MW releases men’s basketball preseason poll and awards
The Mountain West released their men’s basketball preseason poll as voted on by conference media on Wednesday during Media Summit in Las Vegas. Utah State was picked to finish eighth in the conference with 102 points.
Nevada was selected to finish first in the conference, receiving 19 of 24 first-place votes. The Wolf Pack took home both the regular season and postseason MW crowns last season after finishing with 14-4 MW record. Nevada returns two starters from last season’s championship squad.
San Diego State and Boise State finished second and third in the voting, respectively, each receiving two first-place votes. UNLV received the remaining first-place vote, finishing sixth in overall tally behind Fresno State and Colorado State.
Slated just ahead of the Aggies is Wyoming in seventh place. USU is predicted to finish ahead of New Mexico, San Jose State, and Air Force in that order.
The prediction mirrors that of Utah State’s finish last year, when the Aggies placed eighth in the conference with a 7-11 record in MW play. USU advanced to the quarterfinals of last season’s MW tournament, defeating San Jose State 90-64 in the first round before bowing out to eventual champion Nevada 83-69.
The MW also released the Preseason All-MW Team for the 2017-18 season on Wednesday. Utah State sophomore Koby McEwen was the sole representative for the Aggies among the honors released.
McEwen is coming off a season in which he averaged 14.9 points per game, the most by a freshman in school history, and eclipsing 20 points in a game seven times throughout the season, tying a freshman record set by Jaycee Carroll in 2005. McEwen also totaled averages of 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 0.8 steals per contest.
McEwen is joined on the All-MW Team alongside Boise State senior Chandler Hutchinson, Nevada junior Jordan Caroline, SDSU senior Trey Kell, and Wyoming junior Justin James. Hutchinson was also voted the MW Preseason Player of the Year. UNLV’s Brandon McCoy was named the conference’s Preseason Freshman of the Year while Nevada junior Caleb Martin was voted its Preseason Newcomer of the Year.
The Utah State men’s basketball season is set to tipoff with an exhibition game versus the University of Providence on November 3 at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan. The official season will begin on November 10 at Weber State, with MW play set to begin on December 27 at home versus San Jose state.