LAS VEGAS – The defending Mountain West men’s basketball regular-season champion Nevada has been predicted to repeat in 2018-19, as voted by the Conference media. The league’s predicted order of finished was announced today at the 2018 Mountain West Men’s Basketball Media Summit, being held at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
The Wolf Pack received 18 of a possible 19 first-place votes and 207 total points to earn the top spot in the poll. Defending MW Tournament champion San Diego State garnered the other first-place nod and 188 total points for the second spot in the preseason poll, while New Mexico rounds out the top three with 153 total points.
Boise State and Fresno State are only separated by one point, as the Broncos are picked to finish fourth (139 points), while the Bulldogs landed in fifth (138 points). UNLV received 122 points to garner the sixth spot in the poll, followed by Wyoming at seventh with 88 points and Colorado State in eighth with 80 points. Rounding out the poll were Utah State (78 points) in ninth, Air Force (42 points) in 10th and San José State (19 points) in 11th.
Nevada, which had one of the best seasons in program history in 2017-18, is coming off a 29-8 season, including a 15-3 record in league play. The 29 overall victories tied a single-season program record. The Wolf Pack qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season and earned the No. 7 seed in the south region. Nevada recorded two come-from-behind victories to open the Big Dance, before ultimately losing to Final Four participant Loyola Chicago (69-68) in the Sweet 16. Under the direction of the 2017-18 MW Coach of the Year Eric Musselman, Nevada returns four starters including 2017-18 MW Player and Newcomer of the Year Caleb Martin and MW Defensive Player of the Year Cody Martin. The Wolf Pack lineup also features 2018-19 MW Preseason Freshman of the Year in Jordan Brown and preseason honoree Jordan Caroline.
2018-19 PRESEASON MEN’S BASKETBALL PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
Rk. Team (First-Place Votes) Pts.
1. Nevada (18) 207
2. San Diego State (1) 188
3. New Mexico 153
4. Boise State 139
5. Fresno State 138
6. UNLV 122
7. Wyoming 88
8. Colorado State 80
9. Utah State 78
10. Air Force 42
11. San José State 19