Nevada forward Nick Davidson (11) looks for an open player with Fresno State’s Leo Colimerio (23) behind him during Friday night’s at Lawlor Events Center.
Photo by Steve Ranson.
Steve Alford has all the confidence in the world in his Nevada Wolf Pack men’s basketball team.
“Our guys have proven they’re an outstanding basketball team,” the Wolf Pack coach said last week. “We really are.”
The Wolf Pack, No. 3 in this week’s Nevada Appeal Mountain West rankings, certainly have earned Alford’s praise. The Pack beat both Colorado State (77-74) on the road and Fresno State (74-66) at home last week to stand at 24-6 overall and 11-5 in conference with a week to play.
The Pack can make a serious run at the league regular season title and No. 1 seed in the postseason tournament with wins this week at Boise State on Tuesday and on Saturday against UNLV at home.
No. 1 Utah State (24-5, 12-4), No. 2 San Diego State (22-7, 11-5), No. 4 Boise State (21-8, 12-4) and No. 5 UNLV (18-10, 11-5) also remain in the picture for the league title.
“I don’t want to downplay the first four months,” said Alford, speaking of November through February. “Our guys have put in a lot of work. I think we’re set up for March. We’ve done a lot of good things. I like where we’re at.”
Jarod Lucas drained a half-court shot to beat Colorado State and then poured in 21 points to help beat Fresno State as Nevada won a pair of crucial games last week without injured (ankle) starting point guard Kenan Blackshear.
Blackshear, Alford, said, could return to the floor Tuesday at Boise State.
The Wolf Pack has not finished first in the Mountain West since 2018-19 in Eric Musselman’s final year as head coach. A loss on Tuesday at Boise State would eliminate Nevada from the regular-season title chase. Boise State beat the Wolf Pack, 64-56, back on Jan. 12 at Lawlor Events Center.
Boise State beat Air Force, 79-48, and New Mexico, 89-79, last week and has now won five games in a row by an average of 23 points.
“During our bye week (after an 80-61 loss at Utah State on Feb. 10) we looked at our defense and realized we weren’t where we needed to be,” said Tyson Degenhart, who had 44 points in two games last week combined. “We really took that to heart the last five games.”
Utah State squeezed out a 77-73 overtime win against Fresno State and got by Air Force, 72-60, last week. Darius Brown’s 3-pointer gave the Aggies a 76-73 lead with 34 seconds to go against Fresno State. The Aggies then beat Air Force at the free-throw line, going 19-of-25 to Air Force’s 4-of-5.
“I feel bad for Fresno,” said Utah State coach Danny Sprinkle of the No. 10 Bulldogs (11-18, 4-12). “They did a lot to deserve to win that game. I don’t know how we won that game. It was ugly. It was sloppy. Fresno did more things right than we did.”
Utah State, which beat Boise State twice this season, can clinch the regular-season title and No. 1 seed in the conference tournament next week in Las Vegas by beating San Jose State on the road and New Mexico at home this week.
No. 2 San Diego State got past San Jose State, 72-64, in its only game last week. Jaedon LeDee had 27 points (21 in the second half) and 11 rebounds to beat the Spartans. San Jose State was just 1-of-2 from the line (the Aztecs were 17-of-22) at San Diego State.
“We had enough offense to get past them,” San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said. “The game was close and there’s nothing wrong with that this time of year.”
“There was just too much Jaedon LeDee for us,” San Jose State coach Tim Miles said. “He’s one of the best in the conference, which makes him one of the best in the country.”
UNLV, one of the hottest teams in the Mountain West right now, got by Wyoming, 75-69, in overtime on the road and beat San Jose State, 68-50 last week. The Rebels, who close out the regular season at Lawlor Events Center on Saturday, have won nine of their last 10 games.
Their one loss during that stretch, however, was 69-66 to Nevada at home on Feb. 17 and none of those nine wins have come against any of the other four teams (Utah State, Boise State, Nevada and San Diego State) still in the running for the regular-season title. UNLV will have to beat two of those four teams (San Diego State and Nevada) this week to have a chance at winning the title.
The Rebels were 10-of-11 in overtime from the free-throw line in the win at Wyoming. UNLV then beat No. 11 San Jose State (9-21, 2-15) despite turning the ball over 19 times.
“We quite possibly played our best first half defensively and then one of our worst of the year in the second half (against Wyoming),” UNLV coach Kevin Kruger said. “Wyoming was just driving to the paint and throwing it to whoever they wanted for layups. But we did what we needed to do to get the win and that’s what good teams do.”
No. 6 New Mexico (21-8, 9-7) dropped out of the race for the No. 1 seed with an 89-79 loss at Boise State. Jaelen House was 2-of-12 from the floor and 0-for-8 on threes in the loss. The Lobos have lost five of their last eight games.
No. 7 Colorado State (21-9, 9-8) lost at home to Nevada, 77-74, on Tuesday and beat No. 8 Wyoming, 70-62, at home on Saturday.
“This team has been through a lot,” Colorado State coach Niko Medved said. “We showed a lot of emotional and physical toughness (against Wyoming). This team just keeps staying resilient.”
The Nevada Appeal Mountain West men’s basketball rankings for the week of March 4:
1. UTAH STATE (24-5, 12-4): Last week: Utah State 77, Fresno State 73, OT (Feb. 27); Utah State 72, Air Force 60 (March 1). This week: Utah State at San Jose State (March 6), New Mexico at Utah State (March 9).
2. SAN DIEGO STATE (22-7, 11-5): Last week: San Diego State 72, San Jose State 64 (Feb. 27). This week: San Diego State at UNLV (March 5), Boise State at San Diego State (March 8).
3. NEVADA (24-6, 11-5): Last week: Nevada 77, Colorado State 74 (Feb. 27); Nevada 74, Fresno State 66 (March 1). This week: Nevada at Boise State (March 5), UNLV at Nevada (March 9).
4. BOISE STATE (21-8, 12-4): Last week: Boise State 77, Air Force 48 (Feb. 27); Boise State 89, New Mexico 79 (March 2). This week: Nevada at Boise State (March 5), Boise State at San Diego State (March 8).
5. UNLV (18-10, 11-5): Last week: UNLV 75, Wyoming 69, OT (Feb. 27); UNLV 68, San Jose State 50 (March 2). This week: San Diego State at UNLV (March 5), UNLV at Nevada (March 9).
6. NEW MEXICO (21-8, 9-7): Boise State 89, New Mexico 79 (March 2). This week: Fresno State at New Mexico (March 6), New Mexico at Utah State (March 9).
7. COLORADO STATE (21-9, 9-8): Last week: Nevada 77, Colorado State 74 (Feb. 27); Colorado State 70, Wyoming 62 (March 2). This week: Colorado State at Air Force (March 9).
8. WYOMING (13-16, 6-10): Last week: UNLV 75, Wyoming 69, OT (Feb. 27); Colorado State 70, Wyoming 62 (March 2). This week: Air Force at Wyoming (March 5), Wyoming at Fresno State (March 9).
9. AIR FORCE (9-19, 2-14): Last week: Boise State 77, Air Force 48 (Feb. 27); Utah State 72, Air Force 60 (March 1). This week: Air Force at Wyoming (March 5), Colorado State at Air Force (March 9).
10. FRESNO STATE (11-18, 4-12): Last week: Utah State 77, Fresno State 73, OT (Feb. 27); Nevada 74, Fresno State 66 (March 1). This week: Fresno State at New Mexico (March 6), Wyoming at Fresno State (March 9).
11. SAN JOSE STATE (9-21, 2-15): Last week: San Diego State 72, San Jose State 64 (Feb. 27); UNLV 68, San Jose State 50 (March 2). This week: Utah State at San Jose State (March 6).