March 5, 2005
PROVO, Utah - With its 76-66 victory at BYU on Saturday in its regular season finale, the UNLV men's basketball team claimed the No. 4 seed in next week's Mountain West Conference Tournament at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
UNLV (15-12, 7-7 MWC), which has won six of its last seven games, will face No. 5 Wyoming (15-12, 7-7) in the tournament's first round on Thursday, March 10 at 2:30 p.m. MST. The game will be televised live by ESPN+Plus.
UNLV swept Wyoming during the regular season this year to take the tiebreaker with a 79-67 home win on Jan. 24 and a 68-66 victory in Laramie on Feb. 19. Thursday's game will mark the first meeting between the teams in MWC Tournament play since the league's inaugural year (2000) when the Rebels posted a 97-92 semifinal win in Las Vegas.
UNLV won the tournament title that year and has a league-best 9-3 record after making the finals four times in four MWC Tournament appearances.
Wyoming is 3-5 all-time in MWC Tournament play and has lost in the quarterfinals the past two years.
MWC regular season champion Utah will enter the MWC Championship as the No. 1 seed for the third time in the last five years.
The defending league tournament champion Utes (25-4, 13-1) face No. 8 seed Colorado State (11-16, 3-11) in the first round on Thursday at noon MT (ESPN+Plus).
Utah, the first team in MWC history to win 13 conference games in a season, is 7-4 all-time in MWC Tournament play and has never lost a quarterfinal round game. The Utes swept the regular season series vs. the Rams and won the only meeting between the teams in the MWC Tournament, 69-66, in the 2002 quarterfinals.
New Mexico (23-6, 10-4) earned the No. 2 seed, its highest in league history, and will face No. 7 BYU (9-20, 3-11) at 7 p.m. MT Thursday (ESPN+Plus).
The Lobos are 2-5 all-time in the MWC Tournament and have not won a conference tournament game since 2001 when they advanced to the championship game and lost to the Cougars, 69-65. The Cougars are 7-4 all-time in the MWC Tournament and have advanced to the semifinals four of the past five years.
BYU is 3-0 vs. New Mexico in MWC Tournament play, including the 2001 title game win. The Cougars and Lobos split the regular season series, each team winning at home.
Air Force (18-11, 9-5) clinched the No. 3 seed with a 61-56 victory over Wyoming in the season finale for both teams Saturday. The Falcons face No. 6 seed San Diego State (10-17, 4-10), the first meeting between the teams in MWC Tournament history, at 10 p.m. MT Thursday in a game televised by ESPN.
Air Force is in search of its first-ever MWC Tournament win, while the Aztecs are 3-4 all-time in MWC Tournament play, including their championship run in 2002. Air Force swept the regular season series.
All seven games of the MWC Men's Basketball Championship will be televised, including three national appearances on ESPN. ESPN Radio (KLZ 560 AM) in Denver will broadcast all 14 games of the MWC Basketball Championships (seven men, seven women), while Westwood One will carry the men's title game. Fans can tune in to the radio broadcasts via selected radio affiliates throughout the MWC region, as well as on the MWC website (www.TheMWC.com).
Tickets for the 2005 MWC Basketball Championships are now on sale. The Pepsi Center will be opening their box office for MWC Tournament ticket sales on Sunday, March 6. Hours will be 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Fans can also visit www.ticketmaster.com or call 303-830-TIXS immediately to purchase tickets on Saturday night and Sunday morning (additional service fees may apply).
