College basketball: MWC has three ranked teams for first time ever

For the first time in its 11-year history, the Mountain West Conference has three ranked college basketball teams.

BYU, New Mexico and UNLV, which are tied atop the league standings with 7-2 conference records, are ranked in both the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and the USA Today /ESPN Coaches Poll.

Surprisingly, the MWC has three more ranked teams than the Pac-10 and one more than the usually powerful Atlantic Coast Conference.

BYU (22-3) dropped to No. 17 in both polls on Monday, while New Mexico is No. 15 in the AP poll and No. 19 in the coaches' poll. UNLV (19-4), which hammered BYU 88-74 at home on Saturday, is back into the polls at No. 23 and No. 25, respectively.

Despite having lost two of their last four games, the Cougars are ranked for the sixth straight week, while the Rebels are in for the first time in eight weeks.

UNLV plays host to New Mexico (21-3) on Wednesday night in a key conference showdown, while BYU does not play again until Saturday, at home against Air Force.