So is the Mountain West Conference.

Again.

And this time, it’s really disappointing.

I admit it. I’ve been one of the MWC’s biggest apologists since the league’s debut in 1999-2000.

Big-time coaches. Great venues. Solid traditions. Tremendous followings.

It’s always annoyed me that being saddled in the Rocky Mountain Time Zone has killed the league’s national notoriety — even when it leaked onto the Pacific and Central clocks.

Every year the MWC is vocal about being a national player, but the NCAA Tournament selection committee hasn’t seemed to listen.

Until this year.

It’s still waiting to hear what the heck the fuss is about.

The MWC finally punched its way into the tournament title ring with its most contenders ever. It then suffered a series of early-round knockdowns before quickly being stopped by TKO.

All five of the league’s entries — New Mexico, UNLV, San Diego State, Colorado State and Boise State — finished before the Sweet 16 began.

Combined record: 2-5.

It’s the worst for any conference of any significance.

Next year, throughout the Rocky Mountains, we will again hear how the league is the most balanced and is one of the very best — if not the best — in the country.

We better not hear it’s underrated.

Was five too many teams for a league that has never made an impact in the tournament?

Not if you believe the computers.

After all, the MWC was rated the No. 1 conference in numerous replicas of the Ratings Percentage Index.

But like I’ve said for nearly two decades, the RPI is the RIP for tournament seeding.

Former UNM athletic director Rudy Davalos, an ex-member of the tournament selection committee, always maintained that the RPI is simply one of many tools used in determining the field, and bracket.

He always said the RPI, like everything else, had flaws. He certainly was right this year.

Ain’t she Sweet?

The MWC seemingly deserved its lofty computer status this year, and will probably be in the national picture again next season. But it will be tough to blame the NCAA Tournament selection committee for looking past the RPIs and looking more at things like past results.

The Mountain West is 17-38 all time in the tournament. In its 14 years, the MWC has had just four teams make the Sweet 16 — and never one beyond that.

The Big Ten has four Sweet 16 teams this year alone.

In the past, it was easy to blame the luck of the draw — literally. Not this year.

The MWC had the lower seed in just one of its seven games — top-seeded Louisville’s 82-58 blowout of No. 8 CSU.

Three went one-and-done: No. 12 California beat No. 5 UNLV 64-61, No. 14 Harvard stunned No. 3 UNM 68-62, and La Salle dropped Boise State in a battle of 13 seeds.

Colorado State beat No. 9 Missouri 84-72 before its loss to Louisville, and No. 7 San Diego State whipped No. 10 Oklahoma 70-55 — then got smacked by 15th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast 81-71.

Once again, the big six conferences — ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC, Big 12, Big East — are represented in the Sweet 16. But so are the Missouri Valley and the Atlantic Sun.

Why the MWC has never made a big run in the tournament is a mystery to me. Maybe it’s the enormous fan bases. Schools with rabid home crowds — like UNM, SDSU, UNLV and former member BYU — can’t bring all those folks to the NCAA Tournament the way they can to their arenas, or to Las Vegas for the league tournament.

And while the MWC has been very vocal about wanting to be a national big dog, it was typically accustomed to being the underdog. In a close contest, neutral fans pull mightily for the underdog. Was the pressure too much as the favorite — which the MWC was in all but one game?

But that doesn’t explain the past.

Which leads to this: what about the future? The league’s new TV contracts should mean more exposure. Increased national publicity should translate into more tournament invites.

More invites means a Big Dance-breakthrough is inevitable.

Or is it?

After 14 years, it should have happened by now.

If you have a theory of why it hasn’t, how about sharing it (contact below). I’d love to know.

I’m sure the Mountain West would, too.

UNM 2014: A year ago, I said the Lobos would be even better with Alex Kirk returning, despite Drew Gordon leaving. Now, no starters head out and a heckuva freshman — Bryce Alford — heads in.

Even better in 2013-14? You bet.

Alford may not start, but is sure to give the Lobos the main thing they lacked this season — a deft and consistent shooter. Kirk and Cam Bairstow will again dominate inside, and senior-to-be guards Tony Snell and Kendall Williams get a new mate bombing 3s.

So maybe it’s time to forget about last Thursday. After all, November is just around the corner.

@marktickysmith, msmith@abqjournal.com
— This article appeared on page D1 of the Albuquerque Journal