Air Force Academy

Oct. 26, 2006

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The Air Force men's basketball team was picked third in the 2006-07 Mountain West Conference preseason media poll, released today at the league's media day in Las Vegas, Nev.

Conference media selected defending regular-season champion San Diego State to repeat as the MWC champion, marking the second straight season the Aztecs have been picked to win the crown. Three teams earned at least one first-place vote, with SDSU capturing 17 of 21 first-place votes and 192 points for the top spot in the poll. BYU earned one first-place vote and finished second with 156 points, while Air Force garnered three first-place votes and 147 points to place third. Utah received 114 points to finish fourth, followed by New Mexico and UNLV in fifth and sixth, respectively. Colorado State was chosen seventh, followed by Wyoming and TCU.

Air Force senior forward Jacob Burtschi was selected to the preseason All-MWC team after earning a second-team selection following the 2005-06 season. Burtschi is joined by Brandon Heath and Mohamed Abukar of San Diego State, Trent Plaisted of BYU and Jason Smith of Colorado State on the team. Heath was named the league's top returning player, while Utah's Stephen Weigh was named the top freshman.

Preseason Media Poll
School (First Place Votes), Points
1. San Diego State (17), 192
2. BYU (1), 156
3. Air Force (3), 147
4. Utah, 114
5. New Mexico, 101
6. UNLV, 99
7. Colorado State, 68
8. Wyoming, 51
9. TCU, 27

Preseason All-MWC
Jacob Burtschi, Sr., F, Air Force
Trent Plaisted, So., F/C, BYU
Jason Smith, Jr., F, Colorado State
Mohamed Abukar, Sr., F, San Diego State
Brandon Heath, Sr., G, San Diego State

Top Returning Player
Brandon Heath, Sr., G, San Diego State

Top Freshman
Stephen Weigh, G/F, Utah