Mountain West appears stuck on one bid for NCAA tournament

Jerry Palm, who forecasts the NCAA Tournament field for CBS Sports, had a simple answer when asked what the Mountain West needs to do to put multiple teams in the tourney.

“Get better players and coach them up,” he said.

The question, of course, is the process of getting those players and coaches. And it remains a long-term process because the Mountain West is expected to be a one-bid league for the third season in a row.

UNLV opens its season at 7 p.m. Saturday against Florida A&M at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Ken Pomeroy, whose KenPom rankings are an integral part of the NCAA Tournament selection committee’s criteria for picking the 68-team field, said there is one path this season for multibids. That’s if UNR, which enters the season ranked No. 73 by KenPom, plays well enough for an at-large spot but a different team wins the conference tournament and gets the automatic berth.

“I would be really surprised if they ended up with two teams that were truly at-large quality at the end of the season,” Pomeroy said.

Sending multiple teams to the tournament from the Mountain West used to be as expected as the New England Patriots playing into January. Until 2016 when the current dry spell began, the conference had sent more than one team every season except 2001 when Brigham Young went in as a No. 12 seed. That was the Mountain West’s second year in existence.

As recently as 2015, three teams went to the tournament, and the high-water mark occurred five seasons ago when five schools made the field.

Like most other non-power conferences, however, the Mountain West is watching the divide grow between itself and the power leagues.

“It does seem longer term there is this issue that very few teams outside the top six or seven conferences are multiple at-large bids,” Pomeroy said. “I think that’s the main issue the Mountain West is fighting against.

“I think there are seven conferences you can assume are going to take up the vast majority of at-large bids. Occasionally, you’ll get a team pop up from one of the other conferences that’s good enough to get an at-large. In the past, it was kind of a given the Mountain West would get multiple teams, but I think it’s hard to see things returning to that.”

Mountain West presidents are trying to reverse the trend, most notably imposing scheduling parameters that encourage member schools to play tougher nonconference opponents. The conference office regularly updates member schools on available games.

To assist further, the Mountain West has begun events in the Cayman Islands, Jamaica and the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to help enhance nonconference schedules.

“There’s really nothing better than playing a neutral-court game against a high-quality opponent,” conference commissioner Craig Thompson said. “That’s better than playing them in their arena. I think we’re (directly) involved in eight or nine of them. We pretty much have all 11 teams covered to play in a multiteam event. So scheduling is really a priority. It’s a priority from the board (presidents) on down, and that’s going to help us a lot.”

Thompson also noted there was an influx of new coaches hoping to grow their respective programs as they move into their second and third seasons. Most conference teams return a bulk of their lineup, which will benefit as well.

There is an urgency to make sure being a one-bid league doesn’t drag on. The Mountain West could take such a hit this season and recover, but what if the dry spell continues?

“I always say one year is not a trend, but now that it’s turned into two, it’s something that needs to be addressed,” Palm said. “The longer the trend goes on, the harder it is to reverse because then there’s a perception. Right now, I think it’s getting to be a critical time to get this turned around. The good thing in basketball is you can turn things around pretty quickly because it only takes a few guys.”

UNLV at a glance

Predicted finish in MW: 6th

Last season: 11-21, 4-14 MW

Coach: Marvin Menzies, second season (11-21)

Returning starters/lettermen: 2/5

Top returning scorer: Guard Jovan Mooring (12.6)

Top returning rebounder: Guard Kris Clyburn (5.3)

Player to watch: Forward Brandon McCoy, the gem of the Mountain West’s highest-rating recruiting class

Top question: Will the Rebels develop the chemistry to become a conference contender?

Notable nonconference games: vs. Mississippi or Utah at T-Mobile Arena, Nov. 22; vs. Arizona, Dec. 2; vs. Illinois at MGM Grand Garden Arena, Dec. 9

More Rebels: Follow all of our UNLV coverage online at reviewjournal.com/Rebels and @RJRebels on Twitter.

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.