CSU starts MW play at No. 1 in power rankings

Jan. 4—LARAMIE — The Mountain West is one of four NCAA Division I basketball conference with five or more teams ranked inside the top 40 of the NCAA Net rankings going into the conference season.

Colorado State, San Diego State, Utah State, Nevada and New Mexico had a combined nonconference record of 60-6. The MW has the seventh-highest average Net ranking out of 32 leagues at 102.8, according to bracketologists.com.

MW play kicked off this week, with six of the conference's 11 teams starting the conference season Tuesday.

1. Colorado State (Last week: 1)

The Rams (13-1 overall, 1-0 MW) earned their first conference win of the season 76-68 at home over New Mexico on Tuesday in Fort Collins. CSU had a 17-point lead with just over five minutes left and iced the game at the free-throw line to move to a conference-high No. 17 in the Net rankings. The Rams are also No. 13 in this week's Associated Press poll, which is their sixth-straight week in the national rankings. CSU will hit the road to take on Utah State at 7 p.m. Saturday in Logan.

2. San Diego State (Last week: 3)

The Aztecs (11-2) ended the nonconference slate with an 84-74 road win over then No. 13-ranked Gonzaga last Friday in Spokane, Washington. The win boosted SDSU to No. 23 in the Net rankings, but the Aztecs were left out of the AP poll by just one spot with 113 votes. Forward Jaedon LeDee is eighth in the country in scoring at 21.5 points per game and leads the MW in rebounding at 9.2 per night. SDSU started its conference season against Fresno State on Wednesday and hosts UNLV at 2 p.m. Saturday in California.

3. Utah State (Last week: 4)

The Aggies (13-1, 1-0) dominated Air Force 88-60 on the road Tuesday to earn their first MW win. Utah State has the longest winning streak in the conference at 12 games and is ranked No. 26 in the Net rankings. The Aggies are in the top three for both offense and defense in the MW, ranking second in points allowed at 65.3 and third in points for at 81.8. Utah State hosts back-to-back home conference games, starting with Colorado State at 7 p.m. Saturday in Logan.

4. Nevada (Last week: 5)

The Wolf Pack (13-1, 0-0) garnered 13 votes in this week's AP poll and sit at No. 34 in the Net rankings. Nevada's lone loss of the season was a blowout loss to Drake in last month's Jack Jones Classic in Las Vegas. The Wolf Pack have the No. 1 scoring defense in the MW at 64.4 points allowed per game, and guard Jarod Lucas is fourth in the league in scoring at 17.9 points per night. Nevada opens its conference season on the road at Fresno State at 5 p.m. Saturday in California.

5. The Lobos (Last week: 2)

The Lobos (12-2, 0-1) had another strong nonconference season but struggled in their first MW loss to No. 13-ranked Colorado State on Tuesday. New Mexico tallied six votes in this week's AP Top 25 before its road loss to the Rams. The Lobos were ranked No. 301 in nonconference strength of schedule, according to ESPN's Power Index, which was 10th out of the MW's 11 teams. Guards Jamal Mashburn Jr., Donovan Dent and Jaelen House are all averaging over 15 points per game, with Mashburn Jr. leading the way at 17.3. New Mexico hosts the University of Wyoming at 8 p.m. Saturday in Albuquerque.

6. Boise State (Last week: 6)

The Broncos (9-4) won six of their last seven games of the nonconference season to move to No. 71 in the Net rankings. Boise State has been strong on defense, ranking third in the MW at 65.6 points allowed per game. The Broncos have also excelled on the glass, sitting at No. 2 in the conference with a plus-6.7 rebounding margin. Boise State open league play on the road at San Jose State at 8:30 p.m. Friday in California.

7. UNLV (Last week: 7)

The Rebels (7-5) have been a mixed bag this season, but UNLV closed out the nonconference slate with a dominant 112-56 win over Bethesda (California) at home Tuesday. The Rebels are ranked No. 115 in the Net rankings and lead the MW in blocked shots with an average of 5.2 per game. UNLV has struggled on the glass, sitting at No. 9 in the league in rebounding margin at minus-0.5. The Rebels open league play on the road against San Diego State at 2 p.m. Saturday in California.

8. Wyoming (Last week: 9)

The Cowboys (8-6, 1-0) erased a 17-point deficit to earn their first conference win of the season against San Jose State on Tuesday in Laramie. Guard Akuel Kot made a game-winning shot as time expired to cap the comeback win, a result that bumped UW to No. 184 in the Net rankings. The Cowboys have continuously struggled on the defensive end, ranking dead-last in the MW at 73 points allowed per game. Guard Sam Griffin is second in the league in scoring average at 18.6 points. UW hits the road to take on New Mexico at 8 p.m. Saturday in Albuquerque.

9. San Jose State (Last week: 8)

The Spartans' (7-7, 0-1) loss to the Cowboys on Tuesday dropped them to No. 168 in the Net rankings. SJSU is at the bottom of the MW in both scoring offense (No. 8, 75.5 points per game) and scoring defense (No. 9, 71.4 points allowed per game) and is 0-5 on the road this season. The Spartans have shot the ball relatively well from 3-point range, ranking third in the league at 35.5%. SJSU returns to action at home against Boise State at 8:30 p.m. Friday in California.

10. Fresno State (Last week: 11)

The Bulldogs (7-6, 0-0) are ranked No. 219 in the Net rankings after a rocky nonconference slate. Fresno State is ranked 10th in the MW in scoring offense at 71.4 points per game and 10th in scoring defense at 72.2 points allowed per game. The Bulldogs are the only MW team with a negative scoring margin at minus-0.8 and are dead-last in 3-point defense, allowing opponents to shoot 36.6% from beyond the arc. Fresno State opened conference play against San Diego State on Wednesday and will next host Nevada at 5 p.m. Saturday in California.

11. Air Force (Last week: 10)

The Falcons (7-6, 0-1) dropped 21 spots to No. 237 in the Net rankings after their blowout loss to Utah State on Tuesday. Air Force is dead-last in the MW in scoring offense at 68.5 points per game but has been strong defensively, ranking fourth in the league at 66.8 points allowed per game. Forward Rytis Petraitis and guard Ethan Taylor lead the team in scoring at 17.5 and 17.2 points per game, respectively. The Falcons take this weekend off before traveling to face Nevada at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Reno.

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Alex Taylor is the assistant editor for WyoSports and covers University of Wyoming athletics. He can be reached at ataylor@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @alex_m_taylor22.