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Despite winning their last two regular season titles, the San Diego State Aztecs were picked second in the Mountain West media's preseason poll behind Colorado State.
The Aztecs' rank was based on the fact that Colorado's team returns with all five starters, while San Diego lost three key players. SDSU coach Brian Dutcher said, “I think we have great respect within the conference. We lost three 1,000-point (career) scorers. We lost a lot. We have a lot of replacing to do from a scoring standpoint. But I just think the respect we have over the years with the way we’ve played, our culture, has helped us to continue to be ranked high in the preseason poll.”
This is the first time Colorado State has been picked first in the history of their basketball program.
Mountain West preseason poll selections:
1. Colorado State (11 first-place votes) 207 points
2. San Diego State (7) 201
3. Nevada (2) 189
4. Boise State 147
5. Utah State 127
6. Fresno State 119
7. UNLV 109
8. New Mexico 79
Wyoming 79
10. San José State 40
11. Air Force 23