Jon Wilner
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 weekly throughout the regular season.
1. Gonzaga (4-0)
Last week: 1
Results: beat UMass Lowell 113-54 and San Diego State 80-67
Next up: vs. Long Beach State (Wednesday)
Comment: The Battle for Atlantis Tournament next week includes Indiana, Louisville and Arizona, which would face the Zags in the title game. And Gonzaga’s December schedule features Kentucky, UConn and UCLA. Not bad.
2. Saint Mary’s (4-0)
Last week: 3
Results: beat Nebraska 77-74
Next up: vs. Stanislaus State (Wednesday)
Comment: On the other hand, Saint Mary’s schedule tops out with USC, Boise State and either Arizona State or New Mexico in the Acrisure Classic in Palm Springs. The Gaels could handle more meat.
3. Arizona (2-1)
Last week: 2
Results: lost at Wisconsin 103-88
Next up: vs. Duke (Friday)
Comment: During this busy stretch with football and basketball in full swing, the Hotline appreciates Arizona making our analysis of the Wisconsin loss so simple: It was an all-systems failure. Now comes the Cooper Flagg show.
4. Arizona State (4-1)
Last week: 5
Results: beat Grand Canyon 87-76 and St. Thomas (Minn.) 81-66
Next up: vs. Cal Poly (Wednesday)
Comment: From what we have both seen and heard, this should be Bobby Hurley’s best team in several years. Whether he has the record to show for it in the brutal Big 12 is another matter.
5. San Francisco (4-0)
Last week: 4
Results: beat Long Beach State 84-54 and Chicago State 82-37
Next up: vs. Memphis (Thursday)
Comment: The Dons’ non-conference schedule is No. 323 in the Pomeroy advanced analytics. It should improve by the time WCC play begins, but not by much.
6. Oregon (4-0)
Last week: 7
Results: beat Troy 82-61
Next up: at Oregon State (Thursday)
Comment: Notably, the Big Ten schedule features a round of conference games in early December in which the four West Coast schools play each other. Two games on the books with limited travel ahead of final exams is a win for everyone involved.
7. San Diego State (2-1)
Last week: 6
Results: lost to Gonzaga 80-67
Next up: Creighton (Tuesday)
Comment: The schedule gets no easier for the Aztecs with the Players Era Festival next week in Las Vegas. After Creighton, they face Oregon and then either Houston, Alabama, Rutgers or Notre Dame.
8. Boise State (3-1)
Last week: 8
Results: beat Clemson 84-71
Next up: vs. Hampton (Sunday)
Comment: The Broncos are the top Mountain West team (No. 36) in the latest Pomeroy ratings, which rely on advanced metrics. Nevada is close, followed by a gap to the next tier.
9. Grand Canyon (2-1)
Last week: 9
Results: lost to Arizona State 87-76
Next up: vs. UC Davis (Wednesday)
Comment: It’s all downhill for the Lopes, until the WAC tournament, after losing to their crosstown antagonist. (We aren’t joking. The ASU game meant that much to GCU and its administration.)
10. Nevada (4-0)
Last week: 13
Results: beat Weber State 88-58 and Santa Clara 85-59
Next up: vs. Vanderbilt (Thursday)
Comment: The Wolf Pack was picked third in the Mountain West preseason poll. From what we have seen thus far of Steve Alford’s group — and the rest of the league — that might be two spots too low.
11. Cal (3-1)
Last week: Not ranked
Results: lost to Vanderbilt 85-69, beat USC 71-66
Next up: vs. Air Force (Thursday)
Comment: The loss at Vanderbilt matters less to us than the win over USC, because so few teams across the region have quality victories at this point.
12. New Mexico (3-1)
Last week: 11
Results: lost to St. John’s 85-71
Next up: vs. Grambling State (Thursday)
Comment: Richard Pitino losing by double digits to his father in Madison Square Garden on FS1 is the parental equivalent of getting sent to your room but avoiding a spanking.
13. USC (3-1)
Last week: 10
Results: beat UT Arlington 98-95, lost to Cal 71-66
Next up: vs. San Jose State (Wednesday)
Comment: The loss to Cal matters less to us than the three-point win over UT Arlington, which was a tad too close against a WAC opponent that also lost to Louisiana Tech.
14. UCLA (3-1)
Last week: 12
Results: beat Lehigh 85-45
Next up: vs. Idaho State (Wednesday)
Comment: The non-conference schedule is disappointingly soft in November. Fortunately, that changes next month when the Bruins face Arizona, North Carolina and Gonzaga on consecutive Saturdays.
15. UC Irvine (4-0)
Last week: 15
Results: beat Pepperdine 80-62
Next up: vs. Weber State (Friday)
Comment: Big West play is a month away, but in our estimation, the Anteaters already have locked up first place.
Also considered: Brigham Young, Hawaii, Oregon State, Stanford, UC Santa Barbara, UNLV, Utah State and Washington State
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