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The NCAA Tournament is a few weeks away, which means it’s conference tournament time to set the table for March Madness. We’ll be taking a look at some of the best teams in each conference, and providing picks and predictions each conference tournament. Plenty of favorites will win, but we’ve got some sleepers to consider that might be able to pull off a big upset on the way to the NCAA Tournament.
Here’s the bracket for the Mountain West Conference Tournament with TV listings, dates and times.
Favorite: San Diego State
They finally dropped a game at home to UNLV the same night they raised their conference championship banner, but will be the No. 1 seed in this tournament, and still have an inside track for one in the NCAA Tournament as well.
Malachi Flynn is one of the best players in America, and this team is one of the best mid-majors of this decade. It will take a big performance for them not to go home with the ring here.
Sleeper: Colorado State
They’re not great, but they’ve beaten Nevada and lost by one possession to Utah State. They can also shoot it (54% eFG, 36.9% from downtown), which is the great equalizer in college basketball one-off situations. Nico Carvacho is an outstanding rebounder, and David Roddy can score off the bounce. It would take a lot to beat SDSU, but it’s not impossible.
Dark Horse: UNLV
Don’t look now, but the Rebels that were terrible are playing better. And not just because they went into Viejas Arena and knocked off the previously undefeated Aztecs. UNLV has won four of their last five, the loss in OT to a solid Nevada team. They’ll have home court advantage, and Bryce Hamilton and Amauri Hardy have enough to carry this team forward. But four games in four days is of course a big lift.