SportsLine Report
March 14, 2000
Utah State was the big surprise of the season. Picked to finish in the
lower half of the conference's Eastern Division, the Aggies rolled through
the regular season undefeated at 16-0. They then fought off Pacific, Nevada
and New Mexico State for the tournament title and their second berth to the
NCAA tournament in the past three years.
New Mexico State started as the favorite in the East but faded before
coming alive in Reno.
Nevada struggled much of the season under first-year coach Trent Johnson
but won its last two games to sneak into the conference tournament, where
they upset UC Santa Barbara in the first round.
In the West, Long Beach State quickly made it a one-horse race, winning nine
straight to open the conference season on the way to a 15-1 conference
record and five-game cushion over runner-up UC Santa Barbara.
The Gauchos made another late run to grab another No. 2 seed in the
conference tournament.
UC Irvine placed third by improving five games over last season's 2-14
disaster while Cal Poly floundered again, missing the conference tournament
despite lofty preseason predictions.
Conference champion:
Despite nine newcomers, Utah State rose above the pack to become the first Big West team since the 1992 UNLV squad to go
undefeated in conference play. The Aggies also rolled to the tournament
championship to earn a date with defending national champion Connecticut in
the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Utah State did it with a balanced attack, featuring four players that
averaged between 10.2 and 11.9 points a game.
Biggest disappointment:
Cal Poly. For the second straight season, the
Mustangs were picked to finish in the top half of the Western Division but
swooned in conference play and failed to make the postseason tournament.
The team had plenty of offensive weapons but failed once again to defend.
Biggest surprise:
Utah State. The Aggies returned just one starter and
three letterwinners from a 15-13 team the year before, yet won both the
regular-season and tournament titles.
In the West, UC Irvine made the biggest strides.
Player of the year:
Mate Milisa. Long Beach State's Croatian sensation
followed up a solid junior season with a stellar effort as a senior. The
6-11 post averaged 18.8 points and seven rebounds. He consistently
brought his "A" game and could be counted on night in and night out.
Milisa gets the nod over New Mexico State's Billy Keys.
Coach of the year:
In just his second season, Utah State's Stew Morrill led the Aggies to the most victories in school history. His team ran through the conference unscathed in both the regular season and postseason. He
became the third Big West coach to guide a team to a perfect conference
record, following in the footsteps of Lute Olson and Jerry Tarkanian.
The future:
Utah State won't be a surprise next year. The Aggies return everybody but senior forward Troy Rolle and will be heavily favored to
repeat as conference champion.
Long Beach loses some firepower with the departure of Milisa and defensive
specialist Antrone Lee but should return enough talent to challenge the
Aggies. The 49ers welcome UCLA transfer Travis Reed to the fold next
season. He's a player who might make fans forget about Milisa.
The Big West takes on a new look next season with the departures of North
Texas and New Mexico State to the Sun Belt Conference and Nevada to the
Western Athletic Conference. That leaves nine teams and will force the
conference to do away with the two-division format.