Mountain West Tournament betting odds: New Mexico narrow favorite to repeat

The Mountain West Tournament begins Wednesday with three first-round games at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

The MWC’s five men’s basketball NCAA Tournament at-large contenders — Boise State, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State and Utah State — are all idle until Thursday’s quarterfinal round.

New Mexico (25-6, 17-3), the MWC’s regular-season champion, is the favorite to capture the MWC Tournament title at +250. The Lobos won four games in four days a season ago in Las Vegas to earn an NCAA Tournament bid.

Third-seeded Utah State (25-6, 15-5) is next in the betting odds at +330. The Aggies were swept by New Mexico during the regular season.

Colorado State (22-9, 16-4), the No. 2 seed, has the third-best odds to win the MWC Tournament at +350. The Rams are the hottest team in the MWC with seven straight victories entering Thomas & Mack Center, including an 83-73 comeback win at Boise State last Friday.

The fourth-seeded Broncos (22-9, 14-6) are +425 to win the MWC Tournament with fifth-seeded San Diego State (21-8, 14-6) checking in at +700.

Boise State and San Diego State are set to meet in a 3:30 p.m. Mountain time Thursday quarterfinal. The Aztecs are 2-0 against Boise State this season.

San Diego State center Magoon Gwath, the MWC Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, is questionable for the MWC Tournament. Gwath hasn’t played since suffering a hyperextended knee Feb. 22 at Utah State.

“He is out shooting, the swelling is gone,” San Diego State head coach Brian Dutcher said last weekend. “His (knee) has tightened up some. The doctors are happy with it. He hasn’t done anything in two weeks so we have to start getting him into shape and get him in game shape and see how it responds.

“Our intention is to try and bring him back when he is healthy. Whether it is the Mountain West Tournament on Thursday or God willing we are in the NCAA Tournament. But our intention is to have him back this season.”

UNLV is +1800 to win the MWC Tournament. Nevada is next at +2200 above long shots San Jose State (+20000), Wyoming (+25000), Fresno State (+30000) and Air Force (+50000).

San Jose State and Wyoming will open the MWC Tournament at noon Wednesday, followed by Nevada vs. San Jose State (2:30 p.m.) and UNLV vs. Air Force (5 p.m.).

Odds are courtesy of DraftKings. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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