The Mountain West is establishing itself as the best conference among the mid-majors once again this season.
Midway through January, the conference is the sixth-best in NET ranking, trailing only the Power Five conferences.
When it comes to conference strength of schedule, the league is fifth-best nationally, ranked ahead of the SEC. Moreover, the MW is the only non-Power Five conference with at least eight teams ranked in the top 100 of the NET.
A big reason for the early success is the team that sits atop the league standings, the Utah State Aggies, and their hot start to the campaign.
After a midweek meeting with Nevada, the Aggies are 15-1 on the season and boast a perfect 6-0 mark in conference play. Utah State is currently ranked 23rd in the AP poll and 13th in the NET.
Much of the success Jerrod Calhoun’s team has enjoyed this season is due to depth. The second-year USU coach has a balanced group, capable of finding production from diverse spots.
But the Aggies are getting contributions from role players as well as the stars.
The USU bench is averaging 31.8 points per game, the 39th-most productive in the nation this season, trailing only San Diego State in the conference.
While the Aggies have outstanding depth, they don’t lack star power.
MJ Collins Jr. leads the MW in scoring at 20.5 points per outing, shooting a league best 57.1% from the floor. And he is getting that done as a guard.
Collins has been a game-changer this season for Utah State, and he has been deadly from behind the arc, knocking down 47.8% of his triples to lead the conference and rank eighth nationally.
His backcourt running mate, Mason Falslev, is second in the conference, shooting a blistering 52.8% from the field midway through the season.
That kind of production makes this squad a tough out any night.
But the Aggies are also getting things done on the defensive end, forcing a turnover on 21.6% of opponent possessions, the ninth-most prolific mark in the nation in games played through January 13th.
The high forced turnover rate has led to a lot of transition buckets and turned into instant offense for a team that is averaging 87 points per game.
In conference play, the offensive output has been even more dominant as the Aggies are averaging 92 points per outing, having reached 90+ in four of the six MW games to date.
They are also limiting conference opponents to just 65.8 points per game and doing it with some stifling defense in the half court as well. MW foes are shooting 38.7% from the floor against the Aggies this season.
That stout defense has kept USU in games even if the shots are not falling.
In short, Calhoun has continued the upward trajectory laid down by his two predecessors. After a successful first campaign in Logan, it seems that he has a team willing to do the work on both ends of the floor this season.
Utah State is not just winning games but doing so in dominant fashion with a league-leading winning margin of 26.2 points.
We still have plenty of basketball to play before March, but Aggies look like a team their built to make some noise this spring.
