Fresno State headed to NCAA Tournament, while San Diego State awaits its fate
If you had spent any time this week at the sold-out MGM Grand Garden observing the pulsating Pac-12 tournament before checking out the Mountain West championship game Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center, this might have been your initial observation, based on the scouting report of the bracketologists:
Larry Krystkowiak’s mustache; former Maxim model and current Southern California coach’s wife Amanda Marcum Enfield; Swoop, the Utah mascot; the sixth man from Washington State; and Bill Walton — not 21 of 22 from the field vs. Memphis State Bill Walton, but 63-year-old Bill Walton with the creaky knees — might be able to hang with the best the Mountain West has to offer.
Does this observation belittle Fresno State’s exciting 68-63 victory over San Diego State in any way, shape or form?
Well, yeah, it probably does. But one doubts very much that Fresno is going to throw it back, like one would a small fish. This is the first time since 2001 the Bulldogs will be baiting a rod for the big NCAA fishing derby.
Since Jerry Tarkanian was their coach.
The Bulldogs probably will be the Mountain West’s only representative in the NCAA Tournament, however. They will be a medium-sized fish swimming among whales.
Before Saturday, the bracketologists had San Diego State penciled in as a No. 11 seed, against Seton Hall or somebody like that, and they had the rest of the Mountain West pacesetters penciled into the NIT, or lesser tournaments with lesser abbreviations.
Now, the Aztecs will be relegated to watching on TV when the brackets are announced. Steve Fisher, the venerable San Diego State coach, didn’t sound too optimistic the Selection Show would end well for his guys. The team definitely was on the bubble Saturday night.
“I said that if we won (Saturday), all doubt will be removed,” said Fisher, who one day soon will be making a different kind of speech when they put up a statue of him out front of Viejas Arena. “Now we’ll be like everybody else: wondering, worrying, waiting.”
It’ll be the three W’s for the Fisher King and his players, because the Mountain West was a suspect collection of basketball squads this season. It wasn’t always like this.
As recently as 2013, the league put five of its members — San Diego State, New Mexico, Boise State, UNLV and Colorado State — in the show. This, to borrow U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s expression, must have driven Jay Bilas and other power conference proponents bat**** crazy. It also was indicative of the quality of play in the Mountain West not so very long ago.
The quality of play was pretty darn good then, and the Mountain West title game drew big crowds. Saturday’s installment drew only 8,132.
The quality of play is not so good now.
The MW is ranked 12th in the conference power ratings, one slot behind the Summit League, and one slot ahead of Larry Krystkowiak’s mustache.
Fisher said some of that is based on reality, but more of it is based on perception. He was asked during the postgame wake and news conference if he thought Mountain West hoops had dipped to an all-time low.
“No, not in my eyes,” he said. “I played these teams. I’ve gone to those buildings. I’ve seen how tough it is to go play.
“Do we need to get better? Yeah. Are we better than the perception of a lot of people? Yes, absolutely.”
It probably would help improve perception if teams such as UNLV and New Mexico would return to form, and it probably would help some more if MW teams scheduled more nonconference games against quality opponents, Fisher said. “We need to schedule with thoughtfulness, and we need to win some of those,” he said while peering over spectacles.
San Diego State lost to middling little brother San Diego in an outdoors game played at Petco Park. The sun was in the Aztecs’ eyes. That couldn’t have helped, either.
Before the game, MW associate commissioner Dan Butterly tweeted that the men’s final would be outstanding, regardless of the perception of the league and its teams. He also posted a picture of a Cirque du Soleil guy jumping off a trampoline and said the halftime show would be outstanding, too.
And you know what? The game was outstanding, just as the two regular-season games between these teams were.
There were eight ties and nine lead changes, and then Fresno State’s Julien Lewis sort of took over the game. Lewis hit a 3-pointer with 1:36 to play to give the Bulldogs the lead; he hit four free throws in the final minute to help them keep it.
Those on press row said Lewis was more clutch than the guy on the trampoline.
As the small contingent of media was wrapping up its stories in the nearly vacated press room, somebody said basketball fans were crossing Paradise Road and appeared headed in the direction of the MGM Grand.
The Pac-12 title game would be starting in about a half-hour. If they hustled, they still could make it.
Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow him on Twitter: @ronkantowski