MWC men's basketball championship pairings announced
3/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 5, 2006
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - San Diego State enters the Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Championship as the No. 1 seed for the first time in league history. Air Force and BYU tied for second in the league standings, but the Falcons edged the Cougars for the No. 2 seed by virtue of the tie break. The MWC Championship will be held at Denver's Pepsi Center, March 7-11. Opening-round action begins Tuesday, March 7 with quarterfinals on Thursday, March 9, semifinals on Friday, March 10 and the championship Saturday, March 11 at 8 p.m. MT.
The Aztecs (21-8, 13-3), who captured their first outright regular-season conference championship since 1978, will face the winner of Tuesday's opening-round game between No. 8 seed Colorado State (15-14, 4-12) and No. 9 seed TCU (6-24, 2-14) on Thursday at noon (MT) on ESPN+Plus. TCU leads the all-time series vs. the Rams 6-2, including a split in the season series. The Rams are 4-5 all-time in MWC Tournament play, while the Horned Frogs are making their first appearance. The Aztecs swept Colorado State and TCU this season.
No. 4 seed UNLV (16-12, 10-6) battles No. 5 seed and defending MWC Tournament champion New Mexico (17-12, 8-8) in the 2:30 p.m. (MT) quarterfinal game Thursday on ESPN+Plus. The Rebels, a No. 4 seed for the fourth straight year, split the season series vs. the Lobos. This year's matchup marks the third meeting between the teams in the quarterfinals with UNLV winning both prior games. The Rebels, a league-best 10-4 all-time in the MWC Tournament, also hold a 19-11 lead vs. New Mexico in the all-time series.
No. 2 seed Air Force (24-5, 12-4), which set a school record for season victories, takes on No. 7 seed Wyoming (12-17, 5-11) in the 7 p.m. (MT) quarterfinal on ESPN+Plus. The Falcons, 0-6 all-time in the MWC Tournament, meet the Cowboys for the second time in the quarterfinals, with the `Pokes winning the 2002 meeting in overtime (69-67). Wyoming, 3-6 in the MWC Tournament, holds a 66-23 lead in the all-time series after splitting two games this season. The last five meetings were decided by five points or less.
No. 3 seed BYU (20-7, 12-4) faces in-state rival and No. 6 seed Utah (13-14, 6-10) in the 10 p.m. (MT) quarterfinal game Thursday on ESPN. The Cougars and Utes have met twice in the MWC Tournament semifinals with each team winning once. This year marks the first meeting between the teams in the quarterfinals. The sixth seed is the lowest for the Utes in league history, while BYU enters with a No. 3 seed for the first time. Utah has never lost in the quarterfinals (5-0) and boasts an 8-5 all-time mark in the MWC Tournament, while the Cougars are 4-2 in quarterfinal games and 7-5 overall in the tournament. Utah leads the all-time series 123-118 after the teams split the two regular-season contests.
MWC BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TICKET INFORMATION
All session and single session tickets for the Mountain West Conference Women's Basketball Championship are now on sale at the Pepsi Center box office, Ticketmaster locations and institutional box offices. The Pepsi Center box office will be open Monday, March 6 at 10 a.m. Tickets are also available by calling 303-830-TIXS or by going to www.ticketmaster.com MWC MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES The No. 1 seed has won the tournament just once six years. UNLV entered the inaugural MWC Tournament as the top seed in 2000 and won the title. The No. 2 seed (BYU, New Mexico), No. 3 seed (Utah), No. 5 seed (San Diego State) and No. 6 seed (Colorado State) have captured tournament championships, while the No. 4 seed is 0-3 in title games and the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds have yet to appear in the championship game. The MWC regular season champion has made it to the finals of the MWC tournament only three times in six years (UNLV 2000, BYU 2001, Utah 2005), winning the championship twice. UNLV and BYU are the only teams to win a MWC regular-season title and tournament crown in the same year. 2006 MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRINGS Tuesday, March 7 - Opening Round No. 8 Colorado State vs. No. 9 TCU - 7:30 p.m. MT/8:30 p.m. CT Thursday, March 9 - Quarterfinals No. 1 San Diego State vs. 8/9 winner (ESPN+Plus) - Noon MT/1 p.m. CT Friday, March 10 - Semifinals Semifinal Game #1 (ESPN+Plus) - 7 p.m. MT/8 p.m. CT Saturday, March 11 - Championship MWC Title Game (ESPN) - 4 p.m. MT/5 p.m. CT
The MWC Championship has produced six different champions in its six-year history. UNLV (2000), BYU (2001), San Diego State (2002), Colorado State (2003), Utah (2004) and New Mexico (2005) have each won a title.
No. 4 UNLV vs. No. 5 New Mexico (ESPN+Plus) - 2:30 p.m. MT/3:30 p.m. CT
No. 2 Air Force vs. No. 7 Wyoming (ESPN+Plus) - 7 p.m. MT/8 p.m. CT
No. 3 BYU vs. No. 6 Utah (ESPN) - 10 p.m. MT/11 p.m. CT
Semifinal Game #2 (ESPN) - 10 p.m. MT/11 p.m. CT
