55. San Diego State
The Aztecs won 20 games last season and finished fourth in the Mountain West behind BYU, New Mexico and UNLV, but earned a trip to the NIT where they traveled across the country to get thumped by Florida in the first round. Steve Fisher featured a young team who exceeded some expectations and captured their third consecutive 20-win season and has now successfully stamped SDSU as a Mountain West mainstay threat. 6-6 forward Lorenzo Wade led the Aztecs last season with 15 points per game, 5 boards per game and an impressive four assists per game as a swing man. Wade transferred from Louisville after his freshman season and has shined ever since he has been under the toasty San Diego sun.
This season could be Fisher’s most talented team, and as a result his best chance to capture a Mountain West title. The Mountain West may be the best mid-major league in the country this year, but the Aztecs have a legitimate reason to think they could crack the top 25. They will get national exposure in a weak Great Alaska Shootout field and should be undefeated going into a big time game at Arizona in early December. They also get WAC foe Fresno State and BCS school Arizona State at home to begin the season. They play Saint Mary on a neutral court in Anaheim where they could get another quality win. San Diego State could legitimately be undefeated going into Mountain West play and in the top 25. Wade is the most well-rounded player in the mountain West and will have to be exceptional for SDSU to reach their goals. Also in the frontcourt 6-8 forward Ryan Amoroso who led the team in rebounding with seven per game. Amoroso is a Marquette transfer who can bang inside. 6’8 Billy White also provides bulk on the inside. The returning freshman of the year in the MWC averaged nine and six last season and he can step out allowing more room for Wade and Amoroso to work. 6-5 senior Kyle Spain and 6-7 sophomore Tim Shelton also look to see minutes; both of whom averaged double figures for the Aztecs last season and add to the already exceptionally athletic SDSU frontcourt. In the backcourt, 5-10 senior Richie Williams will lead the troops; he has played in 91 games and made 76 starts in his career. Last season Williams averaged three assists per contest before an injury kept him out of the end of the campaign. D.J. Gay stepped in for Williams and averaged six points per game and started 26 games in his freshman year. Gay and Williams figure to be the starting backcourt for Fisher’s club and will have to score and get the bigs involved.
The Aztecs are really deep and feature a lot of talent. Combine that with Fisher’s coaching experience and juggling a lot of talent (Fab Five at Michigan in the early ‘90s) and the Aztecs have the potential to be real good. I think they will challenge UNLV for the league title; although I do not think they are quite as talented in the backcourt which will cost them. The Mountain West is incredibly deep, so they will have the opportunity to get RPI-bolsters throughout the conference schedule. The difficult thing will be bringing it every night and winning tough games on the road which can be tough in this league. Wade could win MWC player of the year honors and if he does, expect the Aztecs to be bumping around the bottom of the top-25 and certainly with an NCAA bid.
54. Cleveland State
Cleveland State surprised nearly everyone in the Horizon league and national landscape last season, reversing their record from 10-21 to 21-13 and receiving an invitation to the NIT where they lost at Dayton in the first round. The Vikings started out 14-5 and 7-0 in the Horizon league where they knocked off #12 Butler at home and there were rumblings of a Horizon league title. They then proceeded to lose five in a row before winning seven of their last eight. The Vikings faced Butler again in the Horizon title game, but could not overcome the Bulldog experienced firepower. An incredibly successful campaign after being picked ninth in the ten team league and earning a postseason appearance for the first time since 1988.
Cleveland State returns four starters and two Horizon league first teamers from a year ago who will certainly be the focal point of the conference this year. J’Nathan Bullock averaged 15 a game along with seven boards; he’s 6-5, 240 and a senior. Bullock is a force and knows what its like to be part of the Viking rebuilding project, earning 28 wins in three seasons before 21 last year. Bullock earned first team honors as being the brute force for the Vikings and providing the stud on the interior Gary Waters needed. On the perimeter, Cedric Jackson is a St. John’s transfer who averaged 14, four and four for the Vikes last year. Jackson will be running the point again for the Vikings, and he will have to improve on his nearly 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio last season. Bullock also figures to change his role, stepping more outside and extending the defenses, no Vikings shot better than 30% except for Bullock and Jackson. The Vikings have the two best players in the conference and that is why they are the preseason pick as tops in the conference, and they will now have opportunities to contend with some BCS caliber schools. A “neutral” game in Seattle against Washington, road trips to West Virginia and Syracuse as well as the BracketBuster opponent should all give the Vikings a chance to contend on a national stage.
Cleveland State is in an interesting position. Talent wise they have the ability to be a top-five mid major team this season, but none of these players have ever experienced national success much less even conference wins. Last season right after they snatched the lead and controlled their own destiny after beating Butler, they lost five in a row. That cannot happen in this season where they will be hunted every night and get every team’s best in the Horizon. They are lethal at home, dropping only two games all season, one of which to NIT champion Ohio State, but they will be forced to win conference road games this year if they want to capture the league crown and be a force on the national stage for the first time in years.
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