By Stephen Vilardo, SuperWest Sports
The Mountain West men’s basketball regular season winds down as we enter the first week of March.
But there’s still plenty to play for among conference foes.
The league’s hottest teams, Colorado State and Boise State, will put their winning streaks on the line on Friday.
But while some teams are moving in the right direction, others are going in the opposite direction.
Utah State has undergone a late-season fade, and struggling Wyoming capped off its regular season with another disappointing loss.
Meanwhile, New Mexico, by virtue of its 71-61 win over Nevada last night, has clinched at least a share of the MW title.
The Lobos have also locked up the No. 1 seed in next week’s conference tournament.
Utah State Undergoing Late-Season Fade
The Aggies have lost two in a row and are just 6-4 over their last 10 games.
Utah State only has one game remaining as they host an Air Force team looking for its first road win on Saturday.
The Aggies have a high NET ranking and a 10-6 mark in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games. They can still finish strong and hear their name called on Selection Sunday.
CSU at Boise State Features Conference’s Two Hottest Teams
The two hottest teams in the conference will put their winning streaks on the line Friday when Colorado State travels to Boise State.
The Broncos ran their winning streak to five games with a win over Air Force last night. Boise State has won nine of its last 10 games following a mini-slump in January.
With their win over San Jose State last night, the Rams have won six in a row and 11 of their last 13.
The Rams entered the season picked to finish seventh in the conference. They enter the final game of the regular season with a chance to tie for the conference crown.
Colorado State needs a win over the Broncos and a UNLV win over New Mexico to grab a piece of the title.
Struggling Cowboys Need a Run in Tournament to Extend Season
Wyoming has struggled this season, and after a loss at Fresno State last night, the Cowboys closed out conference play with a 5-15 mark, finishing the regular season 12-19.
Barring a miraculous run in Las Vegas next week, Wyoming’s season will end in Vegas following their next loss.
While a miraculous run may be a tall order, I would not put it past UW to knock off a team or two.
The Pokes are capable of pulling off an upset on any given night because of Obi Agbim, who has kept them in several games this season.
The senior’s 17.8 points per game are the fourth most in the Mountain West, and he is shooting 45.8% on three-pointers this season, fourth-best in the nation.
Anytime a player has the potential to get that hot from a distance, the opportunity is there for an upset. This season, Agbim has had a hand in 35.5% of Wyoming’s points with his scoring or assists.
SuperWest Player of The Week: Kobe Sanders, G, Nevada
Sanders averaged 22.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in two games in the last seven days for the Wolf Pack.
Over his last four games, he has averaged 25.5 points.
SuperWest Freshman of the Week: Brian Amuneke, G, Fresno State
In a pair of games last week, Amuneke averaged 14.0 points and 2.5 rebounds as the Bulldogs went 1-1.
In his last three games, he has averaged 15.3 points per outing.
writes about various topics for SuperWest sports, including stats and records, college sports, and motorsports. He also founded and runs the Sports and Entertainment Research Center (SERC).
