Mountain West Standings Update: SDSU Clinches Share Of Title, Fresno Makes Charge

On a week where San Diego State was supposed to stay out of the Mountain West headlines with only one game on their slate, Steve Fisher's squad found a way to keep themselves relevant. The Aztecs went on the road Sunday night to San Jose State and picked up their thirteenth conference win of the season. In doing so, San Diego State secured at least a share of the program's 10th Mountain West Conference title since joining the league back in 1996.

What may appear as more of a formality at this point with the Aztecs' dominance all season long, the dynamic of the league has now changed into a compelling race for second place. For the last month, it was a two-horse battle between New Mexico and Boise State. Suddenly, a new contender has entered the fold. Welcome to the party, Fresno State.

After losing an overtime thriller at San Diego State back on January 19th, the Bulldogs have completely regrouped, winning six of their last eight games to climb to 9-5 in conference play.

They now sit side-by-side with New Mexico for second place in the league, setting up a Saturday night trip to "The Pit" to serve as a potential silver place game. With Boise State and Nevada still in hot pursuit and only a game back of the Lobos and Bulldogs, there's no reason to be counting anyone out of this chase quite yet. However, with only a handful of games left on the Mountain West schedule, time is quickly becoming the enemy for most of these teams.

MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE STANDINGS (AS OF 2/22)

TEAM	CONF.	GB	OVERALL	STREAK
San Diego State	13-1	-	20-7	2 W
New Mexico	9-5	4.0	16-11	1 L
Fresno State	9-5	4.0	18-9	2 W
Boise State	8-6	5.0	17-10	1 L
Nevada	8-6	5.0	16-10	1 L
UNLV	7-8	6.5	16-12	1 W
Colorado State	6-8	7.0	14-13	3 L
Wyoming	6-9	7.5	13-15	1 W
Utah State	5-9	8.0	13-12	1 L
Air Force	5-10	8.5	14-14	2 W
San Jose State	3-12	10.5	8-19	4 L

WEEKLY SCOREBOARD

Tuesday (2/16)
Air Force	79	UNLV	74
Wednesday (2/17)
Fresno State	79	Wyoming	75
Utah State	72	Colorado State	59
Nevada	61	San Jose State	55
New Mexico	80	Boise State	78
Saturday (2/20)
Air Force	76	New Mexico	72
Wyoming	84	Colorado State	66
Fresno State	75	Utah State	68
UNLV	102	Nevada	91
Sunday (2/21)
San Diego State	78	San Jose State	56

Biggest Winner: Fresno State

In the pre-season, the Bulldogs were pegged by some to be likely candidates to serve as a dark-horse in the Mountain West this season. It was a known fact that senior guard Marvelle Harris was due for a big campaign and with a fury of talented juniors around him, the potential was there on this Fresno State team to turn some heads. After a .500 start to league play through their first six games, some of the early hype was being washed away. Could this Fresno State team ever live up to the potential?

While the final evaluation for this Bulldogs team is still quite a ways off, Rodney Terry's guys did take a huge step in the right direction this week, pulling themselves into a tie for second place in the conference with New Mexico after a perfect 2-0 showing. The Bulldogs held off Wyoming in Laramie on Wednesday night, despite a career night from the Cowboys' Jason McManamen.

McManamen, a junior guard, exploded for 28 points in the contest on 10-18 shooting from the field, including 8 three-pointers. The win not only gave Fresno their eighth win of the conference season but it also become the first road win by any team in the Mountain West during the month of February.

Fresno State rolled over their good fortune into Saturday where back at home, they were able to handle Utah State, just moments after learning of New Mexico's stunning loss to Air Force.

The Bulldogs saw their chance and capitalized and now have set up Saturday's showdown with the Lobos as one of the most crucial games on the conference schedule all year. Coming off a big week, Fresno State has all the momentum behind them. Proving they can be the sleeper team that gets hot at the right time could be the key factor in them making a run in the Mountain West tournament.

Biggest Loser: Colorado State

It seemed like it all changed for the better for Colorado State back on February 11th. At home against Boise State, the Rams ended up on the lucky side of a controversial disallowed would-be game-winner from the Broncos' James Webb III as time expired in the first overtime.  The play was a momentum shifting call that changed the flow of the game going forward. Boise State never looked the same.

The Rams went on to win in double overtime, pushing them a game above the .500 mark in conference play. That game against Boise State should've been the catalyst for what has been a roller-coaster season for the Rams. Instead, it looks like the wheels came off the wagon completely for Larry Eustache's guys since that day. It's been Colorado State that hasn't looked the same since.

The Rams spoiled their double-overtime thrilling victory with a road loss at UNLV to finish that week and their poor showings seemed to roll over into this week's affairs. The Rams were outscored by a combined 31 points in consecutive losses to Utah State and Wyoming, including shooting under an abysmal 33 percent  from the field in both contests. Their recent three game skid has now dropped the Rams from conference dark horses to just a game-and-a-half above 10th place in the conference.

The road doesn't get easier with a Tuesday night showdown with New Mexico before a road trip to Nevada on Sunday as the Rams are simply playing for Mountain West Tournament seeding now. If Colorado State can't get their act together this week, a once excitable season may reach a severely premature ending.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Tuesday (2/23)	TIME (ET)	COVERAGE
Colorado State v. New Mexico	10:00 PM	CBSSN
Boise State v. UNLV	11:00 PM	ESPNU
Wednesday (2/24)
Wyoming v. San Diego State	10:00 PM	CBSSN
Nevada v. Utah State	10:00 PM
Fresno State v. Air Force	10:00 PM
Saturday (2/27)
San Diego State v. Boise State	6:00 PM	CBSSN
UNLV v. Wyoming	8:00 PM	ESPN3
Utah State v. San Jose State	9:00 PM
New Mexico v. Fresno State	10:00 PM	ESPN2
Sunday (2/28)
Nevada v. Colorado State	5:00 PM

The upcoming week of Mountain West games will probably revolve around the focal point match-up on Saturday night between Fresno State and New Mexico. The two sides are tied for second place in the conference and both have shown strides of being the league's best outfit behind San Diego State. If all goes according to plan, meaning that both the Lobos and Bulldogs don't slip-up earlier in the week, the outcome of this game could determine who finishes second in the Mountain West at the end. However, don't sleep on the rest of this week's schedule.

San Diego State actually has one of the tougher weeks, with a road trip to Wyoming preceding a match-up with Boise State on Saturday. The same could be said for that same Cowboys team, who also has a meeting in Vegas with UNLV and for Colorado State, who matches up with both New Mexico and Nevada in the next seven days. If nothing else comes from this week's slate of Mountain West games, the reality that some teams have completely pulled themselves out of the picture this season most definitely will. Starting with Utah State, there's a handful of teams who are running out of time to right the ship.

Team To Watch: New Mexico

The Lobos kick off the week with a road trip on Tuesday night to Fort Collins, where they'll meet the league's top offensive unit in Colorado State. It hasn't been the easiest season for the Rams but make no mistake about it, Colorado State has the potential to play like a completely different team on their home floor. New Mexico should have their hands full, especially in a trap game scenario. Coaches, players and fans alike will all have that Saturday showdown with Fresno State somewhere in their head so it's vital that the Lobos don't spoil the build-up with an early week slip-up