NCAA Basketball: Preseason top 25 power rankings for 2023-24 season

24. New Mexico Lobos

2022-23 season record: 22-12 (8-10 Mountain West)

Fun fact, the Lobos were the last NCAA Basketball team to lose a game last season, starting out 16-0 overall. But between injuries and forgetting to play defense in league play, they suffered a late-season collapse to cost them a trip to the Big Dance. They did lose the frontcourt duo of Morris Udeze and Josiah Allick, who combined for 24.8 ppg and 16.9 rpg.

A trio of key newcomers arrive to replace the frontcourt depth. The biggest name is Nelly Junior Joseph, a 6’9 forward from Iona who averaged 14.9 ppg and 9.3 rpg and is a two-time All-MAAC performer. Isaac Mushila is a 6’5 combo forward from Texas A&M Corpus-Christi coming off a year where he averaged 14.5 ppg and 9.9 rpg. And Mustapha Amzil is a stretch forward from Dayton, shooting 37% from deep last season.

But the hype and hope for New Mexico comes with its backcourt duo of Jamal Mashburn (19.1 ppg and 2.1 apg) and Jaelen House (16.9 ppg and 4.7 apg). The team’s slide coincided with House missing games but a fully healthy version of him had the Lobos literally unbeatable midway through. Sophomore guard Donovan Dent is back, along with the addition of Jemarl Baker Jr., who averaged 12.5 ppg at Fresno State and will be entering his 7th season.

After making it to the national title game, many would argue that San Diego State should be the team to beat in the Mountain West. But with the losses of Matt Bradley and just as importantly Nathan Mensah, I’m making the bet that this is the year the Lobos reign supreme in the league, from start to finish.