2018–19_Mountain_West_Conference_men's_basketball_season
2018–19 Mountain West Conference men's basketball season
Sports season
The 2018–19 Mountain West Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2018, followed by the start of the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play begins in January 2019 and concludes in February 2019. The season marks the 19th season of Mountain West Conference basketball.
| 2018–19 Mountain West Conference men's basketball season | |
|---|---|
| League | NCAA Division I |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | November 2018 through March 2019 |
| Number of teams | 11 |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN, CBSSN, CBS |
| Regular Season | |
| League champions | Nevada |
| Season MVP | Sam Merrill |
| Tournament | |
| Mountain West Conference men's basketball seasons | |
← 2017–18 | |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 20 Nevada | 15 | – | 3 | .833 | 29 | – | 5 | .853 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 25 Utah State † | 15 | – | 3 | .833 | 28 | – | 7 | .800 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fresno State | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 23 | – | 9 | .719 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| San Diego State | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 21 | – | 13 | .618 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UNLV | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 17 | – | 14 | .548 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Air Force | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 14 | – | 18 | .438 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Mexico | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 14 | – | 18 | .438 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boise State | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 13 | – | 20 | .394 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado State | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 12 | – | 20 | .375 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wyoming | 4 | – | 14 | .222 | 8 | – | 24 | .250 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| San Jose State | 1 | – | 17 | .056 | 4 | – | 27 | .129 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † Mountain West Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coaching changes
On February 26, 2018, Colorado State coach Larry Eustachy resigned after being placed on administrative leave.[1] On March 22, Drake head coach and former CSU assistant coach Niko Medved was hired as the new head coach of Colorado State.[2]
On March 12, 2018, Fresno State head coach Rodney Terry left Fresno State to become head coach at UTEP.[3] He finished at Fresno State with a seven-year record of 126–108. On April 5, it was announced that the school had hired San Diego State assistant coach Justin Hutson as head coach.[4][5]
On March 11, 2018, Utah State head coach Tim Duryea was fired after three seasons.[6] He finished at Utah State with a three-year record of 47–49. On March 25, reports indicated that the school had hired South Dakota head coach Craig Smith as head coach, which was confirmed the next day.[7][8]
Conference predictions
Predicted Mountain West results
Source[9]
| Rank | Team | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Nevada (18) | |
| 2. | San Diego State (1) | |
| 3. | New Mexico | |
| 4. | Boise State | |
| 5. | Fresno State | |
| 6. | UNLV | |
| 7. | Wyoming | |
| 8. | Colorado State | |
| 9. | Utah State | |
| 10. | Air Force | |
| 11. | San Jose State | |
| (first place votes) | ||
Preseason Mountain West teams
| Honor | Recipient |
|---|---|
| Preseason Player of the Year | Caleb Martin, Nevada |
| Preseason Freshman of the Year | Jordan Brown, Nevada |
| Preseason All-MWC Team | |
| Jordan Caroline, Nevada | |
| Justin James, Wyoming | |
| Caleb Martin, Nevada | |
| Cody Martin, Nevada | |
| Deshon Taylor, Fresno State |
Source[9]
Watchlists
Conference matrix
This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.
| Air Force | Boise St | Colorado St | Fresno St | Nevada | New Mexico | San Diego St | San Jose St | UNLV | Utah St | Wyoming | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs. Air Force | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 |
| vs. Boise St | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| vs. Colorado St | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. Fresno St | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. Nevada | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| vs. New Mexico | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. San Diego St | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| vs. San Jose St | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. UNLV | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | – | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| vs. Utah St | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | – | 0–2 |
| vs. Wyoming | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | – |
| Total | 8–10 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 13–5 | 15–3 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 1–17 | 11–7 | 15–3 | 4–14 |
Mountain West tournament
- "Larry Eustachy steps down at Colorado State after being put on administrative leave". ESPN.com. February 26, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
- Star, Sean (March 22, 2018). "Colorado State set to hire Niko Medved as its men's basketball head coach". Reporter-Herald. Loveland, CO. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
- Broaddus, Adrian (March 12, 2018). "UTEP hires Fresno State's Rodney Terry as their new basketball coach". theprospectordaily.com. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
- Zeigler, Mark. "Fresno State hires SDSU basketball assistant Justin Hutson as head coach". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
- "Fresno State hires San Diego State assistant as men's basketball coach". fresnobee. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
- Greene, Dana (March 11, 2018). "Utah State fires head basketball coach Tim Duryea". Good4Utah. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
- "Source: Utah State set to hire South Dakota's Craig Smith as new basketball coach". Retrieved March 26, 2018.
- Garry, Mick (March 26, 2018). "South Dakota's Craig Smith named men's basketball coach at Utah State". Sioux Falls Argus Leader. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
- Roberts, Rachel (October 16, 2018). "The Mountain West preseason basketball poll is out. And Boise State is not happy". The Idaho Statesman. Retrieved October 16, 2018.