2022–23 Mountain West Conference men's basketball season
Sports season
2022–23 Mountain West Conference men's basketball season League NCAA Division I Sport Basketball Duration November 7th 2022 - March 11th 2023 Number of teams 11 TV partner(s) AltitudeTV , Altitude2 , ATTSN CBSSN , CBS /Paramount+ , Cowboy Sports Network, ESPN , ESPN2 , ESPNU , ESPNews , ESPN+ , ESPN3 , Evoca, FloSports , FOX , Fox Sports 1 , NBCSBA NSN , Stadium/MWN , Pac-12 Network , SECN , WCC Network , YouTube , YurView Regular season champions San Diego State Season MVP Omari Moore Champions San Diego State Runners-up Utah State Tournament MVP Matt Bradley ← 2021–22
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[ 1]
Rivals[ 2]
On3 Recruits[ 3]
247 Sports[ 4]
Signees
Air Force
—
―
No. 117
―
3
Boise State
―
―
No. 82
No. 84
2
Colorado State
―
―
No. 116
No. 134
2
Fresno State
―
No. 37
No. 85
4
Nevada
―
―
No. 78
No. 90
3
New Mexico
―
―
No. 122
No. 52
3
San Diego State
―
―
No. 64
No. 63
2
San Jose State
―
―
No. 111
No. 126
4
UNLV
―
―
No. 221
―
1
Utah State
―
―
―
―
―
Wyoming
―
No. 51
No. 169
No. 124
3
Preseason watchlists
Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.
Preseason All-American teams
Preseason polls
The Mountain West will conduct its 2022 Mountain West media days on October 20, 2022.[ 26]
The teams and representatives in respective order were as follows:
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:[ 27]
Mountain West Preseason All-Conference
First Team
[ 28]
Name
School
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.
Final watchlists
Below is a table of notable year end watch lists.
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
Records against other conferences
Records against non-conference foes for the 2022–23 season. Records shown for regular season only.
Regular season
Postseason
Record against ranked non-conference opponents
This is a list of games against ranked opponents only (rankings from the AP Poll):
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 Force
Boise State
Colorado State
Fresno State
Nevada
New Mexico
San Diego State
San Jose State
UNLV
Utah State
Wyoming
vs. Air Force
–
1–0
1–1
1–1
2–0
1–1
2–0
2–0
1–0
2–0
0–2
vs. Boise State
0–1
–
0–2
0–1
1–1
1–1
1–1
1–1
0–2
1–1
0–2
vs. Colorado State
1–1
2–0
–
0–2
1–0
1–1
2–0
2–0
1–1
1–0
1–1
vs. Fresno State
1–1
1–0
2–0
–
2–0
1–1
1–0
1–1
0–2
2–0
1–1
vs. Nevada
0–2
1–1
0–1
0–2
–
0–2
1–1
0–2
2–0
1–1
1–0
vs. 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
0–2
vs. San Jose State
0–2
1–1
0–2
1–1
2–0
2–0
1–0
–
0–2
1–1
0–1
vs. UNLV
0–1
2–0
1–1
2–0
0–2
0–1
2–0
2–0
–
2–0
0–2
vs. Utah State
0–2
1–1
0–1
0–2
1–1
0–1
2–0
1–1
0–2
–
0–2
vs. 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
Team
For
Against
Difference
Air Force
2,072
2,068
4
Boise State
2,235
1,975
260
Colorado State
2,263
2,226
37
Fresno State
1,909
1,969
-60
Nevada
2,247
2,059
188
New Mexico
2,517
2,275
242
San Diego State
2,188
1,932
256
San Jose State
2,098
2,058
40
UNLV
2,222
2,084
138
Utah State
2,451
2,170
281
Wyoming
2,068
2,147
-79
Through March 5, 2023 [ 30]
Rankings
Improvement in ranking
Drop in ranking
RV
Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25
NV
No votes received
Team
Poll
Pre
Wk 2
Wk 3
Wk 4
Wk 5
Wk 6
Wk 7
Wk 8
Wk 9
Wk 10
Wk 11
Wk 12
Wk 13
Wk 14
Wk 15
Wk 16
Wk 17
Wk 18
Final
Air 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
RV
RV
NV
RV
RV
RV
RV
C
RV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
RV
RV
NV
RV
NV
NV
RV
RV
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
NV
RV
RV
RV
RV
RV
NV
C
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
RV
RV
NV
NV
RV
RV
NV
RV
NV
New Mexico
AP
NV
NV
NV
RV
RV
RV
RV
22
21
RV
RV
25
RV
RV
NV
NV
NV
NV
C
NV
NV
NV
NV
RV
RV
RV
RV
22
RV
RV
RV
RV
RV
NV
NV
NV
NV
San Diego State
AP
19
17
17
24
22
RV
RV
RV
RV
23
RV
RV
22
25
21
22
18
20
C
20
19
19
24
22
RV
RV
RV
RV
25
RV
RV
RV
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
NV
NV
NV
NV
UNLV
AP
NV
NV
RV
RV
RV
RV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
C
NV
NV
NV
RV
RV
RV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
Utah State
AP
NV
NV
RV
NV
NV
RV
RV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
RV
NV
NV
NV
NV
C
NV
NV
NV
NV
RV
RV
RV
RV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
RV
NV
NV
NV
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.
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.
Post season
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.
First round Wednesday, March 8Stadium/MWN
Quarterfinals Thursday, March 9CBSSN
Semifinals Friday, March 10CBSSN
Championship Saturday, March 11CBS /Paramount+
1
San Diego State
64
8
Colorado State
67
8
Colorado State
61
9
Fresno State
65
1
San Diego State
64
5
San Jose State
49
4
Nevada
77
5
San Jose State
81*
1
San Diego State
62
3
Utah State
57
2
Boise State
87*
7
UNLV
78*
7
UNLV
76
10
Air Force
70
2
Boise State
62
3
Utah State
72
3
Utah State
91
6
New Mexico
87
6
New Mexico
76
11
Wyoming
76
* denotes overtime period
NCAA tournament
Four teams were selected to participate:
National Invitation Tournament
One team was selected to participate:
Seed
Bracket
School
First round
Second round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals
2
Rutgers
New Mexico
lost to Utah Valley 69–83
W–L (%):
0–1 (.000)
0–0 (–)
0–0 (–)
0–0 (–)
Total: 0–1 (.000)
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.[ 31]
Week
Player of the week
School
Freshman of the week
School
Nov 14
Darrion Trammell
San Diego State
Darrion Williams
Nevada
Nov 21
EJ Harkless
UNLV
Darrion Williams (2)
Nevada
Nov 28
Morris Udeze
New Mexico
Corbin Green
Air Force
Dec 5
Max Rice
Boise State
Donovan Dent
New Mexico
Dec 12
Noah Reynolds
Wyoming
Rytis Petraitis
Air Force
Dec 19
Isaiah Stevens
Colorado State
Rytis Petraitis (2)
Air Force
Dec 26
Will Baker
Nevada
Rytis Petraitis (3)
Air Force
Jan 2
Matt Bradley
San Diego State
Rytis Petraitis (4)
Air Force
Jan 9
EJ Harkless (2)
UNLV
Nick Davidson
Nevada
Jan 16
Jaelen House
New Mexico
Marcell McCreary
Air Force
Jan 23
Jamal Mashburn Jr.
New Mexico
Rytis Petraitis (5)
Air Force
Jan 30
EJ Harkless (3)
UNLV
Darrion Williams (3)
Nevada
Feb 6
Jarod Lucas
Nevada
Nate Barnhart
Wyoming
Feb 13
Matt Bradley (2)
San Diego State
Darrion Williams (4)
Nevada
Feb 20
Max Shulga
Utah State
Rytis Petraitis (6)
Air Force
Feb 27
Omari Moore
San Jose State
Darrion Williams (4)
Nevada
Totals per school
School
Total
Air Force
8
Nevada
8
New Mexico
4
San Diego State
3
UNLV
3
Wyoming
2
Boise State
1
Colorado State
1
San Jose State
1
Utah State
1
Fresno State
0
All-Americans
All-District
The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) named the following from the Mountain West to their All-District Teams:
District VIII
All-District Team
District IX
Player of the Year
All-District Team
Mountain West season awards
The Mountain West presents two separate sets of major awards—one voted on by conference coaches and the other by media.[ 32]
All-MWC
First Team
‡ Mountain West Player of the Year
††† three-time All-Mountain West First Team honoree
†† two-time All-Mountain West First Team honoree
† two-time All-Mountain West honoree
Second Team
Name
School
Pos.
Yr.
Ht.
Hometown (Last School)
Max Rice
Boise State
G
Sr.
Kenan Blackshear
Nevada
G
Sr.
Jarod Lucas
Nevada
G
Sr.
Jaelen House
New Mexico
G
Sr.
EJ Harkless
UNLV
G
Sr.
Hunter Maldonado
Wyoming
G
Sr.
Third Team
Name
School
Pos.
Yr.
Ht.
Hometown (Last School)
Jake Heidbreder
Air Force
G
So.
Marcus Shaver Jr.
Boise State
F
Sr.
Will Baker
Nevada
C
Jr.
Morris Udeze
New Mexico
F
5th
Lamont Butler
San Diego State
G
Jr.
Nathan Mensah
San Diego State
F
Sr.
Honorable Mention:
Isaiah Hill, Sr., G, Fresno State Max Shulga, Jr., G, Utah State
All-Freshman Team
† Mountain West Player of the Year
‡ Mountain West Freshman of the Year
Honorable Mention
All-Defensive Team
Name
School
Pos.
Yr.
Ht.
Kenan Blackshear
Nevada
G
Sr.
Tré Coleman
Nevada
F
Jr.
Jaelen House
New Mexico
G
Jr.
Lamont Butler
San Diego State
G
Jr.
Nathan Mensah
San Diego State
F
Jr.
† Mountain West Player of the Year
‡ Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year
†† two-time Mountain West All-Defensive Team honoree
Honorable Mention
Scholar Athlete of the year
Name
School
Pos.
Ht., Wt.
GPA
Major
All-Mountain West tournament team
National awards
2022–23 Season statistic leaders
Source:[ 33]
Scoring leaders
Rk
Player
PTS
PPG
1
Jamal Mashburn Jr.
305
17.9
2
Jarod Lucas
300
16.7
3
Eligah Harkless
249
16.6
4
Jaelen House
282
16.6
5
Morris Udeze
272
16.0
Rebound leaders
Rk
Player
REB
RPG
1
Josiah Allick
140
8.2
2
Morris Udeze
135
7.9
3
Isaih Moore
126
7.9
4
Sage Tolbert
140
7.8
5
Daniel Akin
125
7.4
Field goal leaders (avg 5 fga/gm)
Rk
Player
FG
FGA
PCT
1
Patrick Cartier
96
147
65.3%
2
Morris Udeze
102
170
60.0%
3
Noah Reynolds
71
131
54.2%
4
Jake Heidbreder
86
173
49.7%
5
Tyson Degenhart
80
172
46.5%
Assist leaders
Rk
Player
AST
APG
1
Jaelen House
86
4.8
2
Kenan Blackshear
86
4.8
3
Pmari Moore
86
4.8
4
Max Shulga
74
4.4
5
Steven Ashworth
72
4.2
Block leaders
Rk
Player
BLK
BPG
1
Ibrahima Diallo
39
2.2
2
Corbin Green
26
2.0
3
David Muoka
23
1.5
4
Nathan Mensah
24
1.5
5
Lukas Milner
15
0.9
Free throw leaders
Rk
Player
FT
FTA
PCT
1
Jake Heidbreder
53
60
88.3%
2
Will Baker
49
56
87.5%
3
Jarod Lucas
82
96
85.4%
4
Steven Ashworth
54
65
83.1%
5
Jaelen House
81
98
82.7%
Steal leaders
Rk
Player
STL
SPG
1
Jaelen House
81
3.0
2
Keshon Gilbert
34
2.3
3
Luis Rodriguez
34
2.3
4
Marcus Shaver Jr.
24
2.0
5
Lamont Butler
30
1.9
Three point leaders
Rk
Player
3P
3PA
%
1
Steven Ashworth
58
113
51.3%
2
Taylor Funk
43
107
40.2%
3
Jake Heidbreder
43
109
39.4%
4
Jarod Lucas
48
127
37.8%
5
Home game attendance
Team
Stadium
Capacity
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
Game 4
Game 5
Game 6
Game 7
Game 8
Game 9
Game 10
Game 11
Game 12
Game 13
Game 14
Game 15
Game 16
Game 17
Game 18
Game 19
Total
Average
% of Capacity
Air Force
Clune Arena
6,002
1,625
1,131
1,276
1,022
1,490
1,196
1,176
855
1,119
1,038
1,704†
1,461
1,257
1,489
843
1,068
1,899
847
1,611
24,107
1,269
21.13%
Boise State
ExtraMile Arena
12,644
9,796
4,157
8,544
7,511
7,195
7,254
7,715
8,113
12,007
9,653
9,010
12,021
11,037
9,825
12,208†
136,046
9,070
71.73%
Colorado State
Moby Arena
8,745
4,435
5,028
3,769
3,884
4,342
5,439
3,563
4,268
4,196
4,003
6,008
4,657
6,018
3,521
8,083†
4,936
76,150
4,759
54.42%
Fresno State
Save Mart Center
15,596
3,675
3,123
3,008
3,913
4,165
4,868
5,864
5,950
6,817
5,090
7,012†
7,137
5,107
5,145
70,874
5,062
32.45%
Nevada
Lawlor Events Center
12,000
5,407
5,705
4,904
6,693
5,380
7,911
6,102
7,315
8,292
9,357
10,186
8,571
8,780
11,327†
105,930
7,566
63.05%
New Mexico
The Pit
15,411
8,181
9,466
9,033
8,715
8,434
8,329
10,049
14,534
9,425
15,215
15,424
9,249
11,519
14,566
15,143
15,009
11,185
15,431
12,520 †
221,427
11,654
75.62%
San Diego State
Viejas Arena
12,414
11,934
12,414 †
12,414 †
12,115
12,038
11,532
12,414 †
12,414 †
12,183
12,414 †
12,239
12,414 †
12,414 †
12,414 †
12,414 †
12,414 †
196,181
12,261
98.77%
San Jose State
Event Center Arena
5,000
2,241
1,322
1,587
1,652
1,546
1,233
2,234
2,871
2,084
3,371†
2,609
2,389
2,917
2,321
2,347
32,724
2,182
43.63%
UNLV
Thomas & Mack Center
17,923
5,039
4,931
5,732
4,589
4,549
6,446
6,093
7,249
5,802
5,102
4,539
8,734†
5,762
4,783
5,831
5,747
80,383
5,742
31.99%
Utah State
Smith Spectrum
10,270
7,430
6,875
6,549
5,980
6,777
6,047
7,000
6,933
7,890
7,611
8,895†
8,851
8,765
6,935
9,157
9,963†
121,658
7,604
74.03%
Wyoming
Arena-Auditorium
11,612
4,464
4,498
4,782
4,472
3,953
4,604
4,823
4,346
4,178
6,968†
3,950
3,717
4,719
3,894
4,520
67,888
4,526
38.97%
Total
11,602
1,133,368
6,551
56.46%
Bold – At or exceed capacity
†Season high
References
^ "2022 Team Rankings" .
^ "2022 Team Rankings" .
^ "2022 Consensus Basketball Team Recruiting Rankings" .
^ "2022 Recruit Basketball Team Rankings" .
^ "2023 John R. Wooden Award Watch List" .
^ "Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe Headlines 2023 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List" .
^ "The Bob Cousy Award Watch List" . hoophallawards.com .
^ "The Jerry West Award Watch List" .
^ "The Julius Erving Award Watch List" .
^ "The Karl Malone Award Watch List" .
^ "The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Watch List" .
^ "The Lute Olson Award Watch List" (PDF) .
^ Tucker, Kyle (October 25, 2022). "Men's college basketball pre-season All-Americans: Tshiebwe, Timme lead The Athletic's list" . The Athletic .
^ "2022 to 2023 Basketball Yearbook" .
^ Parrish, Gary; Norlander, Matt; Cobb, David; Boone, Kyle (October 20, 2021). "2022-23 CBS Sports Preseason All-America teams: College basketball's best and most talented players" . CBS Sports .
^ "Preseason All-Americans for the 2022-23 season" .
^ Flaherty, Kevin; Trotter, Isaac (October 10, 2022). "College basketball: 247Sports releases preseason Top 25 rankings for 2022-23" . 247 Sports .
^ "North Carolina No. 1 in preseason AP Top 25 men's basketball" .
^ Dortch, Chris (September 1, 2022). "Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook Preseason Top 25" . Blue Ribbon Reports .
^ Parrish, Gary (September 30, 2022). "College basketball rankings: Virginia joins preseason Top 25 And 1, ready to contend for ACC title" . CBS Sports .
^ "USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll" .
^ Borzello, Jeff (October 6, 2022). "Is North Carolina still the favorite in the final 2022-23 Way-Too-Early Top 25 college basketball rankings?" . ESPN.com .
^ "2023 Pomeroy Ratings" .
^ Katz, Andy (October 6, 2022). "North Carolina is No. 1 in Andy Katz's Power 36 college basketball rankings" . ncaa.com .
^ Sweeney, Kevin (June 18, 2022). "Top 25 Reset: How Transfers, Draft Decisions Changed Our Men's 2022–23 Rankings" . Sports Illustrated .
^ "Mountain West Men's Basketball Media Days Recap: Day 1 & 2" . mwcconnection.com . October 20, 2022.
^ "San Diego State Selected Mountain West Men's Basketball Preseason Favorite" . pac-12.com . October 26, 2022.
^ "Mountain West Announces 2022-23 Preseason Men's Basketball All-Conference Team" . themw.com . October 20, 2022.
^ "JOHN R. WOODEN AWARD PRESENTED BY WENDY'S ANNOUNCES 2022-23 MIDSEASON TOP 25 WATCH LIST" .
^ "Sortable Team Stats" . Retrieved November 7, 2022 .
^ "Mountain West Men's Basketball Players of the Week" .
^ "The Mountain West 2022-23 men's basketball awards" .
^ "Individual Leaders" .
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