Each week, Nevada Sports Net columnist Chris Murray will rank the Mountain West basketball teams. Here are this week’s rankings, with each team’s record and a comment. All records and rankings are based on the games completed by Monday.
Last week: 2
Record: 13-1, 3-0 MW
Comment: Utah State won back-to-back road games at SDSU and Nevada, a rare sweep in two of the hardest buildings in the MW to pick up a win. The Aggies are improved over last year’s MW regular-season championship team but has one shared characteristic – the ability to win close games, as Utah State is 5-1 in contests decided by six points or less after going 11-1 in such games last year.
Last week: 1
Record: 8-3, 1-1
Comment: The Aztecs let an 18-point lead slip away in the home loss to Utah State, which could decide who wins the MW regular-season title. SDSU tries to rebound with a home game against Boise State on Saturday. No MW school has lost two conference home games and won the regular-season title, so that feels like a must win for SDSU, which was swept by Boise State last year, including a home loss in OT.
Last week: 5
Record: 11-3, 3-0
Comment: New Mexico earned a road sweep of Colorado State and Fresno State, which, to be fair, are not the toughest places in the MW to win, but road wins in the conference are valuable. The Lobos’ résumé is Quad 4 heavy (6-1 in those games), but this team is dangerous on offense, thanks to improved 3-point shooting (32.8 percent last year; 37 percent this year). New Mexico hosts Nevada on Friday.
Last week: 3
Record: 11-3, 3-0
Comment: Boise State pulled out a narrow win at SJSU, which has historically been a tough place for the Broncos to win (they lost there two years ago and won narrowly last season). Boise State pulled out a 73-71 victory at SJSU after trailing by double digits in the second half. Javan Buchanan blocked Josh Uduje’s game-tying layup with 1 second left after a purposefully missed free throw. Boise State then won at Wyoming.
Last week: 6
Record: 8-5, 2-0
Comment: UNLV is 2-0 in MW play, although those wins are over Fresno State and Air Force. The Rebels get a home game against SJSU on Saturday before the schedule gets much more difficult. UNLV still hasn’t beaten a good team this season – its best victory is over UC Riverside (NET 151) – so there’s a lot left to prove for the Rebels, who have played their best basketball under Kevin Kruger in league play.
Last week: 7
Record: 8-6, 2-1
Comment: Colorado State’s win at Nevada remains its most impressive of the season with the one-two punch of Nique Clifford and Jalen Lake a solid start. The question for the Rams is whether it will get consistent enough contributions from the rest of the roster. Against Nevada, Kyan Evans (16 points) and Rashaan Mbemba (10 points) both chipped in, but those kind of additions have been inconsistent.
Last week: 4
Record: 8-6, 0-3
Comment: Speaking of inconsistent, we find Nevada. The Pack’s six losses have come by a combined 27 points (4.5 per game). Nevada is 1-5 in games decided by five points or fewer, so Wolf Pack football’s one-score woes (Nevada went 2-6 in those games) have rubbed off on the basketball team. After a tough road game at New Mexico, the Wolf Pack gets Fresno State, Air Force and SJSU to right the ship.
Last week: 9
Record: 8-6, 1-2
Comment: Wyoming has looked solid in MW play, beating Nevada at home, losing at Utah State by just three points and playing Boise State well enough (a nine-point home loss). That should put Wyoming around middle of the pack in the MW with a .500 league record a best-case scenario, which would be a solid first season under coach Sundance Wicks. Transfer guard Obi Agbim is playing at an All-MW level.
Last week: 8
Record: 7-8, 0-3
Comment: SJSU started MW play by hanging with New Mexico (six-point road loss) and Boise State (two-point home loss) before getting creamed at home by Colorado State (22-point loss). The Spartans shot 29.5 percent from the field, making only 2-of-23 3-pointers as only one player – UCLA transfer Will McClendon – reached double figures. That was an emotional letdown after the near win against Boise State.
Last week: 10
Record: 4-10, 0-3
Comment: Fresno State’s fast-paced offense also has led to no defense as the Bulldogs have yielded 91.3 ppg in its first three league games and now get to face Utah State, Colorado State and Nevada next. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs offense ranks 325th in KenPom thanks to its 40.2 percent shooting overall and 40.9 percent shooting on two-pointers. Both of those marks rank bottom 20 in the nation.
Last week: 11
Record: 3-10, 0-2
Comment: Air Force’s first two MW contests were non-competitive games versus Boise State and UNLV with almost identical scores – 77-59 against Boise State and 77-58 against UNLV. Both sides of the ball are issues with the Falcons ranking 289th in KenPom offense and 269th in KenPom defense, although the offensive issues are more alarming given Air Force will usually struggle on defense given its situation.
Columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at crmurray@sbgtv.com or follow him on Twitter @ByChrisMurray.
