This is the 9th article in a series previewing each team and position rankings in the Mountain West leading up to the 2024-2025 basketball season
MW Rankings:
3. Utah State
4. San Diego State (Link): Mountain West Basketball Countdown – #4 San Diego State | Big Blue USU Aggie News
5. New Mexico (Link): Mountain West Basketball Countdown – #5 New Mexico | Big Blue USU Aggie News
6. UNLV (Link): Mountain West Basketball Countdown – #6 UNLV | Big Blue USU Aggie News
7. Colorado State (Link): Mountain West Basketball Countdown – #7 Colorado State | Big Blue USU Aggie News
8. San Jose State (Link): Mountain West Basketball Countdown – #8 San Jose State | Big Blue USU Aggie News
9. Wyoming (Link): Mountain West Basketball Countdown – #9 Wyoming | Big Blue USU Aggie News
10. Air Force (Link): Mountain West Basketball Countdown – #10 Air Force | Big Blue USU Aggie News
11. Fresno State (Link): Mountain West Basketball Countdown – #11 Fresno State | Big Blue USU Aggie News
Prior Season Results and Predictions:
- Record: 28-7 overall, 14-4 conference
- My Prediction: Between 4th to 7th place
- Summary: Utah State surprised everyone when they returned 0 production from the prior year and ended up winning the conference and advancing to the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament.
- All Conference Players/Other Awards: Great Osobor (1st Team MW and POY), Darius Brown (1st Team MW, All Defense), Josh Uduje (6th man MW), Ian Martinez (Honorable Mention MW)
Metrics for the last 5 Seasons:
- Conference Regular Season Winning %: 68.1% (ranked 3rd in conference)
- Conference Regular Season Champion: 2 (Tied for 1st in the conference)
- Conference Tournament Champion: 1 (Tied for 2nd in the conference)
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 3 (Tied for 2nd in the conference)
- NCAA Tournament Wins: 1 (Tied for 2nd in the conference)
2024-2025 Season Review:
Conference Prediction: #3 in the Mountain West
Overview: Utah State returns 3 starters from last year in Ian Martinez, Mason Falslev and Isaac Johnson. They also return a key bench guy in Karson Templin. They look to be a solid 9-10 deep as they have added proven transfers and a 4-star freshman recruit in Isaac Davis that will also get time this year.
Production Returning: Scoring 40% (returning), Rebounding 37%, Assists 31%, Blocks 41%, Minutes 38%
Key losses: Great Osobor (Transfer to Washington), Darius Brown (Graduation), Josh Uduje (Transfer to SJSU)
Key Returners: Ian Martinez (All MW), Mason Falslev (Double digit scoring freshman), Isaac Johnson (Helped lead team to NCAA tournament win), Karson Templin (Freshman back-up big man)
Newcomers:
- Isaac Davis: 4-star big man signee from Idaho
- Aubin Gateretse: Transfer center from Stetson where he averaged 12 ppg and 8 rebounds last year
- Deyton Albury: Transfer point guard from Queens where he was named ASUN Newcomer of the year as he averaged 17 ppg
- Drake Allen: Transfer point guard from Utah Valley where he averaged 12 ppg and 4 assists as a junior
- Dexter Akanno: Guard/Wing transfer from Oregon State where he averaged 11 ppg as a full time starter
- Jordy Barnes: Freshman point guard signee
- Braden Housley: All WAC Freshman player from Southern Utah where the combo guard averaged 11 ppg
- Tucker Anderson: Freshman of the year in the ASUN where he averaged 15 ppg, 6’9” shooter
Strongest Position: Point Guard. Both Drake Allen and Deyton Albury are top 10 pg’s in the conference and will put a ton of pressure on opposing teams as they both have different skills sets.
Biggest Question Mark(s): Center. Can Gateretse compete in the MWC and how much run will Isaac Davis get.
Projected Starters: Drake Allen (Guard), Mason Falslev (Guard), Ian Martinez (Wing), Isaac Johnson (Forward), Aubin Gateretse (Center)
Bench: Deyton Albury (Guard), Dexter Akanno (Guard), Tucker Anderson (Wing/Forward), Karson Templin (Forward), Isaac Davis (Center)
Potential All Conference Guys: Ian Martinez, Drake Allen, Mason Falslev, Isaac Johnson
Key Non-Conference Games: Iowa (Neutral), St Marys (Away), South Florida (Home), St Bonaventure (Neutral), North Texas/Northern Iowa (Neutral)
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