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College Basketball Rankings: Mountain West Shut Out Of Initial Rankings
When will a Mountain West team get ranked
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Will Colorado State be first team ranked?
The college basketball season is underway and the first week is officially over. It had its fair share of upsets, including UCSD beating Cal (yes, UCSD, not SDSU), and UC Riverside hitting a near full-court buzzer-beater to top Arizona State in Arizona.
As far as the Mountain West Conference goes, the latest AP Top 25 rankings did not do the conference any favors. Zero teams from the MWC appeared in the Top 25, and even worse, just one team landed in the Others Receiving Votes category – Colorado State, with 15 votes.
Here are the latest AP Top 25 rankings:
- Gonzaga
- UCLA
- Kansas
- Michigan
- Villanova
- Purdue
- Duke
- Texas
- Baylor
- Illinois
- Memphis
- Oregon
- Kentucky
- Alabama
- Houston
- Arkansas
- Tennessee
- North Carolina
- Ohio State
- Maryland
- Auburn
- St. Bonaventure
- Connecticut
- Florida
- USC
The only hope, for the time being, is the Rams, although they are off until Friday when they take on Bradley. The Rams’ upcoming schedule is favorable, with their toughest game coming against St. Mary’s at the beginning of December. After that, the Rams play Mississippi State, Tulsa, and Alabama in a brutal stretch before starting MWC play.
Another tough loss for the MWC was Boise State falling to UC Irvine 58-50 on Saturday. The Broncos face #23 St. Bonaventure, although that loss to Irvine is a massive blow.
The San Diego State Aztecs are another team to keep an eye on. Sure, they fell to BYU on Friday, but the Cougars are right on the cusp of the Top 25. The Aztecs can change their fortunes with a stretch of Arizona State, Texas-Arlington, Georgetown, and one of St. Joe’s or USC in the Wooden Legacy Classic.
Then, of course, December 4 against Michigan is a once-in-a-lifetime moment for the Aztecs and a chance for another monumental victory, similar to their victory against Kansas.
For now, the MWC is shut out of the rankings, but by mid-December, there could very well be two teams in these rankings.
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