The Mountain West Had A Relatively Strong Opening Night
Nevada, San Diego State, Fresno State, San Jose State and Boise State enjoyed blowout victories
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Check out the Mountain West basketball scoreboard from opening day
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The Mountain West enjoyed a 7-1 opening night that included a handful of blowouts and impressive individual performances. Here are the highlights.
–Predicting Each Starting Lineup
–Ten Most Important Non-Conference Games
–Top 25 Players For 2017-18
Fresno State 96, UC Santa Cruz 65
Not much of a game here. Fresno State throttled UC Santa Cruz, and the 31-point deficit wasn’t indicative of just how easily the Bulldogs handled the Banana Slugs Friday night. The league’s most exciting offensive team was 50% from deep (12-24) and had six players in double figures. Junior forward Sam Bittner had 24 minutes off the bench and knocked down each of his four attempts from three-point range.
MWC Wire staff picks: 9-0
Wyoming 74, Chattanooga 65
–Preview
If the 2017-18 Wyoming Cowboys men’s basketball season is just going to be the Hayden Dalton show, sign me up for that. Dalton exploded for 30 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. He finished 5-9 from deep, including a few from way downtown as Wyoming beat quality team with its star, Justin James, scoring only two points. Positive sign.
MWC Wire staff picks: 9-0
Weber State 65, Utah State 59
–Preview
The only MWC team to fall on opening night was Utah State. The Aggies were the only MWC squad to play on the road and likely faced the strongest opponent as well. USU’s highly touted back court was a no-show Friday as Sam Merrill and Koby McEwen combined for just 14 points. The two averaged 23.5 points per game as a duo last season.
MWC Wire staff picks: 1-8
Colorado State 72, Sacramento State 61
–Preview
It was far from the best offensive performance, but CSU had enough in the tank to protect home with a double-digit win over Sacramento State. JUCO transfer Deion James had 10 points (8-9 from the line) and six rebounds in his Ram debut. CSU’s back court of Prentiss Nixon and J.D. Paige tallied a total of 31 points.
MWC Wire staff picks: 9-0
San Jose State 97, Antelope Valley 45
Don’t know much about Antelope Valley other than San Jose State disassembled it Friday evening. SJSU outscored the Pioneers 49-12 in the second half and held the Valley to 16-65 shooting from the field. The away team had more turnovers (18) than made field goals (16). Ryan Welage was nearly perfect (10-12) with 30 points, four rebounds and three assists in what was a dominating performance in Jean Prioleau’s debut.
MWC Wire staff picks: 9-0
San Diego State 91, San Diego Christian 52
As uncompetitive San Jose State’s game was, San Diego State’s opener might have been even more uneven. NAIA San Diego Christian doesn’t have a player over 6’5″ on its roster, and it was evident on Friday. The Aztecs led 12-0 less than 120 seconds into the game. Malik Pope, who’s nearly half a foot taller than any player on the opposing side, had 20 points off 11 field goal attempts. San Diego Christian is one of the weakest SDSU opponents ever, but a win is a win.
MWC Wire staff picks: 9-0
Nevada 88, Idaho 64
–Preview
Idaho hung around longer than Wolf Pack fans would have liked (six-point Nevada lead with 8:32 left), but Eric Musselman’s squad fed off a 25-7 run in the final minutes to pick up the dub in the season opener. NC State transfer Caleb Martin, who was questionable to play due to a turf toe issue, packed a punch off the bench. Martin scored 26 points in 29 minutes of playing time and also had seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. The Wolf Pack now focus its attention to Monday’s showdown with Rhode Island.
MWC Wire staff picks: 8-1
Boise State 104, Eastern Oregon 65
Another non-D-I team, another blowout. MWC Wire player of the year Chandler Hutchison (20 points, eight rebounds, six assists) and sophomore guard Alex Hobbs (21 points, 9-9 from the field) had efficient performances to start the season. Fordham transfer Christian Sengfelder and sophomore guard Justinian Jessup both added 15 apiece. Boise State ushered in the post-Nick Duncan era by going 17-35 from three-point range. He’d be proud.
MWC Wire staff picks: 9-0