LAS VEGAS – The Mountain West Conference announced its preseason men’s basketball all-conference teams and predicted order of finish Thursday morning, with Utah State being picked to finish second while junior guard Mason Falslev earned a spot on the preseason all-MW team.
Falslev, a native of Benson, Utah, is the league’s top returner in points (15.0), rebounds (6.3) and steals (2.32) per game, along with field goal percentage (.497). He also ranks third among returners in assists per game (3.7) from last season. In 2024-25, Falslev earned all-Mountain West second team accolades, while he was named the Mountain West Player of the week four times, and the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week twice.
As a team, Utah State was picked by the league’s media to finish second in the preseason poll. This is the team’s highest preseason ranking since 2019-20, when the team was picked first. The Aggies are coming off of a 26-8 campaign in 2024-25, in which they went 15-5 in Mountain West play to finish third in the league standings and earn an NCAA Tournament bid for the sixth time in the past seven years.
San Diego State, which finished fifth in the standings and was swept in a two-game series by Utah State in 2024-25, was picked unanimously to win the league with 312 total points and all 26 first-place votes. The Aggies came next with 275 points, followed by Boise State (260), Grand Canyon (224), New Mexico (182), UNLV (174), Colorado State (164), Nevada (164), Wyoming (96), San José State (82), Fresno State (65) and Air Force (30).
|
Pl. |
Team |
Votes (first place) |
|
1. |
San Diego State |
312 (26) |
|
2. |
Utah State |
275 |
|
3. |
Boise State |
260 |
|
4. |
Grand Canyon |
224 |
|
5. |
New Mexico |
182 |
|
6. |
UNLV |
174 |
|
t-7. |
Colorado State |
164 |
|
t-7. |
Nevada |
164 |
|
9. |
Wyoming |
96 |
|
10. |
San José State |
82 |
|
11. |
Fresno State |
65 |
|
12. |
Air Force |
30 |
Utah State will play its second and final preseason exhibition this weekend, when it travels to face San Francisco on Saturday, Oct. 25, at 8 p.m. (MT). The regular season will tip-off on Monday, Nov. 3, when USU hosts Westminster at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum at 7 p.m.
