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Mountain West Basketball: 2019-20 takeaways from Thanksgiving week

By Jacob Salcido

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 25: JaQuan Lyle #5 of the New Mexico Lobos drives past Isaac Okoro #23 of the Auburn Tigers during the second half of their game at Barclays Center on November 25, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 25: JaQuan Lyle #5 of the New Mexico Lobos drives past Isaac Okoro #23 of the Auburn Tigers during the second half of their game at Barclays Center on November 25, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 26: Keith McGee #3 of the New Mexico Lobos drives past Kobe King #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers during the first half of their game at Barclays Center on November 26, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 26: Keith McGee #3 of the New Mexico Lobos drives past Kobe King #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers during the first half of their game at Barclays Center on November 26, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /

Mountain West Basketball took home some hardware during Thanksgiving week. What are the biggest takeaways for the conference to this point?

Thanksgiving week always gives college basketball fans a treat of great tournament games, fun match-ups, and glimpses of how many teams do against real competition. This holiday week was an extra treat for fans of Mountain West Basketball as some big performances were had from teams representing the league. Let’s take a look at some of them.

For starters, here are some stray thoughts: How about the Colorado State Rams? Niko Medved’s squad took an always-tough New Mexico State team to the wire, before falling in OT in the first round of the Cayman Islands Classic. How did the team respond? They edged out feisty Loyola-Chicago, before looking good against Washington State. Sure, the Cougars are a cellar-dweller in the Pac-12, but this win can only help the Ram’s confidence and momentum going forward.

Meanwhile, the league favorite Utah State took home the Jamaica Classic championship, before falling in a late-Friday night game at Saint Mary’s. Yes, the Aggies lost, but keep in mind that big man Neemias Queta is still out, and the team’s start to the season (7-1, comeback win over LSU) despite his absence has been impressive.

Now, let’s take a look at some bigger takeaways from this week.