Pairings Announced for 2011 Conoco MWC Tournament

2011 Conoco MWC Basketball Championships Central

2011 Conoco MWC Men's Basketball Championship Bracket

Regular-season co-champion BYU enters the 2011 Conoco Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Championship as the No. 1 seed for the fourth time in the league's 12-year history. The Cougars finished in a tie with fellow co-champion San Diego State and won the tiebreaker by virtue of their 2-0 record vs. the Aztecs during MWC play.

UNLV finished third in the standings and earned the No. 3 seed, while Colorado State finished fourth to capture the No. 4 seed. The MWC Championship will be held in Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center, March 9-12. First-round action takes place Wednesday, March 9 at 2 p.m. PT, with quarterfinals on Thursday, March 10, semifinals on Friday, March 11 and the championship game on Saturday, March 12 at 4 p.m. PT. All eight games of the MWC Championship will be broadcast in high-definition.

No. 1 seed BYU (28-3, 14-2) will face the winner of Wednesday's first-round game between No. 8 seed Wyoming (10-20, 3-13) and No. 9 seed TCU (10-21, 1-15) on Thursday at Noon (PT) in a broadcast on The Mtn.-MountainWest Sports Network. TCU leads the all-time series vs. Wyoming, 9-8, with a split in the 2010-11 season series, and will be meeting the Cowboys for the first time in MWC Tournament action. Wyoming is 7-11 all-time in the MWC Tournament, while TCU is 1-5. BYU, which holds a 13-10 record in MWC Tournament contests, swept Wyoming and TCU this season.

No. 4 seed Colorado State (19-11, 9-7) battles No. 5 seed New Mexico (20-11, 8-8) in the 2:30 p.m. PT quarterfinal game on Thursday, which will be simulcast on The Mtn. and CBS College Sports Network. The Lobos won the only previous MWC Tournament meeting with the Rams, a 2001 quarterfinal match-up. Colorado State is 7-10 in the MWC Tournament, while New Mexico is 6-10. The Lobos lead the overall series, 67-42, after splitting this season's meetings.

No. 2 seed San Diego State (29-2, 14-2) takes on No. 7 seed Utah (13-17, 6-10) in the 6 p.m. PT quarterfinal game on Thursday, which will be broadcast on The Mtn. The Aztecs and Utes have met two previous times in MWC Tournament action, with Utah winning both contests, including one quarterfinal and the 2009 title game. San Diego State is 13-8 all-time in the MWC Tournament, while Utah is 13-9 in tournament action. The Aztecs narrowed the overall series to 53-17 after sweeping the Utes this season.

No. 3 seed UNLV (23-7, 11-5) faces No. 6 seed Air Force (15-14, 6-10) in the 8:30 p.m. PT quarterfinal game on Thursday, which will be simulcast on The Mtn. and CBS College Sports Network. The Runnin' Rebels and Falcons will be squaring off for the first time in MWC Tournament play. UNLV holds a league-best 19-7 all-time record in the MWC Tournament, while Air Force is 2-11 overall in the tournament. UNLV improved to 25-8 in the overall series after sweeping both meetings this season.

MWC Championship Notes

The MWC Tournament has produced six different champions in first 11 years. UNLV (2000, 2007, 2008), San Diego State (2002, 2006, 2010) and Utah (2004, 2009) are the only teams to have won multiple titles, followed by BYU (2001), Colorado State (2003) and New Mexico (2005) with one apiece.

The No. 1 seed has won the tournament just twice in 11 years. UNLV entered the inaugural MWC Tournament as the top seed in 2000 and won the title. In 2006, San Diego State became the second No. 1 seed to claim the crown.

Teams seeded No. 2 through No. 6 have all captured tournament championships, while the No. 7 seed is 0-1 in title games. The No. 8 and No. 9 seeds have yet to appear in the championship game.

A Mountain West Conference regular-season champion has made it to the finals of the tournament seven times in 11 years (UNLV in 2000; BYU in 2001, 2007 and 2008; Utah in 2005 and 2009; and San Diego State in 2006), winning the championship four times. San Diego State is the only team to win both an outright regular-season title and the tournament crown in the same year (2006).

TICKET INFORMATION

All-session and single-session tickets for the 2011 Conoco Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Championship are now on sale at the Thomas & Mack Center box office, online at www.unlvtickets.com or by calling 1-866-388-3267. The Thomas & Mack Center box office will be open Monday, March 7 at 10 a.m. PT.

TELEVISION INFORMATION

All eight Conoco Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Championship games will be televised in high definition. The Mtn.-MountainWest Sports Network is available on DirecTV channel 616 (HD is 616-1). CBS College Sports Network is in high-definition on 613, while VERSUS HD in on DirecTV channel 603.

GET INSIDE ACCESS TO THE MOUNTAIN WEST!

For more information on the 2011 Conoco Mountain West Basketball Championships, read MWC Correspondent Mick McGrane's official blog coverage live from courtside at www.TheMWC.com/blog. You can also follow the MWC on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TheMWC, become a Facebook fan at www.Facebook.com/MountainWestConference, and check out the Conference's official YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/MountainWestConf

2011 CONOCO MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRINGS
Wednesday, March 9
2 p.m.     First-round Game      No. 8 Wyoming vs. No. 9 TCU         The Mtn. HD
Thursday, March 10
Noon       Quarterfinal Game #1  No. 1 BYU vs. No. 8/No. 9 Winner    The Mtn. HD
2:30 p.m.  Quarterfinal Game #2  No. 4 CSU vs. No. 5 New Mexico      The Mtn. HD/CBS CS HD
6 p.m.     Quarterfinal Game #3  No. 2 SDSU vs. No. 7 Utah           The Mtn. HD
8:30 p.m.  Quarterfinal Game #4  No. 3 UNLV vs. No. 6 Air Force      The Mtn. HD/CBS CS HD
Friday, March 11 
6 p.m.     Semifinal Game #1     Quarterfinal #1 and #2 Winners      CBS CS HD
8:30 p.m.  Semifinal Game #2     Quarterfinal #3 and #4 Winners      CBS CS HD
Saturday, March 12
4 p.m.     Championship Game     Semifinal #1 and #2 Winners         VERSUS HD