How is MWC Tournament different without Davies?

One of the many storylines surrounding the Mountain West Conference Tournament, which opens today, is the glaring absence of BYU's Brandon Davies.

Davies was suspended for the remainder of the season last week after he violated the Honor Code.

Most MWC coaches say the Cougars are still a strong team, even without Davies.

"BYU is not a one-man team. They're very good," said San Diego State coach Steve Fisher, whose team fell twice to the Cougars during the regular season. "I'm sure (coach) Dave Rose and his staff will have their team ready to play. It's what you have to deal with, whether it's a suspension, injury or whatever it might be. The next player has to step up, and I'm sure that they'll do that."

Davies was named to the All-MWC third team.

"He was one of the best post players in the league," Fisher said. "He got better in every game. He runs the floor extremely well, and he was a big part of what they do. He will be missed. And yet they've got a lot of good players."

Colorado State coach Tim Miles said the longer the Cougars play without Davies, the better they will adjust.

Rose has a plan to try to compensate for the lack of Davies in the lineup.

"Brandon played a real big part defensively, especially in the back end of that zone for us," Rose said. "He's a good rebounder. He played a lot of minutes for us. The other guys on our team are looking forward to that opportunity. If we can rebound and score from that position similar to how Brandon did, I think we'll be fine."

PLANTING SEEDS: Both BYU and San Diego State are locks for the NCAA Tournament, and UNLV has also been projected to make the field of 68.

But Fisher said he isn't worrying about NCAA Tournament seeding.

"We're playing to win the conference tournament. This is the first time that we know whether we win or not that we'll be in the tournament. Every other year, we had to win it. Last year, people said we were going to get in, but we would have been nervous had we not won."

The Aztecs' goal?

"We want to get in and win. We've never won a game in the NCAA Tournament," Fisher said. "That's a good place to start. Right now, we want to see what we can do in the conference tournament and see if we can cut down the nets back-to-back weekends. That would obviously solidify a great seed for us."

When asked about seeding, Rose said he isn't concerned either.

"Well, you won't like my answer, but it's the truth, so I'll give it to you. I didn't think one thing of it. They were talking good about us, and I don't think anything of it. I don’t think anything about it when they talk bad about us."