12. New Mexico
I know New Mexico is unranked and probably isn’t actually the 12th-best team in the country, but here’s the thing: They’re 21-4, they haven’t had any bad losses since Thanksgiving, and they just destroyed San Diego State on the Aztecs’ home court to take sole possession of first place in the Mountain West. Plus, no matter which team I put here, someone will be able to argue convincingly that they don’t belong. So I’m keeping the Lobos, especially since I want to voice my frustrations relating to Mountain West basketball, and to do that, I kind of need an MWC team in my top 12
As a proud American, I have faith that the CIA knows what it’s doing, which is why I have no doubt in my mind that they are in the process of investigating Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson. Why would they investigate Thompson, you ask? Well, for starters, he’s a proponent of the bitter beer face, which I’m pretty sure makes him at least a threat level yellow on the terrorist advisory scale. But more important, Thompson is quite clearly an evil dictator, as evidenced by the fact that his terrible TV deals are preventing the rest of the country from watching his conference. Earlier this week, I wrote an open letter to Commissioner Thompson asking why it’s so difficult for me to watch his MWC games on TV. So far, he hasn’t responded, which tells me that my letter hit a little too close to home. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, though, considering that during his 13-year reign as Mountain West commissioner, not once has he ever denied being a dictator, a terrorist, or a proponent of bitter beer face. Google it if you don’t believe me.
What’s so disappointing about not having easy access to Mountain West basketball is that from what little I’ve seen, it’s pretty entertaining. Saturday’s game between UNLV and San Diego State featured a ton of athletic plays and a late surge from the Aztecs to make it close in the end, and had my attention from start to finish. Last night’s game between New Mexico and San Diego State was the same. The first half alone featured three technical fouls (including one when San Diego State’s Jamaal Franklin rifled the ball off a New Mexico player’s face), an electrifying alley-oop, a huge block that shot off the backboard, and Steve Alford angrily taking off his jacket before ruining the moment by gently handing it to an assistant coach. New Mexico might not have the greatest résumé in college basketball, but Drew Gordon, Kendall Williams, and Jamal Fenton are playing so well that the Lobos looked like a top-15 team last night. I don’t want to tell you how to live your life, but based on how good the games between San Diego State and UNLV have been, how well New Mexico is playing right now, and the fact that the conference has a handful of other decent teams (such as Colorado State, Wyoming, and TCU), the Mountain West tournament might end up being the most entertaining conference tournament this year, so you should definitely check it out.
Oh, right — I forgot — Craig Thompson doesn’t want you to watch it. Never mind.
