (13.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg). 5-9 New Mexico State transfer JayDee Luster comes on just in time to replace Ewing at the point, while 6-4 JC transfer Thomas Manzano should see immediate minutes. Meanwhile, the frontcourt will be the Cowboys' strength, as 6-8 Afam Muojeke looks to build on a solid freshman season where he averaged almost 14 points and over 5 boards a game. 6-10 Adam Waddell (5.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg) is also back, while 6-9 Ryan Dermody is back from an injury that cost him last season. Plus, 7-2 Auburn transfer Boubacar Sylla comes aboard to play center this season. The Pokes' schedule is manageable, as they travel to Tennessee and Northern Iowa (for the Challenge) and host Akron this season.

New Mexico (last NCAA: 2005) Steve Alford's Lobos are going after their third straight 20-plus win season, but they'll have to do it without three of their four leading scorers from last season. 6-6 senior swingman Ramon Martinez will be expected to improve on the 10.6 points he managed in 2008-09, as will 6-1 junior PG Dairese Gary (8.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and 6-5 soph Phillip McDonald (7.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg). The frontcourt is a bit thin, as 6-8 sophomore A.J. Hardeman (2.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg) is the key returnee. Expect 6-7 JC transfer Darington Hobson to make an immediate impact on the frontline. The Lobos face a difficult schedule with California, Dayton, and Creighton (as part of the Challenge) visiting the Pit. Louisiana Tech, Miami (OH), and Nicholls State will also visit for a round-robin tournament. New Mexico will also visit Oral Roberts and face Texas A&M in Houston.

Utah (last NCAA: 2009) Jim Boylen has a lot of holes to fill, as the Utes will have to do without their four leading scorers from last year. The biggest loss is, of course, that of 7-2 Australian C Luke Nevill (16.8 ppg, 9 rpg). In the backcourt, you'll see more from 6-5 senior Luka Drca (7.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg) and 6-5 junior Carlon Brown (9.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg). Among the bigs, 6-11 Kim Tillie (3.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and 7-foot redshirt freshman Jason Washburn have the unenviable task of trying to replace Nevill. Two other JC transfers 6-7 G/F Jay Watkins and 6-9 F Matt Read will see a lot of action right off the bat. Utah has a difficult non-conference slate. They'll face Bradley, then either Illinois or Oklahoma State in the Las Vegas Invitational. The Utes also welcome Michigan, Oklahoma, and Utah State to the Huntsman Center, while they visit LSU and Weber State.

UNLV (last NCAA: 2008) The Rebels are among many Mountain West contenders who lost a lot of star power after last season, as G Wink Adams, swingman Rene Rougeau, and F Joe Darger are all gone. However, Lon Kruger welcomes back 6-4 G Tre'Von Willis (11.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and brings 6-8 UCLA transfer Chase Stanback to bolster the frontline and 6-6 Kentucky transfer Derrick Jasper to run the point. 6-11 Carlos Lopez, another highly regarded newcomer, will push 6-8 Darris Santee and 6-10 Brice Massamba, two underperforming returnees, for playing time. UNLV hosts Louisville, Nevada, Kansas State, and Southern Illinois (in the Challenge), while they visitArizona and Hawai'i for the Diamond Head Classic, where they open with SMU.

San Diego State (last NCAA: 2006) It's a Winter Olympic year, so expect Steve Fisher's Aztecs to go dancing. SDSU's previous tourney appearances under the former Michigan coach were in 2002 and 2006. If the Aztecs do make it, their newcomers will have had a lot to do with it. Four key players from last year's NIT semifinalists are gone, including Lorrenzo Wade (14.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg) and Kyle Spain (14 ppg, 5.3 rpg). 6-8 junior forward Billy White (8.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg) is ready for a breakout year, as is 6-7 soph Tim Shelton (7.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg). Plus, Fisher's newcomers include a bunch of guys who can score. Three transfers with D-I experience should have an immediate impact--6-10 C Brian Cantwell (Illinois), 6-5 G Tyrone Shelley, and 6-9 F Malcolm Thomas (both Pepperdine). Plus, freshmen F Kawli Leonard, G Chase Tapley, and F Alec Williams add even more firepower. The Aztecs' schedule features a November 17 meeting with St. Mary's, a home game with Arizona, a visit to Arizona State, and four games in the inagural West Coast Classic. SDSU will host Santa Clara and Northern Arizona and visit Fresno State and Pacific in that event.

BYU (last NCAA: 2009) Dave Rose will be back to coach the Cougars this season after fighting a rare form of pancreatic cancer this summer. That means the Cougars, whose only significant loss was leading scorer Lee Cummard (16.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.4 ppg), should play some inspired basketball this season. Two of last year's key men 6-2 junior guard Jimmer Fredette (16.2 ppg, 4.1 apg) and dangerous senior swingman Jonathan Tavernari (15.7 ppg, 7.2 ppg, 38% from 3) should be even better this season, and there are plenty of other backcourt weapons at Rose's disposal--6-3 junior defensive specialist Jackson Emery (7,8 ppg, 3.8 rpg), 6-5 Ivorian sophomore Charles Abouo, and highly-regarded freshman Tyler Haws. In the frontcourt, 6-11 senior C Chris Miles is the anchor (7.1 ppg, 4 rpg), while 6-8 Noah Hartsock (2.4 ppg) is ready to build off the 10 points he scored in the Cougars NCAA loss and 6-10 soph James Anderson (2.6 ppg, 1.6 rpg) could also be ready for a breakout season. BYU's schedule includes home dates with Bradley in the MVC/MWC Challenge and Arizona State, along with games against Nevada and either C-USA favorite Tulsa or Nebraska in the Las Vegas Classic.

The Cougars are my pick to claim the MWC's auto bid for this season. They'll appear in my 2009-10 Final Preseason Bracket, which I will release on November 9. The big question is, how many at-larges can the Mountain West earn this season.

To wrap up this preview, here is my preseason All-MWC team, featuring the best returning players from last season.

Preseason All-MWC Team

Player of the Year: Jimmer Fredette, 6-2 G, Jr. (BYU)

Remainder of the Team
Roman Martinez, 6-6 G/F, Sr. (New Mexico)
Afam Muojeke, 6-7 G/F, So. (Wyoming)
Jonathan Tavernari, 6-6 G/F, Sr. (BYU)
Billy White, 6-8 F, Jr. (San Diego State)

Poll

Who is your pick to win the Mountain West this season?

Air Force

1 votes

BYU

4 votes

Colorado State

0 votes

UNLV

2 votes

New Mexico

4 votes

San Diego State

6 votes

TCU

0 votes

Utah

3 votes

Wyoming

0 votes

20 votes | Poll has closed

TCU Horned Frog Basketball Preview 09-10

Jeremy Mauss — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:09:14 -0000

TCU has not been really good in basketball since the Kurt Thomas days where he is still only the third player in NCAA history to lead the nation in scoring and rebounding which he accomplished in 1994. Last year the Horned Frogs had another losing record at 14-17 and losing to Utah in the Mountain West tournament.

This is year two of Jim Christian, and he has his hands full in getting the Horned Frogs back to respectability. The last winning season was in 2004-05 where TCU won two games in the NIT tournament. Since then they have been at the bottom of the Mountain West ever since that season.

TCU brought in a huge class with seven players enrolling this year none are ranked nationally at their position, but the hope is that the three star recruits will be able to contribute early.

SIGNED LETTER OF INTENT	Pos	Stars	Ht	Wt	RR	Video	Hometown
Zvonko Buljan	PF		6-9	220	-		Vincennes, IN
Kevin Butler	SF		6-6	190	-		Duncanville, TX
Logan Lancon	SF		6-6	200	-		League City, TX
Ronnie Moss	PG		6-2	190	-		Mendenhall, MS
Gregory Richardson	PF		6-8	-	-		Dawson CC, MT
Kavon Rose	SG		6-2	175	-		Detroit, MI
Edvinas Ruzgas	SF		6-6	195	-		Weatherford, TX

The upcoming season the Horned Frogs will be lead by Zvonko Bulgan and he will take them as far as he can. Bulgan averaged 12.3 points, 7.8 rebounds last year. TCU who had a sub .500 record did beat UNLV for one of their conference victories. Last years team had a ton of holes which is why the seven man recruiting class was so important for them.

Supporting players who look to take a huge step in improving the Horned Frogs are Seniors Edvinas Ruzgas and Keion Mitchem both should be able to help carry the load with Bulgan, and then there is sophomore Ronnie Moss needs to build on an impressive freshman campaign.

If those three players are able to improve with a year under the new regime then TCU might at least be middle of the pack and potentially finish with a .500 record.

Coach Jim Christian had this to say at MWC media days:

The work ethic has completely changed. The belief has completely changed. When I got the job, I was the only guy in the room who thought we had a chance to win the championship. And now we have some other guys who want to compete and try to win a championship."