Best of the West: Week 4

Fredette is having a huge senior season

Best of the West rankings are back after a week hiatus due to finals week. A lot has transpired in those weeks. During the two week span, San Diego St. has separated themselves from the rest of the pack, earning their first top ten ranking in school history. BYU established themselves as a contender in the Mountain West Conference after their twenty point beat down of Arizona. Arizona is going to be happy when they take a look at next year's schedule and don't see Jimmer Fredette and BYU. Jimmer dropped 33 points as the Cougars moved up to No. 18 in the rankings.

One has to be worried about Gonzaga sitting at 4-5. Year in and year out, the Zags play arguably the toughest non-conference schedule out there. There is no concern going into conference play whether they are a tournament team. This year though the Zags have struggled early on, and have lost against team's they normally can count on as win's such as Washington St. and Notre Dame. They have not been able to pull out the close games.
 This week's poll consists of four Mountain West teams, three Pac 10 teams, two West Coast Conference teams, and one Western Athletic Conference team.

Let's take a look at the big upcoming games out west this week:

Dec. 15 UC Santa Barbara @ No. 22 UNLV- I'm putting this game on upset alert. The Gauchos are a good team, and have under achieved so far this season. Watch out for a statement game by UCSB being made to the Big West.

Dec. 17 Boise St. @ Utah- Two teams that have been close to getting into my top 10. A win here would be a great confidence before conference play.


1. No. 10 San Diego St. (10-0) - What's not to like about the Aztecs? They are blowing everybody out including an impressive 20 point win on the road at California. If the Aztecs can get to non-conference play without a loss, they may have locked up an NCAA berth.

2. No. 18 BYU (10-0)- As mentioned above, the Cougars looked impressive over a good Arizona team. They have had the Wildcats number over the past two years, as Fredette has averaged over 35 ppg in the two contests. A win over UCLA this week would look good on the resume.

3. No. 22 UNLV (9-1)- The Runnin' Rebels missed a big chance last week at Louisville to pick up an impressive non-conference road win. However with wins already coming against Wisconsin and Virginia Tech, UNLV is off to a great start.

4. Washington (6-3)- Isiah Thomas and the Huskies are still looking for their first marquee victory of the season. Their one point loss to Texas A&M in college station was another missed opportunity for Washington. They will have to put together a solid conference record to lock up a bid.

5. Washington St. (7-1)- The Cougars are off to a great start up in Pullman. A convincing 22 point win over Gonzaga was a great win for that program, and established their dominance in Eastern Washington once again. A win versus Mississippi St. before conference play would be big.

The WCC is wide open this year

6. New Mexico (7-1)- The Lobos were supposed to have a rebuilding year, not so fast my friends.
Despite an early season loss to California, New Mexico has picked up wins over Arizona St. and rival New Mexico St. The Lobos are helping shape the Mountain West into the best conference out west.

7. Arizona (8-2)- The Wildcats are much improved under 2nd year head coach Sean Miller. They have beaten everyone they are supposed to beat, and lost the two games they have been underdogs in. This team is the Pac 10's hope at making it a three bid league.

8. Utah St. (8-2)- The Aggies are setting themselves to be an at large contender again in the WAC. If they lose less than two games in the WAC they have a chance to claim a bid even if they lose in the WAC tournament

9. Saint Mary's (7-2)- These last two spots are tough, as no real teams stand out. The Gaels have been consistent so far, and picked up a nice wins over Texas Tech and St. John's. They need to get a win versus Mississippi St. to have a chance at an at-large bid.

10 Portland (8-3) All of Portland's losses have come to top notch teams. They have been playing consistent ball, and are learning to play without the losses of ssenior T.J. Cambell and Nik Ravio. The Pilots will come on strong in the second half.

Also Considered: Stanford (5-2), Gonzaga (4-5), Hawaii (6-2)