2019–20 Mountain West Conference men's basketball season

The 2019–20 Mountain West Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2019, followed by the start of the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in December 2019 and concluded in February 2020. This season marked the 20th season of Mountain West Conference basketball.

2019–20 Mountain West Conference men's basketball season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
DurationNovember 2019
through March 2020
Number of teams11
TV partner(s)ESPN, CBSSN, CBS
Regular Season
Season championsSan Diego State
Tournament
ChampionsUtah State
  Runners-upSan Diego State
Mountain West Conference men's basketball seasons
2019–20 Mountain West Conference
men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 6 San Diego State 17 1   .944 30 2   .938
Utah State 12 6   .667 26 8   .765
Nevada 12 6   .667 19 12   .613
UNLV 12 6   .667 17 15   .531
Boise State 11 7   .611 20 12   .625
Colorado State 11 7   .611 20 12   .625
New Mexico 7 11   .389 19 14   .576
Fresno State 7 11   .389 11 19   .367
Air Force 5 13   .278 12 20   .375
San Jose State 3 15   .167 7 24   .226
Wyoming 2 16   .111 9 24   .273
Conference tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Preseason

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Coaching changes

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On March 15, 2019, UNLV head coach Marvin Menzies was fired after three seasons.[1] On March 27, 2019, South Dakota State head coach T. J. Otzelberger was announced as the new head coach of UNLV.[2]

On April 7, 2019, Nevada head coach Eric Musselman resigned after four seasons to become the head coach of Arkansas.[3] On April 11, 2019, former UCLA and New Mexico head coach Steve Alford was announced as the new head coach of Nevada.[4]

Media Day

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The Mountain West Men's Basketball Media Day was held at Green Valley Ranch in Henderson, Nevada.

Preseason poll

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Utah State received all 17 first-place votes in the conference media poll.[5]

Place Team Points
1 Utah State (17) 187
2 San Diego State 150
3 New Mexico 141
4 Nevada 135
5 Boise State 128
6 Fresno State 103
7 UNLV 89
8 Air Force 76
9 Colorado State 59
10 Wyoming 36
11 San Jose State 17
(first place votes)

Preseason awards

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Honor Player Team
Preseason Player of the Year Sam Merrill Utah State
Preseason Newcomer of the Year Malachi Flynn San Diego State
Preseason Freshman of the Year K.J. Hymes Nevada

Preseason All-Conference team

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Position Player Class Team
F Lavelle Scottie Sr. Air Force
G Derrick Alston Jr. Jr. Boise State
F/C Nico Carvacho Sr. Colorado State
G Sam Merrill Sr. Utah State
C Neemias Queta So. Utah State

Watchlists

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Player Team Watchlist(s)
Sam Merrill Utah State Jerry West Award[6]
Naismith College Player of the Year[7]
John R. Wooden Award[8]
Neemias Queta Utah State Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award[9]
John R. Wooden Award[8]
Nico Carvacho Colorado State Kareem Abdul–Jabbar Award[9]

Regular season

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Conference matrix

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  Air Force Boise St Colorado St Fresno St Nevada New Mexico San Diego St San Jose St UNLV Utah St Wyoming
vs. Air Force 1–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–1
vs. Boise State 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 2–0 0–1 0–1 1–1 0–2
vs. Colorado State 0–1 1–0 0–2 1–1 0–1 1–0 0–1 0–1 2–0 0–2
vs. Fresno State 0–1 1–0 2–0 0–0 1–1 2–0 0–2 2–0 2–0 0–1
vs. Nevada 0–2 1–1 1–1 0–0 0–1 1–0 1–1 0–2 1–0 0–1
vs. New Mexico 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 2–0 1–1 2–0 0–0 0–2
vs. San Diego State 0–1 0–2 0–1 0–2 0–1 0–2 0–1 0–1 0–2 0–2
vs. San Jose State 1–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–0
vs. UNLV 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–2 2–0 0–2 1–0 0–1 1–1 0–1
vs. Utah State 1–1 1–1 0–2 0–2 0–1 0–0 2–0 0–1 1–1 0–1
vs. Wyoming 1–0 2–0 2–0 1–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 0–1 1–0 1–0
Total 4–10 9–6 9–5 5–10 9–5 6–8 15–0 3–11 8−6 10–5 1–13

Postseason

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Mountain West tournament

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All-Conference Teams and Awards

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[10]

Award Recipients
Player of the Year Malachi Flynn (San Diego State)
Coach of the Year Brian Dutcher (San Diego State)
Newcomer of the Year Jalen Harris (Nevada)
Defensive Player of the Year Malachi Flynn (San Diego State)
Sixth Man of the Year Nisré Zouzoua (Nevada)
Freshman of the Year Isaiah Stevens (Colorado State)
First Team Malachi Flynn (San Diego State)
Jalen Harris (Nevada)
Sam Merrill (Utah State)
Matt Mitchell (San Diego State)
Bryce Hamilton (UNLV)
Second Team Yanni Wetzell (San Diego State)
Neemias Queta (Utah State)
Nico Carvacho (Colorado State)
Justinian Jessup (Boise State)
Derrick Alston Jr. (Boise State)
Jazz Johnson (Nevada)
Third Team Justin Bean (Utah State)
Lavell Scottie (Air Force)
Seneca Knight (San Jose State)
Isaiah Stevens (Colorado State)
Amauri Hardy (UNLV)
Honorable Mention KJ Feagin (San Diego State)
Hunter Maldonado (Wyoming)
Lindsey Drew (Nevada)
Nate Grimes (Fresno State)
Orlando Robinson (Fresno State)
All-Defensive Team Malachi Flynn (San Diego State)
KJ Feagin (San Diego State)
Neemias Queta (Utah State)
Lindsey Drew (Nevada)
Justin Bean (Utah State)

Notes and references

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  1. ^ Anderson, Mark (March 15, 2019). "Marvin Menzies fired as UNLV basketball coach". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  2. ^ Anderson, Mark (March 27, 2019). "UNLV hires T.J. Otzelberger as basketball coach". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  3. ^ Borzello, Jeff (April 7, 2019). "Arkansas hires Nevada's Musselman as coach". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  4. ^ "Ex-UCLA coach Alford hired to lead Nevada". ESPN.com. ESPN. April 11, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  5. ^ "Utah State Picked to Win 2019-20 Mountain West Men's Basketball Regular-Season". themw.com. Mountain West Conference. October 15, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  6. ^ "The Jerry West Award". hoophallawards.com. Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  7. ^ "Merrill Named to Naismith Trophy Watch List". Utah State Communications. Mountain West Conference. November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  8. ^ a b "Sam Merrill and Neemias Queta Named to Wooden Award Watch List". Utah State Athletics. Mountain West Conference. November 6, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award". hoophallawards.com. Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  10. ^ "Mountain West Announces 2019–20 Men's Basketball All-Conference Team" (Press release). Mountain West Conference. March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.