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Non-conference scheduling studs and duds: The Mountain West
Since most of this coming season’s non-conference schedules have finally been released, it’s a good time to assess whose slates are the most daunting and who didn’t challenge themselves enough. Yahoo Sports will go league-by-league the next two weeks. Up next: The Mountain West.
Toughest non-league schedule: UNLV
With a new coach, only two returning players and mostly unheralded recruits, rebuilding UNLV is at minimum a year or two away from regaining its former status as a Mountain West contender. The only characteristic of the program that doesn’t reflect that is the Rebels’ loaded non-conference schedule.
Three games against potential preseason top-five opponents highlight UNLV’s schedule: a Dec. 10 matchup with Duke in Las Vegas, a Dec. 17 visit to Portland to play Oregon and a Dec. 22 home game against Kansas. The Rebels also visit Arizona State and host the Global Sports Classic, where they will meet TCU and either Washington or quality mid-major Western Kentucky.
While Dave Rice’s talented but underachieving UNLV teams typically rose to the challenge in non-conference play before fading during the Mountain West season, it’s unlikely that Marvin Menzies’ first squad will be prepared for that early gauntlet. This is a year in which the Rebels might have been better served assembling a softer slate and attempting to build some early continuity and confidence.
Easiest non-league schedule: San Jose State
In its first two seasons in the Mountain West, San Jose State went 1-35 against league opponents. The Spartans improved to 4-14 last season … and promptly lost its two leading scorers to graduation last spring. Given the program’s struggles adjusting to a higher level of conference competition, perhaps its understandable coach Dave Wojcik has again assembled a manageable non-league slate.
The toughest non-league game San Jose State will play is a Dec. 22 road matchup against a Saint Mary’s team that went 29-6 a year ago and returns virtually its entire roster. The Spartans will also play road games at Idaho, Montana and Washington State, the lone power-conference team on the schedule but one that is expected to finish last in the Pac-12.
Aside from that, San Jose State is staying home and hoping to win a few game against the likes of Southern Utah, Bowling Green and lower-division foes West Coast Baptist and Life Pacific College. Exciting? Certainly not. Logical? Probably.
Four other notable Mountain West schedules:
San Diego State: Winning the Mountain West wasn’t enough to send San Diego State to the NCAA tournament last season because of the weakness of the league and the Aztecs’ own non-conference struggles. They’ll try to position themselves better this season against a strong non-conference slate that includes Gonzaga, Cal, Arizona State and a potential Diamondhead Classic meeting with Utah.
Nevada: With UNLV rebuilding and New Mexico in the midst of a two-year NCAA tournament drought, there’s a chance for Nevada to emerge as the top challenger to San Diego State next season. Among the early barometers for how good the Wolf Pack can be next season: a season-opening visit to resurgent Saint Mary’s, a Nov. 18 home game against Oregon State and a Dec. 11 road trip to Washington.
New Mexico: With all-league candidates Elijah Brown and Tim Williams both back, New Mexico has a chance to earn an NCAA bid for the first time since 2014. A road game at Arizona may be a bit too challenging for the Lobos, but it will be crucial for them to perform well at the Wooden Legacy tournament, where they’ll open with Virginia Tech and could see Texas A&M, UCLA or Dayton in later rounds.
Boise State: An eight-game, 18-day span from Nov. 17 to Dec. 5 will probably determine how Boise State feels about itself entering league play. The Broncos begin that stretch with three games at the Charleston Classic and later visit likely preseason top 10 Oregon, host SMU and play back-to-back road games at Evansville and Loyola Marymount just 48 hours and 1,700 miles apart.
Four Mountain West non-conference games to watch:
1. San Diego State at Gonzaga, Nov. 14: Behind Kawhi Leonard and Billy White, upstart San Diego State first gained national recognition in Nov. 2010 when it upset 11th-ranked Gonzaga in Spokane. Six years later, a far more well-established Aztecs program returns to Spokane to try to repeat the feat against a Zags team that again could be ranked in the top 15.
2. Nevada at Washington, Dec. 11: Thanks to the return of four starters from a 24-win team and the arrival of a flurry of talented transfers and freshmen, Nevada fancies itself a Mountain West contender this season. This road test against Markelle Fultz-led Washington offers the Wolf Pack their best chance to prove themselves early in the season.
3. New Mexico vs. Virginia Tech, Nov. 24: Believe it or not, this Thanksgiving Day game in Fullerton, Calif., could be the most important one the Lobos play before league play. Win, and New Mexico gets a credibility-boosting win and the chance for more in the winner’s bracket, perhaps against Texas A&M, UCLA or Dayton. Lose, and the Lobos fall to the loser’s bracket, and put themselves in jeopardy of entering league play without a signature win.
4. Fresno State at Oregon, Dec. 20: Can Fresno State make a run at a second straight NCAA bid even without graduated star Marvelle Harris? This road game against a potential top 10 opponent could provide a few clues. The Bulldogs will lean on Colorado transfer Jaron Hopkins and will hope to have promising freshman William McDowell-White academically eligible in time for this matchup.
Game that should have been scheduled but wasn’t: Texas Tech at UNLV
Less than three weeks after Chris Beard arrived at UNLV last spring, a job he didn’t think would open became vacant. Texas Tech offered Beard its head coaching position after Tubby Smith unexpectedly left for Memphis the previous day.
A Texas Tech alum who worked as an assistant coach at the school for 10 years and has lots of family who still live nearby, Beard accepted the Red Raiders’ offer, a decision that certainly did not endear him to the school he jilted. Many UNLV fans are still furious at Beard, especially since they hold him partially responsible for gutting the roster, running off last year’s assistants and leaving new coach Marvin Menzies with a total rebuild.
This is going to be an arduous season for UNLV fans with only two players returning from last season, so the least Beard could have done is agree to a matchup that would provide them some catharsis. Rebels fans would get the chance to show up in droves and boo the heck out of one of the few coaches in America who would trade Las Vegas for Lubbock.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
