MW Men's Basketball Weekly Release - Jan. 21

AROUND THE MOUNTAIN WEST

• The Mountain West has five teams in the top 70 of the NET rankings (as of Jan. 13) and is one of seven conferences (ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, SEC and WCC) that have five or more in the top 65. The MW is also one of six conferences with at least three teams in the top 50 of the NET rankings.
• The MW has seven teams ranked in the top 100 of the NET rankings as of Jan. 21.
• The Mountain West ranks sixth in the conference NET rankings behind the SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, Big East and ACC.
• The MW is 74-46 (.617) in nonconference action in 2024-25, ranking among the top nine conferences in the nation.
• Nine of 11 MW teams finished nonconference action with a record of .500 or better this season.
• The MW is one of eight conferences in the country that have a combined 46 or fewer losses in nonconference action this season.
• The Mountain West has 10 victories over opponents from the ACC, Big 12, Big East and Big Ten this season.
• Utah State is 16-2 on the season and is one of nine teams in the nation with two or fewer losses.
• Six Mountain West teams earned bids to the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, a league record and the most since earning five in 2012-13.
• The six NCAA tournament bids last season were tied for the third most among Division I Conferences (Big 12, 8, SEC, 8; Big Ten, 6).
• The MW is one of five conferences (ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC) to have four or more NCAA tournament bids each of the last three seasons.
• For the first time in league history, three different MW teams (Colorado State, San Diego State, and Utah State) recorded a win in the NCAA tournament.
• In 2024, the Mountain West had two teams (San Diego State and Utah State) play in the round of 32 for the first time since 2013.
• The Mountain West has earned multiple NCAA tournament bids in 21 of 25 seasons heading into 2024-25.
• Colorado State’s Nique Clifford is third in the nation in defensive rebounds per game, averaging 8.5 in 2024-25.
• New Mexico’s Donovan Dent is sixth in the nation in total assists with 137 this season. Boise State’s Alvaro Cardenas has dished out 130 dimes in 2024-25, ranking ninth in the nation.
• UNM’s Nelly Junior Joseph has recorded nine double-doubles this season, which is the eighth-most double-doubles in the country. He also ranks sixth in total rebounds with 201 on the year.
• San Diego State’s Magoon Gwath is 14th in DI men’s basketball in total blocks with 41 in 2024-25.
• San Diego State is limiting opponents to shooting 36.4 percent from the field this season, which is the second-best field goal percentage defense in the nation.
• New Mexico is scoring 18.3 fast break points per game this season, which ranks third in the country.
• San Diego State is averaging 5.6 blocks per game, which ranks eighth in the nation in 2024-25.
• Nevada is connecting on 38.5 percent of attempts from beyond the arc, ranking 21st in the country in 3-point field goal percentage.
• Boise State’s Tyson Degenhart is on multiple watch lists this season. The senior forward has been named to the 2024-25 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Men’s Player of the Year Watch List, the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Top 20 Preseason Watch List and the Lute Olson Early Season Watch List.