| 2010 CONOCO MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRINGS | |||
| Wednesday, March 10 | |||
| 2 p.m. | First-round Game | No. 8 Wyoming vs. No. 9 Air Force |  |
| Thursday, March 11 | |||
| Noon | Quarterfinal Game #1 | No. 1 New Mexico vs. No. 8/No. 9 Winner | |
| 2:30 p.m. | Quarterfinal Game #2 | No. 4 San Diego State vs. No. 5 Colorado State |
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| 6 p.m. | Quarterfinal Game #3 | No. 2 BYU vs. No. 7 TCU | |
| 8:30 p.m. | Quarterfinal Game #4 | No. 3 UNLV vs. No. 6 Utah |
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| Friday, March 12 | |||
| 6 p.m. | Semifinal Game #1 | Quarterfinal #1 and #2 Winners | |
| 8:30 p.m. | Semifinal Game #2 | Quarterfinal #3 and #4 Winners | |
| Saturday, March 13 | |||
| 4 p.m. | Championship Game |  |
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All times PST
Predictions after the jump...
First round:
We'll take Air Force over Wyoming. If the Falcons do one thing great it's control the clock. If they can score 10 points they can win because the Cowboys are just too depleted with injuries to score more than that...
Second round:
New Mexico will crush Air Force...maybe. Did anybody see them escape against TCU last week by six?
SDSU vs. CSU: If there's going to be an upset, I'm picking it here. It seems like there's always a team that surprises in the conference tournament, and CSU is actually a decent team. This is the end of the road for the Aztecs and their NCAA tournament dreams.
BYU vs. TCU: After playing the worst five minutes of a first half in the history of college basketball last Saturday, BYU still scored 55 points before halftime and cruised to a 30-point win in Ft. Worth. Need I say more?
UNLV vs. Utah: Before this last week I was hoping this would be the match up in order to give the Cougars a break in the semifinals. That was my hope until Utah got clobbered at home by Michael Lloyd and Brandon Davies, and then managed to lose by double figures against the Rams. Plus, it's really, really hard to beat a team three times in a season, not to mention twice on their home court. UNLV wins easily.
Semi-Finals:
New Mexico vs. CSU: Colorado St. will make it a game for the first half, but then the Lobos' talent and athleticism will dominate the 2nd half. The Lobos have earned a spot in the conference championship game.
BYU vs. UNLV: Oh boy. Does anybody remember what happened last month in Vegas? Does anybody remember the last time we beat UNLV in Vegas? It's been a long time. Surely, UNLV can't shoot the ball like they did in February again, and certainly the drought in the desert has to end some time. And listen, with the emergence of Lloyd and Davies, and the peaking of Emery, BYU can finally beat the Rebels, especially if Utah plays them tough the day before.
If this tournament wasn't the unfairest of unfair by being played on the Rebels' home court I'd feel better about things...but what the heck! BYU wins in OT and meets UNM in the championship.
Championship:
It will be a heckuva game with both teams fighting for a 3-seed. It's too close to call, barring injury. Don't miss it!