MW rankings: Pack returns to winning ways; Lobos still No. 1

Steve Alford had something to say to his Nevada Wolf Pack starters last week.

“We talked about it for four days, the job of the starters,” Alford said.

The Wolf Pack starters got the message, setting the tone for a dominating 90-60 victory over the San Jose State Spartans last Friday night at Lawlor Events Center.

“Our starters did a good job of doing what we need them to do,” said Alford, whose Wolf Pack is ranked No. 5 in this week’s Nevada Appeal Mountain West rankings. “We had a good start to the game, and we had a great start in the second half. That’s the job of the starters. They initiated how physical we wanted to be.”

Nick Davidson (career-high 22 points) and Jarod Lucas (20) led the Pack on the offensive end. Kenan Blackshear battled through foul trouble to score 10 points with six assists in just 17 minutes.

Nevada shot 48 percent (29-of-60) from the floor and 48 percent on threes (11-of-23). The Pack also went to the line for 33 free throws and made just 21.

“The ball got moving again,” Alford said. “When the ball sticks and our guys are taking, five, six, seven dribbles that’s when the offense stops. It just looked more like our team.”

The Wolf Pack (17-5, 4-4) has two important games this week with a possible Mountain West title in mind. The Pack is at Utah State on Tuesday and will host San Diego State on Friday at Lawlor Events Center.

No. 1 New Mexico (18-4, 6-3) stumbled last week, losing to No. 4 Boise State, 86-78, at home in front of a crowd of 13,239. Max Rice scored 35 points for Boise State, draining 7-of-14 3-pointers. The Broncos (16-6, 7-2) led by just five (74-60) with under four minutes to play before 3-pointers by Chibuzo Agbo and Rice gave them some breathing room (80-71) with just under three minutes to go.

Donovan Dent led New Mexico with 31 points on 12-of-18 shooting. Boise State held New Mexico guard Jaelen House to 12 points on 2-of-15 shooting (1-of-8 on threes).

Boise also whipped No. 10 Air Force, 94-56, on Saturday behind Tyson Degenhart’s career-high 29 points. Degenhart had 20 points in the first half. The Broncos were 15-of-27 on 3-pointers.

“We moved the ball really well,” Degenhart said. “Our fans saw really, really good basketball in the second half.”

Air Force didn’t score in the final seven minutes of the first half as Boise State went on a 16-0 run.

“Our guys were so tough, so mature in the way they approached the last two games (against New Mexico and Air Force),” Boise State coach Leon Rice said.

No. 2 San Diego State (17-5, 6-3) was upset at Colorado State, 79-71, on Tuesday but rebounded to beat No. 3 Utah State, 81-67, at home on Saturday.

“We’re not mentally quite there, where we can survive on the road when we don’t play our best,” San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said after the loss to Colorado State.

The Aztecs were at their best at home against Utah State in front of a crowd of 12,414. Jaedon LeDee and Pal Jay led a balanced San Diego State offensive attack with 16 points apiece. San Diego State was 20-of-28 from the line while Utah State (19-3, 7-2) was just 11-of-13.

Great Osobor led Utah State with 17 points, seven rebounds and three steals. The Aggies missed 17-of-23 3-pointers.

“This (against Utah State) was a critical game,” Dutcher said. “If we would have lost, we would have been behind by three games (in the Mountain West race).”

No. 6 Colorado State (17-5, 5-4) also stayed in the Mountain West title picture with two impressive wins, beating San Diego State, 79-71, on Tuesday and No. 9 Fresno State (73-61) on Saturday.

Isaiah Stevens had 20 points, six assists and three steals and Nique Clifford had 20 points, 10 rebounds and four steals against San Diego State.

“We got rid of the last game (a 79-76 loss at Wyoming on Jan. 27),” Clifford said. “We just got our minds right.”

One way the Rams cleared their minds after the loss to Wyoming was to go out one day and play kickball on a softball field.

“We had some fun,” Clifford said. “It brought us together.”

“I just decided that we were not going to spend one more minute getting ready for San Diego State,” Colorado State coach Niko Medved, explaining his kickball idea. “It’s 60 degrees outside. Let’s go play some kickball.”

Joel Scott and Patrick Cartier led Colorado State with 14 points each against Fresno State.

“Life is 100 percent about what happens to you and 90 percent of how you react to it,” Medved said.

No. 7 UNLV (12-9, 5-4) also had a good week, beating Fresno State, 78-69, and Wyoming, 62-48. Keylan Boone and Dedan Thomas led the Rebels with 14 points each against Wyoming while Kalib Boone had 21 points, five rebounds, four assists and three blocks against Fresno State.

Keylan and Kalib Boone are brothers and transferred to UNLV after last season. Keylan came from Pacific while Kalib came from Oklahoma State, though the two brothers were both at Oklahoma State together for three years (2020-22).

“This was about as good as we’ve been in terms of executing,” said UNLV coach Kevin Kruger after beating No. 8 Wyoming (12-10, 5-4).

The Rebels held Wyoming’s Sam Griffin to just nine points (1-of-5 on threes). Wyoming’s Akuel Kot also scored just six points while missing all eight of his 3-point attempts.

“We did a real good job of forcing tough shots,” Kruger said.

The Nevada Appeal Mountain West men’s basketball rankings for the week of Feb. 5:

1. NEW MEXICO (18-4, 6-3): Last week: Boise State 86, New Mexico 78 (Jan. 31). This week: New Mexico at Wyoming (Feb. 6); UNLV at New Mexico (Feb. 10).

2. SAN DIEGO STATE (17-5, 6-3): Last week: Colorado State 79, San Diego State 71 (Jan. 30); San Diego State 81, Utah State 67 (Feb. 3). This week: San Diego State at Air Force (Feb. 6); San Diego State at Nevada (Feb. 9).

3. UTAH STATE (19-3, 7-2): Last week: Utah State 82, San Jose State 61 (Jan. 30); San Diego State 81, Utah State 67 (Feb. 3). This week: Nevada at Utah State (Feb. 6); Boise State at Utah State (Feb. 10).

4. BOISE STATE (16-6, 7-2): Last week: Boise State 86, New Mexico 78 (Jan. 31); Boise State 94, Air Force 56 (Feb. 3). This week: Boise State at Colorado State (Feb. 6); Boise State at Utah State (Feb. 10).

5. NEVADA (17-5, 4-4): Last week: Nevada 90, San Jose State 60 (Feb. 2). This week: Nevada at Utah State (Feb. 6); San Diego State at Nevada (Feb. 9).

6. COLORADO STATE (17-5, 5-4): Last week: Colorado State 79, San Diego State 71 (Jan. 30); Colorado State 73, Fresno State 61 (Feb. 3). This week: Boise State at Colorado State (Feb. 6); San Jose State at Colorado State (Feb. 9).

7. UNLV (12-9, 5-4): Last week: UNLV 78, Fresno State 69 (Jan. 30); UNLV 62, Wyoming 48 (Feb. 3). This week: UNLV at New Mexico (Feb. 10).

8. WYOMING (12-10, 5-4): Last week: This week: Wyoming 83, Air Force 72 (Jan. 30); UNLV 62, Wyoming 48 (Feb. 3). This week: New Mexico at Wyoming (Feb. 6).

9. FRESNO STATE (9-13, 2-7): Last week: UNLV 78, Fresno State 69 (Jan. 30); Colorado State 73, Fresno State 61 (Feb. 3). This week: Fresno State at San Jose State (Feb. 6); Fresno State at Air Force (Feb. 10).

10. AIR FORCE (8-13, 1-8): Last week: Wyoming 83, Air Force 72 (Jan. 30); Boise State 94, Air Force 56 (Feb. 3). This week: San Diego State at Air Force (Feb. 6); Fresno State at Air Force (Feb. 10).

11. SAN JOSE STATE (8-14, 1-8): Last week: Utah State 82, San Jose State 61 (Jan. 30); Nevada 90, San Jose State 60 (Feb. 2). This week: Fresno State at San Jose State (Feb. 6); San Jose State at Colorado State (Feb. 9).