Utah State Basketball Picked Ninth In Preseason Mountain West Poll
Oct 14, 2023, 5:19 PM | Updated: 5:21 pm
GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 17: Head coach Danny Sprinkle of the Montana State Bobcats looks on against the Kansas State Wildcats in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at The Fieldhouse at Greensboro Coliseum on March 17, 2023 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
LOGAN, Utah – With an entirely new team expected on the floor, Danny Sprinkle’s first year at Utah State begins with USU picked to finish ninth in the conference preseason poll.
The Mountain West Conference held men’s basketball media day on Thursday, October 12.
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Coming off its run to the NCAA Championship game last season, @Aztec_MBB is the preseason favorite to win the Mountain West 🔴⚫️
#AtThePEAK | #MWMBB | #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/d2X1Ft4oz3— Mountain West (@MountainWest) October 12, 2023
This marks the third time Utah State has been picked to finish ninth or lower in the MW preseason poll since joining the conference in 2013. In Stew Morrill’s second to last year of 2013-14, USU finished with an 18-13 record, tied for fourth in the conference. In 2018-19, Craig Smith led the Aggies to a stunning 28-6 record before winning the conference tournament to secure a birth in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
With 16 players on the roster, guards Landon Brenchley and Mason Falslev are joined by center Isaac Johnson as the only returning players. Utah State does not return a single player who scored a point on last year’s 26-9 NCAA Tournament team. Falslev and Johnson each redshirted last season while Brenchley totaled five rebounds and two assists in nine minutes of play.
“We’ve got to basically start from ground zero,” Sprinkle said at MW media day. “I want to get back to the Stew Morrill days, building that program and some continuity. We have 13 new players
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Preseason All-Mountain West Teams
With 13 newcomers, Utah State was shut out of the all-MW preseason awards.
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2023-24 PRESEASON ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST TEAM
Pos. Name Yr. Team
F Tyson Degenhart Jr. Boise State
G Isaiah Stevens Gr. Colorado State
G Jaelen House Gr. New Mexico
G Jamal Mashburn Jr. Sr. New Mexico
G Lamont Butler Sr. San Diego State
Preseason Player of the Year
Isaiah Stevens, Gr., G, Colorado State
Preseason Newcomer of the Year
Reese Waters, Jr., G, San Diego State
Preseason Freshman of the Year
Dedan Thomas Jr., G, UNLV
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