Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Could the Mountain West get five — or more — teams into the Big Dance?
The Mountain West has seen four teams invited to the Men’s NCAA Tournament each of the past two years.
Can the conference push that number to four — or more — over the next week?
As the tournament gets underway a pair of teams, Utah State and Nevada, find themselves ranked in the AP Top 25. Utah State enters the Mountain West tournament as the top seed, thanks to their 14-4 record in the conference. Nevada and Boise State have matching 13-5 records, but Nevada’s win over Utah State (along with Boise State’s 0-2 record against the Aggies this season) gives the Wolfpack the tiebreaker for the No. 2 seed.
Utah State and Nevada are among the five schools currently viewed as “locks” for the field by Chris Dobbertean at Blogging the Bracket. The other three schools in that category are San Diego State (22-9 record, No. 20 in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings, and No. 20 in the NET rankings), Boise State (22-9 record, No. 38 in KenPom, and No. 23 in NET), and Colorado State (22-9 record, No. 36 in KenPom, and No. 36 in NET).
Two schools right now sit on the bubble ahead of the tournament. One is New Mexico, as the Lobos sit with a 22-9 record of their own, and are 34th in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings. The Lobos also have a season sweep of Nevada on their resume, as well as wins against San Diego State and Colorado State. A win or two this week might push them into the field, but an early loss — coupled with results elsewhere — could see their bubble burst.
Another team looking for a good performance this week is UNLV, who get the added benefit of the tournament taking place at the Thomas & Mack Center on their campus. The Runnin’ Rebels have a 19-11 record, but swept New Mexico and added wins over Boise State, San Diego State, and Colorado State to their resume.
It all gets underway Wednesday from Las Vegas, and SB Nation will have you covered every step of the way.
2024 men’s Mountain West tournament bracket
Here is the 2024 Mountain West men’s tournament bracket. You can also view the bracket on the tournament website.
2024 men’s Mountain West tournament schedule
March 13 First Round
Game 1: No. 8 Wyoming vs. No. 9 Fresno State, 2:00 p.m. ET, Mountain West Network
Game 2: No. 7 Colorado State vs. No 10 San Jose State, 3:30 p.m. ET, Mountain West Network
Game 3: No. 6 New Mexico vs. No. 11 Air Force, 7:00 p.m. ET, Mountain West Network
March 14 Quarterfinals
Game 4: No. 1 Utah State vs. Game 1 Winner, 3:00 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network
Game 5: No. 4 UNLV vs. No. 5 San Diego State, 5:30 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network
Game 6: No. 2 Nevada vs. Game 2 Winner, 9:00 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network
Game 7: No. 3 Boise State vs. Game 3 Winner 11:30 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network
March 15 Semifinals
Game 8: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 9:30 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network
Game 9: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner, 12:00 a.m. ET, CBS Sports Network
March 16 Championship
Game 13: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner, 6:00 p.m. ET, CBS/Paramount+
