March is here, and with it comes the Mountain West Men’s Basketball Tournament. With the tournament moving up a week this year, it will be one of the biggest attractions during the week in college basketball. This tournament has a chance to be a great tournament with a lot of talking points and conversation about where programs are at, who actually has a chance to win, and how many teams will end up in the NCAA Tournament. There is a heavy favorite, a couple of teams that can challenge, and a couple of upstart teams that want to make noise. What’s going to happen in Las Vegas this week? It could be crazy, so here are things we can look at going into it:

The Teams

1. SDSU (28-1, 17-1): The Aztecs have put together a storybook season together so far and they will look to continue the tale this week in Las Vegas. With other teams faltering around the country, a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament is still on the table if they are able to win the tournament. The question that will need to be asked is how their top 5 will be able to handle playing heavy minutes over a 3-day tournament. If the Aztecs are able to make easy work of the Fresno State/ Air Force winner in the Quarterfinals, the odds get greater for the Aztecs to win the Tournament. If they have a tough time on their way to making it to the championship, things could get interesting in the championship game. This reminds me of the last two seasons with a Nevada team that relied on a 6-man rotation. In both seasons, Nevada didn’t reach the championship game, as they just ran out of gas. SDSU will have the Fresno State/ Air Force winner in the Quarterfinals and would have the winner of UNLV / Boise State in the Semifinals. The Aztecs are probably sitting on a 2-seed, and I don’t know how much of a difference this tournament will have on their NCAA Tournament Seeding, sort of them looking dominant this week.
2. USU (23-8, 12-6): Before losing to New Mexico on the final game of the season, it looked like the Aggies were sitting in a very good spot for an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament. With the loss, the Aggies are probably entering the Tournament in win or bust mode for a bid and probably enter the tournament with the most to lose. There could be a chance for an at-large with a trip to the championship and a loss to SDSU. Any other outcome probably means the heavy preseason favorites will be in the NIT instead of the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies would probably want to see SJSU in the Quarterfinals instead of the biggest wild card in the Tournament in New Mexico (more on this later). Much like SDSU, the Aggies rely on a 6-man rotation, the more they can play their bench early in the tournament could pay off huge for them in the later rounds of the Tournament. The Aggies will have the winner of New Mexico/ SJSU in the Quarterfinals and whoever comes out of Nevada/ CSU/ WYO games, provided they get there.
3. Nevada (19-11, 12-6): Coach Alford and Coach Neal are back coaching in the Mountain West Tournament, and the last 2 years that they were on the same bench, they cut down the nets (2012-2013, Neal also cut down the nets in 2014). The Wolf Pack is lead by Jalen Harris, who would be the MW Player of the Year if it wasn’t for Malachi Flynn, and he is a player that could take over the tournament and lead the Wolf Pack to the title on Saturday. Nevada doesn’t have the most talent outside of their top 3, but have very good coaching and have a couple of players that can put 20+ on you in a blink of an eye (Harris, and Jazz Johnson). If Harris and Johnson are able to shoot well, it could be a fun week in Las Vegas for the Wolf Pack.
4. UNLV (17-14, 12-6): Much like the Lobos two years ago, the Rebels are a team that has exceeded expectations in MW play and are looking to make noise in the tournament. The Rebels are the lone team to beat SDSU this season and when they did so, it was at the site of this week’s tournament. The Rebels could be without Elijah Mitrou-Long due to injury, which could have a huge impact on their chances to win the tournament. If UNLV is able to beat Boise State in the Quarterfinals it could (should) set up a Semifinal matchup against SDSU. This will be one of the few times that most non-Rebel/Aztec fans would be rooting for the Rebels in the Tournament. Bryce Hamilton and Amauri Hardy need to have very good weeks for the Rebels to cut down the nets and steal a bid from a team.
5. Boise State (19-11, 11-7): The Broncos were probably the team that lost the most during the last week of the regular season, ending up with the 5-seed and having to play the hometown Rebels in the Quarterfinals, just to earn a probable matchup against SDSU in the Semifinals. The Broncos are a team that could do some damage if you allow Justinian Jessup to get open looks. If Jessup is able to hit a bunch of 3’s and Derrick Alston plays at his peak, they could win a couple of games in this tournament. Out of the top 5 seeds, I feel as though Boise State is the least likely to cut down the nets on Saturday. There is a path for them, but it’s really, really hard, so the Broncos have a low percentage chance of making it to the Championship Game.
6. Colorado State (20-11, 11-7): Even though the Rams ended up being the 6-seed in the Tournament, they were one of the most exciting teams to watch during the Regular Season. In year two at CSU, Coach Niko Medved has the Rams faithful very excited about where this program is and where it is headed. While everyone knows about senior post Nico Carvacho, the real exciting part of this team is their freshmen and sophomores, who have been a huge part of their success. Freshman point guard Isaiah Stevens is one of the best young guards in America and helps get their offensive attack going. Freshman forward David Roddy is going to give other teams trouble with his strength. Sophomores Kendall Moore and Adam Thistlewood can be huge x-factors in this tournament and could give the Rams a chance to win the tournament and make the NCAA Tournament.
7. New Mexico (18-13, 7-11): The wild card in the whole MW Tournament is none other than the Lobos, who could, in theory, have a great four games and win the tournament or could lose the first game against SJSU. The Lobos are a team that no one can figure out and things can change in a game four times over. The Lobos have plenty of talent and have a few players that can play at a 1st team All-Conference level. If the Lobos have any plans of staying in Las Vegas for the weekend, they need JaQuan Lyle, Vance Jackson, Zane Martin, and Corey Manigault to be great. The two x-factors for the Lobos will be the play of Vante Hendrix and Keith McGee. If the Lobos get good play from both, the Lobos would be a team I wouldn’t want to see. That being said, the Lobos are the team I would want to play if I was any other team in the conference, as they have shown the ability to lose to anyone.
8. Fresno State (11-18, 7-11): The Bulldogs are a team full of seniors and freshmen, and haven’t found a high level of basketball this season. All seven of their MW wins came against teams that finished 7-11 or worse in the conference. The good news for the Bulldogs is they will get to play a team that they went 2-0 against in the regular season in Air Force. The Bulldogs stay will probably end Wednesday or Thursday as they are 7-1 against teams 7-11 and 0-10 against teams 1-6. The Bulldogs have a few players to watch this tournament in Orlando Robinson and Nate Grimes. If the Bulldogs make it to the game against SDSU, they have enough talent to make that game a little interesting.
9. Air Force (11-19, 5-13): The Falcons have a win against USU (dominated the second half 48-26) and another win against Boise State, but besides that, their three MW wins are UNM, Wyoming, and SJSU. The Falcons has a talented frontcourt in Lavelle Scottie and Ryan Swan, who can give opponents trouble. The struggle for the Falcons is their backcourt, where they will have difficulty guarding other teams. If the Falcons are able to hit shots, they could make things interesting for a game or two.
10. SJSU (7-23, 3-15): Before the loss to UNLV, the Spartans were the team that came the closest to knocking off SDSU (a Malachi Flynn 3 won it at the buzzer). SJSU has wins against Nevada, UNM, and Air Force, which shows that they can make things interesting in the opening round game. The Spartans won the first meeting against the Lobos in The Event Center, but were blown out against a Lobo team that didn’t have JJ Caldwell, Carlton Bragg, JaQuan Lyle, and Vance Jackson. Sophomore Seneca Knight is the player to watch for the Spartans, and as always with talented Spartans, it could be our last look at Knight in a Spartans uniform before he ends up elsewhere.
11. Wyoming (7-23, 2-16): It has been a rough couple of seasons for the Cowboys after a few good years in Laramie. The Cowboys won a total of six conference games the last two years (4-14 last season), and have looked like a team that could see a change at the top at the end of the year. The Cowboys do have a good guard in Hunter Maldonado, who could show his talent in the first game against CSU. One good thing for the Cowboys this weekend is they get to play a rivalry game (Border War) against CSU in the opener, so the Cowboys and their fans should be up for the game on Wednesday. Don’t expect a long stay for the Cowboys this week in Las Vegas.

Player To Watch for Each Team:

• SDSU: Malachi Flynn
• USU: Sam Merrill
• Nevada: Jalen Harris
• UNLV: Bryce Hamilton
• Boise State: Derrick Alston
• Colorado State: Isaiah Stevens
• New Mexico: Vance Jackson
• Fresno State: Orlando Robinson
• Air Force: Ryan Swan
• SJSU: Seneca Knight
• Wyoming: Hunter Maldonado

Things To Watch:

• Can SDSU go 20-1 in MW Conference Play this season? While I don’t think this is the most talented MW team of all time, if they win both the Regular Season and MW Tournament going 20-1, you have to say this is the best season a Mountain West team has had.
• Can USU secure a bid to the NCAA Tournament? Before the loss to UNM on Saturday, it looked like USU was safe for an at-large bid. Things have changed with the loss, and it looks like they have more work to do. And with the MW Tournament being a week earlier, it will be more difficult for USU to get an at-large bid even if they make it to the title game, as some other teams will have later opportunities to make their case. Recency bias is a strong thing when it comes to Selection Sunday.
• Will there be a surprise? Can Nevada, UNLV, Boise State, CSU, UNM or someone else blow up the bracket and cut down the nets on Saturday? I actually think that it’s going to happen, with the most likely being the winner of the Nevada / CSU game if it happens on Thursday:
• Who will be the player everyone is talking about on Friday and Saturday? People will be talking about Malachi Flynn, Jalen Harris, Sam Merrill, and others on Thursday, but is this the stage that Isaiah Stevens shows that he is one of the best guards in the conference as a freshman? Could another freshman or sophomore show what they can do and make fans and media take notice going into next season? This is the stage that can lead to someone being named to preseason teams next season.

Zach’s Pick To Win:

It would be easy to pick SDSU to win the title, but I think they are looking forward to the NCAA Tournament more than the MW Tournament. On top of that, I think this is a tournament that Jalen Harris will leave his mark on, helping Nevada to win this and make noise in year one of the Coach Alford Era.