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College Basketball Rankings, Week 2: Mountain West Is Where?
Colorado State is their only hope, for now
Contact/Follow @wadleigh_matt24 & @MWCwire
Racking up wins might be the answer
November is almost over and the college basketball season has already had its share of twists and turns.
Opening night featured some massive upsets, with Cal losing to UCSD, and then UC Riverside beat Arizona State on a miraculous buzzer-beater a few days later.
Nonetheless, this is ONLY November, and one can only imagine how much more crazy things will get as the season progresses.
On Monday, the newest AP Top 25 rankings came out – and the Mountain West still has no teams on the ballot, which should come as no shock.
- Gonzaga
- UCLA
- Purdue
- Kansas
- Duke
- Baylor
- Villanova
- Texas
- Baylor
- Kentucky
- Alabama
- Houston
- Arkansas
- Illinois
- Tennessee
- St. Bonaventure
- Arizona
- BYU
- Auburn
- Michigan
- Seton Hall
- Connecticut
- Florida
- USC
- Xavier
The only MWC school to receive votes is Colorado State once again, and the Rams received 30 votes.
Coaches Poll
- Gonzaga
- UCLA
- Kansas
- Purdue
- Baylor
- Duke
- Villanova
- Texas
- Alabama
- Memphis
- Houston
- Arkansas
- Michigan
- Kentucky
- Illinois
- St. Bonaventure
- Tennessee
- BYU
- Arizona
- Seton Hall
- Connecticut
- Auburn
- Oregon
- Florida
- USC
In the coaches poll, Colorado State and Utah State are earning votes.
San Diego State is one team that generated some buzz, but they fell to BYU (a loss that looks better now) and then squeaked by Arizona State. This past weekend, the Aztecs just beat UT-Arlington, so that isn’t an encouraging sign for voters.
But, the Rams aren’t going to move up anytime soon unless others start losing. The Rams are 5-0 and should go to 6-0 with a game against Northeastern in the US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam.
Unfortunately, the best team they have faced so far is Creighton. They have a nice five-game stretch to start December consisting of Arkansas Little Rock, St. Mary’s, Mississippi State, Tulsa, and Alabama, and that will be telling of how talented this team is.
As for the Aztecs, they can certainly change everybody’s mind by beating Georgetown and USC or St. Joseph’s in back-to-back days at the Wooden Legacy beginning on Thanksgiving.
They start things off with the Hoyas, then will play one of St. Joe’s or USC, and the likelihood of a USC-San Diego State Wooden Legacy final is a big one.
Apart from these two teams, the MWC has been a concern. Sure, Boise State played well against St. Bonaventure, but that was just four days after a frustrating upset loss to UC Irvine.
It might be some time before the MWC gets a team in the Top 25, but if the Aztecs can string together two wins over the next week – one against a Top 25 team – that will certainly help their cause.
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