NCAA Basketball Power Rankings: Illinois rises, Dayton keeps impressing

San Diego State was given a big-time run for its money during this past week as it narrowly avoided a road upset to UNLV. A tough game such as that one, though, had to be expected at some point as it is impossible to dominate every single opponent throughout an entire season. This marked the Aztecs’ second close call against a sub-100 team (beat SJSU by two in December) but they were able to escape with victories in both games and that is what matters most.

San Diego State is now 21-0 (10-0 MWC) on the season. That’s pretty much all you need to know as an explanation for why the team is ranked No. 4 in this article. The Aztecs have been consistently successful throughout this season. Even though their schedule has not been the toughest, their ability to survive even on their off-nights shows why they belong.

Every team in college basketball has laid at least one egg this season and that includes SDSU. The fact of the matter is, though, that the Aztecs are the lone undefeated team left in the nation for a reason. This is a really, really, really good basketball team.

Additionally, it is time that Malachi Flynn starts to receive some serious consideration for the National Player of the Year award. While he might not be a frontrunner (Powell, Toppin, Garza, etc.), he belongs in the early conversation for the hardware. He is averaging 16.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.8 steals per game so far this season as the all-around stud of the team with the best record in the nation.

Moving forward, though, Trey Pulliam is a player worth monitoring moving forward. With Nathan Mensah out, Matt Mitchell has moved into the starting lineup and that pushed Pulliam up to the sixth-man role. Pulliam’s 18-point performance in the road win over UNLV was hopefully a sign of things to come.