MW Men’s Basketball Weekly Release – Nov. 3 – Mountain West Conference
AROUND THE MOUNTAIN WEST
The Mountain West has sent four or more teams to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament each of the last four years, including a league-record six in 2024.
The Mountain West’s four NCAA tournament bids in 2025 were tied for the fifth-most among the 31 DI men’s basketball conferences (ACC).
The Mountain West is one of six leagues (ACC, Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC) to have at least four teams in each of the last four NCAA tournaments.
The 2024-25 campaign marked the seventh season in a row and the 22nd in Conference history the league has had two or more NCAA bids.
The MW went 2-1 in the NCAA Round of 64 in 2025, marking the second straight season that multiple MW teams advanced to the Round of 32.
CBS Sports and FOX Sports will televise over 70 games nationally in 2025-26.
Grand Canyon University joins the Mountain West in 2025-26, expanding the competitive footprint and adding a program with four NCAA appearances in five years under head coach Bryce Drew.
Colorado State hired Ali Farokhmanesh to replace Niko Medved. Farokhmanesh was a longtime CSU assistant and March Madness hero while at Northern Iowa.
New Mexico hired Eric Olen from UC San Diego to replace Richard Pitino. Olen led UC San Diego to a 30-win season and its first NCAA berth.
UNLV hired Josh Pastner to replace Kevin Kruger. Pastner is the former head coach at Memphis and Georgia Tech.