Utah basketball picked to finish 4th

Today is the Mountain West Conference media day for men's basketball and the Utes were selected to finish 4th this season by conference media members. 

UNLV has been selected to finish first. The Rebels, who won the conference tournament last year, beat out last season's conference champion BYU, who were selected second. San Diego State was picked to finish third, the Lobos fifth, Wyoming sixth, Air Force seventh, while Colorado State and TCU round out the bottom. 

Last season the Utes finished with a losing conference record at 7-9, which was good for sixth in the conference. This season, though, expectations are a bit higher, especially with this being Luke Nevill's senior year. It should be noted, however, the Utes were also picked to finish 4th last year. 

Jim Boylen enters his second season as Utah's basketball coach with an 18-14 record. The season kicks off against the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in the Glenn Wilkes Classic, a game Utah hosts. Other preseason contests for the Utes include home games against Oregon, Cal, Gonzaga and LSU. The Utes also travel to Norman, Oklahoma to play the Sooners before conference play begins.