Mountain West Men's Basketball Tournament Day 1 Analysis

With as many as three teams possibly headed for the Big Dance, the Mountain West Conference is ready to have among its biggest tournament in recent memory. Las Vegas is home to the tournament annually and the tournament has had the tendency to send unheralded teams into the NCAA Tournament.

This year may be no exception, as the fourth and sixth seeds still remain in the tournament heading into the semifinals.

BYU 89, Colorado State 62

The Cougars got off to a slow start against the upstart Rams, who earned their way into the tournament via a play-in game upset win over their rival Wyoming Cowboys last night. But then BYU kicked it into high gear in the second half, showing why it is nationally ranked. BYU was led by five players in double figures, including co-Player Of the Year Lee Cummard. The Rams, under first-year head coach Tim Miles, showed a lot of heart in yesterday's win. But the Cougs were simply too much for the Rams and move on to tomorrow's semifinal.

Air Force 48, San Diego State 52

In a slowed down, defensive type of battle that was among the most boring on the first day San Diego State survived the Falcons' plodding and deliberate Princeton-style offense to move on to face BYU.

UNLV 89, TCU 88

If UNLV has anything left in the tank after Thursday's thrilling win that went wire-to-wire, I'd sincerely doubt it. Combined, the two teams hucked up 28 three-pointers in the game, a conference record. Analysts from The Mtn. TV network were calling it the best game the conference has ever had. The Rebels now move on to face Utah, who stunned New Mexico in overtime by the score of 82-80.

Utah 82, New Mexico 80

On a day where there was only one upset, the upstart Utes led by first-year coach Jim Boylen provided it. Steve Alford has brought his Bobby Knight style of offense and no-nonsense approach to New Mexico, leading the Lobos to a 24-7 record. They came into Thursday's contest versus the Utes with the Co-MVP in the conference in J.R. Giddens and a solid lineup of veterans. The Utes would not be rattled on this night and though Giddens scored a game-high 28 points Utah held on for the win.