PHOTO BY Nicolas Pena
You have to love the Mountain West Conference. Full of down to the wire contests & surprises. That’s what fans were treated to around the league this week. With the eventual fall of a giant on Saturday & a pair of surging squads winning at just the right time.
Though it too was another week for teams to beat on each other. With only three teams sweeping their competition & it’s not exactly the three you’d think.
Below, you’ll find our team’s composite rankings (much in the style of the AP Top-25 poll), as well as an explanation of how many points each team received. Is your team a little too low? Too high? Let us know. And remember, anything can happen in league play…
Mountain West Power Rankings
#1 (No. 23) Utah State Aggies (15-2, 6-1 MWC) | 35 points
Previous Rank: #1
Weekly Snapshot: Won, vs. Nevada (71-62); Lost, at Grand Canyon (84-74)
Why: It’s hard to run the table in conference play, especially in the Mountain West. This Aggie team is special, but so is Global Credit Union Arena & so is the Havoc. A middle of the week win over Nevada at home proved this Utah State team’s prowess. But a ten point road loss to an ever so dangerous Grand Canyon squad knocked them out of first place in the conference.
I can’t imagine they’ll stay down for long, especially with Mason Falslev averaging 25.5 PPG, after leading scorer MJ Collins had an off week with 13.0 PPG. Reminder this team is LOADED & always a tough matchup.
#2 San Diego State (13-4, 7-0 MWC) | 34 points
Previous Rank: #2
Weekly Snapshot: Won, at Wyoming (74-57); Won, vs. New Mexico (83-79)
Why: The Aztecs looked like the team pegged to add some more Mountain West hardware to the trophy case back in San Diego after a two year drought. Winning inside the Dome of Doom may have been expected, no matter how good of a job Coach Wicks is doing in Laramie this season.
But holding off one of the more impressive comebacks of the season by a superb New Mexico squad at home. That’s why Coach Dutcher’s squad looks locked & loaded offensively & now sit in sole possession of first place in the conference.
#3 New Mexico (14-4, 5-2 MWC) | 30 points
Previous Rank: #3
Weekly Snapshot: Won, vs. Grand Canyon (87-64); Lost, at San Diego State (83-79)
Why: The Lobos looked equally challenged by the visiting Lopes in Tuesday night’s first half bout in Albuquerque. Though a 360 by New Mexico in the second half sent Grand Canyon back to Phoenix with a 23-point loss inside the storied Pit. That win appeared to have Coach Olen’s squad primed for a West Coast upset inside Viejas Arena on Saturday.
Although that aforementioned second half comeback nearly gave them that, some sloppy play in the closing minutes of the first half left the hole a little too deep to climb out of. Still, the Lobos belong in the title hunt conversation, they aren’t done just yet.
#4 Nevada (13-5, 5-2 MWC) | 27 points
Previous Rank: #4
Weekly Snapshot: Lost, at Utah State (71-62); Won, at Air Force (81-66)
Why: The Wolf Pack gave the Aggies a bit of a scare in the middle of the week in Logan. But as Steve Alford said, it’s a tough place to play. One where you can’t make mistakes like missing the box out on free throws. It was a close loss but like New Mexico, showed fans around the conference they are still top-half contenders. A double-digit win in Colorado Springs was just what was needed to keep them tied for third with their canine counterparts.
#5 Grand Canyon (11-6, 4-2 MWC) | 25 points
Previous Rank: #5
Weekly Snapshot: Lost, at New Mexico (87-64); Won vs. No. 23 Utah State (84-74)
#6 Boise State (10-8, 2-5MWC) | 20 points
Previous Rank: #8
Weekly Snapshot: Lost at UNLV (89-85, OT); Won vs. Colorado State (79-73)
Why: As Boise State & Colorado St
#7 Wyoming Cowboys (11-7, 2-5 MWC) | 18 points
Previous Rank: #7
Weekly Snapshot: Lost, vs. San Diego State (74-57); Lost, at Fresno State (63-60)
#8 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (9-8, 4-2 MWC) | 14 points
Previous Rank: #9
Weekly Snapshot: Won vs. Boise State (89-85, OT); Won, at San Jose State (76-62)
Why: We haven’t seen this much improvement from the middle of the pack in this still very young conference slate. Grand Canyon welcomed this season’s Goliath at home & slayed them by double-digits. While Boise State received plenty of love from our staff after falling to UNLV on the road in OT, but also handed Colorado State their second loss of the week at home, snapping a four game losing streak.
UNLV swept both of their matchups this week, including holding off the Broncos at home in OT. But Wyoming’s past success prevented a fall or possibly being overtaken by the Runnin’ Rebels this week.
#9 Colorado State Rams (11-7, 2-5 MWC) | 12 points
Previous Rank: #6
Weekly Snapshot: Lost, at Fresno State (79-69); Lost at Boise State (79-73)
#10 Fresno State Bulldogs (9-9, 3-4 MWC) | 11 points
Previous Rank: #10
Weekly Snapshot: Won, vs. Colorado State (79-69); Won, vs. Wyoming (63-60)
#11 San Jose State Spartans (6-12, 1-6 MWC) | 6 points
Previous Rank: #11
Weekly Snapshot: Won, vs. Air force (70-62); Lost, vs. UNLV (76-62)
#12 Air Force Falcons (3-15, 0-7 MWC) | 3 points
Previous Rank: #12
Weekly Snapshot: Lost, at San Jose State (70-62 ); Lost, vs. Nevada (81-66)
Why: We saw some fight from the teams in the bottom half of the conference this week. Even as the Falcons dropped both of their games, San Jose State earned their first conference win at home versus Air Force. Fresno State propelled themselves into the #9 spot after earning the last sweep of the week. Defending the Save Mart Center not once but twice this week against mid-table squads Colorado State & Wyoming.
While the Rams own the largest slide of the week, going from #6 to #9 after back-to-back road losses. Ali Farokhmanesh & company had a tough start to conference play, not to say that’s over & done with. But receiving 17 points & 4 rebounds from Rashaan Mbemba, who’s still bouncing back from a hampering injury is a great start.
How Our Team Voted
| Dan’s Rankings | Jay’s Rankings | Larry’s Rankings | Point Value |
| 1. Utah State | 1. Utah State | 1. San Diego State | 12 points |
| 2. San Diego State | 2. San Diego State | 2. Utah State | 11 points |
| 3. New Mexico | 3. New Mexico | 3. New Mexico | 10 points |
| 4. Nevada | 4. Nevada | 4. Grand Canyon | 9 points |
| 5. Grand Canyon | 5. Grand Canyon | 5. Nevada | 8 points |
| 6. Wyoming | 6. Boise State | 6. Boise State | 7 points |
| 7. Boise State | 7. Wyoming | 7. UNLV | 6 points |
| 8. UNLV | 8. Colorado State | 8. Wyoming | 5 points |
| 9. Colorado State | 9. Fresno State | 9. Fresno State | 4 points |
| 10. Fresno State | 10. UNLV | 10. Colorado State | 3 points |
| 11. San Jose State | 11. San Jose State | 11. San Jose State | 2 points |
| 12. Air Force | 12. Air Force | 12. Air Force | 1 point |
Thank you for reading – You can find more content from our writers at the following:
- Couch Potato Sports: https://x.com/CouchPSports
- Dan: https://www.instagram.com/couchpotatosportscoverage/?hl=en
- Jay: https://x.com/LoboSauceJay
- Larry: https://x.com/LarryMunizCBB
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