Conference Preview: Mountain West

The last five seasons, the Mountain West has sent a different team via the autobid to the NCAA Tournament. New Mexico was the last team to have a grip on the conference tournament by winning three consecutive from 2012 to 2014. Nevada, under coach Eric Mussleman, has the look of a dominant force. The team won the MWC tournament in 2017 and the regular season championship in 2018. They return four starters, including fantasy studs Caleb and Cody Martin and Jordan Caroline. Musselman added Jordan Brown, a McDonald's All-American and four transfers who averaged at least 10 points per game with their previous team. It is an embarrassment of riches and Musselman is going to have to figure out how to allot minutes.

Because of the Wolf Pack's depth, it may be that none of the players are fantasy standouts. The Martin twins and Caroline should lead the way with everyone else figuring out their roles. None of the Nevada players are featured below because other teams will lean more heavily on individual players. If everything works out for Mussleman, he has a Final Four worthy team on his hands. JaQuan Lyle tore his Achilles' tendon in late September and will be lost for the season, which probably takes away one contender for the Wolf Pack's throne.

Center: Nico Carvacho, Colorado State Rams

While there is no shortage of talented guards and forwards in the Mountain West, there are simply not many centers. Carvacho is listed as a forward/center on the official Rams' website, so that is good enough for us. The 6-foot-11 junior combined with Che Bob to wipe the glass for CSU last season. Bob has moved on, so Carvacho should have the rebounds to himself. The Rams hit just 41.8 percent of their shots, so there were plenty of messes for the big man to clean up. After scuffling a bit in non-conference play, Carvacho had at least 10 rebounds in 16 of his last 17 games. His offensive game is still developing, but the Texan will certainly help in the rebounding category.

Also Considered: Trey Porter, Nevada; Oumar Barry, San Jose State; Vladimir Pinchuk, New Mexico

Freshman: Bryce Hamilton, UNLV Runnin' Rebels

It would be easy to pencil Brown into this spot, but his minutes will almost certainly be limited by Caroline and Old Dominion transfer Trey Porter. The 6-4 Hamilton should start for the Runnin' Rebels and could be the team's leading scorer. The Pasadena native averaged 24.4 points as a high school senior and led his team to the California state championship game. He will likely serve as a secondary offensive facilitator with Noah Robotham at the point, which should augment his value. Hamilton has 3-point range on his shot and he can also attack the basket with a variety of dribbling tricks. Trey Woodbury might out-produce Brown as well if he can get enough minutes.

Also Considered: Jordan Brown, Nevada; Trace Young; Colorado State; Hunter Thompson, Wyoming; Trey Woodbury, UNLV

Scoring: Justin James, Wyoming Cowboys

James had a fine season for the Cowboys as a junior and he is only one of the Cowboys' top five scorers who is returning in 2018-19. James can run the offense and the Cowboys will run through him almost exclusively. Fantasy owners are looking for that exclusivity. James led Wyoming with 18.9 points and 3.1 assists. He chipped in 6.0 rebounds, but should have more opportunities to score and board with Hayden Dalton moving on. The 6-7 senior topped 20 points 10 times in conference play, including back-to-back 33-point games in overtime wins over Nevada and San Jose State. Because he will be the focus of opposing defense, he will not get many open looks on 3-pointers. He hit just 30.8 percent of his long-range shots last season and even a slight uptick in that conversion rate may help James score more than 20 points per game.

Also Considered: Deshon Taylor, Fresno State; Sam Merrill, Utah State; Jordan Caroline, Nevada; Caleb Martin, Nevada

Rebounding: Shakur Juiston, UNLV Runnin' Rebels

Last season, Juiston and freshman center Brandon McCoy brought respectability back to Las Vegas. McCoy decided to go pro after just one season with the Runnin' Rebels and the seven-footer was not drafted. Juiston should dominate the glass to an even greater degree. The 6-7 senior posted 14.6 points and 10.0 rebounds in his first year after transferring from junior college. He opened the season with three straight double-doubles and finished the season with 15 dub-dubs. Juiston did the majority of his offensive damage on rebounds and converted 63.9 percent of his field goals. He may need to extend his range for UNLV to be more successful in 2018-19.

Also Considered: Nico Carvacho, Colorado State; Jalen McDaniels, San Diego State; Jordan Caroline, Nevada; Nate Grimes, Fresno State

Playmakers: Sam Merrill, Utah State Aggies

Like Juiston, Merrill had to share more in 2017-18 than he will in 2018-19. The Aggies boasted a dual-point guard attack with the 6-5 Utah native and Koby McEwen, who decided to transfer to Marquette. Merrill should be able to show off his passing skills after looking like the best shooter in the conference last season. He hit 98 3-pointers on a 46.4 percent conversion rate from downtown. Assists can come from dominating the ball and Merrill should have the ball in his hands for most Aggie offensive sets. The junior guard should help new coach Craig Smith adjust to life in Utah after a successful run at South Dakota.

Also Considered: Noah Robotham, UNLV; Devin Watson, San Diego State; Cody Martin, Nevada, Lindsey Drew, Nevada; Hyron Edwards, Colorado State

Sleepers:

Nate Grimes, Fresno State Bulldogs

Per minute stats can be taken with a grain of salt. Players who put up big numbers on a per minute basis generally slow down when given more playing time. That being said, Grimes may be in for a big jump in production after accumulating 4.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in just 12.5 minutes for the Bulldogs last season. The 6-8 junior should have a starting role after Bryson Williams followed coach Rodney Terry to UTEP. When given more playing time last season, Grimes put up a pair of double-doubles in wins over San Diego State and Wyoming. Expecting Grimy to average a double-double is too much to ask for, but he should be the Bulldogs' leading rebounder.

Makuach Maluach, New Mexico Lobos

The Lyle injury is terrible news for the Lobos. He was expected to be the focus of the offense after facilitating the Ohio State plays for two seasons. Coach Paul Weir will have to shuffle the deck and it might come out all aces for the 6-5 Maluach. As a freshman last season, the guard came off the bench to provide 9.6 points in 19.7 minutes. He hit 46.0 percent of his 3-pointers and had three 20-point games against conference competition. The Lobos lost two of those games, including the game in which he scored a career-high 26 points against Air Force. Maluach will almost certainly start and could double his 6.2 shots per game from last year.

Also Considered: Devin Watson, San Diego State; Ryan Swan, Air Force; Noah Blackwell, Fresno State; Oumar Barry, San Jose State

Top-10
1. Justin James, G, Wyoming
2. Shakur Juiston, F, UNLV
3. Caleb Martin, F, Nevada
4. Jordan Caroline, F, Nevada
5. Sam Merrill, G, Utah State
6. Nico Carvacho, C, Colorado State
7. Deshon Taylor, G, Fresno State
8. Jalen McDaniels, F, San Diego State
9. Cody Martin, F, Nevada
10. Devin Watson, G, San Diego State