No. 1 San Diego State(24-6, 10-4) vs. No. 8 Boise State(13-16, 3-11
SDSU earned a share of the MWC regular-season title with New Mexico but holds the tie breaker, earning it the No. 1 seed in the tournament. Head coach Steve Fisher was recently named MWC coach of the year and the team is led by Jamaal Franklin (first team All-MWC) who is averaging 17.1 points per game and Chase Tapley (second team All-MWC) averaging 15.2. SDSU is on a four-game winning streak. Boise State is on a four-game losing streak and is led by Anthony Drmic who is averaging 11.2 points per game. Drmic is the only player on Boise State who is averaging double figures in points. SDSU won both of the meetings between these two teams this year, 58-56 at home and 66-53 on the road.
No. 2 New Mexico(24-6, 10-4)*vs. No. 7 Air Force*(13-15, 3-11)
Finishing with the same record as SDSU, UNM was given the two seed because the Aztecs hold the tiebreaker. The Lobos are led by Drew Gordon (first team All-MWC) who is averaging a double-double this season with 13.2 points per game and 11 rebounds per game. Kendall Williams (second team All-MWC) is averaging 12.6 points per game. Air Force’s leading scorer is Michael Lyons (second team All-MWC) with 15.5 points per game. The Lobos won both of the meeting this season, 81-42 on the road and 86-56 at home.
No. 3 UNLV(25-7, 9-5) vs. No. 6 Wyoming(20-10, 6-8)
UNLV was tied for first place with one week to go in conference play but lost at Colorado State to earn the three seed. The Rebels have three players averaging double figures in points per game, Mike Moser (first team All-MWC) with 14, Chace Stanback (second team All-MWC) with 13 and Anthony Marshall with 12. Wyoming started off its season well but dropped eight games in conference play to earn the six seed. Wyoming’s Leonard Washington (second team All-MWC), Francisco Cruz and Luke Martinez are all averaging just over 12 points per game. The series this season is 1-1 with Wyoming winning at home 68-66 and UNLV winning at home 74-63.
No. 4 Colorado State(19-10, 8-6) vs. No. 5 TCU(17-13, 7-7)
Both teams are evenly matched, being great at home but poor on the road. CSU won every home game, but lost every road game in conference play and TCU was 6-1 at home and 1-6 on the road. Wes Eikmeier (first team All-MWC) is the offensive threat for CSU averaging 16 points per game. Dorian Green is the only other player in double figures with 13.4 per game. Hank Thorns (first team All-MWC) is averaging 13.4 points per game for TCU. The season series for these times is 1-1 with CSU winning at home in double overtime 95-89 and TCU winning at home 75-71.
