The 2023–24 Mountain West Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October followed by the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season which started on November 6, 2022. Conference play will begin in December 2023.
The Mountain West tournament will take place in March 2024 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Pre-season
Recruiting classes
+ Rankings Team ESPN RivalsOn3 Recruits247 SportsSigneesAir Force — ― No. 127 ― ―Boise State ― ― No. 105 No. 90 3Colorado State ― ― No. 146 No. 125 2Fresno State ― ― ― ― ―Nevada ― ― No. 83 No. 56 3New Mexico ― ― No. 39 No. 41 2San Diego State ― ― No. 98 No. 83 3San Jose State ― ― No. 130 ― ―UNLV ― ― No. 50 No. 68 4Utah State ― ― No. 132 No. 125 3Wyoming ― No. 58 No. 97 No. 125 4
Preseason watchlists Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.
PlayerWooden Naismith Cousy West Erving MaloneAbdul-Jabbar Olson Isaiah Stevens
Preseason All-American teams
Player The Athletic Blue Ribbon Sports CBS College Hoops Today
Preseason polls
247 Sports AP Blue Ribbon CBS Sports Coaches ESPN KenPom Lindy'sSports NCAA Sports SportsIllustratedAir Force– – – – – – No. 157 – – –Boise State– – – – – – No. 63 – – –Colorado State– – – – – – No. 74 – – –Fresno State– – – – – – No. 100 – – –Nevada– – – – – – No. 67 – – –New Mexico– – – – – – No. 46 – – –San Diego StateNo. 20 No. 17 – No. 13 No. 15 No. 18 No. 29 – No. 15 No. 25San Jose State– – – – – – No. 171 – – –UNLV– – – – – – No. 77 – – –Utah State– – – – – – No. 239 – – –Wyoming– – – – – – No. 214 – – –
Mountain West Media days The Mountain West will conduct its 2023 Mountain West media days on October 12, 2023.
The teams and representatives in respective order were as follows:
Mountain West Commissioner – Craig Thompson Air Force – Joe Scott (HC) Boise State – Leon Rice (HC) Colorado State – Niko Medved (HC) Fresno State – Justin Hutson (HC) Nevada – Steve Alford (HC) New Mexico – Richard Pitino (HC) San Diego State – Brian Dutcher (HC) San Jose State – Tim Miles (HC) UNLV – Kevin Kruger (HC) Utah State – Danny Sprinkle (HC) Wyoming – Jeff Linder (HC)
+Men's Basketball Preseason Poll Place Team Points First place votes 1. San Diego State 333 125 2. Boise State 299 4 3. New Mexico 278 1 4. Nevada 240 1 5. Colorado State 218 -- 6. UNLV 199 -- 7. San Jose State 124 -- 8. Fresno State 115 -- 9. Utah State 105 -- 10. Wyoming 74 -- 11. Air Force 61 --
Source:
Mountain West Preseason All-Conference
First Team
NameSchool Pos. Yr. Ht. Hometown (Last School) Jaelen House New Mexico G 5th 6−0, 170 Phoenix, AZ (Arizona State) Jamal Mashburn Jr.New Mexico G Sr. 6−2, 195 Miami, FL (Brewster Academy) Isaiah StevensColorado State G 5th 6−0, 185 Allen, TX (Allen HS) Lamont ButlerSan Diego State G Sr. 6−2, 205 Moreno Valley, CA (Riverside Poly High) Tyson DegenhardBoise State F Jr. 6−8, 235 Spokane, WA (Mt. Spokane HS)
2023 Mountain West Men's Basketball Individual Awards Award Recipient(s) Player of the Year Isaiah Stevens, Colorado State Newcomer of the Year Reese Waters, San Diego State Freshman of the Year Dedan Thomas, UNLV
Midseason watchlists Below is a table of notable midseason watch lists.
PlayerWoodenNaismith RobertsonCousy West Erving MaloneAbdul-Jabbar Olson
Final watchlists Below is a table of notable year end watch lists.
WoodenNaismith RobertsonCousy West Erving MaloneAbdul-Jabbar Olson
Regular season The Schedule will be released in late October. All regular season conference games and conference tournament games would be broadcast nationally by ESPN Inc. family of networks including ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, FOX, FS1, CBS Sports, AltitudeTV, AT&T Sports Network, Cowboy Sports Network, Evoca, FloSports, NBC Bay Area, Nevada Sports Network, Mountain West Network, Pac-12 Network, SEC Network, WCC Network, YouTube Live and YurView
Early season tournaments
Team Tournament FinishAir Force – –Boise State ESPN Events Invitational 6thColorado State Hall of Fame Classic 1stFresno State Cancún Challenge 2ndNevada Diamond Head Classic 1stNew Mexico – –San Diego State Continental Tire Main Event 1stSan Jose State Paradise Jam 5thUNLV Sunshine Slam 4thUtah State Cayman Islands Classic 1stWyoming Myrtle Beach Invitational 5th
Records against other conferences Records against non-conference foes for the 2023–24 season. Records shown for regular season only.
Regular season Power ConferencesRecord ACC 2–3Big East 2–1Big Ten 0–0Big 12 1–5Pac-12 6–1SEC 0–0Power Conferences Total 10–10Other NCAA Division I ConferencesRecordAmerican 3–0America East 0–0 A-10 2–2ASUN 1–0Big Sky 5–7Big South 0–0Big West 13–2CAA 4–1C-USA 5–1Horizon 1–0Ivy League 0–0MAAC 0–0MAC 3–1MEAC 2–0MVC 0–2NEC 1–0OVC 1–0Patriot League 0–0SoCon 3–0Southland 2–0SWAC 1–1The Summit 6–1Sun Belt 1–1WAC 5–3WCC 18–6Other Division I Total 77–28Division II NAIA Total 16–0NCAA Division I Total 104–38
Postseason Power ConferencesRecord ACC 0–0Big East 0–0Big Ten 0–0Big 12 0–0Pac-12 0–0SEC 0–0Power Conferences Total 0–0Other NCAA Division 1 ConferencesRecordAmerican 0–0America East 0–0 A-10 0–0ASUN 0–0Big Sky 0–0Big South 0–0Big West 0–0CAA 0–0C-USA 0–0Horizon 0–0Ivy League 0–0MAAC 0–0MAC 0–0MEAC 0–0MVC 0–0NEC 0–0OVC 0–0Patriot League 0–0SoCon 0–0Southland 0–0SWAC 0–0The Summit 0–0Sun Belt 0–0WAC 0–0WCC 0–0Other Division I Total 0–0 NCAA Division I Total 0–0
Record against ranked non-conference opponents This is a list of games against ranked opponents only (rankings from the AP Poll):
Date Visitor Home Site Significance Score Conference recordNov. 9 New Mexico No. 24 Saint Mary's University Credit Union Pavilion ● Moraga, CA − 58−72 0−1Nov. 22No. 22 James Madison Fresno State† Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya ● Cancun, Mexico Cancun Challenge Championship 64−95 0−2Nov. 23 No. 8 Creighton Colorado State† T-Mobile Center ● Kansas City, MO Hall of Fame Classic 69−48 1−2Nov. 26 Wyoming No. 15 Texas Moody Center ● Austin, TX − 63−86 1−3Dec. 1 No.19 BYU Fresno State† Delta Center ● Salt Lake City, UT − 56−85 1−4Dec. 13 No. 8 Creighton UNLV† Dollar Loan Center ● Henderson, NV Jack Jones Classic 79−64 2−4Dec. 26 San Diego State No. 13 Gonzaga McCarthey Athletic Center ● Spokane, WA − 84−74 3−4Dec. 30 Wyoming No. 14 BYU Marriott Center ● Prove, UT − 68−94 3−5
Team rankings are reflective of AP poll when the game was played, not current or final ranking
† denotes neutral site game
Conference schedule This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.
Air ForceBoise StateColorado StateFresno StateNevadaNew MexicoSan Diego StateSan Jose StateUNLVUtah State Wyomingvs. Air Force – 0–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 0–1 1–0 0–0vs. Boise State 0–0 – 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–0vs. Colorado State 0–1 1–0 – 0–0 1–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–1 1–0 1–0vs. Fresno State 0–1 1–0 0–0 – 1–0 0–0 1–0 0–1 0–0 1–0 1–0vs. Nevada 0–1 1–0 0–1 0–1 – 6–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0vs. New Mexico 0–1 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–4 – 0–1 0–1 1–0 0–1 0–1 vs. San Diego State 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 0–1 1–0 – 0–1 0–1 0–0 0–1vs. San Jose State 0–1 1–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–0 – 1–0 0–0 1–0vs. UNLV 1–0 0–1 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 1–0 0–1 – 1–0 0–0vs. Utah State 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 – 0–1vs. Wyoming 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–0 1–0 –Total 1–6 5–2 3–4 2–5 3–4 6–2 5–2 1–6 3–4 6–1 4–3
Points scored
TeamForAgainstDifferenceAir Force 1,239 1,226 13Boise State 1,396 1,238 158Colorado State 1,469 1,253 216Fresno State 1,314 1,389 -75Nevada 1,539 1,309 230New Mexico 1,684 1,389 295San Diego State 1,525 1,335 190San Jose State 1,431 1,405 26UNLV 1,361 1,281 80Utah State 1,561 1,292 269Wyoming 1,398 1,423 -25 Through January 24, 2024
Rankings
Improvement in ranking Drop in rankingRVReceived votes but were not ranked in Top 25NVNo votes received Team Poll Pre Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Wk16 Wk17 Wk18 Wk19Wk20 FinalAir Force AP NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV C NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NVNVNVBoise State AP NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV RV NV NV RV RV RV C RV RV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV RV NV RV RV RV RVColorado State AP NV NV RV 20 13 17 16 15 13 17 RV 24 RV RV RV 22 RV RV RV C NV NV NV 21 12 18 17 14 14 18 RV 23 RV RV RV 25 24 NV NV NVFresno State AP NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV C NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NVNVNVNevada AP NV NV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV NV NV NV RV RV RV RV 23 C NV NV RV RV RVNV NV RV RV RV RV NV NV NV NV RV RV RV RV NVNew Mexico AP RVNV NV NV NV RV RV RV RV NV RV 25 19 25 RV RV RV RV RV C NV NV NV NV NV RV RV RV RV RV RV 25 20 20 25 RV NV NV NV NVSan Diego State AP 17 RV RV RV 25 RV RV RV RV 19 RV RV RV 24 RV 19 20 21RV C 15 RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 19 24 RV RV RV 24 RV 19 19 19 RVSan Jose State AP NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV C NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NVUNLV AP NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV C NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NVUtah State AP NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV 20 16 18 17 22 RV RV 22 22 18 C NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV 23 17 20 17 17 21 RV RV 232218Wyoming AP NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV C NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV
Head coaches
Coaching changes
Coaches Note: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season. Mountain West records are from time at current school.
Team Head coach Previous job Seasons at school Record at school Mountain West record Mountain West titles NCAA tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA ChampionshipsAir Force Joe Scott Denver 8th 81–121 () 33–78 () 0 1 0 0Boise State Leon Rice Gonzaga (assistant) 14th 268–155 () 141–87 () 2 4 0 0Colorado State Niko Medved Drake 6th 91–64 () 50–38 () 0 1 0 0Fresno State Justin Hutson San Diego State (assistant) 6th 80–73 () 43–48 () 0 0 0 0Nevada Steve Alford UCLA 5th 70–51 () 40–31 () 0 1 0 0New Mexico Richard Pitino Minnesota 3rd 34–31 () 13–22 () 0 0 0 0San Diego State Brian Dutcher San Diego State (associate HC) 7th 147–46 () 81–25 () 3 4 1 0San Jose State Tim Miles Nebraska 3rd 29–37 () 11–25 () 0 0 0 0UNLV Kevin Kruger UNLV (assistant) 3rd 37–27 () 17–19 () 0 0 0 0Utah State Danny Sprinkle Montana State 1st 0–0 () 0–0 () 0 0 0 0Wyoming Jeff Linder Northern Colorado 4th 48–42 () 24–28 () 0 1 0 0 Notes: Mountain West records, conference titles, etc. are from time at current school and are through the end the 2022–23 season. NCAA tournament appearances are from time at current school only. NCAA Final Fours and Championship include time at other schools.
Postseason
Mountain West tournament
The conference tournament will be played in March 13−16, 2024 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV. The top five teams will have a bye on the first day. Teams will be seeded by conference record, with ties broken by record between the tied teams followed by record against the regular-season champion, if necessary.
NCAA tournament
Four teams were selected to participate:
Seed Region School First Four 1st round 2nd round Sweet 16 Elite Eight Final Four Championship5EastSan Diego State– W vs. (12) UAB, 69–65 W vs. (13) Yale, 85–57 L vs. (1) UConn, 52–82 10WestNevada– L vs. (7) Dayton, 60–63 11WestNew Mexico– L vs. (6) Clemson, 56–77 10SouthBoise State L vs. (10) Colorado, 53–60 8MidwestUtah State– W vs. (9) TCU, 88–72 L vs. (1) Purdue, 67–106 10MidwestColorado State W vs. (10) Virginia, 67–42 L vs. (7) Texas, 44–56 BidsW-L (%):TOTAL:
National Invitation Tournament One team was selected to participate:
Seed Bracket School First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals– Seton Hall UNLVW vs. (2) Princeton, 77–84W vs. Boston College, 79–70vs. (1) Seton Hall – –W–L (%):Total:
Awards and honors
Players of the Week Throughout the regular season, the Mountain West offices honored two players based on performance by naming them player of the week and freshman of the week.