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College Basketball MW Men's Hoops 

Broncos Chase Bubble as Rams Seek 2-Seed in MW Tourney

> Stephen Vilardo's weekly column on the 2024-25 Mountain West men's basketball season
, 3 min read
Colorado State guard Kyan Evans scored 20 pts vs Air Force
Rams sophomore guard Kyan Evans scored 20 points in Colorado State's victory over Air Force on Tuesday | Isaiah J. Downing/Imagn Images


  By Stephen Vilardo, SuperWest Sports

February 26, 2025


Mountain West Conference logoAs February fades away, Mountain West teams begin their stretch run with just a week and a half left in the regular season.

Things got tighter over the weekend with Boise State knocking off New Mexico, and then again on Tuesday as San Diego State dealt the Lobos a third league loss.

The Broncos’ win was huge not only in terms of conference play but also as they look to sneak into the NCAA Tournament conversation.

UNM’s two losses might open the door a crack for Colorado State to challenge for the title, but the remaining schedule for the Lobos doesn’t offer much challenge.

Boise still has some work to do but can make another statement against Utah State tonight.

The Broncos are a tough team to beat inside ExtraMile Arena. This season, they have posted a 12-1 record on their home floor.

Getting a 13th win over the Aggies would be rewarding and push them to 7-6 in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games.

Pearson Carmichael scored 21 pts vs New Mexico | Omar Saucedo/The Arbiter

The hottest team in the conference once again is Colorado State as the Rams picked up their fourth straight win last night over the Air Force Academy.

At 13-4 in conference play, CSU may not have enough games left on the schedule to jump the Lobos but the Aztecs provided more hope in upsetting New Mexico.

Should USU get the win over Boise, Colorado State may just need to settle for the three-seed in the conference tournament.

If the Aggies fall in Boise, then the Rams could be poised to make a move, especially with a showdown with the Aggies this Saturday in Fort Collins.

CSU has protected Moby Arena this season with a 13-2 mark at home.

The Rams were guaranteed no worse than a five-seed in the MW tournament with their win over UNLV. Nique Clifford had 14 points and 14 rebounds in that game.

Nique Clifford had another double-double vs UNLV
Nique Clifford had another double-double vs UNLV | Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun

One team we have not mentioned much this season, and for good reason, is Air Force.

While the Falcons once again found themselves in the loss column against Colorado State, they defeated Fresno State in overtime last weekend.

The win inside Clune Arena snapped a 16-game losing streak dating back to December 7th and a 19-game slide in conference games.

It was the first conference win at home since February 10, 2023, in a streak that had reached 18 straight.

On the other side of that one, the Bulldogs have now lost 10 straight games and own the longest current skid in the conference. Fresno State has posted 11 consecutive road losses in conference play.

SuperWest Player of the Week: Tyson Degenhart, F, Boise State

In a couple of wins last week, Degenhart averaged 23 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 46.4% from the field.

In the win over New Mexico, he went for a career-high 32 points while knocking down 13 of 15 from the foul stripe.

SuperWest Freshman of the Week: Pearson Carmichael, F, Boise State

Carmichael made his first career start against New Mexico and made the most of the opportunity.

He scored a a career-high 21 points along with five rebounds.

Stephen Vilardo
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