6.) Utah State – 42 points
If any sliver of an at large bid existed, it no longer does following two losses last week, including a stunning home loss to Nevada. Brandon Horvath continues his massive scoring, but his 29 points weren’t enough to overcome the team’s defensive struggles against the Wolf Pack.
The Aggies lethal offense face two high-level defensive units of San Diego State and Boise this week, trying to avoid a long losing streak.
7.) UNLV – 35 points
Bryce Hamilton tried willing UNLV to another stunning upset, scoring 32 points on 12-24 in the narrow Boise State loss. In the last five games, Hamilton’s averaging 27.2 points, including his 42 point outing against Colorado State last month. It hasn’t been easy finding someone to replace the scoring output of second-leading scorer Donovan Williams, who sat out the last three games.
On Wednesday, the Runnin Rebels haven’t shied away from tough road competition and face another against Fresno State. After that, UNLV hopes to sweep the season series over the Rams after winning in Moby Arena on January 28th.
8.) Nevada – 31 points
The evening of February 8th marked the low point of Nevada’s once-filled season of expectations. They lost one to Colorado State but didn’t get much scoring production aside from Desmond Cambridge Jr’s 36 points and dropped their sixth consecutive game. Nevada entered as double-digit underdogs heading into Logan and came away with a memorable 85-point performance, led by Grant Sherfield’s 24 points. When Sherfield and Cambridge Jr find rhythm simultaneously, Nevada is tough to beat.
Nevada has two games against San Jose State, still looking to capture a conference win.
9.) New Mexico – 18 points
Last week, the Lobos only had one game on the schedule, a non-D1 opponent in Northern New Mexico, who fell 78-44, but league play will resume on Tuesday when Wyoming makes the trip to the PIT.
10.) Air Force – 17 points
The Falcons gave teams trouble by slowing down the game during the first half of league play, but they’re now in the midst of losing five consecutive games. They’ll face tough opponents Boise State and Wyoming in the next five days.
11.) San Jose State – 7 points
The hunt for the ever-elusive first Mountain West win remains on go after dropping two more games. The Spartans only stayed within single digits once during those 12 league losses.
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