This year marks the end of an era in the Mountain West.
San Diego State, Boise State, Colorado State, Utah State, and Fresno State are leaving the conference to join Oregon State, Washington State, Texas State, and Gonzaga (basketball only) in the rebuilt Pac-12. UTEP, Northern Illinois, and Grand Canyon (basketball) are joining the Mountain West. In fact, the Antelopes already have. The conference announced in July that Grand Canyon is joining a year early.
San Diego State men’s basketball has been the conference’s flagship brand for the past two decades – much in the same vein as Boise State football. Like the Broncos on the gridiron, the Aztecs are the favorites to end their time in the league as king of the Mountain West. They were the unanimous pick to win the conference’s regular-season title, earning all 26 first-place votes in the media preseason poll.
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The Aztecs have won nine Mountain West regular-season championships and six conference tournament titles since 2006. They won back-to-back regular-season titles in 2020 and 2021 and claimed their most recent championship in 2023. San Diego State has earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament 12 times since 2010 and finished as national runner-up in 2023.
Preseason Mountain West Player of the Year Miles Byrd and seven-foot sophomore Magoon Gwath return for an experienced squad, which also includes veteran guards BJ Davis and Reese Dixon-Waters. The Aztecs added impact transfers in point guard Sean Newman Jr. (Louisiana Tech), 6-3 junior Latrell Davis (San Jose State), and 6-5 guard Elzie Harrington, who was named preseason freshman of the year.
Utah State was picked to finish second in the media poll, followed by Boise State, Grand Canyon, and last year’s regular-season champ New Mexico. UNLV was picked to finish No. 6, followed by last season’s Mountain West Tournament champ Colorado State, who tied with Nevada at No. 7.
Mountain West Basketball Championship Betting Odds
San Diego State is the college basketball betting odds favorite to win the Mountain West regular-season championship on BetMGM. Here’s how the odds break down.
Odds as of 10/30/25
San Diego State +115
Utah State +325
Boise State +500
New Mexico +1000
Grand Canyon +1000
UNLV +1100
Colorado State +1400
Nevada +3000
San Jose State +10000
Wyoming +15000
Fresno State +15000
Air Force +25000
Mountain West Basketball: Don’t Sleep on the Aggies, Broncos
San Diego State may be the favorite in the Mountain West, but Utah State isn’t just going to roll over and give them the trophy.
Mason Falslev is back to lead the Aggies after he earned second-team all-conference honors last season with a team-high 6.3 rebounds a game. He ranked No. 2 on the team with 15 points a night. He’s joined by a host of impact transfers, including 6-9 forward Garry Clark (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi), guard MJ Collins, who has 45 career starts from his time at Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech, and 6-10 center Zach Keller (Utah), who will compete with 6-9 returner Karson Templin.
Boise State has to replace leading scorer Tyson Degenhart, but the Broncos have a nice mix of blue-collar players like Andrew Meadow and flashy scorers like Javan Buchanan back from last season. Former UCLA point guard Dylan Andrews and 6-11 forward/center Drew Fielder (Georgetown) should make immediate impacts, and sophomore Pearson Carmichael should take a major step forward after some impressive performances last season.
If the Broncos can gel, they’ll be a problem in the Mountain West and could be looking at a return to the NCAA Tournament after last season snapped a streak of three-straight trips to the Big Dance.
UNLV, Colorado State Aren’t Out of the Race
Grand Canyon should immediately be competitive in the Mountain West, but the Antelopes have to replace six of their top-seven scorers from last season.
UNLV and Colorado State are more likely darkhorse candidates to sneak into the title picture, but both programs are starting with almost blank slates.
The Rebels had to basically rebuild their entire roster, but new head coach Josh Pastner knows how to win, and he signed one of the best mid-major transfer classes in the country. Guards Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn (Illinois) and Al Green (Louisiana Tech) should step into starting roles right away, while former five-star recruit Naas Cunningham (Alabama) and seven-foot center Emmanuel Stephen (Arizona) have serious upside.
Colorado State had to replace everything from its head coach to NBA Draft pick Nique Clifford, who was picked No. 24 overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Top assistant Ali Farokhmanesh was promoted to head coach, and the Rams retained a respectable frontcourt with Rashaan Mbemba, Kyle Jorgensen, and Nikola Djapa returning. They also landed some big-time talent in the transfer portal when they signed guards Josh Pascarelli (Marist) and Brandon Rechsteiner (Virginia Tech), plus former four-star recruits Carey Booth (Illinois) and Jase Butler (Washington).
Mountain West Basketball Prediction
I predict San Diego State will win the Mountain West regular-season championship, and the conference will send at least four teams to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth year in a row.
San Diego State just has too much size and experience. Byrd and Gwath are the top duo in the conference, the Aztecs always play solid defense under head coach Brian Dutcher, and they have enough firepower on offense that they could be looking at another deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
Utah State has the pieces to compete with the Aztecs, but the Aggies need a large transfer class to gel quickly. Boise State has the experience to ride off into the sunset with the title, but the Broncos need a consistent scorer and leader to emerge with Degenhart gone. Buchanan and Carmichael both showed they can score last year, but they need to be more consistent.
The biggest dark horse for me this year is UNLV. If that transfer class can come together quickly, the Rebels are going to be a problem for a lot of teams.
