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 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | NCAA Division I |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | November 2019 through March 2020 |
| Number of teams | 11 |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN, CBSSN, CBS |
| Regular Season | |
| Season champions | San Diego State |
| Tournament | |
| Champions | Utah State |
| Runners-up | San Diego State |
| 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
Coaching changes
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
The Mountain West Men's Basketball Media Day was held at Green Valley Ranch in Henderson, Nevada.
Preseason poll
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
| 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
| 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
| 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
Conference matrix
| 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
Mountain West tournament
All-Conference Teams and Awards
| 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
- Anderson, Mark (March 15, 2019). "Marvin Menzies fired as UNLV basketball coach". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
- Anderson, Mark (March 27, 2019). "UNLV hires T.J. Otzelberger as basketball coach". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
- Borzello, Jeff (April 7, 2019). "Arkansas hires Nevada's Musselman as coach". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
- "Ex-UCLA coach Alford hired to lead Nevada". ESPN.com. ESPN. April 11, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
- "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.
- "The Jerry West Award". hoophallawards.com. Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
- "Merrill Named to Naismith Trophy Watch List". Utah State Communications. Mountain West Conference. November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
- "Sam Merrill and Neemias Queta Named to Wooden Award Watch List". Utah State Athletics. Mountain West Conference. November 6, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
- "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award". hoophallawards.com. Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
- "Mountain West Announces 2019–20 Men's Basketball All-Conference Team" (Press release). Mountain West Conference. March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
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