The 2014 Mountain West Conference Tournament begins on Wednesday with three first-round games, which can be seen on the Mountain West Network.
Mountain West Tournament 2014 schedule and bracket: Utah State and Colorado State kick off tourney
The 2014 Mountain West Conference Tournament will begin with Utah State meeting Colorado State on Wednesday afternoon.
Troy Babbitt-USA TODAY Sports
Kicking things will be No. 8 Utah State and No. 9 Colorado State, who finished with identical 7-11 conference records. The Aggies outclassed the Rams in their two regular season meetings. On Jan. 15, Utah State got 17 points apiece from top-two scorers Spencer Butterfield and Jarred Shaw en route to a 57-50 win. On. Feb. 18, the Aggies built a 29-15 lead by halftime and rolled to a 71-62 win. Both teams finished conference play against Wyoming, with Utah State earning a 65-54 win and Colorado State losing by a score of 83-75.
The middle matchup is No. 7 Fresno State against No. 10 Air Force, and the Bulldogs should be considered strong favorites in this one. Fresno State enters the tournament having won eight of its last 10 games, while the Falcons have dropped 10 of their last 13. The Bulldogs beat Air Force twice in the regular season, with senior guard Tyler Johnson leading the way. Johnson, who is averaging a team-best 16.4 points and 7.4 rebounds, had 25 and eight against the Falcons in a 71-65 win on Jan. 8, shooting 7-for-14 from the field. The teams met again on Feb. 5 and Johnson had 20 points and eight rebounds, as Fresno State won 68-51.
The final game of the triple-header will feature No. 6 Boise State going up against No. 11 San Jose State. The Spartans had a miserable conference record of 1-17 in their first year in the MWC, while the Broncos went 9-9 and 19-12 overall. When these teams faced one another on Jan. 25, it shouldn’t be surprising that Boise State won by 21 points. If San Jose State somehow manages to pull off an upset, though, it will face the only MWC team it managed to defeat this season: Nevada.
Here is the full schedule for the tournament:
Wednesday, 3/12: First Round
No. 8 Utah State vs. No. 9 Colorado State, 5 p.m. ET, Mountain West Network
No. 7 Fresno State vs. No. 10 Air Force, 7:30 p.m., MWN
No. 6 Boise State vs. No. 11 San Jose State, 10 p.m., MWN
Thursday, 3/13: Quarterfinals
No. 1 San Diego State vs. TBD, 3 p.m., CBS Sports Network
No. 4 UNLV vs. No. 5 Wyoming, 5:30 p.m., CBSSN
No. 3 Nevada vs. TBD, 9 p.m., CBSSN
No. 2 New Mexico vs. TBD, 11:30 p.m., CBSSN
Friday, 3/14: Semifinals
Semifinal No. 1, 9 p.m., CBSSN
Semifinal No. 2, 11:30 p.m., CBSSN
Saturday, 3/15:
Championship Game, 6 p.m., CBS
Here is the full tournament bracket:
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