NET Rankings update: San Diego State falls out of top 50
In this story:
San Diego State dropped Tuesday’s game at UNLV, putting a dent in their NCAA tournament at-large chances. The Aztecs led by two points at halftime but allowed the Runnin’ Rebels to shoot 65 percent in the second half, losing 74-67.
Following the loss, the Aztecs have slipped outside of the top 50 to No. 52 in the NCAA’s NET rankings. The rankings are used by the NCAA tournament committee to help seed the field come Selection Sunday.
San Diego State has hovered right around the top 50 in recent weeks despite having won nine of their past 11 games prior to Tuesday. The NET rankings are not particularly kind to Mountain West Conference teams with the top five all ranked between No. 40 and No. 56. The Aztecs are 4-5 in their games against quad 1 opponents, the most among teams in the Mountain West.
Utah State remains the top Mountain West team in the NET rankings. The Aggies have moved down two spots to No. 40 after dropping consecutive road games to Boise State and Colorado State. Utah State will have all of this week to prep for their regular season finale against Air Force on Saturday. The Aggies are hoping for losses by New Mexico, Colorado State and Boise State to help improve their conference tournament seeding next week.
New Mexico is second among Mountain West teams in the NET rankings at No. 44. The Lobos escaped with a four-point victory against Nevada in Reno last night and will host UNLV for senior night on Friday. Last season’s Mountain West Conference champions have positioned themselves well to grab their first regular season title in more than a decade while looking to repeat at conference tournament champions.
Boise State trailed 6-0 to Air Force on Tuesday night before flying past the Falcons for an 80-57 victory in what could have been a lookahead spot. The Broncos sit one spot behind New Mexico at No. 45 in the updated NET rankings. They’ll host Colorado State on Friday in what would be a massive resume building win for either squad.
Colorado State checks in at No. 56 in the NET rankings and has been on a strong trajectory over the past couple weeks. The Rams are setup for a strong seed in the Mountain West Conference tournament and could help themselves in a big way if they could become the second road team to win at Boise State when they visit on Friday.
MORE SAN DIEGO STATE NEWS & ANALYSIS
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Continue to follow our San Diego State coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook.
-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.