The 2022–23 Mountain West Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October followed by the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season which started on November 7, 2022. Conference play will begin in December 2022.
The Mountain West tournament will take place in March 2023 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Pre-season
Recruiting classes
+ Rankings Team ESPN RivalsOn3 Recruits247 SportsSigneesAir Force — ― No. 117 ― 3Boise State ― ― No. 82 No. 84 2Colorado State ― ― No. 116 No. 134 2Fresno State ― No. 37 No. 85 4Nevada ― ― No. 78 No. 90 3New Mexico ― ― No. 122 No. 52 3San Diego State ― ― No. 64 No. 63 2San Jose State ― ― No. 111 No. 126 4UNLV ― ― No. 221 ― 1Utah State ― ― ― ― ―Wyoming ― No. 51 No. 169 No. 124 3
Preseason watchlists Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.
PlayerWooden Naismith Cousy West Erving MaloneAbdul-Jabbar Olson Matt Bradley Graham Ike GG Jackson Hunter Maldonado 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'sSportsNCAA Sports SportsIllustratedAir Force– – – – – – No. 235 – – –Boise State– – – – – – No. 87 – – –Colorado State– – – – – – No. 97 – – – Fresno State– – – – – – No. 107 – – –Nevada– – – – – – No. 132 – – –New Mexico– – – – – – No. 138 – – –San Diego State No. 14 No. 19 No. 25 No. 21 No. 20 No. 21 No. 19 – No. 20 No. 14San Jose State– – – – – – No. 236 – – –UNLV– – – – – – No. 118 – – –Utah State– – – – – – No. 68 – – –Wyoming RV – – – RV No. 30 No. 64 – No. 25 –
Mountain West Media days The Mountain West will conduct its 2022 Mountain West media days on October 20, 2022.
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 – Ryan Odom (HC) Wyoming – Jeff Linder (HC)
+Men's Basketball Preseason Poll Place Team Points First place votes 1. San Diego State 216 16 2. Wyoming 204 4 3. Boise State 166 -- 4. Colorado State 156 -- 5. New Mexico 136 -- 6. UNLV 110 -- 7. Fresno State 101 -- 8. Utah State 96 -- 9. Nevada 73 -- 10. San Jose State 35 -- 11. Air Force 27 --
Source:
Mountain West Preseason All-Conference
First Team
NameSchool Pos. Yr. Ht. Hometown (Last School) Isaiah Stevens Colorado State G Sr. 6−0, 185 Allen, TX (Allen HS) Jamal Mashburn Jr. New Mexico G Jr. 6−2, 195 Miami, FL (Brewster Academy) Matt Bradley San Diego State G JS. 6−4, 220 San Bernardino, CA (Wasatch Academy) Graham Ike Wyoming F Jr. 6−9, 225 Aurora, CO (Overland HS) Hunter Maldonado Wyoming G Sr. 6−7, 220 Colorado Springs, CO (Vista Ridge HS)
2023 Mountain West Men's Basketball Individual Awards Award Recipient(s) Player of the Year Graham Ike Newcomer of the Year Darrion Trammell Freshman of the Year Joseph Hunter
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 Myrtle Beach Invitational 5thColorado State Charleston Classic 4thFresno State Wooden Legacy 4thNevada Cayman Islands Classic 3rdNew Mexico − −San Diego State Maui Invitational tournament 4thSan Jose State Nassau Championship 5thUNLV SoCal Challenge 1stUtah State Diamond Head Classic 3rdWyoming Paradise Jam tournament 4th
Records against other conferences Records against non-conference foes for the 2022–23 season. Records shown for regular season only.
Regular season Power ConferencesRecord ACC 0–1Big East 0–0Big Ten 2–1Big 12 0–1Pac-12 5–5SEC 2–3Power Conferences Total 9–11Other NCAA Division I ConferencesRecordAmerican 3–0America East 0–0 A-10 3–1ASUN 2–0Big Sky 5–4Big South 3–0Big West 11–1CAA 1–2C-USA 2–3Horizon 2–0Ivy League 0–0MAAC 1–0MAC 2–1MEAC 2–0MVC 2–1NEC 0–0OVC 0–0Patriot League 0–0SoCon 0–0Southland 5–2SWAC 6–0The Summit 3–1Sun Belt 5–0WAC 10–1WCC 12–10Other Division I Total 81–28Division II NAIA Total 10–0 NCAA Division I Total 99–39
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. 15 No. 21 Dayton UNLV Thomas & Mack Center ● Las Vegas, NV − UNLV 60−52 1−0 Nov. 22 No. 14 Arizona No. 17 San Diego State† Lahaina Civic Center ● Maui, HI Maui Invitational Arizona 70−87 1−1Nov. 22 No. 9 Arkansas No. 17 San Diego State† Lahaina Civic Center ● Maui, HI Maui Invitational Arkansas 78−74OT 1−2Dec. 3 San Jose State No. 3 Arkansas Bud Walton Arena ● Fayetteville, AR – Arkansas 58−99 1−3
Team rankings are reflective of AP poll when the game was played, not current or final ranking
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 – 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–0 2–0 0–2vs. Boise State 0–1 – 0–2 0–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–2vs. Colorado State 1–1 2–0 – 0–2 1–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–1vs. Fresno State 1–1 1–0 2–0 – 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–2 2–0 1–1vs. Nevada 0–2 1–1 0–1 0–2 – 0–2 1–1 0–2 2–0 1–1 1–0vs. New Mexico 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 – 1–1 0–2 1–0 1–0 1–1 vs. San Diego State 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–1 1–1 1–1 – 0–1 0–2 0–2 0–2vs. San Jose State 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–0 – 0–2 1–1 0–1vs. UNLV 0–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 0–2 0–1 2–0 2–0 – 2–0 0–2vs. Utah State 0–2 1–1 0–1 0–2 1–1 0–1 2–0 1–1 0–2 – 0–2vs. Wyoming 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 –Total 5–13 13–5 6–12 6–12 12–6 8–10 15–3 10–8 7–11 13–5 4–14
Points scored
TeamForAgainstDifferenceAir Force 2,072 2,068 4Boise State 2,235 1,975 260Colorado State 2,263 2,226 37Fresno State 1,909 1,969 -60Nevada 2,247 2,059 188New Mexico 2,517 2,275 242San Diego State 2,188 1,932 256San Jose State 2,098 2,058 40UNLV 2,222 2,084 138Utah State 2,451 2,170 281Wyoming 2,068 2,147 -79 Through March 5, 2023
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 FinalAir Force AP 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 Boise State AP NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV RV RVRV NVRVRVRVRV C RV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV RV RV NVRV NVNV RVRV RV Colorado State AP 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 Fresno State AP 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 Nevada AP NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV RV NV NVRV RV RV RV RV NV C NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV RV RV NV NV RVRV NV RV NV New Mexico AP NV NV NVRV RV RV RV2221 RV RV25RV RVNV NVNVNV C NV NV NV NVRV RV RV RV 22 RV RV RVRV RVNVNVNV NV San Diego State AP1917 17 24 22 RV RV RV RV 23 RV RV22 2521 2218 20 C 20 19 19 24 22 RV RV RV RV 25 RV RVRV 23 20 20 19 20 San Jose State AP 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 NVNVNV NV UNLV AP NV NVRV RV RV RV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV C NV NV NVRV RV RV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NVNVNV NV Utah State AP NV NVRV NV NVRV RV NV NV NV NV NV NV RVNV NV NV NV C NV NV NV NV RV RV RV RVNV NV NV NV NV RV NVNVNV NV Wyoming AP RV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV C RV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV
NVHead 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 3rd 16–38 () 7–30 () 0 0 0 0Boise State Leon Rice Gonzaga (assistant) 13th 244–145 () 128–83 () 2 3 0 0Colorado State Niko Medved Drake 5th 76–45 () 46–26 () 0 1 0 0Fresno State Justin Hutson San Diego State (assistant) 5th 69–53 () 37–36 () 0 0 0 0Nevada Steve Alford UCLA 4th 47–39 () 28–25 () 0 0 0 0New Mexico Richard Pitino Minnesota 2nd 139–19 () 5–12 () 0 0 0 0San Diego State Brian Dutcher San Diego State (associate HC) 6th 119–39 () 66–22 () 2 3 0 0San Jose State Tim Miles Nebraska 2nd 8–23 () 1–17 () 0 0 0 0UNLV Kevin Kruger UNLV (assistant) 2nd 18–14 () 10–8 () 0 0 0 0Utah State Ryan Odom UMBC 2nd 18–16 () 8–10 () 0 0 0 0Wyoming Jeff Linder Northern Colorado 3rd 39–20 () 20–14 () 0 1 0 0 Notes: Mountain West records, conference titles, etc. are from time at current school and are through the end the 2021–22 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 8−11, 2023 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 First round Second round Sweet 16 Elite Eight Final Four Championship5 South San Diego State n/adefeated (12) Charleston 63–57defeated (13) Furman 75–52 defeated (1) Alabama 71–64defeated (6) Creighton 57–56defeated (9E) Florida Atlantic 72–71lost to (4W) UConn 59–7610 South Utah State n/alost to (7) Missouri 65–76 10 West Boise State n/alost to (7) Northwestern 67–75 11 West Nevada lost to (11) Arizona State 73–98 W–L (%): Total:
National Invitation Tournament One team was selected to participate:
Seed Bracket School First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals2 Rutgers New Mexicolost to Utah Valley 69–83 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.