The “East Coast Bias” in college basketball is often real. With games starting late on weeknights if you’re on the sunrise side of the Mississippi River, it can be tough to stay up until 10pm on a Tuesday to check out what’s happening a continent away.
But there’s been no better season to have CBS Sports Network and a late-night coffee, as the Mountain West Conference is playing some of the best basketball in the country. And Selection Sunday should validate them as one of the best leagues in America.
There’s a case for the MWC to have six of their 11 teams hear their name called on Selection Sunday. And with ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi currently having only four Big East and four ACC teams in the field, are we sure this isn’t the real power conference? They certainly are on the west coast, as the disintegrating Pac-12 is at best a three-bid league as of now.
While KenPom and the NET has them as the seventh-best league in the country, the RPI has them fourth. And their 88-38 record against the other leagues includes some major wins at the Quad 1 level. And they’re proving bookmakers wrong as well, with the best six teams combining for a 77–59-3 mark against the spread this season, led by Nevada at a gaudy 15-9 ATS.
Here’s the skinny on the six potential MWC teams, which would be the most NCAA bids for a non-Power 6 league ever.
San Diego State: NET 18, KenPom 18
The Aztecs are back atop the conference by power rating, if not league record as they’re one game behind Utah State. But SDSU’s run to the Final Four last season shows the conference can compete with anyone, and Quad 1 wins over Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga shows the top of the MWC has passed the Big Two of the WCC. The Aztecs also take care of business: They’re 4-6 in Quad 1 games, but have no losses outside the best teams in the NET.
As has been the case for all seven seasons of Brian Dutcher’s tenure, SDSU does it with defense. They are Top 10 in KenPom defensive efficiency, and have a elite talent in Jaedon Ledee (20.3 points, 8.5 rebounds per game) who should be a consensus first team All-American.
New Mexico: 21 NET, 23 KenPom
It’s been a wild season in Albuquerque, and college basketball is in a better place when The Pit has it rolling. Richard Pitino’s team in his third year looks an awful lot like his Dad’s, with the Lobos seventh in the nation in pace. And with a 3-2 Quad 1 record, they also have four more games in the category as of now.
Four starters average over 12 points a game, with names like JT Toppin and Jamal Mashburn Jr. bringing plenty of high-level hoops pedigree. But sophomore point guard Donovan Dent is what makes them go, with 15.6 points and 5.8 dimes per game.
Utah State: 28 NET, 38 KenPom
What the league-leading Aggies (9-3 MWC, 21-4 overall) lack in marquee wins they make up for in rim protection and post play. 6’8 junior Great Osobor came with new head coach Danny Sprinkle from Montana State, and the 2023 Big Sky champs have kept it rolling. Osobor hails from the United Kingdom, and his 18.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game should see him get plenty of looks from the next level when he chooses to make the jump.
Colorado State: NET 30, KenPom 37
Niko Medved’s Rams are a multi-option machine, and their blowout win over Creighton in November in Las Vegas is going to be huge for their NCAA chances. It feels like super-senior point guard Isaiah Stevens has been in the Denver metro since John Elway was winning Super Bowls. His 7.4 assists per game is good for fourth in the country, which is pretty good when you’re also the team’s leading scorer at 16.1 points per game.
But at 7-5 in the league, the schedule doesn’t get easier with tilts against USU, UNM and Nevada remaining. They’ll need at least one of those to keep up with what’s needed in a loaded conference.
Boise State: NET 45, KenPom 54
The Broncos still have some work to do at 7-4 in MWC play, 16-8 overall, but their schedule does get easier down the stretch than most in the league. With a 5-6 Quad 1 record but just two more of the toughest games remaining, they should get healthier on the bottom half of the league in the next two weeks.
6’8 junior Tyson Degenhart is the star (16.1 points, 5.6 rebounds), but they’re here because of their ability to keep opponents off the glass, and defending the three (opponents shoot just 29.6% from downtown). In his fourteenth season in Boise, Leon Rice is 0-4 in the NCAA Tournament. He might his best chance to get a win in the Big Dance this season.
Nevada: NET 48, KenPom 43
A home loss to New Mexico on Monday night put Steve Alford’s Wolfpack right back on the bubble, and they’ll want out-of-conference wins over Washington and TCU to hold up under scrutiny on Selection Sunday.
But the senior backcourt of Jarod Lucas (17.0 ppg) and Kenan Blackshear (16.0 ppg) are in their second year together, and both have played over 130 games of Division I basketball by now. With needed games at UNLV, Colorado State, and Boise State remaining, they’ve got a chance to play themselves off the bubble and firmly into the field with a strong finish. It might take a run on their rival’s home court in Las Vegas for the conference tournament as well.