The Mountain West is a conference in the middle. It is clearly not a “mid-major” or “small conference,” yet it is not a power conference either. However, while the Atlantic Ten was placing six teams into the NCAA tournament last season, the MWC only had two. New Mexico received a 7 seed and lost its first game while San Diego State got a 4 seed and advanced to the Sweet 16 before falling to Arizona. UNLV and Boise State both won 20+ games last year, but the NIT did not come calling for either and the schools opted not to play in the CBI or CIT. Wyoming and Fresno State both accepted CBI bids, with Fresno losing in the best-of-3 championship series to Siena.
This year, the MWC will look for better representation in the postseason in order to further distance themselves from the mid-majors. Four or more bids is clearly a possibility. San Diego State is the team to beat with a good portion of last year’s team returning and a top recruiting class being added in. UNLV, Boise State, Wyoming and Fresno State should all factor in the hunt for NCAA bids as well. UNLV is particularly worth watching as their recruiting class this season has been ranked as one of the Top Ten in the entire nation. New Mexico is likely to slide off the pace after losing their top three players from last season. One team that will definitely not be in postseason contention is San Jose State as the Spartans have been hit with an APR postseason ban.
Predicted Order of Finish:
1. San Diego State: Winston Sheppard, Dwayne Polee II and Angelo Choi give the Aztecs a formidable frontcourt. Steve Fischer has a top recruiting class as well, especially if Malik Pope is healthy.
2. Boise State: Anthony Drmic and Derrick Marks will score a lot of points. A strong group of young players added in should give the Broncos the best shot at knocking San Diego State out of the top spot.
3. UNLV: The Rebels have put together one of the top recruiting classes in the nation led by Rashad Vaughn. They have also loaded up with a killer non-conference schedule. This team will take its lumps early but if the young talent comes together, they could be very formidable by March.
4. Wyoming: Riley Grabau and Josh Adams form one of the conference’s best backcourts. Larry Nance Jr. is returning from injury and could help lead this team to an NCAA berth.
5. Fresno State: Cezar Guerrero, Paul Watson and Marvelle Harris all return to lead the CBI runner-ups as they will try to get into the NCAA conversation this season. Julien Lewis is a huge addition as well, having started at Texas for two seasons before transferring.
6. Air Force: Tre’ Coggins was the Falcons best player last season and he is gone now. However, everyone else is back including Max Yon and Kamryn Williams. This could be a surprise team.
7. New Mexico: Hugh Greenwood and Cullen Neal will need to step up this season, but the Lobos appear to have lost too much from last year to be back in the tournament discussion again.
8. Colorado State: Daniel Bejarano and J.J. Avila are going to score a lot of points, but there are not enough other pieces for the Rams to be among the top teams.
9. Utah State: The Aggies have a good young core, but this could be a long season as they rebuild after losing three double-digit scorers from a team that lost 14 times last year.
10. Nevada: The Wolf Pack lost their top three players from a sub-.500 team. This could be a tough year in Reno.
11. San Jose State*: Rashad Muhammad is a legitimate player, but the Spartans appear to be bound for another last place finish.
* San Jose State is ineligible for postseason play due to low APR scores.