Around the Mountain: These are the best wins and worst losses for the league so far

We are currently in the midst of an uncustomary dead week on the Mountain West schedule.

So, while this weekly Mountain West column is usually anchored by a section I call "My Five", — aka five games to watch — this time I decided to go with another sport for the theme.

Here is a "Three Up, Three Down" list of the three best wins and three worst losses to date in the Mountain West.

The full slate of games resumes Dec. 30, including UNM at Boise State, tipping off at 9 p.m.

THREE UP

1. Utah State 100, Colorado State 58 (Dec. 20 in Logan, Utah): Yes, it was a league opener and a home game. But, man, was this an eye opener. The Aggies had the best nonconference record, but it wasn't entirely out of bounds to question how good that 9-1 record was based on some closer-than-necessary wins over some lesser teams and even their two top-100 wins sort of showed an inability to close out games very strong. Against a CSU team many felt was a contender, the Aggies left the weekend in a tier of their own atop the league, and CSU is back to having to prove itself.
2. UNM 81, VCU 78 (Dec. 10 in Richmond, Virginia): The biggest true road win of the season for the Mountain West in nonconference play sort of cemented the question about whether UNM would fall off a cliff after the Pitino era or not (the question should have been answered prior to this, but there were some reluctant fans who needed to see this one happen). And for the league, it solidified UNM being a very good game/opportunity on the schedule once again in the computer rankings.
3. Boise State 68, Saint Mary's 67 (Dec. 14 in Idaho Falls, Idaho): I don't know that I believe this Saint Mary's squad will end up being quite the computer metrics darling it has been in recent seasons, but as of today, the No. 33 KenPom-ranked Gaels make this the highest-rated team any Mountain West school has beaten this season. Couple that with the crazy, dramatic ending and it belongs on this list.

THREE DOWN

1. D-II Hawaii Pacific 79, Boise State 78 (Nov. 3 in Boise, Idaho): It's hard to quantify just how bad a loss this was, mainly because it didn't actually hurt Boise State in any computer metrics. Why is that? Because the notion of counting games against non-Division I opponents is so absurd to all the people putting together those computer rankings that it was written out of every formula so teams wouldn't game the metrics by destroying D-II schools all the time. Welp, what about when the D-II team gets the win? Fortunately for BSU, they look just fine in the NET, KenPom and other rankings because this game basically didn't exist to the computers. But the NCAA Selection committee will remember, and the Boise State better not be close to the bubble come March if it wants to get any benefit of the doubt over other teams that didn't lose to a D-II school on their home court.
2. Cal Bakersfield 76, Fresno State 71 (Nov. 30 in Fresno, California): Who has Bakersfield beat this season? Well, they have four home wins against the D-III Whittier College Poets (what a mascot name, by the way!), National Christian College Athletic Association member Nobel University, Western Illinois (ranked 351 out of 365 teams in the NET), and Mississippi Valley State (ranked dead last — 365 out of 365 in the NET). Oh, and they beat Fresno State on the road. Yeah, even for a Bulldogs team I give a lot of leeway while they are rebuilding, this was just bad.
3. Denver 83, Colorado State 81 (Nov. 21 in Fort Collins): When it happened, it looked bad enough losing on your home court to the then-304th ranked KenPom team (Denver is now 265th). But consider what happened in the two weeks to follow that game. Denver lost by 30 at Arizona and by 42(!) up the road at Front Range rival Wyoming, all while CSU rattled off three Top 100 wins and nearly upset a fourth (Va. Tech). Wherever CSU ends up in March, remember this game is the one that pulled them down farthest.

Poll position

No Mountain West team is ranked in this week's Associated Press Top 25, though Utah State is receiving votes.

• Utah State: 5 points, 10 spots from being ranked, highest vote of No. 24 by two voters.

Players of the Week

Here are the Mountain West's selections for player and freshman of the week (the allowed this week to run through Monday's games):

Player of the Week: Grand Canyon senior guard Jaden Henley — the UNLV transfer averaged 23.5 points in a pair of wins for the 'Lopes — 82-70 at Wyoming and 91-78 vs. IU Indianapolis on Monday. He had 18 points and four rebounds in the road win at Wyoming, GCU's first-ever Mountain West game. He scored 29 with eight rebounds on Monday.

Freshman of the Week: UNLV forward Tyrin Jones — the 6-foot-9 forward scored a career-high 18 points in a perfect shooting night (7-for-7 effort from the field, 4-for-4 at the free throw line) to go along with five rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots in the Rebels' 84-72 MW-opening win over Fresno State.

Weekly Nique

In an effort to bring to light a few more noteworthy names around the league each week, Colorado State super fan and podcaster Steve Ivy and I have started a weekly award called the "Weekly Nique."

It's a call back to former Colorado State Rams wing Nique Clifford who, despite being an NBA Draft pick and having one of the more dominant seasons (2024-25) in the league in recent memory, won his first — and ONLY! — Mountain West Player of the Week Award on March 10 this past season, the final week of his college career.

It became a running joke and while this is not meant as a protest to the league's picks (we often agree with them), Steve and I thought it'd be nice to put together a 5-10 minute video each week after the league announcement to shout out a player or two who also had great weeks, but who were NOT selected by the league.

The video will usually run Monday afternoons (the league made its weekly award announcement this week on a Tuesday for a change), on my X account (@GeoffGrammer) and Steve's (@swollcraker).

Nique Player of the Week: Nevada senior guard Tayshan Comer — The new point guard for Steve Alford and Craig Neal to highlight is Comer, who had 24 points, four assists and hit 13-of-14 free throws in a statement-making 81-66 home win over Boise State on Saturday.

Also considered: UNLV guard Dravyn Gibbs Lawhorn (28 points, seven rebounds, four assists in win over Fresno State) and GCU guard Makaih Williams (20 points, three rebounds, two steals in road win at Wyoming).

Nique Freshman of the Week: Utah State forward Adlan Elamin — The 6-9 forward has not only worked his way into the starting lineup of the league's top team, but with 15 points, eight rebounds and an impressive blocked shot in the blowout win over Colorado State, Elamin isn't just the freshman athlete with potential to help down the road anymore, he's the producing freshman helping right now.

Also considered: UNM guard Jake Hall (who should have been the league's pick by now at least once, 18 points, 6-10 shooting, three rebounds, two assists and a steal in home win over San Jose State).

NET gains

The Mountain West had eight teams in the Top 100 of Tuesday's NCAA NET ratings, highlighted by Utah State shooting up to No. 18 after the CSU blowout, followed by Boise State (46) and New Mexico (57).

The league is one of five with eight teams in the Top 100, joining the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC. The Big East has just five inside the top 100.

You can reach Geoff at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.