We’re halfway through Mountain West conference play and Colorado State and Wyoming sit at the bottom of the standings while a quintet of San Diego State, Boise State, New Mexico, Utah State and Nevada are at the top. Just as everyone predicted, right?
The Aztecs sit in first place at 8-1 and have looked stellar throughout their first nine games. But the Aztecs have yet to face any of the top four teams behind them in the standings on the road. That changes Tuesday night when they travel to Reno to face the Wolf Pack.
Road games aren’t the only tests either, with second place Boise State visiting Viejas Arena Friday night in what’s shaping out to be one of the top Mountain West games of the season. As things stand right now in the NET, the Aztecs have three Quadrant 1 win opportunities in a row coming up.
At third place sitting at 6-3 holds a trio of New Mexico, Utah State and Nevada.
Let’s take a look around the Mountain West…
Must-watch games this week:
Tuesday Jan. 31 San Diego State @ Nevada (CBS Sports Network, 9 p.m. MT)
Wednesday Feb. 1 New Mexico @ Utah State (FS1, 8:30 p.m. MT)
Friday Feb. 3 Boise State @ San Diego State (FS1, 7 p.m. MT)
#22 San Diego State (17-4 | 8-1 MW | #23 NET | #24 KenPom)
To this point, the Aztecs have controlled what’s in front of them. San Diego State is back in the AP rankings and now the true gauntlet starts. The Aztecs will hit the road to Reno for a Mountain West standalone game at Nevada on Tuesday before hosting Boise State at Viejas Arena Friday night. If the current NET rankings were to hold until the end of the season, Tuesday marks the start of three-straight Quadrant 1 games ahead for the Aztecs. (@ Nevada, vs. Boise State, @ Utah State) Matt Bradley has continued his impressive season for SDSU alongside guard Darrion Tramell, both averaging double digits in scoring. When those two are combined with a red hot Adam Seiko coming off the bench, the Aztecs are nearly impossible to beat. Brian Dutcher has nailed the California recruiting landscape yet again with SDSU’s top four leading scorers to this point all originating from the Golden State.
Schedule this week:
Tuesday Jan. 31 @ Nevada (CBS Sports Network, 9 p.m. MT)
Friday Feb. 3 vs. Boise State (FS1, 7 p.m. MT)
Boise State (17-5 | 7-2 MW | #22 NET | #26 KenPom)
The Broncos jumped into sole possession of second place by the conclusion of last week, winning games against Fresno State and Colorado State and having several other teams drop a game across the conference. With their only losses in conference play coming by a combined four points in road games at Nevada and New Mexico, Boise State has shown they can compete with the best in the Mountain West. Forward Tyson Degenhart has been dominant for the Broncos, averaging 16.7 points per game in conference play while also tallying his sixth game of 19 points or more this season in Boise State’s win over the Rams. The Broncos will travel to Clune Arena today ahead of their Tuesday night matchup with Air Force before heading straight to San Diego to face the Aztecs Friday night in potentially the top Mountain West game of the year to date.
Schedule this week:
Tuesday Jan 31 @ Air Force (Mountain West Network, 7 p.m. MT)
Friday Feb. 3 @ San Diego State (FS1, 7 p.m. MT)
New Mexico (19-3 | 6-3 MW | #30 NET | #45 KenPom)
New Mexico had Nevada nearly beat in overtime to start last week before falling to the Wolf Pack in a double overtime thriller – court storm included. The Lobos bounced back with a win over Air Force in which the Falcons forced a crowd at The Pit to hold their breath for the full second half of action. With just one game this week, the Lobos have a chance to make a great stride in the conference standings with a win at Utah State or take two steps back with a loss. Nonetheless, New Mexico’s three headed monster of guards Jamal Mashburn Jr. and Jaelen House along with center Morris Udeze have taken the Lobos to new heights this season. They’re each averaging over 15 points per game through 22 games. Following the Lobos test at the Spectrum on Wednesday night, New Mexico will enjoy a six day break before hosting Nevada at The Pit to open next week. I think it’s fair to assume The Pit will be rocking.
Schedule this week:
Wednesday Feb. 1 @ Utah State (FS1, 8:30 p.m. MT)
Utah State (17-5 | 6-3 MW | #34 NET | #48 KenPom)
After falling under the national radar for most of the season, the Aggies now sit at 17-5 and hold a share of third place in the conference. Utah State fell to San Diego State at Viejas Arena by 10, but showed great poise following a 15-point halftime deficit and cut the game to single digits multiple times. Taylor Funk has emerged as a star for the Aggies in 2023, scoring 20 or more points in three games throughout the month of January. Utah State hosts New Mexico in a standalone game in the Mountain West on Wednesday in a battle of third place teams. As we are now halfway through the season, these games start to mean more and more when looking at NCAA Tournament resumes.
Schedule this week:
Wednesday Feb. 1 vs. New Mexico (FS1, 8:30 p.m. MT)
Saturday Feb. 4 @ Colorado State (CBS Sports Network, 6 p.m. MT)
Nevada (16-6 | 6-3 MW | #37 NET | #56 KenPom)
The Wolf Pack picked up a monumental double overtime home win over New Mexico to start last week, but fell to the Runnin’ Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center in a Saturday night contest 68-62. Nevada is still right in the mix sitting at a tie for third place in the conference, but the Wolf Pack will have work to do if they’re unable to pick up a win against the first place Aztecs Tuesday night. I wouldn’t say Nevada is falling off by any means, but the Wolf Pack have some important games down the stretch to keep their conference title hopes alive along with an at-large birth into the NCAA Tournament. A win against the Aztecs at Lawlor Events Center on Tuesday will get rid of all those thoughts for the time being.
Schedule this week:
Tuesday Jan. 31 vs. San Diego State (CBS Sports Network, 9 p.m. MT)
Friday Feb. 3 vs. Air Force (CBS Sports Network, 9 p.m. MT)
San Jose State (13-9 | 4-5 MW | #111 NET | #114 KenPom)
Following a 2-0 start in conference play, reality has finally caught up to the Spartans. The Mountain West is really good in 2022-23. The Spartans have lost five of their last seven games with each of those losses coming from the top five teams in the conference. Tim Miles has been great at San Jose State, turning the Spartan program around and changing the whole complexity of how teams prepare to play his team. Guards Omari Moore and Alvaro Cardenas are both averaging double digits scoring and San Jose State has a great chance to bounce back with a win against last place Wyoming Saturday night.
Schedule this week:
Saturday Feb. 4 @ vs. Wyoming (CBS Sports Network, 8 p.m. MT)
UNLV (14-7 | 3-6 MW | #75 NET | #81 KenPom)
The Runnin’ Rebels had a great week, knocking off both Wyoming and Nevada and jumping back into the top 75 in the NET rankings. UNLV will face Colorado State in Fort Collins on Tuesday looking for revenge in a rematch from one of the most entertaining games in the Mountain West season. The Rebels will finish the week hosting Fresno State on Friday, another team who took them down earlier on in the season. Overall, UNLV has bounced back from what was a very rough start to conference play and can set itself up to compete for a decent position heading into the conference tournament if they can just win the close games.
Schedule this week:
Tuesday Jan. 31 @ Colorado State (Mountain West Network, 7 p.m. MT)
Friday Feb. 3 vs. Fresno State (FS1, 9 p.m. MT)
Air Force (12-10 | 3-6 MW | #153 NET | #157 KenPom)
The Falcons nearly upset New Mexico at The Pit last Friday, falling 81-73 at The Pit. Freshman forward Rytis Petraitis showed out with 19 points and 11 rebounds in a performance that silenced the crowd for the first 15 minutes of the second half, forcing fans to hold their breath in fear of what could have been a Quad 4 loss for the Lobos at the end of the season. With Petraitis emerging, the combination with him and guard Jake Heidbreder could be a recipe for disaster for other teams in this conference hoping for an at-large tournament bid. Next up is a matchup with Boise State, hosting the Broncos at Clune Arena Tuesday evening before a Friday matchup with the Wolf Pack in Reno.
Schedule this week:
Tuesday Jan 31 vs. Boise State (Mountain West Network, 7 p.m. MT)
Friday Feb. 3 @ Nevada (CBS Sports Network, 9 p.m. MT)
Fresno State (7-13 | 3-6 MW | #186 NET | #162 KenPom)
Since taking down New Mexico at the SaveMart Center, Fresno State has lost five out of its last six games. The lack of offensive production has been what has held the Bulldogs back for most of conference play, averaging just 58.5 points per game over their last six games. No matter what the statistics say, Fresno State will always compete and is never an easy team to face on the road. The schedule doesn’t get much easier for the Bulldogs this week, hitting the road to Laramie to face the Cowboys before returning west to face UNLV.
Schedule this week:
Tuesday Jan. 31 @ Wyoming (FS1, 8 p.m. MT)
Friday Feb. 3 @ UNLV (FS1, 9 p.m. MT)
Colorado State (10-12 | 2-7 MW | #124 NET | #113 KenPom)
Colorado State’s conference record does not reflect how competitive of a team the Rams really are. Before losing to Boise State by 21 points the Rams had gone to overtime in four straight games, one of which was a loss to first place San Diego State at Moby Arena. Guard Isaiah Stevens has yet to get cold, scoring a minimum of 15 points in every game Colorado State has played in January. Hosting UNLV and Utah State this week, neither team coming to Fort Collins will have an easy victory.
Schedule this week:
Tuesday Jan. 31 vs. UNLV (Mountain West Network, 7 p.m. MT)
Saturday Feb. 4 vs. Utah State (CBS Sports Network, 6 p.m. MT)
Wyoming (6-14 | 1-7 MW | #198 NET | #168 KenPom)
Since tallying its first conference win nine days ago in the Border War, Wyoming has yet to move far from rock bottom. The Cowboys have lost nine of their last 10 games with the most recent losses not being necessarily close on paper. With the schedule lightening up to face the middle to bottom half of the conference this week, Wyoming will have opportunities to secure a couple of wins with a gauntlet of a February schedule to follow. Make no mistake – teams will not take Wyoming lightly down the stretch. The possibility of dropping a game to the Cowboys and adding a potential Quad 4 loss would likely be costly for a team’s at-large hopes come March.
Schedule this week:
Tuesday Jan. 31 vs. Fresno State (FS1, 8 p.m. MT)
Saturday Feb. 4 @ San Jose State (CBS Sports Network, 8 p.m. MT)
