Mountain West Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2020-21

Mountain West Basketball: Way-too-early 2020-21 power rankings

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 11: Matt Mitchell #11 of the San Diego State Aztecs cuts a piece of the net after defeating New Mexico Lobos 82-59 in a game at Viejas Arena on February 11, 2020 in San Diego, California. San Diego State Aztecs moves to 25-0 for the season and clinched a share of the Mouintain West Championship. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

3 of 11

DENVER, CO – MARCH 17: Karachi Edo #4 of the Fresno State Bulldogs (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

9. Fresno State

This season was a major disappointment for Fresno State and things don’t look like they’re going to get any better. Unlike the two teams behind them, the Bulldogs will at least have a couple of players to lean on next year, but it doesn’t look they’ll be enough for this team to improve.

The Bulldogs will see Orlando Robinson return to lead the team once again, but they lost a few of his key support players. Nate Grimes, New Williams, and Jarred Hyder are all gone and Fresno state hasn’t done enough to replace them right now.

They managed to land Devin Gage from Depaul as a transfer who will be immediately available, but his production for the Blue Demons doesn’t exactly make him a needle mover. Other than him, they’ve brought in a few freshmen, but nobody who looks like they’re going to have a big immediate impact.

I believe that this Fresno State squad will have enough experienced talent to at least overcome Air Force and San Jose State, but it’s difficult to see them outperforming anybody else. They weren’t all that great last year and they should be worse next year. At least the expectations will be lower to start the year so there won’t be as much disappointment over their performance.