Steve Alford believes his Nevada Wolf Pack has learned from its mistakes.
"The adversity we hit in January has allowed them some growth," Alford told Nevada Sports Net after a 74-60 victory over Air Force last Tuesday. "In January we were not tough mentally."
Alford, whose Wolf Pack is No. 6 in this week's Nevada Appeal Mountain West men's basketball rankings, got 25 points from Nick Davidson and 21 from Kobe Sanders against No. 11 Air Force.
"We really played hard," Alford said. "I liked our toughness."
The Wolf Pack (13-10, 5-7) is among a group of nine teams still jockeying for position before the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas on March 12-15. The top five seeds in the 11-team tournament receive a first-round bye.
No. 1 New Mexico (20-4, 12-1) rolled over No. 3 Colorado State (87-65) and No. 11 Air Force (88-53) last week to stay atop the rankings. Nelly Joseph had 18 points and 11 rebounds against Colorado State and 14 points and 21 rebounds against Air Force.
"I think when you watch our team right now," New Mexico coach Richard Pitino told golobos.com, "(You see) they are really having a lot of fun playing together."
Air Force turned the ball over 18 times after committing 16 turnovers against Nevada earlier in the week.
"The defense was phenomenal," Pitino said. "We're playing hard and the right way."
No. 2 Utah State won a pair of close games last week on the road, beating No. 9 Wyoming (71-64) and No. 10 Fresno State (89-81). The Aggies (21-3, 11-2) got 19 points against Wyoming and 30 against Fresno State from guard Ian Martinez.
Colorado State (15-8, 9-3) rebounded from its loss to New Mexico last Wednesday by beating No. 4 San Diego State, 68-63, on Saturday in front of 8,083 fans at home. Nique Clifford had 21 points, 13 rebounds, three steals and four 3-pointers against San Diego State.
"We were able to keep taking punches and throwing our own and figured out a way to get it done," Colorado State forward Ethan Morton told The Coloradoan after beating San Diego State.
"We just continue to grind and grind and grind and say, 'Hey, we're not always going to make shots but we're going to defend, get on the glass and we're not going to turn the ball over."
Colorado State had 17 offensive rebounds and San Diego State had 15.
"We wanted to be better on the offensive glass this year," Colorado State coach Niko Medved said. "We thought, offensively, we had to do that. We need to find a way to get extra offensive possessions."
San Diego State dropped to 15-6, 8-4. The Aztecs were 11-of-21 from the line in the loss to Colorado State.
"We fought hard enough but we didn't play well enough," Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher told goaztecs.com. "It doesn't take a coach to know if you go 11-for-21 at the foul line, it's really hard to win."
No. 5 Boise State (17-7, 9-4) beat UNLV (71-62) and San Jose State (79-52) last week. Tyson Degenart had 38 points in the two games combined.
"There's nobody you're going to knock out with a 25-0 run to start the game," Boise State coach Leon Rice told the Idaho Statesman after the win over San Jose State. "You saw wood. On every possession, you're just sawing wood and sawing wood and pretty soon the tree falls."
No. 7 UNLV ended its five-game losing streak with a 68-57 win at Wyoming on Saturday. Dedan Thomas had 18 points for the Rebels as Wyoming was 4-of-21 on threes and just 3-of-9 from the line.
"I think we're just tired of losing," Thomas told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "We were hungry tonight."
No. 9 Wyoming (11-13, 4-9) beat UNLV, 63-61, at UNLV on Jan. 21 when it shot 14-of-28 on threes.
"The respect the (UNLV) guys had carried over from playing Wyoming a couple weeks ago," UNLV coach Kevin Kruger said. "We knew how hard they play, how physical and how together they play."
"We didn't hit any shots," Wyoming coach Sundance Wicks told the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. "We all know 3-point shooting for us is a key."
No. 8 San Jose State (12-13,5-8) outlasted No. 10 Fresno State (5-19, 1-12), 94-91, in two overtimes last Tuesday. Latrell Davis and Josh Uduje each scored 30 points for San Jose State while former Nevada Wolf Pack guard Jalen Weaver had 23 points, six rebounds and five assists for Fresno State.
Fresno also lost a close game four nights later at home against Utah State (89-81). Utah State, though, led 50-31 at halftime.
"That was the worst first half we've had all year, especially at home," Fresno State coach Vance Walberg told The Collegian.
"Our energy was just down for some reason," said Weaver, who will be in Reno on Monday night (Feb. 10 to face Nevada). "We were just stagnant. We didn't know where to attack."
The Nevada Appeal Mountain West men's basketball rankings for the week of Feb. 10:
1. NEW MEXICO (20-4, 12-1). Last week: New Mexico 87, Colorado State 65 (Feb. 5); New Mexico 88, Air Force 53 (Feb. 8). This week: Wyoming at New Mexico (Feb. 12), Utah State at New Mexico (Feb. 16).
2. UTAH STATE (21-3, 11-2). Last week: Utah State 71, Wyoming 64 (Feb. 4); Utah State 89, Fresno State 81 (Feb. 7). This week: Colorado State at Utah State (Feb. 11), Utah State at New Mexico (Feb. 16).
3. COLORADO STATE (15-8, 9-3). Last week: New Mexico 87, Colorado State 65 (Feb. 5); Colorado State 68, San Diego State 63 (Feb. 8). This week: Colorado State at Utah State (Feb. 11), Wyoming at Colorado State (Feb. 15).
4. SAN DIEGO STATE (15-6, 8-4). Last week: Colorado State 68, San Diego State 63 (Feb. 8). This week: San Diego State at San Jose State (Feb. 11), Boise State at San Diego State (Feb. 15).
5. BOISE STATE (17-7, 9-4). Last week: Boise State 71, UNLV 62 (Feb. 4); Boise State 79, San Jose State 52 (Feb. 7). This week: Boise State at San Diego State (Feb. 15).
6. NEVADA (13-10, 5-7). Last week: Nevada 74, Air Force 60 (Feb. 4). This week: Fresno State at Nevada (Feb. 10), Nevada at San Jose State (Feb. 14).
7. UNLV (12-12, 6-7). Last week: Boise State 71, UNLV 62 (Feb. 4); UNLV 68, Wyoming 57 (Feb. 8). This week: Air Force at UNLV (Feb. 11), UNLV at Fresno State (Feb. 15).
8. SAN JOSE STATE (12-13, 5-8). Last week: San Jose State 94, Fresno State 91, 2 OT (Feb. 4); Boise State 79, San Jose State 52 (Feb. 7). This week: San Diego State at San Jose State (Feb. 11), Nevada at San Jose State (Feb. 14).
9. WYOMING (11-13, 4-9). Last week: Utah State 71, Wyoming 64 (Feb. 4); UNLV 68, Wyoming 57 (Feb. 8). This week: Wyoming at New Mexico (Feb. 12), Wyoming at Colorado State (Feb. 15).
10. FRESNO STATE (5-19, 1-12). Last week: San Jose State 94, Fresno State 91, 2 OT (Feb. 4); Utah State 89, Fresno State 81 (Feb. 7). This week: Fresno State at Nevada (Feb. 10), UNLV at Fresno State (Feb. 15).
11. AIR FORCE (3-21, 0-13). Last week: Nevada 74, Air Force 60 (Feb. 4); New Mexico 88, Air Force 53 (Feb. 8). This week: Air Force at UNLV (Feb. 11).