Another Mountain West rankings!
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Boise State takes the top spot:
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Almost three months into the College Hoops year, several Mountain West teams are trying to find better standing in the NCAA Tournament conversation. One team added a major Quadrant one victory, and that team takes the top spot in the Week 11 rankings.
1.) Boise State
Since December, the Broncos haven’t lost, continuing their winning ways over San Diego State on Saturday. The 42-37 doesn’t sound pretty, and it wasn’t — both teams had second-half scoreless droughts lasting longer than nine minutes. But, Marcus Shaver Jr hit the go-ahead triple, putting Boise State ahead with less than one minute remaining.
In this week’s AP Top 25 poll, Boise State received votes and continues climbing every ranking imaginable with their torrid streak. Defense travels and the Broncos rank top-10 in KenPom’s defensive efficiency metric following Saturday’s victory.
Freshman forward Tyson Degenhart received his fourth Mountain West freshman of the week award, thanks to scoring 14 in the San Diego State game. Losses to Cal-State Bakersfield and UC Irvine are tough spots on the NCAA Tournament resume, but Leon Rice has his team tracking to land an NCAA Tournament bid.
Boise State continued their lengthy winning streak after knocking off Wyoming on Tuesday.
What’s next: They look to extend their win streak facing Fresno State in Fresno on Saturday evening. If Boise State’s conference record remains unscathed after this week, it is possible to find themselves ranked in the AP Top 25 poll.
2.) San Diego State
At one point, the Aztecs looked like the top team in the conference after their convincing victory over Colorado State in Viejas Arena. San Diego State lost two of their past three, starting with an ugly 42-37 loss to Boise State. Matt Bradley scored 26 points in the win over UNLV a few days later. But, two days after the 25-point win, SDSU traveled to Logan, Utah, facing an unlucky Utah State squad. The Aggies had no issues against the top-10 ranked defense, scoring 75 points in the 18-point blowout.
3.) Colorado State
The Rams haven’t lost since their blowout loss in Viejas Arena over three weeks ago. On Wednesday, Colorado State got a scare from New Mexico; David Roddy and Chandler Jacobs helped seal the win. The intrastate showdown between Colorado State and Air Force wasn’t close — the Rams sneaked away with 20 point victory.
What’s next: The Rams aim for revenge on Tuesday when hosting Nevada — if you remember: The Wolf Pack beat Colorado State in the final seconds, which could’ve been the nail in the coffin for CSU’s NCAA Tournament hopes in 2020-21. Seeing Isaiah Stevens go toe-to-toe with Grant Sherfield is must-watch television. UNLV also heads to Fort Collins over the weekend.