2016-17 MW, CSU men's basketball schedule released

The Mountain West released their men’s basketball schedule Tuesday, consisting of eight home-and-home series and two one-time games between the 11 members. Every team in the conference will play nine home games and nine road games apart of an 18-game format for conference-play; the fourth year in a row that the Mountain West has used this format.

The 2016-17 MW schedule begins on Wednesday, December 28 and concludes on Saturday, March 4. League play will determine the seeding for the 2017 MW Men’s Basketball Championship held March 8-11 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Mountain West games will be once again partnering with ESPN and CBS Sports Network for nationally televised contests, but with a small change in scheduling. This season, games will be moved from Wednesday to Tuesday and from Saturday to Sunday, and will be selected by the networks by August.

Regional telecasts will take place on Root Sports Network, along with the Mountain West Network on Campus Insiders and will be selected following the national selections.

Individual game times and non-conference schedules will be released in the following weeks by the various institutions.

Coming off of a season in which the Rams went 18-16 overall (8-10 in-conference), CSU will be looking to improve their performance against their conference opponents. Winning the league title would get the Rams into this year’s NCAA tournament and would certainly help raise the profile of the basketball program overall.

The only way the Rams have a chance at the post-season with college basketball’s most elite programs is by improving their in-conference record. Inconsistent shooting and a lack of post-game hurt the Rams in last year’s conference matchups, and poor defense did them in all year long.

Ultimately, the lack of rhythm in Larry Eustachy’s offense proved to be too much to overcome in 2015-16. If CSU can get the ball moving and create space for the team’s offensive threats this year, I expect the team to improve on last year’s efforts. The Rams tip-off the 2016-17 conference schedule against league champion UNLV, so they may be able to get a feel for the team early on in the year.

Related: Our staff predicts the starting-five for Colorado State basketball and CSU is preparing for Denver matchup with Kansas State.

CSU Men’s basketball conference schedule:

Wed. Dec. 28 vs. UNLV

Sat. Dec. 31 at Boise State

Wed. Jan. 4 at San Jose State

Sat. Jan. 7 vs. Air Force

Sat. Jan. 14 vs. New Mexico

Wed. Jan. 18 at Fresno State

Sat. Jan. 21 at Utah State

Wed. Jan. 25 vs. San Jose State

Sat. Jan. 28 at San Diego State

Wed. Feb. 1 vs. Boise State

Sat. Feb. 4 at UNLV

Wed. Feb. 8 vs. Utah State

Sat. Feb. 11 vs. Fresno State

Wed. Feb. 15 at Wyoming

Wed. Feb. 22 at New Mexico

Sat. Feb 25 vs. San Diego State

Wed. Mar 1 vs. Wyoming

Sat. Mar 4 at Nevada