KenPom Rankings update: San Diego State second among Mountain West teams
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After a disappointing loss at UNLV on Tuesday, San Diego State bounced back with a dominant victory against Nevada on Saturday to close out the regular season.
The Aztecs (21-8, 14-6) posted two 19-point wins over Nevada during the regular season, sweeping the Wolfpack for the first time since the 2021-22 season. The win earned San Diego State fourth place in the Mountain West Conference standings, solidifying their spot in this week’s conference tournament. The Aztecs had already earned a bye as a top five team and will take on five-seed Boise State on Thursday afternoon in Las Vegas.
Heading into conference tournament week, San Diego State sits at No. 43 in the updated KenPom college basketball rankings. The Aztecs come in at No. 12 nationally in defense and No. 105 in offense. Their non-conference strength of schedule continues to prop the Aztecs up when compared to similar teams. Wins over Creighton, Houston and UC San Diego look great for San Diego State in addition to games against Gonzaga and Oregon.
New Mexico, the regular season champion in the Mountain West, leads the way among conference teams according to KenPom. The Lobos check in at No. 41 and likely sit as the only team in the conference locked into the NCAA tournament. New Mexico is No. 20 nationally in defense and plays with the fourth fastest tempo in the country.
Boise State comes in at No. 49 in the updated KenPom rankings. The Broncos' five-game winning streak came to an end on Friday night, dropping their regular season finale to Colorado State, 83-73. Boise State had previously been 13-1 at home prior to Friday and had risen among at-large teams in recent weeks.
Fresh off the win over Boise State to complete the season sweep, Colorado State is at No. 50 according to KenPom. The Rams won seven consecutive games to close out the regular season and have put themselves into at-large bid contention heading into conference tournament week. Colorado State has an identical overall record as Boise State and nearly mirrors the Broncos is several metrics.
Utah State closed out the regular season with a 40-point win over Air Force on Saturday, ending a two-game losing streak. Losses to Colorado State, Boise State and New Mexico have bumped the Aggies down in recent weeks, putting them back on the bubble prior to the Mountain West Conference tournament. The Aggies sit at No. 53 in the KenPom rankings and feature an offense that ranks No. 16 nationally. They’ll begin the conference tournament on Thursday, awaiting Wednesday’s winner of Nevada and Fresno State.
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-770033d1c5c4820fdbde4ecf2452e810.jpg "Bodie De Silva")
Bodie DeSilva has been covering sports in San Diego for more than a decade. He previously covered San Diego State athletics for Scout/Fox Sports.