Mountain West Basketball: Final power rankings for 2019-20 season

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 07: Sam Merrill #5 of the Utah State Aggies is names MVP after defeating the San Diego State Aztecs to win the championship game of the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center on March 7, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Aggies defeated the Aztecs 59-56. (Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images) /

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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 13: Wyoming Cowboys fan Ken ‘Cowboy Ken Barrel Man’ Koretos of Wyoming at the Thomas /

8. Wyoming (+2)

It took them nearly the entire season, but we finally saw Wyoming turn their potential into meaningful wins during the Mountain West tournament. Their run to the Mountain West tournament was truly a joy to watch and it was something that they seemed to be working towards for a while.

I pointed out over the last couple of power rankings that while Wyoming wasn’t quite getting the results they hoped for, they were giving just about everybody they played a tough fight. That changed in the MW tournament.

First, they took out Colorado State in a game that they controlled just about from start to finish. Then they came back from a 10 point halftime deficit against 3 seed Nevada to become the first 11 seed to ever make the Mountain West tournament semifinal.

Wyoming’s final ranking in this conference is based entirely on growth. They were clearly a much strong team at the end of the season than the one that entered Mountain West play and they put that on display in Vegas. Their struggles up until March made it difficult to put them any higher on this list, but they absolutely announced themselves as a team to watch in this conference for next season.