We’re back to where we started in a lot of ways. Utah State and Gonzaga are alone in first place of the Mountain West and West Coast conference standings, and the only teams that should feel completely safe a little less than a month from Selection Sunday. This week, we take a look at the dependability of Utah State’s leader and future MWC Player of the Year, and two Gonzaga players, one who deserves to be a household name and another who is finally feeling at home in his first year in Spokane.

Mason Falslev and the Aggies are deservingly in first place

After all of the jockeying, Utah State finds itself once again in sole possession of first place in the Mountain West Conference and controlling its own destiny heading into its final five games of the regular season.

The Aggies boat-raced a sputtering Memphis team last weekend and then easily dismantled one of the hotter teams in the conference, Boise State, on Wednesday night. The return to form comes from the continued offensive efficiency but also the dominant defense that they showcased early on in the year. Junior Mason Falslev has continued to be one of the best two-way players in the league, posting an offensive rating of 131 and a defensive rating of 98 on the season.

Falslev is averaging 16.7 points in league play and looks destined to win MWC player of the year thanks to his 136.4 offensive rating and the fifth-highest effective field goal percentage in the conference at 60.7%. The junior has had an offensive rating below 100 in just three games this season, while recording an offensive rating over 140 in 10 games this season.

Matching the steadiness from Falslev, the Aggies are the lone sure thing in the MWC. If they win out, including three games against the three teams behind them in the conference standings, Utah State is deserving of a top 6 seeding. Though with back-to-back road games against Nevada and San Diego State, nothing should be considered guaranteed yet.

Graham Ike remains the most underrated player in the country.

When we first kicked off this recurring West Coast Round-up, one of the first topics was how much we were underrating Gonzaga’s frontcourt headed into the season. The results in the first 18 games of the season supported that the tandem of Graham Ike and Braden Huff was the best offensive frontcourt in the country. In almost 500 minutes of play, Huff was averaging an absurd 1.37 points per possession. He was breaking efficiency records with his usage and 69.7% from inside the arc.

And Ike proved he could expand his game to include dependable perimeter shooting and a vastly improved ability to run and create offense as a hub at multiple levels of the halfcourt. Cameron Boozer is the lone frontcourt player in the country who is averaging both more paint points and assists per game than Ike’s 12.1 points and 2.7 assists line this season.

Ike has proven to be one of the best bigs in the country over the season, but it’s really been in Huff’s absence that we’ve seen the depth of his production as the clear-cut number one option with a team still without a proven secondary threat. 

Since Huff’s injury, Ike is the lone player in the country with an effective field goal percent over 70% and averaging more than 16 points per game. He’s averaging 26.7 points per game in that span, the third-highest average in Division I hoops.

The senior big man has not just been automatic at the rim, and in the paint, he’s been doing a bit of everything for the Zags. Ike is grabbing 3.4 offensive rebounds and 6.7 second chance points per game (best in the country). He’s developed an ability to minimize his foul rate, sitting at 2.4 fouls since the first game Huff has missed, and has maintained a foul draw rate of 6.1 fouls per game, in the 99th percentile of the country.

Without a second scorer to the level of Huff, Gonzaga can’t afford Ike to have an off game down this stretch and especially in the tournament, should his injured partner remain out for the single-elimination dance. Luckily for the Zags, he’s as dependable as it gets. With 22 points scored against San Francisco, Ike’s active streak of 8 games is the longest streak of consecutive 20-point games in a Gonzaga uniform over the last 20 years.

Zags have a vital piece breaking out at the right time

In a year of unbelievable freshmen across college basketball, Gonzaga’s Spanish import was seen as one of the best, if not the best, international recruits to come stateside this season. ACB product and Spanish FIBA team member Mario Saint-Supery was seen as a ceiling raiser come March. Mark Few would be replacing Ryan Nembhard’s historic production with a guard getting comped as “what if Ricky Rubio could shoot?”

Saint-Supery even started 9 games after slowly meeting and exceeding expectations in the early nonconference schedule. His athleticism was essential when the Bulldogs played Alabama in the Players Era tournament. But after a bout with the flu around the Oregon game on December 21st, he slowly lost his dynamic athleticism and subsequently some confidence and trust from the staff, with the more predictable option, Braeden Smith, serving his purpose in a steady way.

But after Huff’s injury, Smith’s high floor wasn’t enough to prevent the offense from stalling out. Adding to the departure of the most efficient interior scorers in the country, Gonzaga’s already shaky perimeter scoring disappeared. Since Huff was sidelined, Gonzaga is shooting 29% from three, with the two leading three-point shooters on the season, Adam Miller and Steele Venters, going a combined 16-for-63 from deep. The lone player on the team with double-digit makes from the perimeter in the last 10 games? Saint-Supery.

The Spanish guard has blossomed as Gonzaga’s looked for alternative scoring options outside of post-ups. He’s averaging 10.4 points and 3.1 assists to 1.5 turnovers over the last 10 games. He’s proven to be dependable in the Quad 1 conference matchups the Zags have had in the span, averaging 8.5 points and 5 assists to 2 turnovers against Saint Mary’s and Santa Clara.

And Wednesday night’s game appeared to be the announcement that this raised quality of play is here to stay as Saint-Supery re-entered the starting lineup. He played 33 of the 40 minutes of the game and a team-high plus-minus total of +34 in Gonzaga’s 80-59 win over San Francisco.

Saint-Supery scored 14 points and had 6 assists to 1 turnover while recording 2 steals and a block on defense. Most notably, former starter Smith played just 2 minutes and 16 seconds, all in the first half during a stretch that allowed an 11-0 run by San Francisco. Utility player Jalen Warley served as backup point guard to give Saint-Supery rest in the second half.

As much as Gonzaga has found success in pivoting to a defensive identity, the margin for error is dangerously narrow if you’re a team unable to hit outside shots when necessary in March. Finding creative ways to feature the freshman as a scorer and catch-and-shoot weapon would be a huge development for a team that has gone from 6th in KenPom offense before Huff’s injury to 22nd since.

Games to watch

  • San Diego State at Colorado State, Saturday at 3 pm PT/6 pm ET, CBSSN
  • Santa Clara at San Francisco, Saturday at 7 pm PT/10 pm ET, ESPN+
  • New Mexico at Nevada, Tuesday at 8 pm PT/11 pm ET, CBSSN
  • Utah State at San Diego State, Wednesday at 8 pm PT/11 pm ET, FS1
  • Santa Clara at Saint Mary’s, Wednesday at 8 pm PT/11 pm ET, CBSSN