Basketball preseason conference media rankings

As expected, Nevada was chosen by the media to win the Mountain West. San Diego State and New Mexico round out the top 3. Nevada’s Caleb Martin was selected as the preseason player of the year, while his teammate Jordan Brown was named preseason freshman of the year. Surprisingly, Nevada wasn’t unanimously selected to win the conference as one media member placed them third.

Lexington Thomas likely to return

UNLV received good news as star running back Lexington Thomas is likely to play this week against Air Force. Although he has not been cleared to play yet, he has made good progress and is not showing signs of concussion after taking a hit to the head against Utah State. Thomas was having a productive season prior to his injury, but the offense took a hit when starting quarterback Armani Rogers was injured on September 22.

Air Force officially names defensive coordinator

Troy Calhoun finally made the official statement that John Rudzinski was promoted to defensive coordinator. Calhoun had declined to name a DC prior to this point in the season. The Falcons currently rank 8th in the nation in rushing yards per game. The Falcons take on UNLV this Friday on CBS Sports Network.

New Mexico’s Weir offers dinner to Mountain West coaches, only a few accept

New Mexico coach Paul Weir invited every Mountain West opposing coach out the night before the game to get to know his counterparts. Only Boise State’s Leon Rice, Air Force’s Dave Pilipovich, and at-the-time Utah State head coach Tim Duryea. An interesting approach you don’t typically see in college basketball, as evidenced by only three coaches accepting. Despite the loss of star player JaQuan Lyle, the Lobos come into the 2018-2019 season with the highest expectations they’ve had in years.

On the horizon:

• Check out our previews for Nevada-Hawaii and Colorado State-Boise State, both coming out today.
• Also be on the lookout for our new hockey content we are going to be bringing you.