By MIKE HABURA
With the opening week of college hoops in the books, we got a first look at what is to come in the 2015-16 Mountain West basketball season. Here is what we learned.
1. San Diego State will struggle to score the basketball
After dropping a close game at Utah, the Aztecs lost a home contest against Arkansas Little Rock. SDSU was held to just 19 points in the first half and finished the game with 43. Three starters, including preseason all-conference forward Winston Shepard, failed to make a field goal. The team shot 28 percent from the field and 25 percent from beyond the arc. If SDSU wants to remain a MWC title contender they will need to find a more efficient offense.
2. The conference is chock-full of noteworthy newcomers
UNLV freshmen Stephen Zimmerman Jr. and Derrick Jones Jr. played a large factor in the Rebels’ 3-0 start. Zimmerman leads the team with eight blocks and is nearly averaging a double-double contributing 12.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Jones is adding 13.7 per game from shooting an impressive 65 percent from the field. Fresno State transfer Torren Jones is averaging a double-double for the ‘Dogs and played a significant role down the stretch in each of their four victories.
3. Utah State will survive without David Collette
Despite dropping an exhibition game to Cal State Monterey Bay, Aggie fans can rest assured that the team will survive without standout forward David Collette. Collette, who started all 31 games for Utah State last season, announced he would be leaving the team just prior to the start of the season. However, first year head coach Tim Duryea and his squad put up a 3-0 start without Collette. Chris Smith led the way for the Aggies averaging 16.7 points per game.
4. Four teams remain unbeaten
In an opening week loaded with cupcake matchups, each unbeaten team locked in a quality victory to keep a zero in the loss column. Fresno State opened the season with a hard fought win against Pepperdine. Colorado State beat a Northern Iowa team who upset North Carolina later in the week. UNLV topped defending Big West champion Cal Poly. Utah State chalked up the first win the in Duryea era with a win at Weber State.
5. We will learn a lot more in the week to come
The week ahead has several Mountain West schools facing top ranked opponents on the road. UNLV kicks off the week with a difficult matchup against UCLA in the Maui Invitational. If they advance they could see the likes of Kansas and Indiana later in the week. SDSU travels to Las Vegas to face a ranked Cal team in the Las Vegas Invitational. Utah State finishes the week at Duke in one of the most hostile environments in college basketball.
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