1. New Mexico Lobos (17-3, 25-6)

Next Game: San Jose State, noon PT, CBS Sports

The Lobos enter the MW Tournament winners of three in a row and eight of their last 10.

By winning the regular season outright, UNM has earned the number one seed and an opening-round bye.

The Lobos will open play today against San Jose State. They split their two regular-season meetings against the Spartans, with the home team winning each game.

Both games were tight, with New Mexico winning by six in December and SJSU collecting a one-point victory in January.

Postseason Outlook: The Lobos are safely in the field of 68 and probably looking at an 8 or 9-seed in the tournament.

Net Ranking: 41

2. Colorado State Rams (16-4, 22-9)

Next Game: Nevada, 6:00 pm PT, CBS Sports

I am not a bracketologist, but to me, the Rams are an NCAA tournament at-large team. Yet, as of yesterday, among 109 brackets put out by the experts, only one had the Rams in the field, and as a 12-seed.

The big issue for CSU is their 1-5 mark in Quad 1 games.  Consequently, CSU needs to get things done in Vegas and hope for no big upsets and bid stealers from other conferences.

The Rams have won seven in a row and 12 of their last 14. They are hot and playing good basketball at the moment. A title run is certainly not out of the question.

Colorado State swept the season series against the Wolf Pack with a two-point win in Reno and an eight-point victory in Fort Collins.

I am calling it here: The Rams stay hot and play their way into the field of 68 with a conference tournament crown.

Postseason Outlook: Lock for the NIT, at the bottom of the NCAA bubble with work to be done. Probably need to win in Vegas to go dancing.

Net Ranking: 54

3. Utah State Aggies (15-5, 25-6)

Next Game: UNLV, 8:30 pm PT, CBS Sports

The Aggies have been up and down and had a bit of a February swoon. USU closed out the season with a win over Air Force to snap a two-game slide.

Utah State is 6-4 since the start of February, with a 9-6 mark in Quad 1 and 2 games. While that bolstered things, the real reason why the Aggies are currently in a comfortable position is their 15-0 record in Quand 3 and Quad 4 games.

The Aggies, quite simply, have not lost games they are supposed to win. USU split with UNLV this season, with the home team taking both contests.

Both games were close, with the Rebels winning by three at Thomas and Mack and USU winning by five in Logan. A win over UNLV in this one, and the Aggies will be sitting pretty for March.

A deep run could prove they could do some damage in the NCAA tournament. A loss to the Rebels and USU might be sweating on Sunday.

Postseason Outlook: In the field of 68, around a ten seed. Not on the bubble but could fall there depending upon how the rest of the country shakes out.

Net Ranking: 36

4. San Diego State Aztecs (14-6, 21-8)

Next Game: Boise State, 2:30 pm PT, CBS Sports

The experts have the Aztecs in the field of 68, showing up on 108 of 109 bracket projections. The opener against Boise State is an elimination game. Whoever goes home on Thursday night will be headed for the NIT.

SDSU swept the season series from the Broncos, the most recent win being a 17-point blowout in which the Broncos only scored 47 points.

This is the Aztecs’ time to shine. They have won 17 consecutive quarterfinal-round games in the Mountain West Tournament. Outside of UNLV, no team has won more at the Thomas & Mack Center since 2008 than San Diego State.

The Aztecs have won 47 games in the building during that time, the most of any team in the nation in a building in which they have not played a home game.

Postseason Outlook: At the moment, they are in, but supremely on the bubble, an 11-seed as it stands now.

Net Ranking: 51

5. Boise State Broncos (14-6, 22-9)

Next Game: San Diego State, 2:30 pm PT, CBS Sports

As mentioned, the game with San Diego State is a de facto elimination game. When you are on the bubble, losing two games to another bubble team is never good; getting swept in three is a killer.

A win over the Aztecs, along with a victory over New Mexico in the semifinals, would have the Broncos feeling pretty good about their postseason chances.

The Broncos went just 9-7 this season in games played away from ExtraMile Arena, but did win four of their last five on the road with the sole loss coming at San Diego State. The Broncos have gone just 1-4 against the Aztecs in the MW Tournament.

Postseason Outlook: A bubble team on the outside looking in at the moment.

Net Ranking: 45

6. UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (11-9, 18-14)

Next Game: Utah State, 8:30 pm PT, CBS Sports

UNLV opened the MW Tournament with a win over Air Force. It was the seventh win in the last nine games for the Rebels and sets up a quarterfinals matchup with Utah State.

The regular season split with the Aggies offers promise, but this is a UNLV team that is capable of beating anyone. The problem for the Rebels this season is that they are equally as adapt at losing to anyone on the schedule.

And that, in a nutshell, is the story of the 2024-25 UNLV season—and for that matter, the story of the 2023-24 season as well.

So, a Cinderella run in March is not out of the realm of possibilities, but the Rebels will need to string together three good ones.

Postseason Outlook: They need to win the tournament to extend their postseason.

Net Ranking: 93

7. Nevada Wolf Pack (8-12, 17-15)

Next Game: Colorado State, 6:00 pm PT, CBS Sports

Nevada’s win over Fresno State sets up a showdown with Colorado State. The win snapped a three-game losing streak and a slide that saw Nevada close the season losing five of their final six.

In the 86-71 win in the opener, the Wolf Pack had four players score in double figures, led by Kobe Sanders.

And they got 12 off the bench in 13 minutes of action from Chuck Bailey.

The Wolf Pack will need to be deep against a good CSU squad.

Postseason Outlook: Need to win to get to the NCAA Tournament, on the bubble for an NIT invitation.

Net Ranking: 78

8. San Jose State Spartans (7-13, 15-18)

Next Game: New Mexico, noon PT, CBS Sports

Last night, San Jose State jumped out to an early lead on Wyoming and held on for the win.

It was just the second-ever victory for the Spartans in the MW Tournament as they now have a 2-10 all-time record in the event. Awaiting in the quarters will be top-seeded New Mexico.

Insofar as the teams split the season series, the Spartans have to feel like they could pull the upset. To do so, they will need to be better on the offensive end of the floor.

Against UW, they did a good job of limiting Obi Agbim, but the Lobos have so many weapons on offense that the Spartans will have to score points to keep up.

Postseason Outlook: The Only path to more postseason is winning the MW Tournament.

Net Ranking: 180