Sean Star / Loveland Reporter-Herald)
Colorado State was picked to finish fifth in the Mountain West men's basketball preseason poll released by the conference on Wednesday. Defending regular season and tournament champion Nevada has been tabbed to repeat after receiving 19 of 24 first-place votes by the media.
San Diego State is second in the predicted order of finish, followed by Boise State, Fresno State, CSU, UNLV, Wyoming, Utah State, New Mexico, San Jose State and Air Force.
The Rams return three starters, Prentiss Nixon, J.D. Paige and Nico Carvacho, from last year's team that went 24-12, finished second in the regular season and fell to Nevada in the conference tournament title game before making it to the second round of the NIT.