It seems like it is going to be a four-team race in the Western Athletic Conference in 2012.
The three usual suspects –Utah State, New Mexico State and Nevada—will all once again be in the hunt.
Utah State breezed through the conference last season, finishing 15-1 in league play en route to winning the WAC Tournament. The Aggies finished the year at 30-3 after falling to Kansas State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
This season Utah State finished non-conference play with a record of 8-6. The team’s signature win thus far is a 69-62 victory over Brigham Young in the first game of the season.
Sophomore guard Preston Medlin leads the team in the scoring, averaging 14.4 points per game. Forward Brady Jardine and guard Brokeith Pane are two of the three seniors on the roster this season.
Jardine is the team leader in rebounds per game, pulling down 7.7 boards per contest. Pane, who was named first team All-WAC in the coaches’ preseason poll, is averaging 11.1 points and 3.5 assists per game this year.
After an inconsistent start to the season, the team enters its conference opener against Fresno State having won four of its last five games. The Aggies were edged on the road at No.15 Mississippi State on New Year’s Eve.
After finishing last year with a disappointing record of 13-19, the Nevada is back on track this season.
The Wolf Pack have a solid backcourt, led by Deonte Burton and Malik Story. Burton was named WAC Preseason Player of the Year in the coaches' preseason poll, and is averaging 14 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
The team’s most impressive win in non-conference play came on Dec. 2, when the Wolf Pack took down Washington 76-73 in overtime. Nevada enters conference play on a seven-game win streak and has won eight of their last ten games.
New Mexico State finished 16-17 last year in a season plagued by injuries. This year the Aggies finished non-conference play at 10-5, the team’s best record heading into league play since head coach Marvin Menzies was hired in 2007.
After redshirting the 2010-11 season because of a broken foot, senior forward Wendell McKines has been the anchor of the team to this point. McKines is averaging 17.9 points and 10.5 rebounds and has recorded eight double-doubles on the year.
As a team the Aggies rank 19th in the nation in rebounds per game, averaging 40 per contest.
Freshman guard Daniel Mullings was a sparkplug off the bench on both sides of the court for the Aggies in the first part of the season. Mullings now takes on a starting role, since starting guard Christian Kabongo transferred from NMSU.
The Aggies’ highlight win to this point is a nine-point win over New Mexico in Albuquerque on Nov. 16. It was the team’s first win at The Pit since 2002.
Utah State, Nevada and NMSU have finished at the top of the WAC standings in five of the last six seasons. However, this season Hawai’i has emerged as a new contender for the conference crown.
The Warriors have improved since Gib Arnold was named head coach in 2010. Hawai’i went 19-12 in Arnold’s first season at the helm, a steep improvement from the team’s 10-20 record the previous season.
Hawai’i is off to an 8-6 start this year. The Warriors are led by senior guard Zane Johnson and junior center Vander Joaquim.
Johnson is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 14.9 points per game. Joaquim leads the Warriors in rebounding with 9.4 per game. Both players were named first-team All-WAC in the coaches’ preseason poll.
The Warriors standout win in preconference play was an 84-82 overtime win against No. 15 Xavier on Christmas Eve. The team has won four of its last five games heading into the conference opener against San Jose State on Jan. 8.
The WAC race begins Thursday with two games on the schedule. Fresno State travels to Logan to face the Utah State, and Nevada heads to Idaho to take on the Vandals.
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