{"id":8706964,"date":"2023-01-05T09:41:31","date_gmt":"2023-01-05T17:41:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/?p=8706964&preview=true&preview_id=8706964"},"modified":"2023-01-05T10:15:52","modified_gmt":"2023-01-05T18:15:52","slug":"best-of-the-west-arizona-ucla-on-top-as-utah-the-state-and-the-school-thrives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/2023\/01\/05\/best-of-the-west-arizona-ucla-on-top-as-utah-the-state-and-the-school-thrives\/","title":{"rendered":"Best of the West: Arizona, UCLA on top as Utah (the state and the school) thrives"},"content":{"rendered":"

Midway through the 2022-23 season, we have gained clarity on the state of college basketball in the western third of the country.<\/p>\n

That state is Utah.<\/p>\n

The Beehive State has produced the best school-for-school performance of the 11 states that encompass the Mountain and Pacific Time Zones.<\/p>\n

That’s not a gobsmacking development, because Utah has always taken basketball seriously at all levels. But the depth of quality across the Division I teams is impressive.<\/p>\n

Five of the seven have at least twice as many wins as losses:<\/p>\n

Brigham Young: 12-5Utah: 11-4Utah State: 13-2Utah Valley: 11-4Southern Utah: 10-5<\/p>\n

(The other two, Utah Tech and Weber State, are just above and below .500, respectively.)<\/p>\n

Plenty of the 57 wins generated by the quintet above have come against second- and third-tier competition. But there are several quality results, as well:<\/p>\n

— Utah Valley won at Oregon and lost at Wake Forest by three points.<\/p>\n

— Utah State handled Washington State and won by 18 points in the same gym (San Francisco’s) where Arizona State lost by 37.<\/p>\n

— Brigham Young beat Creighton and Utah.<\/p>\n

— Utah beat Arizona.<\/p>\n

Given the current NET rankings and placements in conference standings, it’s hardly unreasonable to believe four of the seven could qualify for the NCAA Tournament via the at-large pool or by winning their league tournaments.<\/p>\n

It’s one of several storylines to watch with two months remaining until Selection Sunday.<\/p>\n

To the latest Best of the West rankings …<\/p>\n

*** Disclaimer: In some cases, the order below does not reflect placement in my Associated Press top-25 ballot, which tracks with guidelines provided by the AP.<\/em><\/p>\n

Also considered:<\/strong> Boise State, Brigham Young, Nevada, Santa Clara, UC Santa Barbara, UNLV and USC<\/p>\n

(NET rankings through Wednesday\u2019s games)<\/p>\n

1. Arizona (13-1\/2-1 Pac-12)<\/h3>\n

Results: won at Arizona State 69-60Next up: vs. Washington (Thursday)NET ranking: 4Comment: The Wildcats have five wins over Quadrant I opponents, which is tied with Kansas for the highest total in the country.<\/p>\n

2. UCLA (13-2\/4-0 Pac-12)<\/h3>\n

Results: won at WSU 67-66 and Washington 74-49Next up: vs. USC (Thursday)NET ranking: 6Comment: More than half of UCLA’s wins (eight) have come against Quadrant III and IV foes. That should change as Pac-12 games become a greater percentage of the Bruins’ overall tally.<\/p>\n

3. Gonzaga (12-3\/1-0 WCC)<\/h3>\n

Results: beat Pepperdine 111-88Next up: at San Francisco (Thursday)NET ranking: 15Comment: After watching Drew Timme average 27.3 points and shoot above 60 percent from the field in his past seven games, we’re starting to think he’s pretty good.<\/p>\n

4. San Diego State (11-3\/2-0 MW)<\/h3>\n

Results: won at UNLV 76-67Next up: at Wyoming (Saturday)NET ranking: 22Comment: SDSU’s seed in the NCAAs (assuming it qualifies) will depend partly on Ohio State’s performance in the Big Ten. The Aztecs beat OSU by 11 on a neutral court.<\/p>\n

5. Saint Mary’s (13-4\/2-0 WCC)<\/h3>\n

Results: beat San Diego 85-58 and Academy of Art 84-64, won at Santa Clara 67-64Next up: vs. Portland (Saturday)NET ranking: 12Comment: SMC’s best player is a freshman guard named Aidan Mahaney who could start for most teams in the Pac-12 but, according to 247 Sports, was only offered a scholarship by one of them (Stanford).<\/p>\n

6. Utah (11-4\/4-0 Pac-12)<\/h3>\n

Results: won at Cal 58-43 and Stanford 71-66Next up: vs. Oregon State (Thursday)NET ranking: 31Comment: Contender or pretender? An answer will be within reach Saturday evening, after the Utes host Oregon.<\/p>\n