The New Mexico Lobos won a heavyweight fight against the Boise State Broncos last Friday night.
"This is the most physical (New Mexico) team they've had, going way back to the Steve Alford days (2007-13) when they had teams that would just beat you up in here," Boise State coach Leon Rice said on broncosports.com after an 84-65 loss to the Lobos in Albuquerque.
Rice hinted that the officials in New Mexico allowed the Lobos to play an overly aggressive style on defense in their home arena.
"They (the Lobos) were going to get after us and then there was blood in the water," Rice said. "If no fouls were called then they become more aggressive."
New Mexico (15-4, 7-1) remained at No. 2 in this week's Nevada Appeal Mountain West rankings behind No. 1 Utah State (16-2, 6-1). Boise State (13-6, 5-3) stayed at No. 3.
The Lobos were coming off a 71-70 upset loss to San Jose State on Tuesday.
"We were just foaming at the mouth to get back (on the court)," New Mexico coach Richard Pitino told golobos.com.
New Mexico set the tone against Boise State right from the start, racing to a 48-21 halftime lead, shooting 62 percent (21-of-34) from the floor in the first 20 minutes. Boise was 9-of-25 from the floor in the first half, 1-of-12 on threes.
"The first half was absolutely as good of basketball as I've seen in my 13 years as a head coach," Pitino said. "Team defense was amazing, the effort was phenomenal, the rebounding was terrific."
New Mexico used balanced scoring to knock off the Broncos, with six players finishing with between nine and 16 points.
UNLV (11-7, 5-2) jumped up three spots to No. 4 after beating both No. 1 Utah State (65-62) and No. 4 San Diego State (76-68) last week. Tucker Anderson had 19 points on four threes against Utah State on Wednesday while Dedan Thomas had 19 points on 10-of-10 shooting from the line against San Diego State.
"You've got to make free throws and guard better," Colorado State coach Jerrod Calhoun told The Herald Journal (hjnews.com). "It is what it is. We played really bad, and we still should have won."
Utah State missed its final six shots in the loss to UNLV as the Rebels scored the final seven points on a 3-pointer by Julian Rishwain and two layups by Thomas.
Utah State will host No. 7 Nevada on Wednesday in Logan.
"I'm not going to sit here and question our players," Calhoun said after the loss to UNLV. "They've been good all year."
UNLV showed its win at home against Utah State wasn't a fluke by winning at San Diego State three days later.
"You have to play well to win, and we didn't play well," San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher told goaztecs.com.
"We went away from our identity," said San Diego State's Miles Bird, who scored a game-high 21 points. "We weren't able to get those late stops. That's always super deflating."
UNLV's wins over San Diego State and Utah State came the week following after losses to Boise State and Colorado State on the road.
"To put up with what they had to put up with after the week of Boise State and Colorado State and to come up with huge wins, they deserve it," UNLV coach Kevin Kruger told the reviewjournal.com. "They've earned it. I want them to carry a little bit of an edge and a chip on their shoulder. There were a lot of things said, and I hope they remember it.
"I hope they hate everybody and play like we did (against San Diego State)."
Kruger said the win at home over Utah State set the stage for the win at San Diego State. "The message going into (the San Diego State game) was to take (the effort against Utah State) and put it on steroids."
No. 6 Colorado State (11-7, 5-2) lost at San Diego State (75-60) on Tuesday and beat Wyoming (79-63) on Saturday. Nique Clifford had 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists against Wyoming after being held to 11 points, six rebounds, two assists and six turnovers on 5-of-16 shooting against San Diego State.
No. 7 Nevada (11-7, 3-4) stretched its winning streak to three games after beating Air Force (68-62) and San Jose State (75-64) at home. Tre Coleman had 18 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals against Air Force, while Nick Davidson had 23 points, seven rebounds and four assists against San Jose State.
The Wolf Pack now heads into a critical week with games at Utah State on Wednesday and home against San Diego State on Saturday.
No. 9 Wyoming (9-9, 2-5) got blown out twice last week by Colorado State (79-63) and Boise State (96-55). Ogi Agbim had 16 points against Boise State and 26 against Colorado State.
"I wrote two things on the board for our guys (before Saturday's game against Colorado State) and it was physicality and toughness, and you have to punch and not just counter punch," Wyoming coach Sundance Wicks told gowyo.com. "We missed physical finishes and did not make tough stops in big moments."
The Nevada Appeal Mountain West men's basketball rankings for the week of Jan. 20:
1. UTAH STATE (16-2, 6-1). Last week: UNLV 65, Utah State 62 (Jan. 15). This week: Nevada at Utah State (Jan. 22); Utah State at Air Force (Jan. 25).
2. NEW MEXICO (15-4, 7-1). Last week: San Jose State 71, Utah State 70 (Jan. 14), New Mexico 84, Boise State 65 (Jan. 17). This week: Fresno State at New Mexico (Jan. 20); New Mexico at UNLV (Jan. 25).
3. BOISE STATE (13-6, 5-3). Last week: Boise State 96, Wyoming 55 (Jan. 14), New Mexico 84, Boise State 65 (Jan. 17). This week: Boise State at Colorado State (Jan. 22).
4. UNLV (11-7, 5-2). Last week: UNLV 65, Utah State 62 (Jan. 15); UNLV 76, San Diego State 68 (Jan. 18). This week: Wyoming at UNLV (Jan. 21); New Mexico at UNLV (Jan. 25).
5. SAN DIEGO STATE (11-5, 4-3). Last week: San Diego State 75, Colorado State 60 (Jan. 14); UNLV 76, San Diego State 68 (Jan. 18). This week: San Diego State at Air Force (Jan. 22); San Diego State at Nevada (Jan.25).
6. COLORADO STATE (11-7, 5-2). Last week: San Diego State 75, Colorado State 60 (Jan. 14); Colorado State 79, Wyoming 63 (Jan. 18). This week: Boise State at Colorado State (Jan. 22); Colorado State at Fresno State (Jan. 25).
7. NEVADA (11-7, 3-4). Last week: Nevada 68, Air Force 62 (Jan. 14); Nevada 75, San Jose State 64 (Jan. 18). This week: Nevada at Utah State (Jan. 22); San Diego State at Nevada (Jan. 25).
8. SAN JOSE STATE (9-11, 2-6). Last week: San Jose State 71, New Mexico 70 (Jan. 14); Nevada 75, San Jose State 64 (Jan. 18). This week: Wyoming at San Jose State (Jan. 25).
9. WYOMING (9-9, 2-4). Last week: Boise State 96, Wyoming 55 (Jan. 14); Colorado State 79, Wyoming 63 (Jan. 18). This week: Wyoming at UNLV (Jan. 21); Wyoming at San Jose State (Jan. 25).
10. FRESNO STATE (5-13, 1-6). Last week: Fresno State 74, Air Force 65 (Jan. 17). This week: Fresno State at New Mexico (Jan. 20); Colorado State at Fresno State (Jan. 25).
11. AIR FORCE (3-15, 0-7). Last week: Nevada 68, Air Force 62 (Jan. 14); Fresno State 74, Air Force 65. (Jan. 17). This week: San Diego State at Air Force (Jan. 22); Utah State at Air Force (Jan. 25).