After 10 weeks of Mountain West play, it’s finally time for the MW Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas! Zach will be on the scene giving updates and reports all week, but before that happens, here is our preview of each of the 11 teams in the conference, including each team’s road to a championship, and what I think about their uniforms.
Also, if you haven’t already, be sure to enter our MWC Bracket Challenge! There’s even a prize this year!
#1 Nevada
Record: 15-3 (26-6 Overall)
Vegas Odds: +120
Strengths: Offense in general, Defensive FG%
Weaknesses: Defensive rebounding, rim protection
Key Players: Jordan Caroline, Caleb Martin, Cody Martin
How They Can Win the Tourney: I mean, they’re the favorites and they won the conference by two games, so I think their path to a championship is pretty clear. The thing that they’ll need to be able to do is to find opportunities to rest their starters, as they really only go six deep and three games in three days could be a bit daunting. That lack of depth really feels like their biggest flaw this season.
Uniform Review: Oh man, where to start. They have worn an astounding 12 different uniforms this season, which, wow. They’ve worn (deep breath) white (standard, “Lake Tahoe”, and “Battle Born”), navy, black, camouflage, gray (light gray and anthracite), turquoise, pink, and blue uniforms. I love uniforms more than the next guy, but that might be a bit much. My personal favorite of the bunch is the anthracite gray one while my least favorite is the Battle Born white. Are they trying to have a new uniform set for each game? Go big or go home, I guess.
#2 Boise State
Record: 13-5 (23-7 Overall)
Vegas Odds: +250
Strengths: Defense in general, rebounding
Weaknesses: Turnover rate, blocking shots
Key Players: Chandler Hutchison, Christian Sengfelder, Justinian Jessup
How They Can Win the Tourney: In a minor surprise this year, Boise State has the best defense in the conference, ranking 33rd on KenPom. They will need it, as their likely path includes Utah State (#117 offense in the country), New Mexico (#53), and Nevada (#8). If they can slow those teams down, they have plenty of offense of their own to win three games in a row.
Uniform Review: As far as I can tell, Boise State only has four uniforms in their rotation, one third of Nevada’s set. What slackers! And honestly, what they do have is a little disappointing, as it’s a standard Nike template in white, blue, orange, and black. Given what they tend to do with their football team, you’d think they’d be a little more adventurous here. At least their court isn’t blue.
#3 New Mexico
Record: 12-6 (17-14 Overall)
Vegas Odds: +1200
Strengths: Offensive FG%, forcing turnovers
Weaknesses: Defensive FG%, rebounding
Key Players: Anthony Mathis, Joe Furstinger, Antino Jackson
How They Can Win the Tourney: The Lobos pride themselves on tiring out their opponents with their style of play, which could be especially effective against teams who had to play the day, or days, before. And the way this tournament is structured, every single one of their opponents will have played the day before. Beyond that, the bracket turned out about as favorable to the Lobos as possible, with Nevada, Fresno State, San Diego State, and UNLV all sitting on the other side of the bracket.
Uniform Review: The Lobos have three uniforms that they tend to use, all of which use the same template. The lines and texturing on the shorts keep it from looking super plain, but it’s a clean look overall. The addition of a turquoise jersey to the regular rotation is a great move (football, take note), although I do miss having a silver jersey as well. It would be nice if the Lobos had a uniform that was a little more distinctly them. Maybe someday that will happen.
#4 Fresno State
Record: 11-7 (21-10 Overall)
Vegas Odds: +700
Strengths: 2pt defense, 3pt shooting
Weaknesses: Free throw shooting, defending 3-pointers
Key Players: Deshon Taylor, Bryson Williams, Jahmel Taylor
How They Can Win the Tourney: Fresno State has to be kicking themselves for slipping out of the three seed, as they went from the prime position that the Lobos are now in to having to face SDSU and Nevada in consecutive days. However, they have excellent three-point shooting, which is always an x-factor in these types of tournaments, and are really good at protecting the rim, which will be important against the Aztecs.If they do end up winning the championship, though, it will probably be because the Taylor boys were unconscious from deep.
Uniform Review: Fresno is kind of an interesting case to me, as their home jersey has basically the same template as the Lobos’ jerseys, but none of the rest of the uniforms share the same template. They have red and navy road jerseys that look the same, another navy jersey with more of a throwback look, and a gray jersey that wouldn’t look out of place on the Lobos. You know, aside from it saying Bulldogs on it. The throwback navy jerseys are the best of the bunch, in my opinion, and would be what I would build the set around in the future. Unfortunately, those are legacy uniforms, so they’re more likely to be part of the past.
#5 San Diego State
Record: 11-7 (19-10 Overall)
Vegas Odds: +500
Strengths: Defense in general, ball security
Weaknesses: 3pt shooting, getting to the free throw line
Key Players: Malik Pope, Jalen McDaniels, Matt Mitchell
How They Can Win the Tourney: The Aztecs are on a roll right now, having won their past six games, including games against Nevada and Boise State (pay no attention to the fact that four of the games were at home and the two road games were against Air Force and SJSU). Because of that, they’ve become a trendy pick to win the tournament. They do have some of the best talent on paper in the conference and still play solid defense, even if it’s not quite as stifling as some years. If they can slow down Nevada in the semifinals, they could end up being the favorite in the championship, regardless of who they play.
Uniform Review: The Aztecs have been using basically the same uniform set for years now, with a very plain design on front with small lettering and numbers, and a cool Aztec calendar texture on the back. They used to have a red version as well, but now they’ve stuck with just black and white. They also have an old-school looking jersey, and it’s fine, but doesn’t look quite as Aztec-y.
#6 Wyoming
Record: 10-8 (19-12 Overall)
Vegas Odds: +1800
Strengths: Defensive rebounding, getting to the free throw line
Weaknesses: Offensive rebounding, 3pt defense
Key Players: Hayden Dalton, Justin James, Alan Herndon
How They Can Win the Tourney: Wyoming has a couple of stars in Dalton and James who can certainly carry the team over a four-game stretch. Beyond that, the Cowboys have 10 wins in conference play, coming from 8 different opponents. In fact, the only teams that Wyoming didn’t pick up a win against this season were UNLV and New Mexico. Because of that, they have to believe that they can beat anyone in the tournament.
Uniform Review: Given one of the worst color schemes in the conference, Wyoming leans hard into the yellow/gold for one of their uniforms, and completely avoids it in the other. All things considered,they’re not too bad. Maybe a little plain. At least they use a cool font though.
#7 Utah State
Record: 8-10 (15-16 Overall)
Vegas Odds: +4000
Strengths: Defensive rebounding, Offensive FG%
Weaknesses: Offensive Rebounding, Defensive FG%
Key Players: Koby McEwen, Sam Merrill, Dwayne Brown Jr.
How They Can Win the Tourney: The Aggies have a solid offense and just enough defense to keep things close against just about anyone in the conference, so them pulling off an upset or two wouldn’t be a shock. Plus, they have already managed to knock off Boise State and UNM this season, albeit at home, so they have to feel confident about their likely path to the championship game. From there, anything can happen in one game.
Uniform Review: As far as I can tell, the Aggies only have two uniforms: a home white and a road navy. They’re pretty plain, with the most interesting thing being the piping on the sides that criss-cross the side stripe. With Nike basketball shorts now having the cut further forward, it makes the stripe look a little weird as well. I don’t know, maybe I’m being overly critical because I tend to get agitated when I see the word “Aggies.”
#8 UNLV
Record: 8-10 (19-12 Overall)
Vegas Odds: +1000
Strengths: Getting to the free throw line, offensive rebounds
Weaknesses: 3pt shooting, ball security
Key Players: Brandon McCoy, Shakur Juiston, Jovan Mooring
How They Can Win the Tourney: Remember like a month ago when UNLV was fighting for a top three seed? Seems like forever ago. They’ve gone into a full-fledged downward spiral recently, ending the season on a five-game losing streak. But, they have a couple of things in their favor: some of the most talented individual players in the conference and home-court advantage. If they can tap into both of those things, they could pick up an upset championship. And probably respark debates as to whether or not the tournament should be in Las Vegas.
Uniform Review: Ugh. They went from having some of my favorite uniforms in the league on one of my least favorite sets, so that’s impressive in its own right. The best of the bunch are probably the white ones, as the “Runnin’ Rebels” on the front of the jersey does look kind of cool and the red metallic piping works fairly well on the sides. I’d probably get rid of the UNLV on the side of the shorts, but that’s just me. However, the other three uniforms, black, gray, and red, are just bad. The fronts look kind of cheap somehow and the piping on the sides don’t work nearly as well. Plus, having “Runnin’” on one side of the shorts and “Rebels” on the other was a bad choice. If this is what Menzies is doing to the program, no wonder fans aren’t thrilled.
Beyond that, they also might have claimed the title of ugliest court in the league, with both the keys and a Vegas skyline colored in a washed-out dark gray, but that’s a rant for another time.
#9 Air Force
Record: 6-12 (12-18 Overall)
Vegas Odds: +20000
Strengths: FT shooting, forcing turnovers
Weaknesses: Offense in general, 3pt defense
Key Players: Lavelle Scottie, Trevor Lyons, Ryan Swan-Ford
How They Can Win the Tourney: Air Force might legitimately have the most difficult path to a championship, so it’s hard to see how they’re going to string four wins in a row. If they do manage to make a run, it will probably come in the form of them turning the games into a grind-it-out affairs and by making their threes (and their opponents missing thiers).
Uniform Review: If the Falcons were going for the most boring uniforms in the league, they nailed it. Their jerseys look like if they went into a uniform designer and then accepted the default. They are so spartan, they should be playing in San Jose. At least it’s a nice shade of blue.
#10 Colorado State
Record: 4-14 (11-20 Overall)
Vegas Odds: +20000
Strengths: Offensive rebounding, avoiding blocks
Weaknesses: Defense in general, offensive FG%
Key Players: Prentiss Nixon, Che Bob, Nico Carvacho
How They Can Win the Tourney: The Rams lucked out a little in their first game, as they get to play a Utah State team that they’ve already beat instead of UNLV on their home court. If they win that one, the confidence they gain could be what they need to pull together after a disastrous season. Remember, this team was projected to be the 5th seed in the tournament and the potential still exists. Admittedly, it’s unlikely that they do much at all this week, but if any of the bottom three teams make a run, CSU feels like that team, don’t they?
Uniform Review: The only Under Armour team in the conference, the Rams have a couple of features that, while standard for UA jerseys, are unique for the conference, for one, they have a flat neckline, rather than a pointed one or a round one like most teams use. They also have distinctive lines that make a point on each side of their shorts. I don’t love the design, I’d rather see something that features ram horns on the sides, but they have a great color scheme, which goes a long ways. Also, they wore some cool Colorado flag uniforms in their game against Wyoming, which I fully endorse.
#11 San Jose State
Record: 1-17 (4-25 Overall)
Vegas Odds: +30000
Strengths: Defensive rebounding, 3pt shooting
Weaknesses: Basically everything else
Key Players: Ryan Welage, Keith Fisher III, Jaycee Hillsman
How They Can Win the Tourney: Their best shot is to hope that the rest of the field has to forfeit amid the FBI NCAA investigation. Otherwise, they’ll have to hope that they’re shooting lights-out for four days.
Uniform Review: The Spartans seem to have three main uniforms: white, blue, and yellow, all of which have different styles. The white uniforms have a couple of things I like about them, namely that the shorts have a unique design that fits in with the school’s overall aesthetic. I have a feeling that the jerseys would see an immediate improvement if they swapped the yellow and the blue. The blue jerseys have kind of a weird Zubaz design in the stripe, but are otherwise fairly standard and fine. The yellow jerseys kind of remind me of the NBA All-Star game jerseys, except yellow. That’s not a compliment.