Best of the West: Arizona, UCLA, Gonzaga on top as Utah (the state and the school) thrives
Midway through the 2022-23 season, we have gained clarity on the state of college basketball in the western third of the country.
That state is Utah.
The Beehive State has produced the best school-for-school performance of the 11 states that encompass the Mountain and Pacific time zones.
That’s not a gobsmacking development because Utah has always taken basketball seriously at all levels. But the depth of quality across the Division I teams is impressive.
Entering Thursday’s games, five of the seven have at least twice as many wins as losses:
Brigham Young: 12-5
Utah: 11-4
Utah State: 13-2
Utah Valley: 11-4
Southern Utah: 10-5
(The other two, Utah Tech and Weber State, are just above and below .500, respectively.)
Plenty of the 57 wins generated by the quintet above have come against second- and third-tier competition. But there are several quality results:
• Utah Valley won at Oregon and lost at Wake Forest by three points.
• Utah State handled Washington State and won by 18 points in the same gym (San Francisco’s) where Arizona State lost by 37.
• Brigham Young beat Creighton and Utah.
• Utah beat Arizona.
Given the current NET rankings and placements in conference standings, it’s hardly unreasonable to believe four of the seven could qualify for the NCAA Tournament via the at-large pool or by winning their conference tournaments.
It’s one of several storylines to watch with two months remaining until Selection Sunday.
To the latest Best of the West rankings …
- Disclaimer: In some cases, the order below does not reflect placement in my Associated Press Top 25 ballot, which tracks with guidelines provided by the AP.
Also considered: Boise State, Brigham Young, Nevada, Santa Clara, UC Santa Barbara, UNLV and USC
(NET rankings and records through Wednesday’s games)
1. Arizona (13-1/2-1 Pac-12)
NET ranking: 4
Comment: The Wildcats have five wins over Quadrant I opponents, which is tied with Kansas for the highest total in the country.
2. UCLA (13-2/4-0 Pac-12)
NET ranking: 6
Comment: More than half of UCLA’s wins (eight) have come against Quadrant III and IV foes. That should change as Pac-12 games become a greater percentage of the Bruins’ overall tally.
3. Gonzaga (12-3/1-0 WCC)
NET ranking: 15
Comment: After watching Drew Timme average 27.3 points and shoot above 60% from the field in his past seven games, we’re starting to think he’s pretty good.
4. San Diego State (11-3/2-0 MW)
NET ranking: 22
Comment: SDSU’s seed in the NCAAs (assuming it qualifies) will depend partly on Ohio State’s performance in the Big Ten. The Aztecs beat OSU by 11 on a neutral court.
5. Saint Mary’s (13-4/2-0 WCC)
NET ranking: 12
Comment: SMC’s best player is a freshman guard named Aidan Mahaney who could start for most teams in the Pac-12 but, according to 247 Sports, was only offered a scholarship by one of them (Stanford).
6. Utah (11-4/4-0 Pac-12)
NET ranking: 31
Comment: Contender or pretender? An answer will be within reach Saturday evening, after the Utes host Oregon.
7. New Mexico (14-1/2-1 MW)
NET ranking: 34
Comment: The Lobos were the last unbeaten team in Division I until their defense failed to make the trip to Fresno. It must have been flying Southwest.
8. Utah State (13-2/2-0 MW)
NET ranking: 20
Comment: The Christmas Day victory over Washington State (in Hawaii) is gaining heft after the Cougars pushed UCLA to the brink and took down USC.
9. Arizona State (11-3/2-1)
NET ranking: 55
Comment: The Sun Devils play superb defense. If their offensive efficiency improved just a tick – they are No. 123 in the Pomeroy ratings – the impact on their overall performance could be substantial.
10. Utah Valley (11-4/2-0 WAC)
NET ranking: 78
Comment: For those unfamiliar, Utah Valley’s coach is Mark Madsen, the former Stanford star who spent six years on the Lakers’ staff. He could be coaching the Pac-12 eventually.