The Best of the West offers fans a candid assessment of the top teams in the western third of the country — a collection that includes the Mountain West and the former Pac-12 schools now scattered across the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and West Coast Conference.

The rankings will be published on the Hotline each Monday through the remainder of the regular season.

1. Utah State (16-2/6-1 Mountain West)

Last week: 2
Results: lost at UNLV 65-62
NET ranking: 41
Next up: vs. Nevada (Wednesday)
Comment: It’s not often that a losing team ascends to the No. 1 position in the Best of the West rankings, but this was an unusual week with each of the top-five teams losing at least once. For the time being, the Aggies are the one-eyed school in the kingdom of the blind.

2. Arizona (11-6/5-1 Big 12)

Last week: 3
Results: beat Baylor 81-70, lost at Texas Tech 70-54
NET ranking: 14
Next up: at Oklahoma State (Tuesday)
Comment: The Wildcats have already lost more games than they did in the entirety of Tommy Lloyd’s first season (four). With one more defeat, they will match the loss total from his second season (seven). And with three more, they will equal the Year 3 losses (nine).

3. Gonzaga (14-6/5-2 West Coast Conference)

Last week: 1
Results: lost at Oregon State 97-89 (OT) and to Santa Clara 103-99
NET ranking: 19
Next up: at Portland (Saturday)
Comment: The double dose of defeat didn’t materially damage the Zags’ NET ranking — they were 10th at this time last week — but the losses did illuminate defensive deficiencies that must be resolved by March. Gonzaga is 60th nationally in defensive efficiency, according to the Pomeroy metrics. That won’t cut it.

4. Oregon (15-3/4-3 Big Ten)

Last week: 4
Results: lost to Purdue 75-68
NET ranking: 22
Next up: vs. Washington (Tuesday)
Comment: Brutal stretch upcoming for the Ducks, who visit Minnesota at the end of this week, then swing through Westwood. They’re home for one game on Feb. 2 (Nebraska), then head back across the country to Ann Arbor and East Lansing.

5. UCLA (12-6/3-4 Big Ten)

Last week: 5
Results: lost at Rutgers 75-68, beat Iowa 94-70
NET ranking: 34
Next up: vs. Wisconsin (Tuesday)
Comment: During one of his recent rants about the Big Ten schedule, Mick Cronin noted that the Bruins have already seen the Statue of Liberty twice. Worth noting that one of those visits was self-imposed: Cronin agreed to a mid-December date with North Carolina in Madison Square Garden. (Non-conference games are outside the purview of the Big Ten office.)

6. Saint Mary’s (16-3/6-0 West Coast Conference)

Last week: 9
Results: won at Portland 74-50
NET ranking: 27
Next up: vs. San Francisco (Thursday)
Comment: The Gaels’ unblemished conference record (and two-game lead in the standings) requires a heaping dose of context: They only have played the bottom half of the WCC thus far. The next eight games are against teams in the top half.

7. Washington State (15-5/5-2 West Coast Conference)

Last week: 12
Results: won at San Diego 65-61, beat Portland 92-70
NET ranking: 79
Next up: at Santa Clara (Thursday)
Comment: Everything about WSU’s resume, including the NET ranking, would look far better if not for that home loss to Pacific. No stain remover on the planet will eliminate that ghastly result.

8. New Mexico (15-4/7-1 Mountain West)

Last week: 6
Results: lost at San Jose State 71-70, beat Boise State 84-65
NET ranking: 59
Next up: vs. Fresno State (tonight)
Comment: Are the Lobos the team to beat in the Mountain West? (It sure isn’t San Diego State.) We’ll have an answer at the end of next week, after they finish a two-game trip to UNLV and Utah State.

9. San Diego State (11-5/4-3 Mountain West)

Last week: 8
Results: beat Colorado State 75-60, lost to UNLV 76-68
NET ranking: 45
Next up: at Air Force (Wednesday)
Comment: Two numbers that tell the entire story: The Aztecs are ninth nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency (i.,e., points allowed per possession), according to the Pomeroy Ratings; and they are No. 129 in offensive efficiency.

10. Brigham Young (11-6/2-4 Big 12)

Last week: 10
Results: beat Oklahoma State 85-69, lost at Utah 73-72
NET ranking: 46
Next up: at Colorado (Tuesday)
Comment: BYU’s bubble status, which we highlighted last week, hasn’t changed an iota after the loss in Salt Lake City, which probably felt sickening to the Cougars but counts as a Quadrant I result given Utah’s current NET ranking.

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11. Boise State (13-6/5-3 Mountain West)

Last week: 11
Results: beat Wyoming 96-55, lost at New Mexico 84-65
NET ranking: 48
Next up: at Colorado State (Wednesday)
Comment: In our view, it’s better to get whacked by 19 than to lose on a four-point play in the final seconds. But those results don’t count the same. The metrics used by the NCAA selection committee take point differential into account, so the Broncos had best limit their lopsided losses the rest of the way.

12. Stanford (12-6/4-3 ACC)

Last week: 13
Results: lost at Wake Forest 80-67, won at North Carolina 72-71
NET ranking: 78
Next up: vs. Miami (Wednesday)
Comment: We’re approaching the point in the season when Stanford typically begins its nosedive — not because of personnel but because of tactics. We’d bet heavily the trajectory is different under first-year coach Kyle Smith.

13. UC Irvine (17-2/7-0 Big West)

Last week: 14
Results: beat Cal State Fullerton 82-62 and Cal Poly 101-71
NET ranking: 43
Next up: at UC Riverside (Thursday)
Comment: Might be time for the Big West to consider spacing out the Anteaters’ two showdowns with UC San Diego, with one slotted for early February and the other on the final weekend of the regular season. Treat it like an important rivalry.

14. Utah (11-6/3-3 Big 12)

Last week: Not ranked
Results: won at TCU 73-65, beat Brigham Young 73-72
NET ranking: 70
Next up: at Houston (Tuesday)
Comment: Combine the Utes’ first Big 12 road win with a one-point victory over that team from Provo, and last week might have been the best of Craig Smith’s tenure. But we suspect the good times are about to end.

15. San Francisco (16-5/6-2)

Last week: Not ranked
Results: won at Pepperdine 80-63, beat Oregon State 81-70
NET ranking: 68
Next up: at Saint Mary’s (Thursday)
Comment: Not on our bingo card for the 2024-25 WCC season: The Dons’ victory over Oregon State would be considered an important result for both teams in the conference race.

Also considered: Arizona State, Colorado, Colorado State, Grand Canyon, Nevada, Northern Colorado, Oregon State, Santa Clara, UC San Diego and UNLV

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