What hoops fans should know about the Mountain West this season

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Expectations are relatively low for Colorado State men’s basketball. Nico Carvacho was named preseason first-team All-Mountain West by the media but other than individual recognition for the senior forward, the Rams are not garnering much respect.

CSU is projected to finish eighth in the conference for a second year in a row — the 2018-19 Rams (12-20) went 7-11 against the league and finished just ahead of Wyoming (8-24, 4-14) and San Jose State (4-27, 1-17). According to the preseason predicted order of finish, which was announced a few weeks back, the press believes that the Rams, Cowboys and Spartans will once again be the three worst teams.

Predicted to win the league is Utah State. Led by head coach Craig Smith, who is returning for his second season, the Aggies will likely be as dangerous as any mid-major in the country. Both Sam Merrill, the 2018-19 MW Player of the Year, and Neemias Queta, the 2018-19 Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, decided to return for another year in Logan, Utah. With both of these guys back and a nice supporting cast to accompany them, it’s unsurprising that the Aggies were tabbed preseason favorites.

Behind USU (187 points), San Diego State (150), New Mexico (141), Nevada (135) and Boise State (128) round out the top 5. Fresno State (106), UNLV (89) and Air Force (76) were picked to finish just ahead of CSU (59). And as mentioned above, Wyoming (36) and San Jose State (17) were picked as the bottom feeders.

Here’s a preseason rundown of the Mountain West and a little info on each team.

Utah State

2018-19 record: 28-7

2019 preseason poll: No. 1 | DNVR Rams preseason projection: No. 1

As stated above, Utah State is expected to be one of the best mid-majors in all of college basketball. With Neemias Queta and Sam Merrill both back, the Aggies have the best one-two punch in the conference. Not to mention Justin Bean, Diego Brito, Brock Miller and Abel Porter all returned as well. If they play up to expectations, Utah State should run away with the league title. The Aggies are experienced, well-coached and have one of the best home court advantages around. Look for Utah State to go dancing for a second consecutive year under Craig Smith.

San Diego State

2018-19 record: 21-13

2019 preseason poll: No. 2 | DNVR Rams preseason projection: No. 4

The Aztecs have started slow and finished strong in each of the past two seasons. The media is counting on SDSU putting all together in Brian Dutcher’s third season as head coach, though. The longtime assistant under Steve Fisher has an experienced roster that played a lot of minutes together last year and a couple of Power-5 transfers that should bring experience. One of those transfers, Malachi Flynn, Jr was named Preseason Newcomer of the Year. Flynn sat out last season but in two years with Washington State, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound, guard averaged 12.8 points on 40.6 percent shooting.

New Mexico

2018-19 record: 14-18

2019 preseason poll: No. 3 | DNVR Rams preseason projection: No. 3

UNM should be one of the more dangerous teams in the league this season. Now in his third season as head coach, Paul Weir has put together a talented roster. Even with the departure of point guard Anthony Mathis — the 6-foot-3, 175-pound, hoopster is now a graduate transfer at Oregon — the Lobos still definitely have one of the deepest teams on paper. The big question is whether or not Weir can put everything together. If Jaquan Lyle can come back strong from his Achilles injury, the former Ohio State guard should be a strong candidate to lead the team post-Mathis. 6-foot-10, 225-pound, forward Carlton Bragg Jr. should be fun to watch in the paint as well. That said, UNM will have to be much more consistent than last season, especially on the defensive end, if they want to contend with the other top teams in the Mountain West.

Nevada

2018-19 record: 29-5

2019 preseason poll: No. 4 | DNVR Rams preseason projection: No. 5

Nevada was tabbed to finish fourth, despite losing Jordan Caroline and the Martin twins to graduation as well as head coach Eric Musselman, who left for a chance to revive a struggling Arkansas program. The Wolf Pack were able to bring in Steve Alford to replace Musselman — a veteran coach with previous experience in the league. Before his time at UCLA, Alford won four regular season titles in six years at New Mexico (2007-2012). Now, Alford is tasked with trying to keep the momentum rolling in Reno, NV. After winning back-to-back conference championships, expectations for the Wolf Pack are still relatively high, even in spite of the turnover. Senior guard Lindsey Drew will return to the floor after missing all of last season due to injury and the new guys, Jalen Harris and KJ Hymes should be two of the better players in the MW. Paired with a trio of transfers, the Wolf Pack should still be a solid squad this season.

Boise State

2018-19 record: 13-20

2019 preseason poll: No. 5 | DNVR Rams preseason projection: No. 2

The Broncos have been incredibly consistent over the last decade. Since Leon Rice took over in 2010, Boise State has won 20 or more games in seven of his nine seasons as head coach and they’ll have a good chance to do so again in 2019-20. The Broncos have an extremely veteran lineup that includes five seniors and a potential NBA prospect in forward Derrick Alston. Back for his junior season, Alston is looking to build off of a solid sophomore campaign in which he averaged 13.4 points per game. Justinian Jessup is back for his senior season as well and should be one of the better two-way guards in the conference. If everything comes together, the Broncos should quietly be a legitimate contender this season.

Fresno State

2018 record: 23-9

2019 preseason poll: No. 6 | DNVR Rams preseason projection: No. 8

Fresno State is in a similar position as CSU. The Bulldogs return a few experienced seniors like Nate Grimes (forward), Noah Blackwell (guard) and New Williams (guard). But the team will also be relying on multiple transfers and a plethora of first or second-year players to come through. Chris Seeley, a 6-foot-8 forward, formerly of the University of Utah, will be eligible after sitting out last season due to transfer rules. Seeley averaged 2.7 points and 2.3 rebounds while playing 7.5 minutes per game for the Utes in 2017-18. Admittedly, with so many moving pieces, Fresno State is one of the tougher teams to project this year. But if recent history is an indicator, the Bulldogs will be a strong squad by this spring.

UNLV

2018-19 record: 17-14

2019 preseason poll: No. 7 | DNVR Rams preseason projection: No. 7

It’s a new era in Sin City. With Marvin Menzies out of the picture, T.J. Otzelberger will try to replicate the success he had at South Dakota State, where he went 70-33 over the last three years. Turning around this once-great program will be an uphill climb for Otzelberger, though. The Rebels have won 20 games only once in the last five years and despite having some of the best basketball resources in the conference, UNLV has continually been a disappointment. Year after year, UNLV brings in a highly touted recruiting class but somehow fails to live up to the hype. Maybe things will be different with a new head coach but at this point, the Rebels are going to have to prove it. Utah transfer Donnie Tillman should be a big boost to the lineup — the 6-foot-7 forward scored 10.5 points per game for the Utes last year. South Dakota State transfer David Jenkins has potential to be a big-time contributor as well.

Air Force

2018-19 record: 14-18

2019 preseason poll: No. 8 | DNVR Rams preseason projection: No. 9

The Falcons are always a pesky team to deal with. Rarely do they have the same talent or athleticism as the rest of the field but they seem to always make things interesting. With a talented senior front court duo in Lavelle Scottie and Ryan Swan both back, Air Force should at the very minimum be a competitive team — quietly, though, the Academy is capable of making some noise. Scottie scored 15.3 points per game on 49 percent shooting in 2018-19. If the Falcons have any kind of success this year, it will likely be because Scottie takes his game to a new level.

Colorado State

2018-19 record: 12-20

2019 preseason poll: No. 9 | DNVR Rams preseason projection: No. 6

The Rams are not expected to do much but don’t sleep on Niko Medved’s team in his second year. Despite only returning five players from last season’s roster, CSU is deceptively very deep and the team is shaped to fit Medved’s style. Nico Carvacho (center) and Kris Martin (guard) provide experience and will be CSU’s key pieces on both sides of the floor. If these two do what they’re capable of, both will have a good shot to earn all-conference honors. Adam Thistlewood (forward) and Kendle Moore (point guard) will likely start alongside the seniors and should benefit from all the minutes they played as freshmen. Rounding out the starting lineup should be freshman forward David Roddy, who has quickly proven that he can hang. If the bench guys can consistently contribute, this starting five, on paper, has potential to be better than any group the Rams have had in a few seasons. Once the freshmen adjust to the speed of the game, look for CSU to finish strong down the stretch and finish higher than their preseason projection (No. 9).

Wyoming

2018-19 record: 8-24

2019 preseason poll: No. 10 | DNVR Rams preseason projection: No. 10

The Wyoming Cowboys have been a mess since Larry Shyatt left Laramie, Wyo. The Pokes went just 8-24 last year and were a disaster from start to finish. Although one of those wins was an absolute beatdown of CSU at Arena Auditorium, in general, Cowboys fans have not had much to cheer about in recent seasons. Unfortunately for them, without Justin James, it seems unlikely that Wyoming will be much better this time around. Senior guard Jake Hendricks is Wyoming’s leading returning scorer at 10. 8 points per season. Other than him, nobody on the roster averaged double digit figures in 2018-19.

San Jose State

2018-19 record: 4-27

2019 preseason poll: No. 11 | DNVR Rams preseason projection: No. 11

The Spartans have had some talented players go through the program over the years but keeping them in town has been tough for SJSU. Three years in a row, SJSU has had to replace the leading scorer from the previous season because they left for greener pastures elsewhere. With so much turnover every year, SJSU has not been able to establish any kind of consistency. Heading into the season, the Spartans are once again expected to be the basement dwellers of the Mountain West.

DNVR Rams Preseason Projection

1. Utah State
2. Boise State
3. New Mexico
4. San Diego State
5. Nevada
6. Colorado State
7. UNLV
8. Fresno State
9. Air Force
10. Wyoming
11. San Jose State