Mountain West Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2021-22 season

Colorado State has really stepped it up these last few seasons under coach Niko Medved, who took over the program in 2018. The Rams have been a bit better each season, with last year’s 20-8 (14-4 in MWC) mark certainly a major step forward. Fortunately, the trend could very well continue for the Rams, who return virtually everyone from last year’s excellent campaign and trend early as an NCAA Tournament team and potential MWC favorite.

David Roddy (15.9 ppg, 9.4 rpg), Isaiah Stevens (15.3 ppg, 5.4 apg), and Kendle Moore (10.5 ppg) all return, giving Colorado State a group of experienced and talented guards, with a familiarity with Medved’s system. This is a great team at interior shooting, they play efficient offense and solid defense; they were even one of the nation’s best from the charity stripe last season. There’s a lot to love about Colorado State this year; it’s just a matter of everything coming together.

Much of the talent from that historic and impressive 2020 team may be gone now, but San Diego State has a way of reloading under Brian Dutcher that remains too true this season. Though the Aztecs see Matt Mitchell and Jordan Schakel moving on with their lives, there’s still plenty to love about San Diego State, including landing one of the best transfers in college basketball this offseason.

The Aztecs get another year out of Trey Pulliam (7.3 ppg, 3.5 apg) and Nathan Mensah (8.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg) but are most excited for Cal transfer Matt Bradley, who averaged 18 points per game last season and will make an immediate impact in San Diego. Dutcher will continue to ensure that this is one of the best defensive programs in the nation and has loaded up on depth behind these three big-time players.

If any of those players take a big step forward, you can expect to see the Aztecs atop the MWC again, especially if their defense ranks among the top 25 nationally in efficiency, which it’s done in eight of the last nine seasons.