Here are my weekly power rankings for Mountain West men’s basketball teams heading into this week’s games. RPI numbers are from NCAA.com as of Feb. 4.
- No. 23 Nevada (20-4 overall, 9-1 MW, 12 RPI): The Wolf Pack have bounced back well after a loss at Wyoming Jan. 24. Still not a deep team, but also still the best team in the conference. A couple of tough games this week, but they are at home. Games this week: vs. Nevada, 9 p.m. Wednesday (CBS Sports Network); vs. San Diego State, 6 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2).
2. Boise State (19-4, 9-2, 37 RPI): Coach Leon Rice has waded across the Boise River and rode a horse through campus to get people to Taco Bell Arena. It has worked, but he shouldn’t have to do these things because the Broncos are legit. A pair of challenging road games await the Broncos. Games this week: at New Mexico, 8 p.m. Tuesday (ESPNU); at Utah State, 7 p.m. Saturday (AT&T SportsNet).
3. New Mexico (12-12, 7-4, 160 RPI): A short-handed squad lost at Utah State and then struggled to win at San Jose State last week. Still, the Lobos remain in third place in the standings, and in these power rankings. Don’t think anyone saw this coming. Games this week: vs. Boise State, 8 p.m. Tuesday (ESPNU); at Air Force, 2 p.m. Saturday (ESPN3 — online).