MW rankings: Lobos think big, take over No. 1 spot

The New Mexico Lobos simply knew how to beat the Utah State Aggies last Tuesday.

“Their bigs punked us,” Utah State coach Danny Sprinkle said. “They scored 62 points in the paint. You could tell they were thinking of throwing it in there (the paint) from the jump.”

The Lobos, now 16-3 overall and 4-2 in the Mountain West, whipped the Aggies, 99-86, in front of a home crowd of 13,106. New Mexico followed that up with an 85-66 win at Air Force at Saturday to move into No. 1 spot in this week’s Nevada Appeal Mountain West rankings over No. 2 Utah State.

Nelly Joseph was 11-of-12 from the floor (mainly in the paint) for New Mexico against Utah State for a game-high 26 points.

“It certainly helped that Nelly was able to score down there,” Lobos coach Richard Pitino said. “That gave us confidence to have that balance.”

Point guard Donovan Dent had 15 points, 14 assists and three steals. J.T. Toppin had 12 points in 19 minutes off the bench while Jamaal Mashburn (10 points) and Jaelen House (14) also contributed.

“Donovan with those middle ball screens, he was finding guys,” Pitino said. “Offensively we were about as good as it gets and as efficient as we’ve been all year.”

Sprinkle was also impressed with the Lobos’ defense. New Mexico led 64-44 early in the second half.

“I thought Jaelen House controlled the game defensively,” Sprinkle said. “He completely disrupted everything.”

The loss snapped Utah State’s 15-game winning streak. The Aggies rebounded with an 83-62 win over Fresno State on Saturday to improve to 17-2, 5-1.

Great Osobor had 20 points against Fresno on 7-of-7 shooting.

“We had to be tougher,” said Ian Martinez, who had 14 points and six assists for Utah State. “We had to go out there and give the first punch. Be the aggressor. The aggressor always wins.”

No. 9 Fresno State (8-10, 1-4), which was without head coach Justin Hutson (illness) for the second consecutive game, got 16 points from Isaiah Pope. The Bulldogs beat San Jose State, 85-82, on a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Isaiah Hill (24 points, nine assists) earlier in the week.

No. 3 Boise State outlasted No. 4 San Diego State, 67-66, on Saturday behind 17 points from O’Mar Stanley. The Broncos went on a 14-4 run to take a 63-54 lead with under three minutes to play.

“We were running a lot of good sets and getting decent looks,” San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said. “But they (Boise State) don’t give you easy stuff.”

Jaedon LeDee led San Diego State with 13 points, equaling his lowest scoring output of the year. LeDee, who has also played for Ohio State (2018-19) and TCU (2019-20, 2020-21), is averaging 21.1 points a game this year after averaging 7.9 in his first season for the Aztecs last year.

“That dude is a heck of a player,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “He’s got himself in the talk for national player of the year. His year has been amazing.”

No. 5 Colorado State beat Air Force, 78-69 in overtime, and UNLV, 78-75, last week to improve to 15-3, 3-2. Nique Clifford had 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists and Isaiah Stevens had 18 points, seven assists and four threes against UNLV on Friday.

“When the orange comes out, we get a dub,” said Stevens of the Rams’ throwback orange uniforms against UNLV.

“We showed a lot of resolve (against UNLV),” Rams coach Niko Medved said. “This is how it’s going to be like the rest of the year. All these games will be tough.

“Did we always have our fastball? No, but sometimes you just have to find ways to win.”

UNLV coach Kevin Krueger flew back to Las Vegas on Friday morning for the birth of his son and flew back to Fort Collins, Colo., for the game.

“Stevens is so explosive,” Krueger said of the Rams’ point guard. “You’re always kind of a little nervous with him out there at all times. He’s so quick, so powerful.”

No. 7 UNLV (9-8, 2-3) upset Boise State, 68-64, in Boise earlier in the week. The loss snapped Boise’s 22-game home winning streak, the longest in the nation.

Justin Webster had 15 points for UNLV, the last four coming on free throws in the final 20 seconds. Webster also connected on a jumper for a 63-59 lead with 1:11 to go.

“It’s just been one of those seasons so far where whatever can go wrong has kind of happened,” Krueger said. “But to see that (Webster’s free throws) go in, they (the Rebel players) deserve it. They deserve to have a big road victory.”

No. 6 Nevada (15-4, 2-3) fell at Boise State, 71-59, and Wyoming, 98-93, and now has a three-game losing streak. Tre Coleman led Nevada in scoring in both games with 16 (against Boise) and 23 points (Wyoming).

Wyoming coach Jeff Linder is now 6-0 in his career against Nevada’s Steve Alford.

“That is the first time we’ve put together 40 really good minutes against a good team,” said Linder of the win over Nevada. “As (former Dallas Cowboys coach) Jimmy Johnson once said, ‘How ’bout them Cowboys? If you believe what you read, I guess we didn’t have much of a chance (to beat Nevada).”

Wyoming held Nevada point guard Kenan Blackshear to nine points.

“It was a team effort,” said Wyoming’s Sam Griffin, who scored 26 points. “We limited (Blackshear’s) touches which got him out of rhythm.”

The Wolf Pack will host Colorado State on Wednesday at Lawlor Events Center before meeting New Mexico in Albuquerque on Sunday night.

The Nevada Appeal Mountain West men’s basketball rankings for the week of Jan. 22:

1. NEW MEXICO (16-3, 4-2): Last week: New Mexico 99, Utah State 86 (Jan. 16); New Mexico 85, Air Force 66 (Jan. 20). This week: New Mexico at San Jose State (Jan. 24); Nevada at New Mexico (Jan. 28).

2. UTAH STATE (17-2, 5-1): Last week: New Mexico 99, Utah State 86 (Jan. 16); Utah State 83, Fresno State 62 (Jan. 20). This week: Utah State at Boise State (Jan. 27).

3. BOISE STATE (13-5, 4-1): Last week: UNLV 68, Boise State 64 (Jan. 16); Boise State 67, San Diego State 66 (Jan. 20). This week: Boise State at Fresno State (Jan. 23); Utah State at Boise State (Jan. 27).

4. SAN DIEGO STATE (15-4, 4-2): Last week: San Diego State 71, Nevada 59 (Jan. 17); Boise State 67, San Diego State 66 (Jan. 20). This week: Wyoming at San Diego State (Jan. 23).

5. COLORADO STATE (15-3, 3-2): Last week: Colorado State 78, Air Force 69, OT (Jan. 16); Colorado State 78, UNLV 75 (Jan. 19). This week: Colorado State at Nevada (Jan. 24); Colorado State at Wyoming (Jan. 27).

6. NEVADA (15-4, 2-3): Last week: San Diego State 71, Nevada 59 (Jan. 17), Wyoming 98, Nevada 93 (Jan. 20). This week: Colorado State at Nevada (Jan. 24); Nevada at New Mexico (Jan. 28).

7. UNLV (9-8, 2-3): Last week: UNLV 68, Boise State 64 (Jan. 16); Colorado State 78, UNLV 75 (Jan. 19). This week: Air Force at UNV (Jan. 23); UNLV at San Jose State (Jan. 27).

8. WYOMING (10-8, 3-2): Last week: Wyoming 98, Nevada 93 (Jan. 20). This week: Wyoming at San Diego State (Jan. 23); Colorado State at Wyoming (Jan. 27).

9. FRESNO STATE (8-10, 1-4): Last week: Fresno State 85, San Jose State 82 (Jan. 16); Utah State 83, Fresno State 62 (Jan. 20). This week: Boise State at Fresno State (Jan. 23); Air Force at Fresno State (Jan. 27).

10. SAN JOSE STATE (8-10, 1-4): Last week: Fresno State 85, San Jose State 82 (Jan. 16). This week: New Mexico at San Jose State (Jan. 24); UNLV at San Jose State (Jan. 27).

11. AIR FORCE (7-10, 0-5): Last week: Colorado State 78, Air Force 69, OT (Jan. 16); New Mexico 85, Air Force 66 (Jan. 20). This week: Air Force at UNLV (Jan. 23); Air Force at Fresno State (Jan. 27).