D-up and you're probably going to win

So here is the finish for the regular season in the WAC:

1. Utah State 14-2
2. Nevada 11-5
3. Boise State 9-7
4. Idaho 9-7
5. New Mexico State 9-7
6. Louisiana Tech 6-10
7. San Jose State 6-10
8. Hawai‘i 5-11
9. Fresno State 3-13

One truism about basketball at any level -- and there are about a gazillion -- is that defensive effort is what can be brought every night by everyone. Shooting accuracy can ebb and flow, offensive efficiency can be in-and-out, etc. but defense is a mindfulness that simply requires a mindset and energy.

Now here's the field goal percentage defense finish -- the accepted number in measuring defensive tenacity -- for the WAC teams:

FIELD GOAL PCT DEFENSE
# Team G FG FGA Pct
--------------------------------------------
1.Nevada.............. 16 362 881 .411
2.Utah State.......... 16 352 825 .427
3.Idaho............... 16 356 819 .435
4.Boise State......... 16 393 900 .437
5.Louisiana Tech...... 16 347 793 .438
6.New Mexico State.... 16 422 959 .440
7.Hawaii.............. 16 357 798 .447
8.Fresno State........ 16 422 920 .459
9.San Jose State...... 16 431 893 .483

Look at the relative similarities of field goal percentage defense shakeout to the actual team finish.

Now, we were wrong with our statement that the squad with the best defense would win the WAC but we weren't off by much.