It seems fitting that, even with just one week of games remaining, we’ve still yet to decide a regular season champion in the Mountain West. Luckily for us, a showdown in Reno Saturday will provide us with just that, a regular season champion, before MW Madness convenes in Sin City next week.
Power Rankings
1. Colorado State (12-4, 20-9, last week: 1)
As much as I’d love to drop them just because their fans rushed the court after beating 8-8 San Diego State, I’m not that petty. 9-1 in their last 10 and a chance to claim supremacy Saturday at Nevada.
2. Nevada (12-4, 23-6, last week: 2)
After a brief bump in the road, the Wolf Pack have steadied themselves and won three straight, looking dominant along the way.
3. Boise State (11-5, 18-9, last week: 3)
Despite likely losing their shot at the MW regular season title, Broncos fans should feel optimistic after a brief return of Nick Duncan’s 3-point shooting in the loss to Nevada.
4. Fresno State (9-7, 17-11, last week: 6)
Without actually looking back, I think they’ve held at least 5 different spots in these rankings. But now they’ve won three in a row and have a good chance to prove themselves in Boise Tuesday.
5. New Mexico (9-8, 16-13, last week: 4)
Without calling it a must-win, the Lobos will need to take care of SDSU at home Saturday to avoid entering the conference tournament on a four-game losing streak.
6. Wyoming (7-9, 17-12, last week: 7)
The Cowboys got their best win of the conference season Saturday against New Mexico, and can really play spoiler Tuesday night in Fort Collins.
7. San Diego State (8-8, 16-12, last week: 5)
In classic SDSU fashion, the Atzecs have lost two in a row after winning three straight.
8. San Jose State (7-9, 14-13, last week: 8)
9. Utah State (7-10, 13-15, last week: 9)
10. Air Force (4-12, 11-18, last week: 11)
11. UNLV (3-13, 10-19, last wek: 10)
Three Stars
1. Marcus Marshall (Sr., G, Nevada)
Nevada’s chances in Vegas and beyond are likely riding on his shoulders, which will be a good thing for Wolf Pack fans if he shoots like he did this week.
2. Emmanuel Omogbo (Sr., F, Colorado State)
He capped his third straight double-double with a game-winning three against SDSU with four seconds left Saturday.
3. Jalen Moore (Sr., F, Utah State)
One of the guys I feel bad for being stuck on a lesser team, because he’s one of the tougher assignments in the entire conference.
Game of the Week
Colorado State at Nevada, Saturday 3/4, 8:00 PM ET, ESPN3
Despite meaningless in a one-bid league, it’s pretty cool that we get a de-facto regular season championship game on the season’s final day.
Madness
Here’s a look at what the bracket would look like if the season ended today:
In this current scenario, both CSU and Nevada look poised to match up with teams that swept them during the regular season in the semi-finals. Some combination of Nevada, CSU, Fresno State and Boise State in the finals seems most likely, although I still don’t feel great about counting out New Mexico or even a hot Wyoming team.