2018–19 Mountain West Conference men's basketball season
Sports season
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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 |
| Teams | 11 |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN, CBSSN, CBS |
| Regular Season | |
| League champions | Nevada |
| Season MVP | Sam Merrill |
| Tournament | |
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preseason
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
Regular season
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 |