Mountain West Tournament Odds: Plenty of Teams Could Challenge Favored San Diego State
Boise State, Utah State and New Mexico Among Mountain West Title Contenders
San Diego State Favored After Falling in Three of Last Four MWC Title Games
What a year it has been in the Mountain West and by the time the conference tournament is crowned, perhaps the only conference outside of the Power-5 conferences is the Big East. San Diego State has played in the last five conference title games and now the Aztecs are favored according to the Mountain West tournament odds. San Diego State is 1-3 in the last four MWC title games with those losses by seven, three and one points.
San Diego is going to make it into the March Madness bracket, regardless of what happens in the conference tournament. Utah State, Boise State and Nevada have done enough to be in contention for spots in the NCAA tournament. Considering how competitive the MWC has been this season, conference teams could be popular early-round picks when it comes to the March Madness bracket contest.
The event starts on Wednesday with Fresno State meeting Colorado State followed by other first-round games between Air Force and UNLV and Wyoming meeting up with New Mexico.
San Diego State, Utah State and Boise State are 16th, 21st and 27th in the NCAA NET rankings despite going 8-13 in Quad 1 games.
San Diego State is priced at +8000 in the odds to win the national championship. Boise State (+15000), New Mexico (+20000) and Utah State (+25000) are other top teams in the MWC when it comes to the national title odds.
San Diego State dropped two spots to 20th in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll. Utah State and Boise State are among other teams receiving votes.
Favorites
San Diego State and Utah State have squared off in the Mountain West Conference tournament championship games in three of the last four years. Utah State won two of those three championship games and the Aggies are among the front-runners according to the Mountain West tournament odds.
The Aztecs and Aggies are on opposite sides of the bracket once again so another championship showdown is possible.
San Diego State is priced at +150 in the Mountain West tournament odds followed by Boise State and Utah State.
A key for top-seeded San Diego State is the supporting cast for Matt Bradley, the Aztecs’ only double-digit scorer. Darrion Trammell is 3 of 15 from the field over the last two games and Lamont Butler is 1 for 7.
Fresno State did throw a scare into the Aztecs when the teams met last month so that could make for an interesting quarterfinal.
No. 2 seed Boise State and No. 3 seed Utah State could meet in the semifinals. When they played during the final day of the regular season with Taylor Funk’s 24 points powering Utah State to a 13-point win.
Boise State owns a recent win over San Diego State with Max Rice going off for 26 points.
Steven Ashworth has scored at least 20 points in two of the last four games for Utah State. The Aggies lead the Mountain West Conference in 3-pointers made and attempted.
Outsiders
Nevada and San Jose State will meet in Thursday’s quarterfinals. They both finished over .500 in conference play and figure to provide spirited challenges against San Diego State in the quarterfinals. It will still be hard to pick against the Aztecs when it comes to college basketball betting picks.
Nevada has dropped its last two games and that includes an overtime loss to UNLV. Three of Nevada’s last seven games were decided by four points or less.
The Wolfpack is priced at +600 to win the title according to the Mountain West tournament odds. Jarod Lucas has back-to-back 20-point games.
San Jose State (+3000) has won three straight games. Omari Moore had 33 points in the regular-season finale. San Jose State was 20-10 against the NCAA basketball college spreads, the best mark in the conference.
New Mexico and UNLV come in at +1200 and +1400 in the Mountain West tournament odds. What is interesting about those two teams is that they will be playing on the first day of the MWC tournament rather than receiving byes into the quarterfinals.
Jamal Mashburn has at least 20 points in 11 of his last 15 games so keep an eye on New Mexico’s leading scorer.
EJ Harkless is averaging 22.3 points in the last three games for UNLV.
Projected Championship Matchup
Is another San Diego State-Utah State matchup coming up with the Mountain West tournament title on the line?
Boise State might have something to say about that as the No. 2 seed.
Boise State and San Diego State rank first and second in the conference in scoring defense while Utah State leads the way in scoring margin.
This has the potential to be one of the more intriguing of the conference tournaments with teams worthy of NCAA tournament consideration dotted throughout the bracket. It should be a memorable title game on Saturday.
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