The University of Nevada men's basketball team will travel to Wichita State University on Wednesday, March 17 in the National Invitation Tournament.

WAC Tournament champion New Mexico State and WAC regular season title holder Utah State will both be participating in the year's NCAA Tournament as NM State received the WAC's automatic bid to the dance, while Utah State received an at-large bid to play in this year's event. Both teams will be playing first/second round games in Spokane, Wash.

For the first time since 2006, the Louisiana Tech men's basketball team will play in the postseason when they host Southern Miss in the first round of the CIT on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Capable of is, of course, different from actually winning against another team but we'll type it here: New Mexico State can beat Michigan State.

Yes, Tom Izzo's bunch will be uber-physical and also playing defense with an intensity unseen in the WAC but this is not a Spartan squad loaded with players primed for NBA fame and riches. It's also a team that is not particularly efficient offensively. Plus, the MSU-ers committed more turnovers than they created this season.

However, Marvin Menzies' crew will not be able to afford any lapses that allow even a min-scoring run. The Aggie starters will each need to be 'on' his game, play major minutes and produce their typical output. What is particularly worrisome is that the Spartans out-boarded opponents by nine a game this season.


As for Texas A + M and Utah State, it's another Aggie - Aggie matchup and we just don't know enough about the Texans. Hey, maybe Coach Marl Turgeon will be distracted by the talk of him heading to Oregon to replace Ernie Kent. What actually jumps out at us the most is that the Lone Star Aggies earned 211 more free throw attempts than the collective opponents, 68 more in conference action. On the other hand, they shot just .296% in three-point attempts in Big 12 play.

TAM-er Donald Sloan is a big sized (6-foot-3, 205 pounds) guard who can score (18.2 ppg.) and pass. He was just named as a member of the All-Big 12 First Team. His backcourt teammate, Derrick Roland is a tremendous defender and checks in at 6-foot-4, 190. Continuing the trend, Bryan Davis (all 6-foot-9, 250 of him) can score, rebound and block shots (56 on the season). Turgeon's guys just battled Kansas in the league tourney but lost 79-66.

There is always more than one key but one jumps out: can the WAC Aggies perform with the needed (usual?) offensive efficiency against those from Big 12?

Oh yes, here's another of our silly suggestions: how about New Mexico State and Utah State play off-the-grid rubber match a day or so before the Big Dance begins since both WAC entries will be in Spokane getting ready? Yes, we're excluding the January second northern Aggie loss to the southern Aggies and are thinking of the recent two games between NMSU and USU that produced a win for each. We're s-u-r-e Stew Morrill and Marvin Menzies would be game.

Tommy Conner tosses his hat threw the hoop for consideration as the next head coach at Boise State. Nick Jezierny has the details here.

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Some familiar and some new names are offered in the latest report offered by Ferd Lewis and Dayton Morinaga.

Dave Reardon checks in with much more on the same subject here.

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Is Utah State (among others) in the running for a Big 12 big who wants to be closer to home (which is Utah)? Go here.

Notes from the first half:

We don't get to witness each of the Utah State games but we've never seen Tai Wesley shoot a pair of no-contact-with-the-iron shots ever. It was almost like he was making off-the-backboard passes to himself to obtain better shooting position ... Good teams take advantage of opening and New Mexico State certainly did so in Wesley's nosebleed absences ... NMSU wasn't over-relying on outside jumpers ... Speaking of jumpers, Jared Quayler is burying some tough ones ... Maybe it's not being in attendance at the NMSU games but it seems Jahmar Young is seeing possibilities and making the pass -- creating for others -- like never before ... The southern Aggies are defending USU as well as any team has this season ... Tyler Newbold goes for a pump fake -- is that a first this season?

Notes from the second half:

Just when we thought Jonathan Gibson was in the 'en fuego' zone, he fires up too poorly thought out shot attempts ... NMSU is not being efficient -- getting good looks -- with its possessions ... Troy Gillenwater's blocked shot next to the rim on Pooh Williams layup attempt was NBA-like ... The Gillenwater dunk off Jahmar Young's pass was a feat probably not completed at all earlier this season against Stew Morrill's bunch ...

So much for our preview that rebounding would be one key for the southern Aggies to win -- New Mexico State was out-boarded 36-28 ... we certainly didn't forsee it but how can you win with two starters, each playing 31 minutes, going scoreless? Utah State had but nine turnovers but how did NMSU, playing its third game in three nights including a nailbiter the night before, commit but five errors? Amazing and a major credit to the southern Aggies.

Now wasn't that a game showing off the best of the WAC? Certain Beehive state fans may not feel this way but the outcome works. Two WAC teams will now enter the Big Dance, infusing greater respect and league attention, plus the dollar amounts earned will be higher. We say: what's not to like?

Hit the Bulletin in the Zone for all sort of game coverage.

Sam Wasson is here with his game report.

Jason Groves filed this coverage. Jason's blog is here.

You have to love Jared Eborn's one-word opening line here in his take on the matchup. Jared has this bubble-icious blog entry on the northern Aggies.

Here is Wade Dennison's sense of the contest. Shawn Harrison's can be found here. Jeff Hunter writes here that Tai Wesley's nose in his Achilles heel.

Tony Jones' views on the duel can be read here and here. His Selection Sunday blog entry is here.

Fresno State softball sophomore pitcher Mackenzie Oakes threw the first perfect game of her career in a 3-0 win over Georgetown in the Bulldogs' final game of day three at the Bayer CropScience at Bulldog Diamond on Saturday night.

Utah State is going to win the WAC championship game tonight because ... for a long litany of consecutive games, the northern Aggies have displayed BMW-like (insert the car maker of your choice -- except for you Yugo aficionados) precision offensively and defensively, with seemingly zero or at least undetectable blips. lapses and letdowns. Why would that change?

New Mexico State is going to win the WAC championship game tonight because ... actual basketball talent and physical skills will win out -- meaning, the southern Aggies at least equal out the rebounding totals and make 80% of their free throws tonight.

Another key for NMSU, possibly the most important: who steps up on the court and keeps the five players out there focused on efficiency and execution and not veering off into who jawbones the most.

One silly request: let's mike Wendell McKines and Tai Wesley on the court instead of the actual announcers.

Don't forget that Kraig Williams will be live-blogging it at the Rush The Court site. Go there and check the upper left hand corner.

Boy, they are coming out of the woodwork and bushes -- gotta love anyone with the nickname 'Jellybean'. Think we should throw out oft-tipped hat into the ring? We play a mean slack key guitar (in our dreams).
UH basketball opening draws much interest
Brian McInnis
Honolulu Star Bulletin
March 13, 2010

Choices, choices.

Hawaii athletic director Jim Donovan said as of last night he had received "about 30" applications for the vacant UH men's basketball coaching job.

"There's a lot of interest out there," Donovan said. "We're talking to people with lots of basketball coaching experience..."Go here for the remainder.

First team

G Adrian Oliver, junior, San Jose State
G Jahmar Young, junior, New Mexico State
G Jared Quayle, senior, Utah State
F Luke Babbitt, sophomore, Nevada
F Tai Wesley, junior, Utah State

Second team

G Jonathan Gibson, senior, New Mexico State
G Kyle Gibson, senior, Louisiana Tech
G Armon Johnson, junior, Nevada
F Paul George, sophomore, Fresno State
C Magnum Rolle, senior, Louisiana Tech

Player of the year: Luke Babbitt, Nevada

Coach of the year: Stew Morrill, Utah State

Freshman of the year: Greg Smith, Fresno State

Defensive player of the year: Pooh Williams, Utah State

Nick Jezierny provides background to the letting go of Greg Graham:
Boise State athletic director talks about why he fired Greg Graham and looks ahead
Nick Jezierny
Idaho Statesman
3/13/10

Gene Bleymaier moved swiftly in firing men's basketball coach Greg Graham, and said he would like to find a successor within a month. The Idaho Statesman met with Bleymaier on Friday and talked with him about the decision - and what his expectations are for Graham's replacement and the program...Go here for the remainder.

Nick offers the highs and lows of Greg Graham's tenure here and here.

The Draft Express site folks were tweeting about Luke Babbitt last night:

Luke Babbitt gives up the game-winning shot, not having the length/awareness to contest pull-up right in his face. Terrible D. Nevada loses.

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Career high 31 (and counting) for Luke Babbitt, w/5 min to go. Skill-level is off the charts. Shades of Adam Morrison (both the good & bad)

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Offensively Babbitt is a 3 all the way RT @philysstar: Do you think he can play the 3 in the pro level or is he gonna be an undersized 4??

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Not sure Luke Babbitt has the lateral quickness to guard the perimeter in the NBA, which will surely make him a target to isolate against.

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On downside, Luke Babbitt really struggled defensively, putting in little effort & being scored on repeatedly. Needs to be a SF at that size

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Luke Babbitt is absolutely shredding apart New Mexico State's paper machete defense w/his pull-up jumper. Has 18 pts in 1st half. 42-40 NMSt

Obviously, it is papier-mâché that was intended but paper machete sure conjures up an image!

Wasn't that a game! PTW disagrees with the television announcers -- Jahmar Young's game-winning shot was a difficult one, involving turning the body and with the threat of Luke Babbitt coming up on him. So that makes it deserving of even more kudos.

Sam Wasson starts us off with game coverage here. Jason Groves is here. Chris Murray here.

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Jared Eborn leads with his coverage of the Aggies romp over the Rolle-less Bulldogs. He also blogs here with a couple of interesting tidbits.

Shawn Harrison offers his report.

Tony Jones is here.

It probably would have made no difference against the USU steamroller but minus Magnum Rolle and essentially without Kyle Gibson made this matchup Alamo-like, and weren't not talking rental car company.

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Also, hit the Bulletin in the Zone for all sorts of WAC tourney coverage.

2010 WAC Men and Women's Basketball Tournament Presented by Verizon Wireless

Jason Groves leads us off with a take on tonight's semi-final matchups. Go here.

Chris Murray offers seven key elements to eye in the Nevada - New Mexico State contest. Go here.

Ferd Lewis offers up a name not many know about as a possible candidate for the Hawaii head coaching position. Go here.

Jared Eborn offers more Aggie honors. Go here.

There are obviously a number of solid and qualified candidates for the UH head coach position but we want to put a plug in for one of the good guys in the business, Kyle Smith, the associate head coach at St. Mary's.

No, we are not his agent, nor are we related -- PTW just feels it's past time for him to be recognized as more than ready for a D-1 head coaching spot. Granted, he is Randy Bennett's replacement if Bennett is ever lured elsewhere but for some strange reason or reasons that never happens. We'll see if 2010 is different.

Here is Smith's 2008 bio from the St. Mary's athletics site:

Kyle Smith, who joined the Saint Mary's coaching staff in 2001 as the first hire by Randy Bennett, enters his fifth year with the Gael basketball program. Smith's primary duties include co­or­di­nating the team's re­cruiting pro­gram, in­stalling the team's offen­sive game plan, and player de­vel­opment.

As the associate head coach the past five seasons, Smith has been a vital component to the Gaels' turnaround. With Smith's help, Saint Mary's scored a school record 2,377 points and averaged 76.7 points per game, during the 2003-04 campaign. The following season, 2004-05, Saint Mary's posted a 25-9 overall record, matching the school record for wins in a season, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team, earning a 10-seed. In his first season with the program, SMC made the biggest turn­around in scoring de­fense in the nation. After allowing 79.9 points per game in 2000-01, the Gaels held opponents to 64.1 points per game the next year, an im­provement of 15.8 points in one year. The Gaels would then hold oppo­nents to 64.1 points per game in year two and year four, which were the best scoring defense in the West Coast Con­ference for the third time in four years.

Before coming to Saint Mary's, Smith spent one season as the top assistant at the Air Force Academy of the Mountain West Con­ference. During his only season with the Fal­cons, Smith served as the offensive co­or­di­nator, recruiting coordinator, and helped with player de­vel­opment and scouting.

Before joining the Academy, Smith served an eight-year stint at the University of San Di­ego, beginning his coaching career under Hank Egan from 1992-94.

He then served the next six years under current San Diego head coach Brad Holland. During his time at USD, Smith helped lead the team to the sec­ond most vic­to­ries in school history from1999-01. As the Asso­ciate Head Coach, USD's de­fense led the WCC in fewest points allowed (62.6 ppg) and was also ranked among the top-20 in the coun­try in re­bounding mar­gin in 2001.

The 36-year-old Smith is a 1992 graduate of Hamilton College where he earned a bachelor's de­gree in En­glish Lit­era­ture. Smith was a four-year bas­ket­ball letterman and helped the 1990-91 squad to a 26-1 record, in­cluding a 24-0 regu­lar sea­son, and a #1 na­tional ranking in Di­vision III. As the starting point guard, and team cap­tain as a se­nior, Smith av­eraged 10.0 points per game and led the team in assists, steals, free throw per­centage and three-point accu­racy.

A native of Hous­ton, Texas, Smith earned his Mas­ter of Arts De­gree in Edu­ca­tional Lead­ership from the Uni­ver­sity of San Di­ego in 2000.

We found the following quite telling -- it's a snippet from a recent newspaper article on the transformation of Omar Samhan from overweight high school senior to possible NBA-er:

Hard work has carried Samhan far
Steve Kroner
San Francisco Chronicle
February 27, 2010

Powerful motivation can come from the smallest of phrases.

Good or great?

That's the line St. Mary's head coach Randy Bennett and assistant coach Kyle Smith used to inspire Omar Samhan when he was a freshman...

...Bennett and Smith had gotten the line from ESPN's Doug Gottlieb, who said it at a St. Mary's camp. Samhan put together a solid freshman season, averaging 9.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, and Bennett and Smith wanted to turn solid into something special.

Samhan began going to the gym at 6 a.m. to shoot for an hour and then lift weights for another hour before heading to class. Smith usually accompanied him in those early-morning sessions.

"The night before," Samhan said, "I'd text coach Kyle, 'Are we going tomorrow?' and he'd just text me back, 'Good or great?' and I knew that meant we were on. 'I'll see you at 6.' "

Kyle Smith is passionate about success. Plus, when is the last time a D-1 head basketball coach had a degree in English literature? That cinches the deal.

Yes, we're smitten. Some AD who wants to keep his or her job should be too.

Nick Jezierny has the best coverage on Greg Graham's departure:
Boise State fires basketball coach Greg Graham
Nick Jezierny
Idaho Statesman
3/12/10

Greg Graham got the Boise State men’s basketball team back in the NCAA Tournament and set a school record for wins in a season with 25 and became the second-winningest coach in program history.

He took the Broncos to two other postseason tournaments and had an excellent track record for graduating players in a sport that often has trouble with the student part of student-athlete.

Despite those successes, Graham couldn’t win with the fans. They stopped buying season tickets and going to games as attendance at Taco Bell Arena hit an all-time low this season at 3,061 fans per game. Boise State sold 3,675 season tickets this season, the lowest total that the school has on record...Go here for the remainder.

We have a favor to ask of Bronco fans. Please do not type the name Reggie Theus in any posts from your respective keyboards. There is as much a chance of him heading to Boise as there is of Wild Bill Sproat earning a Mr. Universe title. Period. Case closed. Actually, case never opened.

Also, the hunting and fishing would be great as far as Bob Knight is concerned but, hey, it ends there. Why would anyone think Knight would have interest in basketball at a football school -- let alone why AD Gene Bleymaier would even consider bringing aboard a smouldering volcano sure to explode in the near future?

Boise State AD Gene Bleymaier has moved quickly and fired Greg Graham as the BSU head basketball coach.

Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson announced today that Idaho women's basketball coach Jon Newlee has been publicly reprimanded for violating the WAC's sportsmanship code during today's WAC Tournament semifinal game versus Fresno State being held in Reno, Nevada.