As sports fans prepare for arguably the most exciting time in sports, the NCAA committee will prepare to be the most criticized group over their decisions in setting the field. Every year there are fans and analysts giving their opinions on which teams deserve to make the tournament and what their seed should have been. With the so-called “Mid-Major” conferences improving their level of talent and competition over the years, it will draw even more attention to the committee and the teams themselves. A Mid-Major is the number one team in the country for only the third time in the last ten seasons and it was Gonzaga’s first number one ranking in school history. In addition to individual team success, the Mountain West conference has battled the mighty Big 10 for top spot in conference RPI all season.
So the real question is, just how important are all of these rankings and formulas when comparing the strength of teams? Continue reading →
Here in Las Vegas it’s that time of year again, NASCAR is in town for the Kobalt Tools 400 and the Mountain West Championship tips off at noon with Boise State taking on two time defending champion San Diego State. A topic of conversation always surrounding this tournament is UNLV benefiting from it being on their home court. UNLV has been a great host the past few years by only winning three games and watching other schools celebrate on their home floor. Even though UNLV enjoys the comfort of playing at home, they definitely have not taken advantage of it and hasn’t won the title since 2008. San Diego State has enjoyed the most success recently in the Thomas and Mack playing in the last three championship games, winning two of them.
Outllook: Heading into todays games you have to look at San Diego State making a fourth consecutive trip to the finals. Earning the number one seed due to a tiebreaker they will either play TCU or Colorado State in the semifinals. This game will not be easy, but unless and upset happens, UNLV and New Mexico will be paired up on the other side of the bracket and will be a much more difficult game to survive. With that being said, I do feel the best possible case for an upset this year will be Colorado State over San Diego State in the semifinals. If the Rams can get past TCU today they might find their best possibilty of advancing to finals since they won the tournament in 2003. Overall, I feel the home court does play an advantage this year and UNLV caps off an undefeated season in the Thomas & Mack.
Odds to win Mountain West Conference tournament:
- UNLV +140
- New Mexico +180
- San Diego State +300
- Colorado State +1000
- Wyoming +2000
- TCU +2000
- Boise State +4000
- Air Force +10000
*Numbers from LVH Superbook
Today’s schedule:
- 12:00 p.m. Bosie State vs San Diego State
- 2:30 p.m. TCU vs Colorado State
- 6:00 p.m. Air Force vs New Mexico
- 8:30 p.m. Wyoming vs UNLV
All-Time Conference Tournament Record:
- UNLV – 20-8 .714
- San Diego State – 16-8 .667
- Colorado State – 7-11 .389
- New Mexico – 7-11 .389
- Wyoming – 7-12 .368
- TCU – 2-6 .250
- Air Force – 2-12 .143
- Boise State – First Appearance
For more Mountain West Tournament hitsoryclick here.
