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 weekly throughout the regular season.
1. UCLA (10-1/2-0 Big Ten)
Last week: 4
Results: beat Arizona 57-54 and Prairie View 111-75
NET ranking: 14
Next up: vs. North Carolina (Saturday)
Comment: Sweeping Washington, Oregon and Arizona in back-to-back-to-back fashion makes the Bruins the clear frontrunner in the Pac — err, never mind.
2. Gonzaga (7-3)
Last week: 1
Results: lost to UConn 77-71
NET ranking: 4
Next up: vs. Nicholls State (Wednesday)
Comment: Why would a three-loss team have the No. 4 NET ranking? Because 70 percent of the games count as Quad I or II results. The Zags’ strength-of-schedule component is stupendous.
3. San Diego State (7-2/1-0 Mountain West)
Last week: 3
Results: beat Cal Baptist 81-75
NET ranking: 56
Next up: vs. Cal (Saturday)
Comment: Hard to call any ACC opponent a tune up. But with Utah State and Boise State looming for the Aztecs after Christmas, the neutral site affair (in San Jose) against Cal is exactly that.
4. Arizona State (8-2)
Last week: 2
Results: lost to Florida 83-66
NET ranking: 50
Next up: vs. UMass (Saturday)
Comment: “Next year, I’m not scheduling an 11-day break in early December. That’s too much time off,” Bobby Hurley might have thought to himself as the Sun Devils got run off the court by Florida.
5. Oregon (10-1/1-1 Big Ten)
Last week: 5
Results: beat Stephen F Austin 79-61
NET ranking: 17
Next up: vs. Stanford (Saturday)
Comment: Don’t look now, but that early-season escape in Corvallis counts as a Quad I result for the Ducks and is helping to prop up their resume.
6. Saint Mary’s (9-2)
Last week: 6
Results: lost to Boise State 67-65 (OT)
NET ranking: 45
Next up: vs. Merrimack (Thursday)
Comment: If you’re wondering, Merrimack College is a member of the MAAC (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) and based in North Andover, Mass. The Warriors lost at Stanford by six points on Tuesday night, so SMC should be careful.
7. Colorado (8-2)
Last week: 8
Results: beat South Dakota 81-70
NET ranking: 72
Next up: vs. Bellarmine (Saturday)
Comment: That early-season victory over UConn looked great in the moment, lost luster in the days immediately following, but now has the expected heft after the Huskies beat Baylor, Texas and Gonzaga in succession.
8. Utah State (10-1/1-0 Mountain West)
Last week: 7
Results: beat South Florida 88-67, lost to UC San Diego 75-73
NET ranking: 39
Next up: vs. Saint Mary’s (Sunday)
Comment: The Aggies dropped 39 spots in the NET rankings after that fairly stunning home loss to UCSD. With the Gaels and Aztecs up next, they had best forget and move on.
9. Washington State (9-2)
Last week: 9
Results: beat Missouri State 91-78
NET ranking: 69
Next up: vs. Washington (Wednesday)
Comment: The Cougars are 2.5-point underdogs in Seattle. From what we have seen, the Hotline would gladly accept the points (if we engaged in such activities, of course).
10. Arizona (4-5)
Last week: 10
Results: lost to UCLA 57-54
NET ranking: 49
Next up: vs. Samford (Wednesday)
Comment: The meltdown against UCLA, in which the Wildcats blew a 13-point lead and didn’t make a field goal for the final nine minutes, reminded us of the Princeton debacle, albeit with lesser stakes and fewer eyeballs watching.
11. New Mexico (8-3/1-0 Mountain West)
Last week: 11
Results: beat Western New Mexico 122-70
NET ranking: 88
Next up: vs. VCU (Wednesday)
Comment: At least the Lobos aren’t the worst team in the state. (Yes, that’s a sarcastic reference to their loss to New Mexico State.)
12. Nevada (8-3)
Last week: 12
Results: beat Texas Southern 105-73
NET ranking: 51
Next up: vs. Colorado State (Saturday)
Comment: With just two teams in the top 50 of the NET rankings (Boise State and Nevada), the Mountain West is poorly positioned for Selection Sunday compared to previous seasons.
13. Boise State (8-3)
Last week: Not ranked
Results: beat Saint Mary’s 67-65 (OT) and Texas Southern 82-51
NET ranking: 51
Next up: vs. Air Force (Saturday)
Comment: If the Broncos aren’t 3-0 in conference play before the calendar turns, something has gone wrong. They should handle Air Force, San Jose State and Wyoming without much trouble.
14. Brigham Young (8-2)
Last week: 14
Results: beat Fresno State 95-67 and Wyoming 68-49
NET ranking: 53
Next up: vs. Florida A&M (Friday)
Comment: The Cougars are one of the nation’s top scoring teams but need to tighten their defense (No. 80 in efficiency, per the Pomeroy ratings) if they plan to contend in the Big 12.
15. Oregon State (8-2)
Last week: Not ranked
Results: beat UC Irvine 67-55 and Sacramento State 82-45
NET ranking: 36
Next up: vs. Charleston (Sunday)
Comment: The lofty NET ranking doesn’t quite match the results, and yet: The Beavers have not possessed a non-conference resume this strong in eons.
Also considered: Cal, San Francisco, Stanford, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, USC and Utah
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