Mountain West Basketball: 2021 conference tournament preview and prediction

2020 was a weird, and sad year for many reasons. It also was even sadder for hoops fans who did not get to watch the greatest postseason event of all sports, March Madness.

Last year, if you were a fan of the Mountain West you were lucky enough to get through the whole Mountain West Basketball Tournament but were not able to see how far San Diego State went, or if Utah State could have been a Cinderella story in the tournament.

Good news, this year we are full steam ahead to watching some thrilling and exciting finishes in the Mountain West tourney starting up on March 10th.

The Mountain West Conference was very top-heavy, and most likely should be a multi-bid league again this year. San Diego State like last year enters the Mountain West Conference tournament as the number one seed.

The Mountain West Conference is a conference that I feel sometimes does not get the respect it deserves from around the country. There is some really good basketball in this conference year in and year out. This year was no different either.

There were some huge wins by multiple teams in the conference, but none bigger than the 26-point come-from-behind win by the Colorado State Rams to knock off San Diego State early on in 2021. That game officially started off the year with a huge bang on the road in a 70-67 monumental win for the Rams.

One disappointment that really sticks out is the UNLV Rebels. The Rebels came into the year as the preseason pick to finish fourth, but finished 7th with a record of 11-14 overall, and an 8-10 record in conference play.

Utah State is the defending champion in the Mountain West coming into the 2021 conference tournament. Will the Aggies make it two straight? Can San Diego State get back on top this year and win it? Or will somebody get hot in the tournament and possibly steal an automatic bid?

Let’s get into what should be a very exciting Mountain West Conference tournament slate.