By Kenneth Cross
The Boise State Broncos changed the vision in the Mountain West last season as coach Leon Rice’s crew won the regular season championship by one game over Colorado State. Then, the Broncos took a 53-52 win over San Diego State in the championship game of the MW Tournament to post their third win over the Aztecs in the 2021-22 season. The Wyoming Cowboys will be a challenger for the MW title after 25 wins and a 12-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Steve Fisher built San Diego State into a consensual top pick in the MW and Coach Brian Dutcher has continued to push the Aztecs forward. With SDSU’s ascension, we saw last season how the league has improved to the point that there were four NCAA participants for the first time since 2011-12.
The seeds the MW received seemed too low as Colorado State (6), Boise State (8), San Diego State (8) and Wyoming (12) could have had higher seeds which meant that they didn’t have play the tournament’s highest seeds in the first or second round.
The following is a look at the preseason conference poll as referenced by the media two weeks ago in the Mountain West Basketball Media Days:
1 – San Diego State – The Aztecs will be solid once again with Lamont Butler at point guard where he is 
a lock-down defender. Matt Bradley was one of the toughest shooters in the nation as he led with 16.9 ppg and shot 40.1 percent from three. Defensively, Dutcher’s teams are always among the best in the game and last season they forced a turnover on 21.9 percent of their opponents’ offensive possessions.
2 – Wyoming – Coach Jeff Linder will welcome back a solid one-two punch in Graham Ike (19.5 ppg, 9.6 rpg) and Hunter Maldonado (18.5 ppg, 6.3 apg). Maldonado’s occupation of the point was one of the most aggressive as he attacked well from the outside while feeding Ike in the post. Wyoming also returns Jeremiah Oden and Drake Jeffries, who will be keys in the post and on the perimeter, respectively.
3 – Boise State – Marcus Shaver, Jr. (13.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg) is a key on the perimeter where he shot 35.2 percent from three last season. He is joined by Max Rice, coach Leon Rice’s son, who is a high IQ player, who can get his teammates involved in a game in different ways. The activity of Texas Tech transfer Chibuzo Agbo will be important with his size and dynamic activity on the inside. The Broncos have the ability to get to the free throw line. They just need to improve on their percentage of 65 percent from a year ago.
4 – Colorado State – Coach Niko Medved lost a solid group of Rams to graduation as CSU donned a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament which was the highest in the history of Colorado State basketball. Guard Isaiah Stevens (14.7 ppg, 4.7 apg) is the leading returning scorer and John Tonje is another Ram who could score even more this season with his scoring ability, both inside and outside. CSU’s defense was attacked plenty from three last season where opponents took 24.3 of their shots and made 8.0 on average.
5 – New Mexico – The versatility at the guard position with Jamal Mashburn, Jr. (18.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg) and Jaelen House (16.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg) makes for a tough matchup for teams which are trying to defend the
Lobos. Both are solid shooters and they can create and set their teammates up on offense. Coach Richard Pitino also has another solid scorer in KJ Jenkins as he was the Lobos’ primary three-point shooter with 2.0 makes plus 5.8 attempts. Key for the Lobos will be turning up the defense on the inside and from 15-18 feet as opponents shot 52.4 percent from the two last season.
6 – UNLV – The Runnin’ Rebels return talent at guard as Jordan McCabe is the leading returning scorer at 6.4 ppg. The transfer portal was a huge entity for coach Kevin Kruger as seven new players joined him through the portal. Returning sophomore Keshon Gilbert and Oklahoma transfer EJ Harkless can be solid leaders as well as consistent scorers. Vegas finished fifth in the MW a year ago as the Rebs were known for solid defense in allowing only 65.6 points per game as opponents seemed to look for threes more often.
7 – Fresno State – The Bulldogs lost a powerful big man in Orlando Robinson (19.4 ppg, 8.4 rpg), so the idea of creating on both ends of the floor by committee will give Fresno State more opportunities this season. Jemarl Baker and Isaih Hill will comprise a solid back court as Hill established consistently good playmaking while shooting 36.9 percent from behind the three-point line. Guards Anthony Holland (9.6 ppg, 46.8%-3) and Jordan Campbell (7.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg) will once again be able to find shots on the perimeter with their size and shooting ability.
8 – Utah State – The Aggies return three of their top five returning scorers and they add St. Joe’s transfer Taylor Funk (13.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg) as he shot 37.2 percent from three. Steven Ashworth (8.7 ppg, 3.6 ppg) was solid on the point as he shot 39.2 percent from the three-point line while Sean Bairstow will be a consistent scorer as a forward. The inside-outside ability of this team can make it way better than eighth in the MW as this rating shows the depth in the conference.
9 – Nevada – Hunter McIntosh and Jarod Lucas will be a pair of solid transfers that will see plenty of playing time for the Wolf Pack as both shot around 38 percent from three last season. Will Baker (13 ppg, 4 rpg) will be a key returnee for Nevada in the paint and on the boxes. Nevada has nine new faces that will be looking for a solid rotation by the time MW play rolls around.
10 – San Jose State – Coach Tim Miles started rebuilding the Spartans last season and he was able to keep his leading scorer in Omari Moore (13.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.6 apg), who will once again be joined in the backcourt by Alvaro Cardenas (6.5 ppg, 2.6 apg). The big key is for SJSU is to improve it’s shooting ability as a team while improving on defense in allowing 27 made field goals per outing.
11 – Air Force – The Falcons play the Princeton Offense as coach Joe Scott was an assistant coach for Princeton legend Pete Carrill. Air Force must pick up it’s shooting as they took only 49.6 shots (358th/CBB) and made just 22.6 a year ago (351st/CBB). Jake Heidbreder is the leading returning scorer at 10.4 ppg.