Valley Sadness, Mountain West Blandness

Remember when the Valley could get 3 teams into the tournament and you wouldn't bat an eye?  What was it, 4 years ago the MWC put 5 teams in the tournament and were clearly better than the Pac-12? Those days seem so far away.

The Valley took a hit when Creighton left no doubt but the rest of the schools outside UNI and Wichita State have been pretty mediocre for the past decade or so. I believe Brian Wardle will do wonders at Bradley but that's a 3-4 year turnaround. What happened at Southern Illinois? When Loyola is in your projected top 5 after just joining last year, your league has taken a step back.

The Mountain West has seen better days, too. New Mexico took a step back after losing Steve Alford and there's doubts Craig Neal is the guy for the job. I think the team to watch will be Nevada who hired Eric Musselman to run the show. He's done a great job recruiting thus far and I look for them to be a top division team soon.

Two teams to watch from these leagues are Northern Iowa and UNLV, respectively.

UNI loses a ton with Seth Tuttle leaving but still have a versatile back court with Wes Washpun and Matt Bohannon (yes, that Bohannon family). Look for Wyatt Lohaus (yes, that Lohaus family) this year, too. Keep an eye on sophomore big Bennett Koch and former Virginia player, Paul Jesperson. KenPom has UNI finishing 12-6 in the league in a tie for 2nd with Evansville. Like Brian, I think Evansville is the second best team in the Valley but don't dismiss UNI and Ben Jacobsen.

The team out west that intrigues me for a variety of reasons is UNLV. I believe they're the most talented team in the MWC. They return top-100 recruits, Dwayne Morgan and Goodluck Okonoboh and add top-100 recruits Derrick Jones and Stephen Zimmerman. Zimmerman will easily be the top NBA prospect in the league.

The problem is, UNLV has has these type of players and the results have been middling. Dave Rice is probably in a make or break year and that'll be tough for Rebel fans if he misses the tournament. He's a great recruiter but the results haven't matched the hype. KenPom has them at 106 to start the year, below Utah State and Fresno State. 

If UNI and UNLV perform well, it'll be a boon to these leagues and in UNLV's case, save them from starting over