Boise State lags behind Mountain West leaders in KenPom defense

The Mountain West has traditionally been a defense-first conference in men’s basketball.

Unsurprisingly, top MWC contenders Utah State (23-4, 13-3), San Diego State (18-8, 12-4), New Mexico (21-6, 12-4) and Grand Canyon (17-10, 10-6) all rank inside the top 40 nationally in KenPom defensive rating.

Boise State (16-11, 8-8), which ranked No. 20 in KenPom defense on New Year’s Day, is down to No. 81 in defensive rating.

Utah State leads the MWC in overall KenPom ranking at No. 23, followed by No. 43 New Mexico, No. 45 San Diego State, No. 60 Boise State, No. 67 Nevada (18-9, 10-6), No. 88 Colorado State (17-10, 8-8) and No. 95 Wyoming (15-12, 6-10).

The Aztecs, who have dropped back-to-back games for the first time since November, host Utah State at 9 p.m. Mountain time on Wednesday.

Boise State will face Wyoming at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at ExtraMile Arena.

Here is a look at each Mountain West team’s KenPom resume:

Utah State

Overall rating: 23

Overall record: 23-4

Net rating: +23.07

Offensive rating: 21

Defensive rating: 35

Strength of schedule: 82

New Mexico

Overall rating: 43

Overall record: 21-6

Net rating: +17.01

Offensive rating: 60

Defensive rating: 40

Strength of schedule: 93

San Diego State

Overall rating: 45

Overall record: 18-8

Net rating: +16.90

Offensive rating: 108

Defensive rating: 16

Strength of schedule: 77

Boise State

Overall rating: 60

Overall record: 16-11

Net rating: +12.54

Offensive rating: 68

Defensive rating: 81

Strength of schedule: 61

Grand Canyon

Overall rating: 62

Overall record: 17-10

Net rating: +12.50

Offensive rating: 153

Defensive rating: 22

Strength of schedule: 95

Nevada

Overall rating: 67

Overall record: 18-9

Net rating: +11.94

Offensive rating: 62

Defensive rating: 101

Strength of schedule: 79

Colorado State

Overall rating: 88

Overall record: 17-10

Net rating: +9.52

Offensive rating: 49

Defensive rating: 202

Strength of schedule: 98

Wyoming

Overall rating: 95

Overall record: 15-12

Net rating: +8.21

Offensive rating: 82

Defensive rating: 131

Strength of schedule: 92

Fresno State

Overall rating: 124

Overall record: 12-15

Net rating: +4.37

Offensive rating: 172

Defensive rating: 85

Strength of schedule: 94

UNLV

Overall rating: 125

Overall record: 14-13

Net rating: +4.17

Offensive rating: 88

Defensive rating: 205

Strength of schedule: 96

San Jose State

Overall rating: 227

Overall record: 7-20

Net rating: -5.53

Offensive rating: 161

Defensive rating: 294

Strength of schedule: 73

Air Force

Overall rating: 350

Overall record: 3-24

Net rating: -20.80

Offensive rating: 352

Defensive rating: 310

Strength of schedule: 88