Mountain West men’s hoops round-up: back to school edition
In a week marred by foul weather, Mountain West basketball saw fit to bless sports fans who ventured through the floods and snowdrifts with all the reckless, rampant fun of a mid-July water fight. Koby McEwen burst out of the Spectrum’s home locker room to douse UNLV with a supersoaker, San Diego State got pantsed three games ago and still can’t seem to find its swim trunks, and Nevada’s Jordan Caroline dumped a fully dressed New Mexico team in the deep end before assailing it with a pool noodle.
It was one of the most electric weeks of conference basketball in recent memory.
Take 1: Is McEwen MW freshman of the year, or is he something…Moore?
Aggie basketball boasts a whole squad of talented newcomers, but freshman Koby McEwen has separated himself as a special talent worthy of some end-of-season accolades — which is pretty insane to be talking about just five games into the conference schedule, but watching McEwen play is pretty insane.
McEwen unleashed the deep ball last weekend against UNLV for 24 second-half points, then promptly went and gave a postgame interview and talked about defense. Who doesn’t love that? McEwen finished the game 10-of-13 from the floor for 28 points, tying Utah State’s single-game scoring record for true freshmen held by one Jaycee Carroll.
To be blunt, leading all Mountain West freshmen in points and assists per game is probably going to get the Toronto-native the freshman of the year nod, but it’s worth noting his trajectory toward even higher potential praise. Check out the following stat lines:
Player A: 15.2 points on 49.2 percent shooting, 1.7 assists and 6.7 rebounds in 34 minutes per game.
Player B: 15.1 points on 50 percent shooting, 3.3 assists and 5 rebounds in 30.9 minutes per game.
The former would be highly decorated senior Jalen Moore’s 2014-15 season, which earned him a spot on the all-conference second team. The latter is Koby freaking McEwen as of the UNLV game. Not a bad pace for the rookie.
Take 2: Really, New Mexico?
The Lobos just can’t do anything right. After dropping a heartbreaker to the Aggies in Logan, New Mexico returned to WisePies Arena to drop two straight — including an overtime classic against Nevada that featured at least two distinct acts of God and one Jordan Caroline.
The Wolfpack’s 16-point comeback packed everything that elevates sports above all other forms of entertainment into 74 seconds of game clock. Horrified New Mexico fans saw their opponents’ ugly bank shot 3-pointers reach the bottom of the net six times in a row to force overtime, including a Caroline three that defied what we thought we knew about physics, probability, trigonometry and luck. The last time that many prayers were answered in one night, the Egyptians lost the bulk of their labor force. Caroline’s herculean 45-point performance culminated in a killing blow from beyond the arc with two seconds remaining in the extra period, an awesome insane ridiculous finish to a game that deserved such.
For Nevada, it was a historic win that kept the pack just below a 4-0 Boise State team in the conference standings. For the Lobos, well they lost at home to UNLV after 10-2 run from the Rebels put the game out of reach.
Take 3: Don’t sleep on Colorado State
It’s tough to win three of four conference games, but it’s even tougher to do it without getting talked about. For all the buzz Nevada’s rightfully earned this season, CSU is right with the Wolfpack in the MW standings behind Boise at 3-1. That includes a 74-73 loss in Boise that could’ve elevated the Rams into first place, which the Rams followed up with a road win at SJSU and smashing Air Force at home 85-58.
Forward Emmanuel Omogbo is netting nearly 13 points per game, and coach Eustachy has the Rams buying into a gritty defensive minded approach that has CSU rebounding and playing smart basketball. Puerto Rico native Gian Clavell is averaging over 16 points per game in just eight starts to add a bulk scoring threat to the otherwise balanced offense. A nice three-game stretch should expose or promote what the Rams have going on, with road games at Fresno and Utah State following a showdown with an angry New Mexico squad looking for someone to bully.