Best of the West MBB power rankings: UCLA remains No. 1 despite loss, Arizona jumps after big win and Colorado slides
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 each Monday through the remainder of the regular season.
1. UCLA (11-3/2-1 Big Ten)
Last week: 1
Results: lost at Nebraska 66-58
NET ranking: 18
Next up: vs. Michigan (Tuesday)
Comment: The Bruins have won ugly plenty of times under Mick Cronin — nobody did it better in the Pac-12, in fact. But to thrive on the road in the Big Ten, they must become more adept at winning hideous.
2. Gonzaga (12-4/3-0 West Coast Conference)
Last week: 2
Results: beat Portland 81-50, won at LMU 96-68
NET ranking: 6
Next up: vs. San Diego (Wednesday)
Comment: Gonzaga’s resume should benefit from the presence of Washington State and Oregon State, which are outperforming expectations and adding top-75 NET rankings to the lineup of WCC foes.
3. Utah State (14-1/4-0 Mountain West)
Last week: 3
Results: won at Nevada 69-64, beat Fresno State 89-83
NET ranking: 29
Next up: at San Jose State (Tuesday)
Comment: At this rate, the Aggies might have another coaching search to conduct in March.
4. San Diego State (9-3/2-1 Mountain West)
Last week: 4
Results: won at Boise State 76-68
NET ranking: 35
Next up: vs. Air Force (Wednesday)
Comment: Given that SDSU’s recent victories over Cal and Boise State followed major travel delays, the Hotline fully expects coach Brian Dutcher to insist his players hitchhike to Las Vegas for the Mountain West tournament.
5. Arizona State (10-3/1-1 Big 12)
Last week: 5
Results: lost at Brigham Young 76-56, beat Colorado 81-61
NET ranking: 52
Next up: at Kansas (Wednesday)
Comment: A quick reminder — because it has been a few years — that the Sun Devils swept KU in a home-and-home series in the 2018-19 seasons. And their victory in Lawrence was by double digits.
6. Oregon (13-2/2-2 Big Ten)
Last week: 6
Results: lost to Illinois 109-77, beat Maryland 83-79
NET ranking: 20
Next up: at Ohio State (Thursday)
Comment: You know it’s a bad week when … Giving up 109 points in a blowout home loss isn’t the worst result for an Oregon sports team.
7. Arizona (8-5/2-0 Big 12)
Last week: 9
Results: won at Cincinnati 72-67
NET ranking: 16
Next up: at West Virginia (Tuesday)
Comment: Notably, that NET ranking closely matches Arizona’s position in the well-regarded Pomeroy Ratings, which carry a predictive element while measuring efficiency at both ends of the court, non-conference schedules and even luck.
8. Saint Mary’s (13-3/3-0 West Coast Conference)
Last week: 7
Results: beat Pepperdine 71-41, won at Portland 81-58
NET ranking: 49
Next up: vs. LMU (Tuesday)
Comment: Halfway through the season, only four opponents have scored 70 points (or more) against the Gaels. And only one, Utah State, reached the 75-point threshold. The biggest test of all, Gonzaga, is four weeks away.
9. New Mexico (12-3/4-0 Mountain West)
Last week: 11
Results: won at Fresno State 103-89, beat Nevada 82-81 (OT)
NET ranking: 68
Next up: at Wyoming (Tuesday)
Comment: Only fitting that the Lobos won the 1,000th game played at The Pit, which remains one of our favorite venues decades after the Hotline first experienced the mayhem. But we could never have guessed how they would secure the win. What a finish.
10. Washington State (13-3/3-0 West Coast Conference)
Last week: 10
Results: beat San Francisco 91-82
NET ranking: 65
Next up: vs. Pacific (Thursday)
Comment: It’s far too early to know if the Cougars made an A-level hire with David Riley. But we’ve seen enough to know it was at least a B-level decision.
11. Brigham Young (10-3/1-1 Big 12)
Last week: 13
Results: beat Arizona State 76-56, lost at Houston 86-55
NET ranking: 47
Next up: vs. Texas Tech (Tuesday)
Comment: It’s not often that teams experience 51-point swings from one game to the next, but road affairs carry a degree-of-difficulty in the Big 12 that suggests we could see other teams encounter the similar highs and lows (or lows and highs).
12. Colorado (9-4/0-2 Big 12)
Last week: 8
Results: lost at Arizona State 81-61
NET ranking: 85
Next up: at UCF (Wednesday)
Comment: The early-season upset of UConn is rapidly shedding influence on CU’s resume as the losses mount inside the Big 12. Given the upcoming schedule, the Buffaloes’ first conference win could be weeks away.
13. Boise State (11-4/3-1 Mountain West)
Last week: 12
Results: won at Wyoming 67-58, lost to San Diego State 76-68
NET ranking: 57
Next up: vs. UNLV (Tuesday)
Comment: Had you told us prior to tipoff that Boise State star Tyson Degenhart would be 1-of-7 from the field against SDSU, the Hotline would have assumed a blowout loss. So it could have been worse for the Broncos. Much worse.
14. UC San Diego (13-2/3-0 Big West)
Last week: 14
Results: beat Cal State Fullerton 90-51
NET ranking: 46
Next up: vs. Cal Poly (Thursday)
Comment: The Tritons have a Quad I win (at Utah State), a solid NET ranking and a respectable non-conference schedule. But it’s difficult to believe their resume would clear the NCAA selection committee’s bar for the at-large field after two months of Big West play.
15. Grand Canyon (11-4/1-0 WAC)
Last week: Not ranked
Results: beat Southern Utah 82-71
NET ranking: 107
Next up: at Utah Valley (Thursday)
Comment: Admittedly, the Lopes aren’t an ideal selection, but we couldn’t justify keeping Oregon State in this spot after a 21-point loss at LMU and, well, there were no better options.
Also considered: Nevada, Northern Colorado, Oregon State, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Stanford, UC Irvine, UNLV and Washington
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