Players To Watch:
Malachi Flynn, San Diego State
Obviously, the first player I have to talk about is the man the Mountain West media just named the conference’s Player of the Year. Malachi Flynn has been outstanding all season long for the Aztecs. He is Mountain West leader in assists, is 4th in points per game, and leads the conference in steals. He is the leader of the conference’s best team and how he handles his first Mountain West tournament should be fascinating to watch.
Jalen Harris, Nevada
There was only one player other than Malachi Flynn who received player of the year votes this season. That player was Jalen Harris and he may well have won the award if he had played for a better team. Nobody else in the conference even came close to his scoring numbers, as the next highest scorer in the conference averaged three fewer points per game. Harris is certainly a player to watch because of just how enjoyable his ability to score should be to watch in this tournament, but also because he makes Nevada very dangerous.
If he gets hot in this tournament, then there’s no reason to believe he can’t take this team to the tournament final. It would be tough for him to carry this team past San Diego State, as we saw on Saturday night, but if the Aztecs fall in the semis, then Jalen Harris could be the player to carry his team to an automatic NCAA bid.
Bryce Hamilton, UNLV
The rise of Bryce Hamilton this season has been absolutely incredible and it has been a massive reason why UNLV has been so successful in the second half of the season. Hamilton only averaged 13 minutes per game for the Runnin Rebels last season and wasn’t a starter at the beginning of this season. He finally got the chance to join the starting lineup in the 9th game of the season against Cincinnati and he hasn’t looked back. He has averaged over 20 points per game during the Mountain West season, was just named to the Mountain West’s All-Conference 1st team.
His play has helped UNLV build a 4-game winning streak as they head into this tournament and I believe he can lead this team to a special performance in the tournament. If UNLV can pull off the improbable then I believe it will be because Hamilton led them there. I believe UNLV is a team to watch in this tournament and that’s in large part because I think that Hamilton is getting ready to pull off something special in this tournament.