It was only a matter of time before we would start to see some separation in the Mountain West. It’s safe to say that the league now has a clear frontrunner, and that other teams who may have had a claim to that title before the season were obviously over-hyped. Granted, it is only the halfway point of league play, and there are sure to be more of the surprises we saw this week between now and March.
Power Rankings
1. Nevada (7-2, 18-4, last week: 1)
The Wolfpack didn’t need a 25-point comeback to beat New Mexico this time around, taking the lead halfway through the first half and never looking back Saturday. More impressively, the Wolfpack won handedly in spite of a below-average scoring output from Marcus Marshall.
2. New Mexico (6-4, 13-9, last week: 2)
The Lobos uncharacteristically turned the ball over 17 times against Nevada Saturday. But the loss snapped a four-game win streak and it’s still easy to imagine UNM making a run in the conference tournament so long as Elijah Brown and Tim Williams are on the floor.
3. Boise State (6-3, 13-7, last week: 4)
I waffled between Boise State and New Mexico for the 2-spot, but gave the nod to the Lobos by a hair. I would have expected the Broncos to play better at home than they did Wednesday against Nevada, but they bounced back for an easy road win at Wyoming Saturday.
4. Fresno State (5-4, 13-8, last week: 3)
The Bulldogs’ only game of the week was a disappointing road loss at Utah State Saturday where they lost in spite of 19 Aggie turnovers. That’s what happens when you shoot 2-of-18 from three and 61% from the free throw line.
5. Colorado State (6-3, 14-8, last week: 6)
With 7 players on the Rams’ roster, it helps to have two guys combine for 61 points on their own. That’s what Emmanuel Omogbo and Gian Clavell did for CSU in a road upset of San Diego State Saturday.
6. San Diego State (3-5, 11-9, last week: 5)
I encouraged buying of the Aztec’s stock after the team started conference play 0-3, mostly because of a difficult early schedule. But after ugly losses to Air Force and CSU, I’m less sure that the bad start was a result of unlucky scheduling. Rather, I think SDSU may just be a mediocre team.
7. Wyoming (4-5, 14-8, last week: 8)
The Cowboys nearly blew a big halftime lead against UNLV at home, and then got blown out by Boise State Saturday. Going over six minutes without scoring in the first half put the Pokes in a hole that was much too deep to climb out of.
8. UNLV (3-6, 10-12, last week: 7)
The Runnin’ Rebels led by as much as 13 points in the second half over San Jose State Saturday, but couldn’t hold on. UNLV got dominated by the Spartans inside, allowing 30 points in the paint.
9. Utah State (3-6, 9-11, last week: 9)
10. San Jose State (3-6, 10-10, last week: 10)
11. Air Force (3-5, 10-11, last week: 11)
Three Stars
1. Gian Clavell (Sr., G, Colorado State)
Clavell had this week’s ridiculously clutch bank three, a distinction I may have to start giving out in every roundup. Oh, and he also had a career-high 37 points on 14-of-23 shooting in CSU’s road win over San Diego State.
2. Cameron Oliver (So., F, Nevada)
The Nevada big man followed up a 17-point, 15-rebound performance against Boise State by scoring 26 points and adding 8 rebounds against New Mexico. If Oliver keeps doing what he’s been doing, the NBA buzz will only continue to grow.
3. Brandon Clarke (So., F, San Jose State)
Clarke is the best player on a not-very-good team. He absolutely filled up the stat sheet in both games this week, going for 24 points and 12 rebounds against CSU and 23-15 against UNLV. The Spartans eclipsed 10 wins for the first time since 2010-11, and Clarke is perhaps the biggest reason why.
Game of the Week
Boise State at Colorado State, Tuesday Jan. 31, 9:00 PM ET, ESPN3
Boise State needed a buzzer-beater from Chandler Hutchison to get past the Rams at home last time around. The Clavell-Omogbo show should be on full display, and a win would show that CSU’s win at SDSU was no fluke.