Time flies when you’re having fun! We are already approaching the home stretch for the Mountain West men’s basketball regular season. How do our power rankings look this week? Let’s examine!
1. Utah State
Utah State hosted Memphis in a rare February non-conference affair. And the Aggies took care of business with a dominant 99-75 win. Though it didn’t come without some controversy, as MJ Collins’ dunk as time expired didn’t please Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway, who exchanged words with Utah State after the game. Alas, Collins and Mason Falsev combined to score 44 points on a remarkable 18-of-27 shooting. That didn’t count Karson Templin’s 20 points off the bench, marking a new career high.
2. San Diego State
San Diego State’s 7-foot big Magoon Gwath hasn’t always been available for the Aztecs this season. On Saturday night, he was, and was one of the best players on the floor. He scored 13 points with just three rebounds, but rejected five shots in just 14 minutes off the bench in the Aztecs’ 14-point win. That’s not to take any credit away from Reese Dixon-Waters, who was also excellent with 20 points.
3. New Mexico
New Mexico got back on track with a 70-64 win over Grand Canyon. They nearly choked a 20-point lead, but held strong in the final minutes behind freshman guard Jake Hall. The 6-foot-4 guard had 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range in the six-point victory — New Mexico’s only win of the week.
4. Nevada
Nevada holds strong in the No. 4 spot, despite its 14-point loss to SDSU, its only game of the week. The Wolf Pack shot just 32.7 percent from the floor, including a measly 6-of-24 from 3-point range. They built some momentum in the second half after trailing by 16, but could not sustain it outside of the first five or so minutes exiting halftime. Nevada now drops to 0-14 inside Viejas in their matchup history — their last for the foreseeable future.
5. Grand Canyon
Behind Makaih Williams’ 20-point effort, Grand Canyon made a terrific 20-point comeback against New Mexico on its home floor earlier in the week. However, they couldn’t close the chapter, losing by six points, snapping its five-game home win streak. They bounced back against San Jose, scoring 90 points for the fourth time this season, only missing eight shots inside the arc (30-38) despite shooting just 6-of-20 from distance.
6. UNLV
As I’ve mentioned before, sometimes UNLV is the perfect Mountain West team because you never know what you’re quite getting each night. They conjured together a miraculous three-point overtime win over Boise this week, completing their season-sweep over the Broncos — both barn burners that ended beyond regulation. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, who leads the MW in scoring, scored a career-high 36 points on 13-of-22 shooting and 6-of-12 from 3-point range in the overtime win.
7. Boise State
Before you know it, Boise tumbles back down to No. 7. You can’t blow a 23-point lead to UNLV — especially if you lead by as many as 17 with less than nine minutes. Boise missed seven of its final nine shots at the end of regulation and went just 1-for-4 with a pair of turnovers in overtime. The goodwill they built with wins over Nevada and New Mexico rightfully faded in these rankings, as they dropped back to .500 in MW play.
8. Colorado State
Winners of three-straight, Colorado State moved to 6-8 in MW action with their 11-point win over Wyoming. Jase Butler scored a career-high 18 points, courtesy of getting to the free-throw line 12 times (11 makes), with six dimes and three steals in 30 minutes. CSU’s two wins over Air Force and Wyoming were two of its better offensive performances in MW play, shooting a combined 57.8 percent from the floor and 20-of-39 from beyond the arc.
9. Fresno State
Led by freshmen DeShawn Gory and Wilson Jacques, Fresno State bounced back emphatically against Air Force after a 13-point loss to Utah State. Despite shooting just 7-of-23 from beyond the arc, Fresno State poured on 93 points en route to its 30-point masterclass over the Falcons — spearheaded by Gory’s and Jacques’ 18 points apiece. The Bulldogs also limited AFA to just 38.9 percent shooting and 17 turnovers in the rout.
10. Wyoming
Wyoming is losers of three-straight, four of its last five and nine of its last 11. Colorado State outscored the Pokes 42-28 in the second half after Wyoming entered the break with a three-point advantage inside Moby Arena. Colorado State opened the second half on a 16-3 run, jumping ahead by double figures. Despite valiant efforts from Demarion Dennis, who had one of the best games of his career (21 points, 9-14 FG), the Pokes couldn’t quite climb out of the deficit.
11. San Jose State
San Jose State’s losing streak widened to eight games with its two losses to UNLV and Grand Canyon this week. There are only seemingly 6-7 players that Tim Miles currently trusts in his rotation, placing a lot of burden on Colby Garland’s shoulders to create, among others. Garland has played all 40 minutes in each of his last three games, scoring 21, 23 and 23 points, respectively, in those games while totaling nine rebounds, 12 assists and four steals.
12. Air Force
This is another lost season for Air Force, who has not won a game since November with a pair of more blowout losses to Colorado State and Fresno State. In case anyone was curious, Air Force is No. 347 (out of 365) in KenPom, nearly 100 spots below SJSU (253), the next-lowest.