MW rankings: Tourney title lifts Pack to top spot

Damon Stoudamire knows why his Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets fell to the Nevada Wolf Pack in the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic.

“We can talk about all of the other things,” the Georgia Tech coach said after a 72-64 loss to the Wolf Pack on Christmas Eve in Honolulu. “But where I come from, I’m from the old school. Their top two players played really, really well.

“Their top two players had 50 points combined. We didn’t do a good job of corralling them. For me that pretty much sums up the game.”

Nevada, No. 1 in this week’s Nevada Appeal Mountain West rankings, got 30 points from Kenan Blackshear and 20 from Jarod Lucas to complete a three-game sweep in the Honolulu tournament over the Christmas weekend.

The Pack (12-1) also whipped Temple, 80-56, last Thursday and TCU, 88-75, last Friday at the Stan Sheriff Center. Nevada also whipped Hawaii, 72-66, on Dec. 17 on the same floor as a tune-up for the Diamond Head Classic and has now won five games in a row.

Blackshear was 11-of-14 from the floor and 8-of-11 on free throws with five rebounds, five assists and two steals against Georgia Tech. Lucas was 4-of-7 on 3-pointers as the Pack came back from an early 11-5 deficit.

Stoudamire, a former NBA point guard, said Blackshear was the difference.

“He’s a really big (6-6) guard,” Stoudamire said, “and he plays with a great pace. He’s just savvy and his size helps tremendously. They’ve constructed a great team around him and he does a great job of orchestrating.”

Georgia Tech beat Nevada, 72-67, in the Sweet 16 of the 2004 NCAA Tournament in St. Louis in the only other meeting between the two schools.

No. 2 Colorado State beat Loyola Marymount, 76-67, last Friday in Los Angeles behind 23 points (9-of-10 from the floor) from Nique Clifford. Isaiah Stevens scored 19 points and became the all-time leading scorer in Colorado State history in the game.

No. 3 San Diego State (10-2) beat Stanford, 74-60, last Thursday.

“We won the Pac-12 in the last year of the Pac-12,” joked San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher. “We’re 3-0 (against Pac-12 teams). We will gladly take it.”

Dutcher, whose Aztecs have also won a pair of overtime games against Pac-12 teams (California, 76-67, and Washington, 100-97), are 10-2 this year after winning nine of their last 10 games.

Lamont Butler, a key player in last season’s run to the Final Four, had 18 points and three 3-pointers against Stanford. Jaedon LeDee added 16.

“I have a standard I want them to play to which, sometimes, they might feel is unfair,” Dutcher said. “But I want them to be the best they can be. I do that selfishly for myself but also for them.

“They believe in the message and they are willing learners.”

No. 4 Utah State (12-1) whipped East Tennessee State, 80-65, last Friday as Darius Brown scored 19 points and Great Osobor had 15 with 10 rebounds.

“We knew how good East Tennessee State was,” Utah State coach Danny Sprinkle said. “But they were a little tired. They had to play 48 hours earlier (a 70-57 win in Johnson City, Tenn., over Missouri-Kansas City last Wednesday) and then travel across the country.”

No. 5 New Mexico (11-1) beat UC Irvine, 78-65, at Albuquerque behind 20 points from Jaelen House. It was the Lobos’ 18th consecutive home non-conference victory.

“I was concerned about that game because I thought they (Irvine) would try to grind us down,” said coach Richard Pitino, whose Lobos have now won 10 games in a row. “But Jaelen stepped up.”

No. 6 Boise State fell to 8-4 with a 66-61 loss to Washington State at Spokane, Wash. O’Mar Stanley, a transfer from St. John’s, led the Broncos with 23 points.

“It seemed like we had a lot of balls rattle in and rattle out,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said.

Rice’s son Max was just 2-of-12 from the floor for six points and missed a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left that would have tied the game.

No. 7 UNLV (5-5) rolled over Hofstra, 74-56, last Thursday in Las Vegas as Luis Rodriguez had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Keylan Boone scored 16 off the bench.

It was the Rebels’ first game on their home floor at Thomas & Mack in 23 days.

“It was another great battle against another good team,” UNLV coach Kevin Krueger said. “This one, as much as any that we can look at, was a definite team win. There is a lot to be positive about right now.”

No. 8 San Jose State (7-6) beat Santa Clara, 81-78, as Myron Amey scored 17 points with nine rebounds, five assists and four steals. The Spartans won the game at the free throw line, making 16-of-19 (Santa Clara was 6-of-10).

No. 9 Wyoming (7-5) lost at UTEP, 78-67, last Thursday in the Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational. Wyoming, which got 16 points from Mason Walters, led 26-25 at halftime. UTEP’s Zid Powell scored 32 points, going 14-of-18 from the line.

“This is a hard place to play,” Wyoming coach Jeff Linder said. “To win a road game in a place like this you need a certain level of maturity. It will be a learning opportunity for us.”

No. 10 Air Force (7-5) lost to Northern Colorado, 83-79, at home last Thursday. Beau Becker had 26 points and Rytis Petraitis had 18 in the loss.

Air Force has now lost three games in a row after winning six in a row.

No. 11 Fresno State fell to 6-6 with a 77-57 loss at San Francisco. Xavier DuSell led Fresno State with nine points. The Bulldogs missed 15-of-18 3-pointers and committed 18 turnovers.

The Nevada Appeal Mountain West men’s basketball rankings for the week of Dec. 25:

1. NEVADA (12-1, 0-0): Last week: Nevada 80, Temple 56 (Dec. 21), Nevada 88, TCU 75 (Dec 22), Nevada 72, Georgia Tech 64 (Dec. 24). This week: Fresno Pacific at Nevada (Dec. 30).

2. COLORADO STATE (11-1, 0-0): Last week: Colorado State 76, Loyola Marymount 67 (Dec. 22). This week: Adams State at Colorado State (Dec. 29).

3. SAN DIEGO STATE (10-2, 0-0): Last week: San Diego State 74, Stanford 60 (Dec. 21). This week: San Diego State at Gonzaga (Dec. 29).

4. UTAH STATE (12-1, 0-0): Last week: Utah State 80, East Tennessee State 65 (Dec. 22). This week: No games.

5. NEW MEXICO (11-1, 0-0): Last week: New Mexico 78, UC Irvine 65 (Dec. 20). This week: Eastern New Mexico at New Mexico (Dec. 29).

6. BOISE STATE (8-4, 0-0): Last week: Washington State 66, Boise State 61 (Dec. 21). This week: Utah Valley at Boise State (Dec. 29).

7. UNLV (5-5, 0-0): Last week: UNLV 74, Hofstra 56 (Dec. 21). This week: Carroll at UNLV (Dec. 31).

8. SAN JOSE STATE (7-6, 0-0): Last week: San Jose State 81, Santa Clara 78 (Dec. 20). This week: No games.

9. WYOMING (7-5, 0-0): Last week: Wyoming 78, South Dakota State 65 (Dec. 20), UTEP 78, Wyoming 67 (Dec. 21). This week: Wyoming at BYU (Dec. 30).

10. AIR FORCE (7-5, 0-0): Last week: Northern Colorado 83, Air Force 79 (Dec. 21). This week: No games.

11. FRESNO STATE (6-6, 0-0): Last week: San Francisco 77, Fresno State 57 (Dec. 22). This week: Fresno State at San Diego (Dec. 29).