UNLV hopes for fresh start against weak Mountain West

Even as UNLV slogged its way to a 6-6 nonconference record, there was hope in the distance for the Rebels that maybe all would be right.

The Mountain West schedule.

While far from a guarantee of success — especially with senior forward Shakur Juiston sidelined for the season because of a knee injury — there is an opportunity for the Rebels to improve their fortunes.

Mountain West teams, other than UNR and Utah State, have had startling losses. Even some victories raised serious questions, such as San Diego State being down 19 points Tuesday to Cal State Northridge before rallying to win.

The Rebels have a chance for a strong start in conference play with Colorado State (5-8) visiting the Thomas & Mack Center at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Wyoming (4-9) on Saturday. CBS Sports Network will televise the game against the Rams.

“I think after we had a chance to look at all 12 games, we saw some encouraging things and we saw some things that were obviously areas of concern that we needed to address,” UNLV coach Marvin Menzies said. “We feel like we’ve done that in the last week or so, and we’re in a very good place mentally in terms of ready to start our brand-new conference season.”

Here’s a look at how the Mountain West shapes up. Teams are listed in order of their NCAA NET rankings (through Monday):

1. UNR

■ Record: 13-0

■ NET: 11

■ Best win/worst loss: 72-66 over Arizona State/None

■ Where the Wolf Pack stand: Until Saturday’s 86-71 victory at Utah, UNR had won four single-digit games in a row. Close or blowout, all the Wolf Pack do is win. It’s them and everyone else in this conference, the only Mountain West team virtually assured of an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

2. Utah State

■ Record: 10-3

■ NET: 34

■ Best win/worst loss: 80-63 over Saint Mary’s/95-80 to Brigham Young

■ Where the Aggies stand: They were picked ninth by the media in the preseason, but the Aggies put together a strong nonconference record. Craig Smith, who is in his first season, is the early leading candidate for Coach of the Year.

3. Fresno State

■ Record: 9-3

■ NET: 68

■ Best win/worst loss: 78-59 over Northwestern/64-60 to Utah Valley

■ Where the Bulldogs stand: Under first-year coach Justin Hutson, Fresno State won nine of its first 11 games. Then came Saturday’s loss to Utah Valley and the Bulldogs being held 33 points below their average over the previous three games. They hope it’s just one bad game.

4. San Diego State

■ Record: 8-5

■ NET: 142

■ Best win/worst loss: 79-74 over Xavier/82-61 to Brown

■ Where the Aztecs stand: The loss to Brown, in which the Aztecs gave up a 26-point run, was a disaster. But San Diego State was considered a conference contender for a reason, and now it’s a matter of the Aztecs proving it on the court.

5. UNLV

■ Record: 6-6

■ NET: 155

■ Best win/worst loss: 92-90 (OT) over Brigham Young/97-72 to Bucknell

■ Where the Rebels stand: UNLV has struggled to find consistency, beating BYU and Hawaii only to be followed by clunkers against Indiana State and Bucknell. A soft opening conference schedule gives the Rebels a chance for a reboot.

6. New Mexico

■ Record: 6-6

■ NET: 177

■ Best win/worst loss: 85-75 over Bradley/100-65 to New Mexico State

■ Where the Lobos stand: Before writing off the Lobos, two things to consider: They began last season 3-8 before finishing third in the league. And New Mexico has played five games against top-100 teams, so the record could be misleading.

7. Boise State

■ Record: 5-8

■ NET: 180

■ Best win/worst loss: 72-52 over St. Bonaventure/72-70 to Idaho State

■ Where the Broncos stand: Losing Chandler Hutchison, a first-round pick by the Chicago Bulls, has proven tough to overcome. Coach Leon Rice usually has the Broncos competitive in the Mountain West, but they need to significantly raise their play.

8. Air Force

■ Record: 5-7

■ NET: 254

■ Best win/worst loss: 65-62 over South Dakota/66-61 to Army

■ Where the Falcons stand: Mountain West teams know better than to take the Falcons for granted, especially when they’re home. But Air Force did not fare well against a soft schedule, and it’s difficult to imagine the Falcons being much of a threat.

9. Colorado State

■ Record: 5-8

■ NET: 268

■ Best win/worst loss: 82-74 over Florida Gulf Coast/68-63 to South Dakota

■ Where the Rams stand: First-year coach Niko Medved has quite a rebuilding job on his hands, evident by the substandard play in a weak nonconference schedule. This is a program that reached the conference title game two seasons ago but isn’t close to that level now.

10. Wyoming

■ Record: 4-9

■ NET: 277

■ Best win/worst loss: 73-64 over South Carolina/76-53 to East Tennessee State

■ Where the Cowboys stand: It’s been a brutal start to the season for the Cowboys, who have dealt with injuries and the decision a month ago by forward Lwal Dung to play professionally overseas. The result has been a series of terrible losses.

11. San Jose State

■ Record: 3-9

■ NET: 279

■ Best win/worst loss: 79-74 over Northern Arizona/71-63 to Santa Clara

■ Where the Spartans stand: The Spartans showed recent promise by playing Bay Area rivals Stanford and California to within single digits. But then came Saturday’s 30-point loss at Saint Mary’s, showing San Jose State is at the bottom for a reason.

More Rebels: Follow all of our UNLV coverage online at reviewjournal.com/Rebels and @RJ_Sports on Twitter.

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.