BYU, Utah Utes basketball: At midway point, how the MWC shapes up

Here is a peek at what's hot and what's not at the midway point of the Mountain West Conference basketball race:

TEAM TO BEAT: At the midway point, Utah and San Diego State have the edge with just two losses, while preseason favorites UNLV and BYU are tied with New Mexico with three setbacks.

SPOILERS: The Cougars and Lobos have Utah on their tough home courts, while SDSU must play at Utah and hold off the Rebels in San Diego.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Utah's big center Luke Nevill has established consistency and productivity that has been a thorn to everyone in the league.

BEST OF THE REST: BYU's Lee Cummard, SDSU's Kyle Spain, UNLV's Wink Adams and Cougar sophomore Jimmer Fredette.

GAME OF THE YEAR: Has to be two home-court upsets when UNLV beat BYU in the Marriott Center and the Aztecs beat UNLV at the Thomas & Mack.

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Wyoming freshman Afam Muojeke, a 6-foot-7 forward with a velvet outside touch, has the power moves to finish inside. He averages 15.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

BEST REBOUNDER: He's undersized, but UNLV's Rene Rougeau is the toughest guy in the league at crashing the boards and going for missed shots.

BEST SHOOTER: Statistically, it goes to local post players. BYU's Chris Miles doesn't get the attention, but he's shooting at a 64 percent clip, while Nevill, the tallest player in the league, is second at 61 percent.

BEST BOMBER: New Mexico's career 3-point leader, Chad Toppert, is extremely accurate at 6-foot-7 and sits atop the rest with 45 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

BEST DEFENDER: UNLV's TreVon Willis, while SDSU's Richie Williams and Spain battle for second.

BEST RUN GOING: BYU sophomore Jimmer Fredette has rattled off 21, 28 and 20 points against Utah, Wyoming and Air Force while shooting 63 percent from the field, 10-of-16 from beyond the arc.

CHARITY LINE ARTIST: The Utes have dominated the free-throw line all season. Warning: Do not hack.

BEST OFFENSE: The Cougars continue to lead the league with a 79.6 scoring average and claim the third (Lee Cummard 17 ppg), fourth (Jonathan Tavernari 16 ppg) and fifth (Jimmer Fredette 15 ppg) scorers in the conference. Wyoming's Brandon Ewing (18 ppg) is No. 1 followed by Ute Luke Nevill No. 2, at 17.4 ppg.

BEST DEFENSE: The Aztecs have the whole package, a combination of speed, size and athleticism. Opponents average just 59 against Steve Fisher's men.