Potent Mountain West headed by No. 21-ranked Lobos

Alex Taylor, Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne
·7 min read
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Jan. 4—LARAMIE — The first two months of the season have been full of surprises, both good and bad, for all 11 Mountain West men's basketball teams. Three teams are ranked inside the top 50 of the NCAA NET rankings, including Utah State, San Diego State and No. 21-ranked New Mexico going into week two of the conference slate.

1. New Mexico (14-0 overall, 2-0 Mountain West)

The Lobos were the last undefeated team out of 363 Division I teams going into Tuesday night's matchup against Fresno State in California. New Mexico is the highest-ranked MW team in the NET rankings at No. 18, but barely escaped Laramie unbeaten after winning 76-75 against a shorthanded University of Wyoming team last weekend.

While the Lobos are ranked in the top 25, the team stands at No. 309 in the country in strength of schedule. Despite the weak opponents, New Mexico leads the MW in offense with 84.1 points and has a league-high 15.8-point scoring margin. After playing the Bulldogs on the road Tuesday, the Lobos will return to the floor for a big showdown against UNLV on Saturday at the Pit.

2. San Diego State (11-3, 2-0)

The Aztecs started the season ranked No. 19 in the country and were the heavy preseason favorite to win the MW but fell out of the top 25 rankings with a trio of losses in nonconference play. SDSU has bounced back with a four-game winning streak, including a pair of wins over Air Force and UNLV to start the conference season. The Aztecs stand at No. 22 in the NET rankings going into a road matchup against UW this weekend. SDSU and the Cowboys will play at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Arena-Auditorium.

3. Utah State (12-2, 1-0)

The Aggies have been one of many surprises in the MW through the first two months of the season. Utah State is No. 2 in the conference offensively with 83.8 points per game and sits just behind SDSU at No. 23 in the NET rankings this week. With an uneven number of teams in the conference, the Aggies have played just one conference game in this first week of the MW season, which was a 67-54 win at home over Fresno State last weekend. Utah State faced Air Force on Tuesday in Colorado Springs and will return to the floor for another road game against Boise State this weekend in Idaho.

4. Nevada (12-3, 2-0)

The Wolf Pack have been another surprise in the MW after being picked to finish ninth in the preseason polls. Nevada is ranked 53rd in the NET rankings and beat Boise State and Air Force consecutively to start the conference season 2-0. The Wolf Pack rank second in the MW in scoring margin at 13.6 points per game and will look to continue the momentum going into a home matchup with Colorado State on Wednesday in Reno. Nevada will move on to play on the road at San Jose State on Saturday in California.

5. Boise State (10-4, 0-1)

The Broncos put together a nine-game winning streak during the nonconference season but were on a two-game skid going into Tuesday's matchup with San Jose State in Idaho. Boise State, who was picked No. 3 in the MW preseason polls, started the conference season with a 74-72 loss to Nevada last week but are still ranked inside the top 60 of the NET rankings at No. 55. The Broncos will move on to host Utah State at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Idaho.

6. UNLV (11-3, 0-2)

The Rebels are right where they were projected to be in the preseason polls at No. 6 in the Mountain West after a strong 11-1 showing during the nonconference season. UNLV has struggled out of the gate of MW play, losing back-to-back games to San Jose State and San Diego State respectively to start the conference slate 0-2. It won't get any easier for the Rebels, who will travel to one of the toughest environments in the country this weekend. UNLV will face No. 21-ranked New Mexico at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at The Pit.

7. San Jose State (11-4, 2-0)

The Spartans have exceeded expectations thus far, reeling off consecutive conference wins over UNLV and Colorado State to start MW play. SJSU sits at No. 96 in the NET rankings and has the sixth-best strength of schedule in the conference at 218th. The Spartans were just one of four teams to start MW play with a 2-0 record going into a tough road matchup with Boise State on Tuesday in Idaho. SJSU will next host Nevada at 2 p.m. Saturday in California.

8. Colorado State (8-7, 0-2)

The Rams struggled mightily during the nonconference slate with a collage of injuries and a tough schedule that ranks 102nd in the country. CSU is riding a three-game losing streak, including back-to-back conference losses to New Mexico and San Jose State last week to start MW play. The Rams rank No. 4 in the conference in offense with 75.3 points per game but have struggled defensively, ranking No. 10 out of 11 teams in the MW with 69.8 points allowed per game. CSU will continue the conference campaign with a road matchup against Nevada on Wednesday in Reno. The Rams will then host Fresno State at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Fort Collins.

9. Fresno State (5-8, 1-1)

The Bulldogs have underperformed all season and are the second-worst MW team in the NET rankings at No. 202, ahead of only UW. Fresno State beat the Cowboys 58-53 to start conference play last week in California but fell 76-54 to Utah State on the road last weekend. The Bulldogs hosted undefeated New Mexico on Tuesday in Fresno and will return to the court this weekend for a road matchup with Colorado State in Fort Collins.

10. Wyoming (5-9, 0-2)

Arguably one of the biggest surprises in all of Division I basketball has been the early struggles for the UW. The Cowboys have been riddled with key injuries all season, most notably the extended absence of MW preseason player of the year Graham Ike, who has yet to see the floor this year. UW is ranked No. 207 in the NET rankings and 234th in strength of schedule and started the conference season with back-to-back losses to Fresno State and New Mexico.

The Cowboys are ranked seventh in the MW in offense at 70.9 points per game and ninth in defense at 69 points allowed per game going into this weekend's matchup with a tough San Diego State team. UW will host the Aztecs at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Arena-Auditorium.

11. Air Force (9-6, 0-2)

After being picked to finish dead-last in the MW preseason polls, the Falcons have exceeded expectations thus far and sit at No. 157 in the NET rankings this week. Air Force has struggled out of the gate of conference play, however, losing consecutive games to San Diego State and Nevada to start MW play.

The Falcons have had troubles offensively through the first two months of the season, ranking No. 10 in the conference in scoring at 69 points per game going into Tuesday's matchup with Utah State in Colorado Springs. Air Force will take the weekend off before returning to the court against Colorado State next week in Fort Collins.

Alex Taylor covers the University of Wyoming for WyoSports. He can be reached at ataylor@wyosports.net or 269-364-3560. Follow him on Twitter at @alex_m_taylor22.