Mountain West Basketball: Final power rankings for 2019-20 season

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 07: Sam Merrill #5 of the Utah State Aggies is names MVP after defeating the San Diego State Aztecs to win the championship game of the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center on March 7, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Aggies defeated the Aztecs 59-56. (Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images) /

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RENO, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 02: Derrick Alston #21 of the Boise State Broncos (Photo by Jonathan Devich/Getty Images) /

4. Boise State (-)

Boise State did themselves a big favor in the Mountain West tournament. The Broncos looked like they could potentially slip in these rankings after they were dominated by UNLV in their regular-season finale (don’t let the final score fool you, the game wasn’t close). However, they went out and got revenge in the Mountain West tournament and added another strong win to their resume with a road win over UNLV.

It’s actually remarkable that Boise State was able to keep themselves here down the stretch of the season. Looking back, their schedule to close out the year was absolutely brutal. They had to welcome a then-undefeated San Diego State to Idaho, had to play UNLV in Vegas twice in a row, and then had to play SDSU again. They also had another factor working against them this season. They were the only real contender in the conference who had to play New Mexico at full strength and they had to do it at The Pit. That should change the perception of their 5th place regular season finish a bit.

Boise State never quite threatened SDSU like I thought they could early in the season, but they regularly put their talent on display. I wish we had gotten to see them take on Nevada on that neutral court in Vegas to truly decide who this spot belongs to, but without that showdown to make that decision for me, I believe Boise State’s win over Utah State and somewhat better bad loss give them the edge over Nevada for this spot.