MW commissioner hopes conference’s basketball facing a temporary setback

It was just four years ago the Mountain West sent five men’s basketball teams to the NCAA Tournament and just two years ago that three teams went.

Those were times when the Thomas & Mack Center would draw crowds for the conference tournament large enough to populate much of the upper section.

A time that seems much longer than four, or even two, years ago.

Crowds in the 5,000 to 6,000 range are showing up this week at the 18,000-seat arena, and for the second year in a row, the Mountain West is expected to be a one-bid league.

The question isn’t so much how did the conference get here, but can it get return to its more proud recent past?

Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said the…