March 4, 2007
LAS VEGAS - The UNLV men's basketball team finished the 2006-07 Mountain West Conference season in second place in the league standings, one game back of league champion BYU, and earned the No. 2 seed for this week's MWC Championship, which will be held at the Thomas & Mack Center, March 6-10.
The Runnin' Rebels (25-6, 12-4) will face No. 7 seed Utah (11-18, 6-10) in the 6 p.m. quarterfinal on Thursday, March 8. The game will be televised live on The Mtn.
UNLV, a league-best 11-5 all-time in the MWC Tournament, pulled within a game of the Utes in the all-time series, 18-17, after sweeping both meetings this season. It was the second straight year that UNLV has swept the season series from Utah.
UNLV and Utah have met three times in the semifinals and once in the championship game in MWC Tournament history with each team winning twice. This year marks the first meeting between the two teams in the quarterfinals.
Utah's No. 7 seed is the lowest for the Utes in league history, while the Rebels' No. 2 seed is their highest since winning the 2000 MWC Tournament title as the No. 1 seed. Both teams are a perfect 6-0 in the quarterfinals, with Utah holding a 9-6 mark overall in tournament play.
BYU enters the MWC Tournament as the No. 1 seed for the first time in league history. Air Force and San Diego State tied for third in the league standings, but the Aztecs edged the Falcons for the No. 3 seed by virtue of the tie break.
The Cougars will face the winner of Tuesday's first-round game between No. 8 seed TCU and No. 9 seed New Mexico on Thursday at 12 p.m. (The Mtn.). Tuesday's first-round game between the Lobos and Horned Frogs is at 7:30 p.m. (The Mtn.)
No. 4 seed Air Force and No. 5 seed Wyoming will face off at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday (The Mtn.), while No. 3 seed San Diego State and No. 6 seed Colorado State will meet at 8:30 p.m. (The Mtn.)
All-session and single-session tickets for the 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 (702) 739-FANS. The Thomas & Mack Center box office will be open Monday, March 5 at 10 a.m.
All the action from the 2007 Mountain West Conference Basketball Championships will be available live and on-demand through an exclusive, special broadband Pay-Per-View offer. The 16-game package can be purchased for $24.95 through UNLVRebels.com. In addition, all sixteen games of the men's and women's tournaments will be televised on The Mtn., CSTV, or VERSUS.
2007 MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPTuesday, March 67:30 p.m., First-round Game, No. 8 TCU vs. No. 9 New Mexico, The Mtn.
Thursday, March 812 p.m., Quarterfinal Game #1, No. 1 BYU vs. 8/9 winner, The Mtn.2:30 p.m., Quarterfinal Game #2, No. 4 Air Force vs. No. 5 Wyoming, The Mtn.6 p.m., Quarterfinal Game #3, No. 2 UNLV vs. No. 7 Utah, The Mtn.8:30 p.m., Quarterfinal Game #4, No. 3 San Diego St. vs. No. 6 Colo. St. , The Mtn.
Friday, March 96 p.m., Semifinal Game #1, Session 1 Winners, CSTV8:30 p.m., Semifinal Game #2, Session 2 Winners, CSTV
Saturday, March 104 p.m., Championship Game, VERSUS
