Mountain West Conference Basketball Will Be Stronger Than Ever in 2011

2010 was a landmark year for Mountain West Conference basketball.

Among the conference's accomplishments and firsts were:

The conference got four teams in the NCAA tournament for the first time.

Both BYU and New Mexico spent nearly the entire year ranked in the top 25, much of it in the top 15.

BYU's Jimmer Fredette was a finalist for National Player of the Year. 

BYU won its first NCAA tournament game in 17 years.

BYU and New Mexico both won 30 games, and finished a combined 60-11.

The conference had three teams finish in the top 25 in the RPI.

Despite losing, both UNLV and SDSU performed well in the tournament, both losing extremely close games to teams now in the Sweet 16.

By all accounts, it was the best basketball year in Mountain West Conference history.

It would be foolish to expect that kind of effort again anytime soon. Well, I must be foolish then, because I believe that in 2011 the conference will surpass 2010 in every way.

For the conference awards this season, there were no seniors on the first team all-conference.

Roman Martinez (UNM) and Johnathan Tavernari (BYU), named to second and third team all conference respectively, are the only noteworthy seniors departing.

Both UNLV and San Diego State will return all five starters, and most of their significant contributors off of their bench. Both teams should receive votes in the preseason top 25 polls.

New Mexico will lose Roman Martinez for sure. Darrington Hobson's future remains uncertain. He could jump to the NBA, with a chance of being a first-round pick. It's tough to tell what Hobson will decide. If he does stay, UNM might be every bit as good in 2011 as they were in 2010.

BYU will lose Johnathan Tavernari, Chris Miles, and Tyler Haws (Mission). Jimmer Fredette will likely test the waters to see where he stand in the eyes of NBA scouts. Barring a solid first-round projection, I expect him to return for his senior season.

With all this talent returning, expect the MWC to have a great shot at getting four teams in the tournament again. But possibly with much better seeds.

I also think that Colorado State has a shot to continue to improve, especially considering the improvement that program has made the last two years under Tim Miles.

Not only is there a ton of talent returning, there is a lot coming in as well.

UNLV has a big man in transfer Quintrell Thomas (Kansas), and fluid redshirt freshman Carlos Lopez. And they still have one spot to fill. They are also one of five finalists in the Cory Joseph sweepstakes, one of the top point guard recruits in the entire country.

I expect UNLV, SDSU, BYU and UNM all to post 12-4, or better, in-conference records next year.

But where I really expect the teams to improve is in their non-conference records. BYU, New Mexico, SDSU and UNLV combined for an impressive non-conference record of 53-7 in 2010.