March 3, 2012

• 2012 Conoco MW Basketball Championships Central
• 2012 Conoco MW Men's Basketball Championship Bracket
• Mountain West Men's Basketball Weekly Release - M W Tournament Edition

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Regular-season co-champion San Diego State enters the 2012 Conoco Mountain West Men's Basketball Championship as the No. 1 seed for the second time in the league's 13-year history. The Aztecs finished in a tie with fellow co-champion New Mexico and won the tiebreaker by virtue of their 2-0 record vs. TCU during MW play this season.

UNLV finished third in the standings and earned the No. 3 seed, while Colorado State finished fourth to capture the No. 4 seed. The MW Men's Basketball Championship will be held in Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center, March 8-10. Quarterfinal action takes place Thursday, March 8, with the semifinals on Friday, March 9 and the championship game on Saturday, March 10 at 4 p.m. PT. All seven games of the MW Championship will be broadcast in high-definition.

No. 1 seed San Diego State (24-6, 10-4) will face No. 8 seed Boise State (13-16, 3-11) on Thursday at 12 noon (PT) in a broadcast on The Mtn.-MountainWest Sports Network. The Broncos lost the tiebreaker to Air Force to receive the No. 8 seed. The Aztecs, who swept Boise State in regular-season play, lead the all-time series, 3-0, and will be meeting the Broncos for the first time in MW tournament action. San Diego State is 16-8 all-time in the MW tournament, while this is Boise State's first appearance.

No. 4 seed Colorado State (19-10, 8-6) battles No. 5 seed TCU (17-13, 7-7) in the 2:30 p.m. PT quarterfinal game on Thursday, which will be simulcast on The Mtn. and CBS Sports Network. The Rams won the only previous MW tournament meeting with the Horned Frogs, a 2006 first-round match-up. Colorado State is 7-11 in the MW tournament, while TCU is 2-6. The Frogs lead the overall series, 11-10, after splitting this season's meetings.

No. 2 seed New Mexico (24-6, 10-4) takes on No. 7 seed Air Force (13-15, 3-11) in the 6 p.m. PT quarterfinal game on Thursday, which will be televised on The Mtn. The Falcons won the tiebreaker over Boise State to earn the No. 7 seed. The Lobos defeated the Falcons in their only previous MW tournament meeting, a 2010 quarterfinal match-up. New Mexico is 7-11 all-time in the MW tournament, while Air Force is 2-12 in tournament action. The Lobos have a 52-18 advantage in the series after sweeping the Falcons this season.

No. 3 seed UNLV (25-7, 9-5) faces No. 6 seed Wyoming (20-10, 6-8) in the 8:30 p.m. PT quarterfinal game on Thursday, which will be simulcast on The Mtn. and CBS Sports Network. The Runnin' Rebels are 2-0 vs. the Cowboys in MW tournament play, winning a 2000 semifinal match-up and 2005 quarterfinal contest. UNLV holds a 20-8 all-time record in the MW tournament, while Wyoming is 7-12 overall in the tournament. The Rebels are 29-15 in the overall series after splitting this season's meetings with the Pokes.

MW Championship Notes

• The MW tournament has produced six different champions in the first 12 years. UNLV (2000, 2007, 2008) and San Diego State (2002, 2006, 2010, 2011) are the only current MW teams to have won multiple titles while Colorado State (2003) and New Mexico (2005) have captured one crown apiece.

• The No. 1 seed has won the tournament just twice in 12 years. UNLV entered the inaugural MW 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 regular-season champion has made it to the finals of the tournament eight times in 12 years (UNLV in 2000; BYU in 2001, 2007 and 2008; Utah in 2005 and 2009; and San Diego State in 2006 and 2011), winning the championship five 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).

2012 CONOCO MW MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRINGS
Date	Game	Time	Network
Thu., Mar. 8	Quarterfinal #1 No. 1 Seed San Diego State vs. No. 8 Seed Boise State	Noon PT
Thu., Mar. 8	Quarterfinal #2 No. 4 Seed Colorado State vs. No. 5 Seed TCU	2:30 p.m. PT	/ HD
Thu., Mar. 8	Quarterfinal #3 No. 2 Seed New Mexico vs. No. 7 Seed Air Force	6 p.m. PT
Thu., Mar. 8	Quarterfinal #4 No. 3 Seed UNLV vs. No. 6 Seed Wyoming	8:30 p.m. PT	/ HD
Fri., Mar. 9	Semifinal #1 Winner Quarterfinal #1 vs. Winner Quarterfinal #2	6 p.m. PT	HD
Fri., Mar. 9	Semifinal #2 Winner Quarterfinal #3 vs. Winner Quarterfinal #4	8:30 p.m. PT	HD
Sat., Mar. 10	Championship Final Winner Semifinal #1 vs. Winner Semifinal #2	4 p.m. PT	HD
All games are Pacific Standard Time

TICKET INFORMATION
All-session and single-session tickets for the 2012 Conoco Mountain West Men's Basketball Championship are now on sale at the Thomas & Mack Center box office, online at UNLVTickets.com or by calling 1-702-739-3267. The Thomas & Mack Center box office will be open Monday, March 5 at 10 a.m. PT.

GET INSIDE ACCESS TO THE MOUNTAIN WEST!
Full coverage of the 2012 Conoco Mountain West Basketball Championships can be found online. Visit Tournament Central at TheMWC.com/2012 for live radio broadcasts, live stats, updated brackets, box scores, cumulative statistics, post-game notes and quotes, live and archived post-game press conference videos, photos, blogs by MW Senior Writer Mick McGrane and more. You can also follow the MW on its social media channels:

@TheMWC | @MW_MHoops | @MW_WHoops | @MWCMick | @TheMWCOlySports | Hashtag: #MWBB

Facebook.com/MountainWestConference | YouTube.com/MountainWestConf