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2021 College Basketball Rankings: Where Do Mountain West Teams Stand?
The Mountain West could be in for multiple teams in the Top 25
Contact/Follow @MWCwire
Way-Too-Early T25’s contain some MW love
Next season will look significantly different for the Mountain West, a real changing of the guard once again.
What do I mean by that? Well, San Diego State loses three key contributors from last season, including Matt Mitchell & Jordan Schakel moving onto the pro game, not utilizing their free year of eligibility, while Terrell Gomez is doing the same.
Boise State never got into the rankings last season, but were ranked 26th in the AP Poll on multiple different occasions, next season will look vastly different for the Broncos. The star of last season’s team Derrick Alston Jr, moves onto the professional game.
So, where does that leave us? Who will rise to the top of the pinnacle in the Mountain West next season?
Nevada Wolf Pack
The Pack return star-studded guard Grant Sherfield, who averaged 18.6 PPG & 6.1 APG in his first season in Reno, earning him first team All-Conference honors. You also get back Desmond Cambridge & Warren Washington, while adding two former top-50 recruits with Will Baker from Texas & Addison Patterson from Oregon.
There’s loads of talent for Steve Alford, so where do writers have the Pack ranked next season?
My rankings on MTM have the Wolf Pack ranked 10th for next season, due to what’s returning & what’s coming in makes for a dangerous squad.
Has the Wolf Pack coming in at 23rd in their WTE Top-25 rankings, stating
“The Mountain West was focused on four teams this past season… San Diego State, Utah State, Colorado State, and Boise State who all were fighting for at-large positions. But there was a fifth team right below in the Nevada Wolf Pack, that got a few wins against the top tier.”
Aaron Torres at KentuckySportsRadio.com put the Pack 22nd in his rankings
Only those three currently inserted Nevada into their rankings, but I’d check out their rankings and well-thought-out decisions on rankings.
Colorado State Rams
The Rams are the other team discussed in the top-tier of the Mountain West for next season, a team that came ever so close to getting into the NCAA Tournament turned out to be the third team left out of the Dance.
That team that narrowly missed the tournament last season is set to return EVERYBODY from last season. In the Year 2021 to lose not a single player in the portal to this point is remarkable, considering how loaded Niko Medved’s squad is.
Isaiah Stevens & David Roddy both return for another round in Fort Collins, looking to wreak havoc on the Mountain West once again after both graced first-team All-Conference honors last season.
Where do the talented College Hoops writers list Colorado State at?
Ranking the Rams of Colorado State 18th in the most recent edition this past week. This is the highest-ranking of Colorado State.
A note I added in those rankings is this :
“You hear many people say All Mid-Major teams get gutted by the portal, but Colorado State should dispel that rumor, as they lost nobody to the portal, and have two guys that could play at Kentucky tomorrow if they wanted to.”
Keeping your two stars is significant.
Jeff Borzello at ESPN ranked the Rams 21st in his rankings:
Borzello’s main reasoning for ranking CSU was due to everybody returning:
“But the Rams had no seniors and should return every player from this season’s group. Isaiah Stevens and David Roddy form one of the best inside-outside tandems in the Mountain West, while Kendle Moore and Adam Thistlewood are experienced options returning to the starting lineup.
Aaron Torres is another writer with both the Rams & Wolf Pack in his rankings, putting the Rams 24th, only two spots behind Nevada.
It’s clear we have a consensus top two for next season at the moment, but other teams in the mix are re-loading via the transfer portal. It’ll be interesting to see how the conference has things unfold throughout the off-season.
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