UNR is best in Mountain West now, but what it will mean in March?

The best basketball team in the Mountain West hasn’t given a thought about league play less than a week before it tips off, confident that what it has accomplished to this point should stand up to inevitable scrutiny when discussions commence regarding at-large berths into the NCAA Tournament.

It’s a coin flip right now if it does.

From the beginning this season, UNR coach Eric Musselman spoke with his players only about the nonconference schedule, certain if the Wolf Pack emerged from 13 games with two or fewer losses, they would have made enough of a statement even if things don’t go their way at the league tournament in March.

“We felt like we have built a strong strength of schedule,” Musselman said. “We wish our league had played better in the nonconference, but having said that, every game in conference is going to be a war.”

If so, most opponents will resemble the armed forces of Costa Rica and, given no such military exists, you get the idea how feeble the majority of Mountain West teams have been the past few seasons.

But the Wolf Pack are proving a formidable group with the look of one that could have success if placed in an NCAA bracket, having captured their fifth straight victory Wednesday by beating Towson 81-72 at the Holiday Hoops Classic at South Point Arena.

UNR is 10-2, ends nonconference play against struggling UC Santa Barbara on Thursday at the South Point and offers the best Mountain West metrics in terms of those numbers most analyzed by the NCAA selection committee.

The Wolf Pack were picked second to San Diego State in a preseason media poll.

They would be picked first now.

They’re flawed like most. They were sloppy for long stretches Wednesday, allowed 72 points to a team that doesn’t shoot well and never could accelerate to a margin that the difference in ability suggested should have occurred.

Towson plays really hard and is physical and ranks 46th nationally in rebounds.

Did we mention it plays really hard?

But the UNR with a Ratings Percentage Index of 32 and a KenPom of 72 and a schedule rating of 134 also had the best player on the floor Wednesday and the best among 11 Mountain West teams in sophomore forward Cameron Oliver when he’s motivated. He could carry the Wolf Pack to a record resembling the 16-2 league mark or something close to it that San Diego State managed last season.

When, you might remember, the Aztecs won the regular-season title, lost in the league tournament final and were passed over by the selection committee.

Oliver finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds Wednesday, having developed enough range over the past year that teams now must honor him beyond the 3-point line, something that undoubtedly intrigues NBA personnel. He’s projected by most as a second-round pick should he depart school after this season.

“I told Cam if he was going to have four rebounds (Wednesday), then let me know so I could go sit with my friends and have popcorn and a diet coke, because we weren’t going to win,” Musselman said. “Just let me know if I should go eat or sit on the bench.

”I thought he really, really produced. I thought he was phenomenal in a lot of ways. He’s a self-starter, a self-motivator.”

The best RPI win came against Iona, which is No. 90. There is a home victory against Oregon State and a road win against Washington, two of the weaker Pac-12 teams this season. The losses — at St. Mary’s and to that same Iona side on a neutral court in Alaska — aren’t in any way resume killers.

It doesn’t help that junior forward Elijah Foster was suspended last month after being arrested and charged with first-degree domestic battery and contempt of court, a player averaging 12.0 points and 7.4 rebounds while shooting 61.5 percent.

UNR definitely isn’t the deepest team, but the eight players receiving the most time are good enough to win the Mountain West.

The next highest RPI team in the conference is Wyoming at 91. Boise State is 93. San Diego State is a whopping 155. It means that while the Wolf Pack will enter league play as the best team, whether 13 nonconference games ultimately offers enough positive data for an at-large berth is still a huge unknown.

Which means this: UNR should do everything possible to be at its best for the league tournament over three days in March at the Thomas & Mack Center.

“We’re happy with how we have played so far,” Musselman said. “But we have a lot of areas we need to clean up. We only worry about the next game. I demand so much of these guys per 40 minutes, it doesn’t matter. I think they’re focused. All we can control is the next game.”

It’s an uncertain life in the Mountain West, even for the team that could sit on top.

Contact columnist Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be a heard on “Seat and Ed” on Fox Sports 1340 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.