A year ago, Boise State came into the Thomas and Mack Center and ended the Lady Rebels’ season. Tuesday, the Lady Rebels looked determined to not let that happen again.
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With wins Tuesday, Colorado State, New Mexico and Fresno State advanced to the semifinals of the Mountain West tournament.
This is a treacherous time to be a No. 1 seed in a conference tournament. Major upsets are happening daily across the nation, and San Diego State is on upset alert as the top seed in the Mountain West tournament, which tips off Wednesday at the Thomas & Mack Center.
A capsule look at the 11 teams in the Moutain West men’s tournament.
The Rebels are coming off a 92-56 loss at San Diego State, their worst defeat in 16 years. But even with all the adversity and the uncertainty about who will be available this season, UNLV appears to enter the Mountain West tournament upbeat.
On paper, the UNLV women’s Mountain West tournament first-round matchup against Air Force looked like it might turn into a blowout.
The Rebels are in the market for a new coach, though interim Todd Simon and assistant Stacey Augmon could get a look.
Led by 17 points from McKynzie Fort, eighth-seeded San Diego State came away with a 62-44 victory over Wyoming in the first round of the Mountain West Conference tournament on Monday.
Mountain West presidents switched from an 11 to an eight-team league tournament next year and they failed to inform their head coaches of the move after the coaches voted 11-0 against it.
UNLV is 16-13 overall and 9-9 in the Mountain West, meaning the only chance it has at an NCAA Tournament berth is winning the conference tournament. But the Lady Rebels have three wins in their past five games.
UNLV sophomore guard Patrick McCaw was named to the media’s second-team All-Mountain West squad. McCaw averages 13.9 points, and his 4.0-assist average is third in the conference. He also is first in the Mountain West with 2.5 steals per game.
When the Mountain West women’s basketball tournament begins Monday, Colorado State will be the favorite. But UNLV coach Kathy Olivier said the conference has parity, and she expects that to be on display at the Thomas and Mack Center.
The Mountain West men’s basketball tournament begins Wednesday at Thomas & Mack Center with host UNLV playing as the No. 7 seed against No. 10 Air Force at 1:30 p.m., the league announced Sunday.
Colorado State (28-1, 18-0) won the 2015-16 Mountain West regular-season title and enters the league tournament as the No. 1 seed.
Tim Duryea was preparing for basketball season, about to begin his head coaching career at Utah State when his phone rang. It was then-UNLV coach Dave Rice letting Duryea know he was about to lose one of his best players in forward David Collette.
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