Mountain West Tournament Betting Guide: Who Is Crowned in Vegas?

Mountain West Tournament Best Bet: UNLV (+800)

I can't believe it, but we will take the annual UNLV bait. You have heard the spiel 100 times, and we'll give it again. The Rebels will effectively play home games with the tournament in the Thomas & Mack Arena, their home venue for the regular season. It also helps that UNLV has been a total wagon over the past six weeks. They have won 10 of 12 dating back to January 27 and ranking in the top 30 of Bart Torvik's T-Rank over that span, only behind Nevada and San Diego State. They are the hungriest dog among the top seven options as the only ones without a chance at an at-large bid, requiring a tournament triumph to keep their season alive. Back the Rebels at this longer price.

Mountain West Tournament Favorite: San Diego State (+240)

San Diego State is the strongest candidate for the Mountain West's best team, but even the Aztecs have faltered lately, dropping their final two games of the season and skidding into the tournament as the No. 5 seed. That said, they have the luxury of trotting out Jaedon LeDee, an All-American candidate that the league still hasn't learned how to stop. His physicality, quickness, size, and footwork make him a matchup nightmare at any position. Unfortunately, the Aztecs got a nightmare draw here. They will face No. 4 UNLV in the quarterfinals, who will undoubtedly be playing in front of a favorable crowd in their home arena.

Mountain West Tournament Challenger: New Mexico/Nevada/Utah State (+500)

We refuse to pick a team as a challenger, illustrating how tight this field is. It's impossible to single out one of these teams as the lone challenger to San Diego State, where, in reality, the plethora of them is what's intimidating. This league has no easy game, and its depth is its biggest strength. New Mexico has elite guard play with the trio of Jaelen House, Jamal Mashburn Jr., and Donovan Dent. Nevada has a superstar in Jarod Lucas, while they might be playing like the best team in the league over the past month. And we haven't even gotten to regular-season champions Utah State, led by Moutain West Player of the Year Great Osobor as a wrecking ball in the middle. These teams all provide unique challenges to their opponent and have realistic chances of challenging the Aztecs and cutting down the nets on Saturday night.

Mountain West Tournament Dark Horse: Colorado State (+850)

We're unsure why Colorado State is being so disrespected with this pricing. While the Rams have struggled to the finish of the regular season with a 3-4 record, Isaiah Stevens remains arguably the best guard in the league and one of the best in the entire country. His playmaking can break a game open, and he can call his own number and score when necessary. Nique Clifford, Joel Scott, and Patrick Cartier are typically the beneficiaries of this playmaking and provide this team with enough talent to make a deep run in this field.

Mountain West Tournament Best Bet: UNLV (+800)

I can't believe it, but we will take the annual UNLV bait. You have heard the spiel 100 times, and we'll give it again. The Rebels will effectively play home games with the tournament in the Thomas & Mack Arena, their home venue for the regular season. It also helps that UNLV has been a total wagon over the past six weeks. They have won 10 of 12 dating back to January 27 and ranking in the top 30 of Bart Torvik's T-Rank over that span, only behind Nevada and San Diego State. They are the hungriest dog among the top seven options as the only ones without a chance at an at-large bid, requiring a tournament triumph to keep their season alive. Back the Rebels at this longer price.