Check Out The Week 3 Mountain West Basketball Report Cards
See which teams have the best grades in the third report card roundup of the 2017-18 season
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Mountain West Basketball Report Cards
It was an eventful week for the Mountain West. Week 3 report cards are below.
Air Force Falcons
Results: at Indiana State (L, 74-64), at Denver (W, 61-59)
Air Force dropped its MWC/MVC Challenge matchup with Indiana State, but came back from a 27-5 deficit to top Denver on Saturday for its fourth victory of the season. The Falcons were competitive in both of its first two road games this week.
Grade: B-
Boise State Broncos
Results: vs. Loyola Chicago (W, 87-53), at Oregon (W, 73-70), vs. Portland (W, 77-54)
Fantastic week for the Broncos. Boise State blasted then-undefeated Loyola Chicago by 34 points, then shocked Oregon and ended the nation’s longest home winning streak thanks to Lexus Williams’ half court buzzer-beater, then followed the huge win with another blowout victory on Sunday. Chandler Hutchison recorded the fifth triple-double in MWC history against Portland and was named MWC player of the week on Monday.
Grade: A
Colorado State Rams
Results: at Missouri State (L, 77-67), vs. Colorado (W, 72-63)
Right as I was about to bury Colorado State for its 3-4 start and offensive struggles, the Rams answered the call on Saturday by notching an impressive win over in-state rival Colorado. CSU led by as much as 17 and controlled much of the game, putting an end to CU’s undefeated start to the season.
Grade: B-
Fresno State Bulldogs
Results: vs. Weber State (W, 83-71), at Long Beach State (W, 106-70)
Fresno State’s offense returned in its two games last week, averaging 94.5 points in comfortable wins over Weber State and Long Beach State. The Bulldogs will likely be 9-2 when it hosts Oregon on December 16.
Grade: B+
New Mexico Lobos
Results: vs. Evansville (W, 78-59), at UTEP (L, 88-76)
New Mexico ended its four-game losing streak by throttling Evansville in the MWC/MVC Challenge, but the Lobos looked lifeless on Saturday against a UTEP team that saw its head coach retire just days prior. The once-electric pace for Paul Weir’s offense has slowed down considerably since the first week of the season.
Grade: C
Nevada Wolf Pack
Results: vs. Illinois State (W, 98-68), at UC Irvine (W, 76-65)
Nevada remains undefeated and plunged into the top 25 – a feat no Mountain West had accomplished since the last week of the 2015 regular season. The Wolf Pack also leads the country with four road victories and has a huge week ahead. Eric Musselman’s squad takes on two top 30 teams in Texas Tech and TCU.
Grade: A-
San Diego State Aztecs
Results: at San Diego (W, 66-57), vs. Bradley (W, 75-52)
SDSU enjoyed a 2-0 week after a tough loss to Washington State in the Wooden Legacy final. Malik Pope and Trey Kell are still banged up, though Max Montana return to action for the first time since his knee hyperextension against Arizona State. The Aztecs host California and Gonzaga to wrap up non-league play.
Grade: B+
San Jose State Spartans
Results: at Bowling Green (L, 85-79), at Southern Illinois (L, 76-58)
San Jose State has now lost five of its last six games and only holds wins over Antelope Valley (non-DI) and Idaho State (323rd in KenPom) almost a month into the season. The Spartans offense has been brutal thus far, ranking 321st in adjusted offensive efficiency and is 337th in turnover percentage (KenPom).
Grade: D
UNLV Runnin’ Rebels
Results: at Northern Iowa (L, 77-68), vs. Arizona (L, 91-88)
What a week it could have been for the Rebels. UNLV fell in overtime in both if its massive matchups last week, leading Northern Iowa and Arizona late. Rumblings about UNLV’s lack of late-game execution have resurfaced, as Marvin Menzies’ group could have very well been 8-0 with three quality victories to this point in the season.
Grade: B-
Utah State Aggies
Results: at Valparaiso (L, 72-65), vs. BYU (75-66)
Maybe Utah State’s most challenging week (playing two top 100 KenPom opponents) ended in a 0-2 showing. Koby McEwen missed the Valparaiso game and return against BYU to lead the Aggies with 20 points. Hopefully the Valparaiso absence marks the end of McEwen’s health issues for this season. Utah State can’t afford any more injuries at this point.
Grade: C
Wyoming Cowboys
Results: at Denver (L, 88-78), vs. Drake (W, 96-89)
After an impressive 5-1 start to the season, Wyoming was riding high and appeared to be Nevada’s closest competitor at the top of the MWC. Last week was less than impressive for the Cowboys, though, allowing sub-200 Denver to rack up 88 points on 78 possessions and escaping in double overtime against a sub-par Drake squad. Wyoming has a tough road test at South Carolina this week, a team that reached the Final Four in the spring.
Grade: C