2008 MWC Men's Basketball Tournament

Infobox NCAA Basketball Conference Tournament
Year = 2008
Conference = MWC
Gender = Men's


ImageSize =
Caption =
Teams = 9
Arena = Thomas & Mack Center
City = Las Vegas, NV
Champions = UNLV
TitleCount = 3rd
Coach = Lon Kruger
CoachCount = 3rd
MVP = Wink Adams [cite web | url=http://unlvrebels.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/031508aab.html | title=Two Sweet...To Dance! | publisher=UNLVRebels.com | date=2008-03-15 | accessdate=2008-03-15] cite web | url=http://themwc.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/031508aai.html | title=UNLV Cruises Past Cougars To Win MWC Tournament, 76-61 | publisher=TheMWC.com | date=2008-03-15 | accessdate=2008-03-15]
MVPTeam = UNLV
Attendance =
OneTopScorer =
TwoTopScorers =
TopScorer =
TopScorerTeam =
TopScorer2 =
TopScorer2Team =
Points =The 2008 Mountain West Conference men's basketball tournament was played at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada from March 12-15, 2008. The tournament was sponsored by Phillips 66 and all first round, quarterfinal, and semifinal games were broadcasted live on the MountainWest Sports Network and CBS College Sports Network, while the championship game was broadcasted on Versus. [cite web | url=http://www.themtn.tv/mtn/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=201&Itemid=172 | title=The Mtn. to provide viewers comprehensive coverage of the 2008 Phillips 66 Mountain West Conference Basketball Championships | publisher=TheMtn.tv | date=2008-03-07 | accessdate=2008-03-13]

Regular Season

BYU entered the tournament as the first team in Mountain West history to win back-to-back regular season titles.cite web | url=http://themwc.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/mwc/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2008-mbb-tourney-bracket-rel | title=Mountain West Conference announces 2008 Phillips 66 Men's Basketball Championship Bracket | publisher=TheMWC.com | date=2008-03-08 | accessdate=2008-03-13]

* Denotes regular season champion.

Source: [cite web | url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/confstandings?confID=44 | title=MWC Conference Standings 2007-2008 | publisher=ESPN.com | date= | accessdate=2008-03-13]

Tournament Bracket

4RoundBracket-Byes | RD1=First Round
(March 12)
RD2=Quarterfinals
(March 13)
RD3=Semifinals
(March 14)
RD4=Championship Game
(March 15)

RD1-seed01=8
RD1-team01=Wyoming
RD1-score01=63
RD1-seed02=9
RD1-team02=Colorado St.
RD1-score02=68

RD2-seed01=1
RD2-team01=BYU
RD2-score01=89
RD2-seed02=9
RD2-team02=Colorado St.
RD2-score02=62

RD2-seed03=4
RD2-team03=San Diego St.
RD2-score03=53
RD2-seed04=5
RD2-team04=Air Force
RD2-score04=49

RD2-seed05=3
RD2-team05=New Mexico
RD2-score05=80
RD2-seed06=6
RD2-team06=Utah
RD2-score06=82*

RD2-seed07=2
RD2-team07=UNLV
RD2-score07=89
RD2-seed08=7
RD2-team08=TCU
RD2-score08=88

RD3-seed01=1
RD3-team01=BYU
RD3-score01=63
RD3-seed02=4
RD3-team02=San Diego St.
RD3-score02=54

RD3-seed03=6
RD3-team03=Utah
RD3-score03=55
RD3-seed04=2
RD3-team04=UNLV
RD3-score04=61

RD4-seed01=1
RD4-team01=BYU
RD4-score01=61
RD4-seed02=2
RD4-team02=UNLV
RD4-score02=76

NOTE: Asterisk (*) denotes game ended in overtime.

Source: [cite press release | title = Men's Bracket | publisher = Mountain West Conference | date = 03-2008 | url = http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/mwc/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2008-mbb-tourney-bracket.pdf | format = PDF | language = | accessdate = 2008-03-14 | quote = ]

Games

First round

Colorado St. vs. Wyoming

Before the game, Wyoming held the lead in all-time matchups against Colorado State, 125-83, and had won every matchup this season. It was the third meeting of the two teams inMWC Tournament play. The Rams are now 7-7 in Mountain West tournament history, while the Cowboys are 6-9. 9th seed Colorado State entered the contest with 8th seed Wyoming having gone 0-16 in conference play during the regular season, but stunned Wyoming with a 68-63 win during the first round game of the tournament. Junior Marcus Walker led the Rams with 22 points followed by true Freshman Andre McFarland with 18. Wyoming received 29 points from Junior Brandon Ewing, 19 of which were in the first half. Colorado St. went on to play top seed BYU. [cite web | url=http://themwc.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/031208aaa.html | title=Rams stun Cowboys 68-63 | publisher=TheMWC.com | date=2008-03-12 | accessdate=2008-03-13]

Quarterfinals

BYU vs. Colorado St.

Colorado St. kept it close through the first half by shooting threes, but BYU took off early in the second half. BYU shot over 70% in the second half. BYU's Lee Cummard was the player of the game.

an Diego St. vs. Air Force

Lorrenzo Wade sank four free throws and grabbed a critical rebound in the final seven seconds, allowing San Diego State to edge Air Force 53-49.

UNLV vs. TCU

UNLV answered TCU's record onslaught of 3-pointers with a three-point play by Wink Adams in the closing seconds that gave the Runnin' Rebels an 89-88 win over the Horned Frogs.

Utah vs. New Mexico

Luke Nevill made all the plays down the stretch despite playing with four fouls over the final 11 1/2 minutes and the Utah Utes put a crimp in New Mexico's NCAA plans with an 82-80 overtime victory over the Lobos. New Mexico's J.R. Giddens missed a potential game tying lay-up as the clock expired in overtime.

emifinals

BYU vs. San Diego St.

Lee Cummard's 20 points led 24th-ranked BYU past pesky San Diego State 63-54, sending the Cougars to the championship for the second straight year.

UNLV vs. Utah

Wink Adams and Curtis Terry each scored 20 points, leading UNLV back into the Mountain West Conference championship with a 61-55 win over Utah.

Finals

UNLV vs. BYU

In a rematch of the 2007 MWC Championship game, the second-seed UNLV Runnin' Rebels challenged the top-seed and nationally ranked BYU Cougars. The two teams split the regular season series in blowouts. UNLV defeated BYU 76-61 to win their second straight conference championship and their third overall. UNLV's junior guard Wink Adams was named the Tournament MVP after scoring 23 points, 14 of which came in the final 7 minutes of the game and senior Curtis Terry added 20 points for the Rebels. BYU was led by freshman guard Jimmer Fredette who had 17 points.

References

External links

* [http://themwc.cstv.com/champ/08-mwc-bb_tourney.html Official Site]