If you're looking for some quality college basketball west of the Mississippi, then the Mountain West tournament is right up your alley.

The putridity of the Pac-12 has allowed the likes of UNLV, New Mexico and San Diego State to shine through as they pursue bids into the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

And shine they will at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas this weekend.

That is, assuming these particular packs of college kids can handle the temptations surrounding them in Sin City...

 

Bracket, Dates, Start Time and TV Schedule (all times EST)

Round Game Date Matchup Time Television Schedule
Quarters 1 Thursday, March 8th #1 San Diego State vs. #8 Boise State
 3 p.m. the mtn.
Quarters 2 Thursday, March 8th #4 Colorado State vs. #5 TCU
 5:30 p.m. the mtn./CBS Sports Network
Quarters 3 Thursday, March 8th #2 New Mexico vs. #7 Air Force
 9 p.m. the mtn.
Quarters 4 Thursday, March 8th #3 UNLV vs. #6 Wyoming
 11:30 p.m. the mtn./CBS Sports Network
           
Semis 5 Friday, March 9th

Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner

 9 p.m. CBS Sports Network
Semis 6 Friday, March 9th Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner
 11:30 p.m. CBS Sports Network
   
 
 
Final 7 Saturday, March 10th Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner 7 p.m. NBC Sports Network
           

What They're Saying

ESPN's Myron Medcalf summed up the state of the MWC perfectly in his Championship Week preview, saying of the eight-team better-than-mid-major league:

In January, the Mountain West looked like a stacked league. But recent stumbles by San Diego State, New Mexico and UNLV haven't buttressed that notion. All three squads have the talent and leadership to win the Mountain West tournament and create momentum as they prepare for the postseason. But which one will emerge?

 

137334455_crop_340x234 Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Team With the Most to Gain: TCU

Fifth-seed TCU has plenty of work to do to secure a spot in the Big Dance but arrives in Las Vegas with the luxury of a solid foundation upon which to build. Jim Christian's Horned Frogs will start play on Thursday at 17-13 overall, 7-7 in the MWC, with wins over UNLV and New Mexico and an overtime loss to San Diego State.

Those performances should lend plenty of confidence to Hank Thorns, JR Cadot and the rest of the Frogs, though they'll likely need to finish no worse than runner-up this weekend to get the Selection Committee to overlook bad losses to the likes of USC, Nebraska, Ole Miss and Norfolk State.

 

Team With the Most to Lose: Colorado State

Facing the aforementioned Frogs in the quarterfinals on Thursday will be Colorado State. Tim Miles has his team, at 19-10 overall, firmly on the March Madness bubble thanks to wins over the MWC's Top Three...and nobody else of note.

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As such, the Rams can hardly afford a second loss to the Horned Frogs on Thursday if they're to crack the 68-team field this year.

 

Prediction: UNLV

The MWC tourney is pretty much a toss-up between UNLV, UNM and SDSU. However, the Runnin' Rebels deserve at least a slight edge if for no other reason than the fact that all the games will be played on their home floor.

Not to mention the pool of talent that Lon Kruger has amassed in Sin City, including Anthony Marshall, Oscar Bellfield and UCLA transfers Chace Stanback and Mike Moser, the latter of whom spent time as the nation's leading rebounder this season.