MWC Sends 6 Men's Basketball Teams to Postseason

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March 13, 2011

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A league record-tying six Mountain West Conference men's basketball teams have received postseason bids. BYU, San Diego State and UNLV will move on to the NCAA Tournament, while Colorado State and New Mexico are headed to the National Invitation Tournament. Air Force rounds out the group with a spot in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

With today's selections, all 36 MWC teams with 20 wins or more prior to "Selection Sunday" have received postseason invitations.

This year also marks the 10th consecutive season, and 11th overall, in which the Mountain West has had at least one NCAA at-large qualifier on Selection Sunday. In 12 years, MWC teams have received 29 NCAA bids, including 18 at-large berths.

NCAA TOURNAMENT

• 2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Interactive Bracket

• 2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket

Number 2 seed and MWC tournament champion San Diego State (32-2) earned the league's automatic bid and will face off against No. 15 seed Northern Colorado on Thursday, March 17, in the West Regional at the McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. The contest will be broadcast on TNT, beginning at 11:30 a.m. PT. The Aztecs, who received the highest NCAA Tournament seed in MWC history, have been ranked in the Top-10 of both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Coaches' polls for eight consecutive weeks. SDSU, making its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, will be looking to collect its first win in six trips to the Big Dance overall. The winner of the San Diego State-Northern Colorado match-up will face the winner of No. 7 seed Temple and No. 10 seed Penn State in third-round play on Friday, March 19.

BYU (30-4) earned a No. 3 seed in the Southeast Regional and will face No. 14 seed Wofford in second-round play on Thursday, March 17 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. MT and will be televised on CBS. The Cougars, who earned an at-large bid for the fourth straight year, will be making their 26th trip to the NCAA Tournament, including the eighth in the last 11 years. BYU is 12-28 in NCAA Tournament contests overall. The winner of Thursday's BYU-Wofford contest will meet the winner of No. 6 seed St. John's vs. No. 11 Gonzaga on Saturday, March 19 in third-round action.

UNLV (24-8) garnered its eighth at-large bid in program history after capturing a No. 8 seed in the Southwest Regional. The Runnin' Rebels will travel to the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., and will face No. 9 seed Illinois in the second round on Friday, March 18 at 6:15 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on TBS. The winner of the UNLV/Illinois game will take on the winner of No. 1 Kansas/No. 16 Boston on Sunday, March 20. The Rebels will be making their fourth NCAA tournament appearance in five years, including their Sweet 16 run in 2007. Since 1975, UNLV is 33-16 in 17 overall NCAA tournament berths.

NIT TOURNAMENT

• 2011 NIT Bracket

Colorado State will be making its seventh appearance in the NIT and first in 12 years when the No. 3 seed Rams host No. 6 seed Fairfield on Tuesday, March 15. Game time is set for 7 p.m. MT and will be televised on ESPN3. The winner of the Colorado State-Fairfield game will take on the winner of No. 2 seed Saint Mary's and No. 7 seed Kent State. This marks CSU's second straight visit to the postseason following a berth in last year's College Basketball Invitational.

New Mexico (21-12) qualified for the postseason for the fourth consecutive year, earning a No. 4 seed in the NIT. The Lobos will entertain UTEP on Tuesday, March 15, at 7 p.m. MT in a first-round contest that will be televised on ESPN2. New Mexico will be participating in the NIT for the third time in four years and holds a 17-19 record in 18 trips overall. The winner of the New Mexico-UTEP match-up will square off against the winner of No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 8 Coastal Carolina.

Tags: ncaa, NIT, tournament, CIT