Oct. 13, 2015
The University of Nevada men's basketball team was picked to finish ninth in the preseason media poll. The Wolf Pack will be under the leadership of first-year head coach Eric Musselman. The Pack return five starters and eight letter winners from last year's squad. Coach Musselman added six new players to the roster.
Musselman along with seniors Tyron Criswell and Marqueze Coleman will be at Mountain West media days on Wednesday in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS -- Defending co-Mountain West regular-season champions San Diego State and Boise State are the overwhelming preseason favorites to finish the 2015-16 regular season in first- and second-place, respectively, according to a vote of the Conference media. The league's predicted order of finish was announced today by the Mountain West at Media Days, being held at The Renaissance Las Vegas.
The Aztecs received 22 of a possible 25 first-place votes and 272 points to garner the top spot in the poll. For the second consecutive year, the Broncos claimed the second spot, earning two first-place votes and 234 points, while Utah State received 190 points to finish third.
UNLV collected 185 points for fourth place, followed by Fresno State, which received one first-place vote, in fifth (182 points) and New Mexico (164 points) in sixth. Rounding out the poll were Colorado State (144 points) in seventh, Wyoming (101 points) in eighth, Nevada (97 points) in ninth, Air Force (51 points) in 10th and San José State (30 points) in 11th.
San Diego State compiled a 27-9 record overall and 14-4 mark in Mountain West play last season en route to a share of the regular-season title with Boise State. It was the Aztecs fifth regular-season championship. SDSU received its fourth straight NCAA tournament at-large invitation and advanced to the third round before losing to Duke, which went on to win the NCAA championship. Head coach Steve Fisher returns three starters, including the 2014 MW co-Defensive Player of the Year in Skylar Spencer, and eight letterwinners.
The Broncos amassed a 25-9 overall record, which tied for the most wins in program history, and won their first MW men's basketball regular-season title. The Broncos, who made their second NCAA tournament appearance in three years, lost in the first round to Dayton. In 2015-16, Boise State returns three starters from last season, including the MW Newcomer of the Year in James Webb III, and Anthony Drmic, who received a medical hardship waiver to play as a fifth-year senior in 2015-16.
2015-16 PRESEASON MEN'S BASKETBALL PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
| Rk. | Team (First-Place Votes) | Pts. |
| 1. | San Diego State (22) | 272 |
| 2. | Boise State (2) | 234 |
| 3. | Utah State | 190 |
| 4. | UNLV | 185 |
| 5. | Fresno State (1) | 182 |
| 6. | New Mexico | 164 |
| 7. | Colorado State | 144 |
| 8. | Wyoming | 101 |
| 9. | Nevada | 97 |
| 10. | Air Force | 51 |
| 11. | San José State | 30 |
--mw--
