The Best of the West offers fans a candid assessment of the top teams in the western third of the country — a collection that includes the Mountain West and the former Pac-12 schools now scattered across the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and West Coast Conference.
The rankings will be published on the Hotline each Monday through the remainder of the regular season.
Nothing about Gonzaga’s trajectory materially changed following its swing through the Bay Area last week.
The Zags have exactly the same NET ranking today (No. 10) that they did before sweeping Santa Clara and USF.
They have the same position in NCAA Tournament bracket projections (No. 9 seed) that they did before scoring 190 points against the Broncos and Dons.
Their position in the KenPom predictive analytics (No. 8) is effectively static.
And yet those 80 minutes of utter domination created an entirely different March vibe for the Zags in the West Coast Conference tournament, which begins this week, and the NCAAs, which commence in the middle of the month.
The Zags were wobbly in their first matchups with the Broncos and Dons, losing to the former and fending off the latter. Both games were in Spokane and reflected an inconsistency that had been visible across three months of play.
But with the No. 2 seed in the WCC tournament at stake and the urgency of March bearing down, Gonzaga demolished both last week.
Final score from Santa Clara: Zags 95, Broncos 76.
Final score from San Francisco: Zags 95, Dons 75.
Final impression from the week: There is reason to believe Gonzaga can be the team we expected, not the team we witnessed.
The defense is hardly granite and, frankly, has resembled paper mache at times. For that reason, the Zags should not be on anyone’s short list for the Final Four.
But the Hotline saw enough last week on both ends of the court — more than enough, actually — to believe a run to the second weekend of the NCAAs is reasonable.
Prior to the victories over Santa Clara and USF, we weren’t convinced the Zags could survive the first round.
To the power rankings …
1. Arizona (19-10/13-5 Big 12)
Last week: 1
Results: beat Utah 83-66, lost at Iowa State 84-67
NET ranking: 10
Next up: vs. Arizona State (Tuesday)
Comment: In Arizona’s five conference losses, guard Caleb Love is 7-of-39 from 3-point range (17.9 percent). If he struggles in the second round of the NCAAs, for example, where do the Wildcats turn for production? We aren’t convinced guards Jaden Bradley and KJ Lewis are good enough to score consistently in a highly pressurized environment against a defense that’s fully locked in.
2. Saint Mary’s (27-4/17-1 WCC)
Last week: 2
Results: won at LMU 58-55, beat Oregon State 74-64
NET ranking: 17
Next up: WCC tournament semifinals (Monday)
Comment: If seeds hold, the Gaels would face either No. 4 Santa Clara or No. 5 Oregon State next week in Las Vegas. They swept both teams, and all four wins were fairly comfortable.
3. Brigham Young (21-8/12-6 Big 12)
Last week: 5
Results: won at Arizona State 91-81, beat West Virginia 77-56
NET ranking: 26
Next up: at Iowa State (Tuesday)
Comment: We wondered last week if the Cougars are peaking too soon and continue to believe that’s a possibility. A close, well-played loss in Ames would not be the worst outcome, and it certainly wouldn’t hurt their NCAA Tournament seed.
4. New Mexico (23-6/15-3 Mountain West)
Last week: 3
Results: lost at San Diego State 73-65, beat Air Force 92-71
NET ranking: 44
Next up: at Nevada (Tuesday)
Comment: Expect the Lobos’ seed in the NCAAs to be lower than their record suggests — they could be a No. 9 or 10 seed — due to the presence of two Quadrant III losses on their resume (New Mexico State and San Jose State). Otherwise, they would be on track for something in the No. 6 range. And that difference is gigantic, especially in the second round.
5. Oregon (21-8/10-8 Big Ten)
Last week: 7
Results: beat USC 82-61
NET ranking: 31
Next up: vs. Indiana (Tuesday)
Comment: Five consecutive losses followed by five consecutive wins? On the Hotline, that’s called The Altman. (Please don’t confuse it with The Cronin, which involves a similar uptick in results but is typically accompanied by public complaints from the head coach.)
6. Boise State (21-8/13-5 Mountain West)
Last week: 8
Results: beat Utah State 82-65, won at Fresno State 66-61
NET ranking: 43
Next up: at Air Force (Tuesday)
Comment: The Broncos are surging at the right time with eight wins in the past nine games. But their NET has climbed just nine spots over that span because most of the victories have come against second-tier competition.
7. Gonzaga (23-8/14-4 WCC)
Last week: 9
Results: won at Santa Clara 95-76 and USF 95-75
NET ranking: 8
Next up: WCC tournament semifinals (Monday)
Comment: The Zags are No. 36 nationally in the Pomeroy adjusted defensive efficiency ratings, which measure points-per-possession. That’s an improvement over the previous two seasons but not good enough to suggest a Final Four run is looming.
8. UCLA (20-9/11-7 Big Ten)
Last week: 6
Results: lost at Purdue 76-66
NET ranking: 27
Next up: at Northwestern (Monday)
Comment: So the Bruins take a five-day swing through West Lafayette and Evanston, come home for a week to play USC, then turn around and head back to Indianapolis for the Big Ten tournament. They might be better off just forfeiting the finale and staying in the Midwest. (We’re joking, mostly.)
9. Utah State (24-6/14-5 Mountain West)
Last week: 4
Results: lost at Boise State 82-65 and Colorado State 93-66
NET ranking: 38
Next up: vs. Air Force (Saturday)
Comment: Yes, it was a grueling three-game stretch — the Aggies played San Diego State before heading to Boise and Fort Collins — but the lopsided nature of the two losses is a tad concerning, especially at this time of year.
10. San Diego State (20-7/13-5 Mountain West)
Last week: 10
Results: beat New Mexico 73-65, won at Wyoming 72-69
NET ranking: 50
Next up: at UNLV (Tuesday)
Comment: That’s nine wins in the past 11 games for the Aztecs, and the losses were on the road against NCAA Tournament-caliber teams (Utah State and Colorado State) with SDSU competitive throughout. In other words, the Aztecs have found their groove at just the right time, once again.
11. Colorado State (20-9/14-4 Mountain West)
Last week: 11
Results: won at Air Force 77-55, beat Utah State 93-66
NET ranking: 58
Next up: vs. San Jose State (Tuesday)
Comment: The early-season losses to UC Riverside, Washington and Colorado have not come back to haunt the Rams. They have been riding shotgun, week by week, all along.
12. UC San Diego (26-4/16-2 Big West)
Last week: 12
Results: won at Cal State Northridge 77-71, beat Cal State Fullerton 100-55
NET ranking: 34
Next up: vs. Long Beach State (Thursday)
Comment: Time to start viewing the Tritons as an at-large contender in the NCAAs if they lose the Big West tournament — especially if they lose a close game to UC Irvine in the final.
13. San Francisco (23-8/13-5 WCC)
Last week: 13
Results: won at Oregon State 74-72, lost to Gonzaga 95-75
NET ranking: 62
Next up: WCC tournament quarterfinals (Sunday)
Comment: The Dons likely will face Washington State or LMU in Las Vegas for the right to face Gonzaga.
14. Utah (16-13/8-10 Big 12)
Last week: 14
Results: lost at Arizona 83-66, beat Arizona State 99-73
NET ranking: 64
Next up: vs. West Virginia (Tuesday)
Comment: The likelihood of finishing .500 in conference play is substantially less than 50-50 — the Utes finish up Saturday in Provo — but we never expected it to rise above 1 percent. So consider the current situation a victory regardless.
15. Stanford (19-10/11-7 ACC)
Last week: Not ranked
Results: beat Boston College 78-60 and SMU 73-68
NET ranking: 83
Next up: at Notre Dame (Wednesday)
Comment: Longtime Cardinal watchers might not have realized college basketball rules allow teams to experience winning streaks after Feb. 1.
Also considered: Cal State Northridge, Grand Canyon, Northern Colorado, Santa Clara, UC Irvine and Utah Valley
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