Busting Brackets
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Mountain West Basketball: Final Team Grades and Rankings for 2017-18

By Tristan Freeman

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 10: Head coach Brian Dutcher of the San Diego State Aztecs celebrates after cutting down the net the team victory over the New Mexico Lobos after the championship game of the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament at the Thomas
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 10: Head coach Brian Dutcher of the San Diego State Aztecs celebrates after cutting down the net the team victory over the New Mexico Lobos after the championship game of the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament at the Thomas /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 10: Devin Watson
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 10: Devin Watson /

2. San Diego State Aztecs 22-11 (11-7)

2017-18 postseason result: NCAA Tournament First Round

Season Grade: B+

It was going to be interesting to see how different the Aztec’s were going to look playing-wise in Brian Dutcher’s first year at the helm. The results were clearly mixed, with a huge win against Gonzaga coming off an awful loss to Cal. The growing pains continued in the Mountain West, where the team lost six of eight games in the middle.

But after losing by 25 on the road at Nevada, San Diego State came together and everything clicked. They went on a nine-game winning streak, including a pair of wins against the Wolf Pack in route to stealing a bid by winning the conference tournament.

The Aztecs lost a squeaker to Houston in the Big Dance, but the foundation is there for a program to have success in the future. Looks like they found the right successor to the great Steve Fisher.

1. Nevada Wolf Pack 29-8 (15-3)

2017-18 postseason result: NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen

Season Grade: A+

Although San Diego State did get the better of this team late in the season, Nevada’s entire resume easily warranted them the No. 1 spot, where they were for most of the year. With Jordan Caroline along with the Martin twins providing a gigantic scoring boost, the Wolf Pack was just too much on offense for most teams.

Next: 2018-19 Preseason Top 25

Even though this was a vastly different roster than a year ago, the end result was the same – Nevada was the best team in the Mountain West. But they did have to fight for it, with the conference as a whole showing sign that multiple bids to the Big Dance will be a regularity soon enough.