No. 3 UNLV crushed No. 6 Air Force 72-56 on Wednesday to advance to the MWC semifinals. UNLV will take on No. 2 Colorado State, which defeated No. 7 Fresno State 67-61 Wednesday. Colorado State is 2-1 SU and 3-0 ATS in its last three games against UNLV.
No. 1 New Mexico handled its business in a 59-46 win over No. 8 Wyoming on Wednesday, and faces No. 4 San Diego State in the quarterfinals on Thursday after SDSU defeated Boise State 73-67. New Mexico is 3-1 SU and ATS in its last four games against San Diego State.
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Despite finishing third in the Mountain West Conference standings, the UNLV Runnin' Rebels are the betting favorite to win the Mountain West Conference Tournament at +130 at the sportsbooks.
No. 3 UNLV will get to work in the quarterfinals on Wednesday against No. 6 Air Force. UNLV is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games against Air Force, but that one loss came this season when the two teams met last month. Air Force is 4-0 ATS in its last four games against UNLV.
No. 1 New Mexico (+300 at 5Dimes) is the defending Mountain West champion and could have something to say about UNLV’s spot as the betting favorite. New Mexico will take on the winner of Tuesday’s first-round matchup between No. 9 Nevada and No. 8 Wyoming on Wednesday. Wyoming defeated Nevada by double-digits in both of their meetings this season.
No. 2 Colorado State (+425) will take on No. 7 Fresno State (+7500) in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Colorado State is 3-0 SU and 1-1-1 ATS in its last three games against Fresno State.
No. 4 San Diego State (+575) has advanced to the Mountain West Conference Tournament championship game in each of the last three seasons and has won two of the last three. The 4-seed will face off against No. 5 Boise State on Wednesday. San Diego State is 4-1 SU in its last five games against Boise State, but Boise State won in their most recent meeting and is 4-1 ATS over that same span of games. The total went UNDER in all five of those games.
The winner of the Air Force vs. UNLV game will play against the winner of the Fresno State vs. Colorado State game in Friday’s semifinals, with the winner of the New Mexico vs. Game 1 Winner and the Boise State vs. San Diego State game meeting in the other semifinal game.
Mountain West Conference Tournament Odds - courtesy of 5Dimes:
UNLV +130
New Mexico +300
Colorado State +425
San Diego State +575
Boise State +900
Air Force +5500
Wyoming +7000
Fresno State +7500
Nevada +15000
Tuesday, March 12 – First Round
5:00 PM ET – No. 9 Nevada vs. No. 8 Wyoming (Game 1)
Wednesday, March 13 – Quarterfinals
12:00 PM ET – No. 6 Air Force vs. No. 3 UNLV (Game 2)
2:30 PM ET – No. 7 Fresno State vs. No. 2 Colorado State (Game 3)
6:30 PM ET – Game 1 Winner vs. No. 1 New Mexico (Game 4)
9:00 PM ET – No. 5 Boise State vs. No. 4 San Diego State (Game 5)
Friday, March 15 - Semifinals
6:00 PM ET - Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner
8:30 PM ET - Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner
Saturday, March 16 - Championship Game
3:00 PM ET - Semifinal Winners
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Two things separate the Mountain West Conference Tournament from many other conference tournaments around the nation.
One, this year’s tournament is wide open with UNLV (+125), San Diego State (+150), and New Mexico (+200) separated by the slimmest of margins both in season performances and opening odds at TopBet. The other is that with only eight teams in the conference, there are no byes; every team is in action on Thursday.
No. 8 Boise State had a tough year in its first year in the Mountain West, and is the longest shot in the tournament at +5000 going up against No. 1 San Diego State on Thursday.
Boise State was 3-11 in conference play and lost both games against San Diego State, but did cover the spread in a close game in San Diego.
Very little separates No. 4 Colorado State and No. 5 TCU as both teams are 5-5 SU and ATS against each other in their last 10 meetings. The two teams have trended towards offense with the total going OVER in four of their last five games and in six of their last eight.
No. 2 New Mexico gets a very favorable matchup against No. 7 Air Force on Thursday. New Mexico has won 10 straight against Air Force and covered the spread in winning both of their matchups against Air Force this season by 30+ points.
No. 6 Wyoming upset No. 3 UNLV in Wyoming earlier this season and will try to do the same Thursday. The Cowboys are just 2-8 straight up in their last 10 contests against UNLV, but they have covered the spread in four of their last five. Each of the last four games between these two teams has gone OVER the total.
Check out the live Mountain West odds and see matchup reports and betting trends on every game.
Mountain West Conference Tournament Odds - courtesy of TopBet:
UNLV +125
San Diego State +150
New Mexico +200
TCU +300
Colorado State +600
Wyoming +1200
Air Force +4000
Boise State +5000
Thursday, March 8 - Quarterfinals
3:00 PM ET – No. 1 San Diego State vs. No. 8 Boise State (Game 1)
5:30 PM ET – No. 4 Colorado State vs. No. 5 TCU (Game 2)
9:00 PM ET – No. 2 New Mexico vs. No. 7 Air Force (Game 3)
11:30 PM ET – No. 3 UNLV vs. No. 6 Wyoming (Game 4)
Friday, March 9 - Semifinals
9:00 PM ET - Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner
11:30 PM ET - Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner
Saturday, March 10 - Championship Game
7:00 PM ET - Semifinal Winners
