COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. –The Mountain West announced today the 2018-19 MW Men’s Basketball Conference schedule. Each institution will play nine home games and make nine road trips during the Conference season. This is the sixth year that the MW has utilized the 18-game format.
Conference play is set to begin Wednesday, Jan. 2 with five contests and plays out for 10 weeks before concluding on Saturday, March 9. League play will determine the seeding for the 2019 MW Men’s Basketball Championship, which will be held March 13-16 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
The 2017-18 MW Player and Newcomer of the Year, Caleb Martin, and his twin brother, MW Defensive Player of the Year Cody Martin, are back for their final year at Nevada under Steve Fisher Mountain West Coach of the Year winner Eric Musselman. Nevada, which had a stellar 29-8 record last season and made an appearance in the Sweet 16, has three returning starters and will open conference play hosting Utah State Wednesday, Jan. 2.
Wyoming’s Justin James participated in private workouts with numerous NBA franchises but ultimately decided to return to Wyoming and play his senior year for the Cowboys. James, who ranks 19th in career scoring at Wyoming with 1,355 points, was second in the league in scoring, averaging 20.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists during the 2017-18 season.
San Diego State returns three starters—Devin Watson, Matt Mitchell and Jalen McDaniels—after making its 12th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament. McDaniels previously worked out with 11 NBA teams before returning to San Diego State for what will be his sophomore year. McDaniels was one of four freshmen in the country to average 10.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and shoot 58 percent or better from the field.
Deshon Taylor makes his way back to Fresno State to play for the Bulldogs after averaging 17.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game in the 2017-18 season. The first-team All-MW and All-Defense Team honoree led the Conference in free throws made with 200, which was a single-season program record.
Colorado State, Fresno State and Utah State all saw changes to their coaching staff. Niko Medved was named head coach for Colorado State in March. Medved was an assistant coach at CSU from 2007-13. Fresno State announced Justin Hutson will be the newest head coach for the Bulldogs. Hutson comes to Fresno State after serving as an assistant coach at San Diego State (2006-11, 13-18). He also was with UNLV from 2011-13. Craig Smith was named head coach for Utah State. Smith comes to the Aggies from University of South Dakota, where he led the Coyotes to a 79-55 record. He also has familiarity with the Conference as he was an assistant at Colorado State from 2008-2012.
The release today is the first phase in the 2018-19 men’s basketball schedule process. Mountain West national television partners CBS Sports Network and ESPN will initiate a selection procedure which will include the shifting of select Wednesday games to Tuesday and Saturday games to Sunday. The national television selections are expected to be completed by the middle of August. Regional partner AT&T SportsNet and the Mountain West Network on STADIUM will begin their picks after the national television lineup has been announced. Game times will be set once all broadcast networks finalize their selections.
Additionally, the Conference announced the format and game times for the 2019 MW Men’s Basketball Championship. The 10-game tournament begins on Wednesday, March 13 with three first-round games. The men’s quarterfinals are set for Thursday, March 14 with semifinal play on Friday, March 15. The tournament will conclude with the men’s championship game on Saturday, March 16 at 3 p.m. PT.
Wednesday, January 2
Boise State at Wyoming
Colorado State at UNLV
Fresno State at San José State
New Mexico at Air Force
Utah State at Nevada
Saturday, January 5
Air Force at Utah State
Colorado State at Fresno State
Nevada at New Mexico
San Diego State at Boise State
Wyoming at UNLV
Wednesday, January 9
Air Force at Colorado State
Fresno State at Utah State
San José State at Nevada
UNLV at New Mexico
Wyoming at San Diego State
Saturday, January 12
Boise State at San José State
Nevada at Fresno State
New Mexico at Colorado State
San Diego State at Air Force
Utah State at Wyoming
Wednesday, January 16
Nevada at Boise State
New Mexico at San Diego State
UNLV at Air Force
Utah State at San José State
Saturday, January 19
Air Force at Nevada
Colorado State at Utah State
Fresno State at Boise State
San José State at UNLV
Wyoming at New Mexico
Wednesday, January 23
Boise State at Air Force
Colorado State at Nevada
New Mexico at UNLV
San Diego State at Fresno State
San José State at Wyoming
Saturday, January 26
Air Force at San José State
Fresno State at Colorado State
UNLV at San Diego State
Utah State at New Mexico
Wyoming at Boise State
Wednesday, January 30
Air Force at San Diego State
Boise State at Colorado State
Fresno State at Wyoming
Nevada at UNLV
San José State at Utah State
Saturday, February 2
Boise State at Nevada
Colorado State at Air Force
New Mexico at Fresno State
San Diego State at San José State
UNLV at Utah State
Wednesday, February 6
Nevada at Colorado State
San Diego State at New Mexico
UNLV at Boise State
Utah State at Fresno State
Wyoming at Air Force
Saturday, February 9
Colorado State at Wyoming
Fresno State at UNLV
New Mexico at Nevada
San José State at Boise State
Utah State at San Diego State
Wednesday, February 13
Air Force at UNLV
Boise State at Fresno State
San Diego State at Colorado State
San José State at New Mexico
Wyoming at Utah State
Saturday, February 16
Boise State at San Diego State
Fresno State at New Mexico
Nevada at Wyoming
UNLV at San José State
Utah State at Air Force
Wednesday, February 20
Air Force at Fresno State
Colorado State at San José State
Nevada at San Diego State
New Mexico at Utah State
UNLV at Wyoming
Saturday, February 23
Fresno State at Nevada
San Diego State at UNLV
San José State at Air Force
Utah State at Boise State
Wyoming at Colorado State
Wednesday, February 27
Colorado State at Boise State
New Mexico at San José State
San Diego State at Utah State
UNLV at Nevada
Wyoming at Fresno State
Saturday, March 2
Air Force at Wyoming
Boise State at UNLV
Colorado State at New Mexico
Nevada at Utah State
San José State at San Diego State
Wednesday, March 6
Boise State at New Mexico
Fresno State at San Diego State
Nevada at Air Force
Utah State at Colorado State
Wyoming at San José State
Saturday, March 9
Air Force at Boise State
New Mexico at Wyoming
San Diego State at Nevada
San José State at Fresno State
UNLV at Colorado State
2019 MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMPIONSHIP
Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nev.
Wednesday, March 13
MW Men’s First Round #1 11 a.m. PT
MW Men’s First Round #2 1:30 p.m. PT
MW Men’s First Round #3 4 p.m. PT
Thursday, March 14
Men’s Quarterfinal #1 Noon PT
Men’s Quarterfinal #2 2:30 p.m. PT
Men’s Quarterfinal #3 6 p.m. PT
Men’s Quarterfinal #4 8:30 p.m. PT
Friday, March 15
Men’s Semifinal #1 6 p.m. PT
Men’s Semifinal #2 8:30 p.m. PT
Saturday, March 16
Men’s Championship Game 3 p.m. PT
Home teams in bold
All dates and times subject to change.
