Mountain West Will Surprise NCAA Tourney – March 1

After a wild and wacky Leap Day sports, the Mountain West gets ready for a long weekend of college basketball. When fans think of college basketball and March Madness, the Mountain West Conference is not at the top of the list for producing NCAA tournament contenders. That may change this year. 

In the current edition of ESPN’s Bracketology, the Big 12 has nine teams in the 68-team tournament field. That is to be expected as the Big 12 has a ton of teams that could contend for an NCAA title. Houston is the No. 1 team in the nation. Kansas is a perennial contender, and the list goes on. 

The SEC has seven teams listed in the most recent bracketology and the Big Ten has six. There is no surprise there either with teams like No. 2 Purdue and No. 4 Tennessee. The surprise comes with the next conference on the list – the Mountain West.

Six Mountain West Teams Could Make the Tournament

Six Mountain West teams are making the cut right now, according to basketball expert Joe Lunardi. In the most recent AP rankings, San Diego State (22-7, 11-5) checks in at No. 20. The Aztecs are just one year removed from advancing to last year’s Final Four. Utah State (23-5, 11-4) is ranked No. 22 and is tied with Boise State (20-8, 11-4) for the Mountain West Conference lead. 

Nevada (23-6, 10-5) has been in and out of the AP Top 25 and is listed as a No. 10 seed in this year’s tourney. Colorado State (20-9, 8-8) has one of the best point guards in the nation in Isaiah Stevens (16.6 ppg, 7.3 apg). The Rams were ranked at one point this season. Bracketology puts Colorado State in the upcoming NCAA tournament as a No. 9 seed.

The final Mountain West team that could make the tournament is New Mexico. The Lobos, coached by Richard Pitino Jr. are 21-7 and 9-6 in Mountain West play. New Mexico is, according to bracketology, one of the last four teams to make the cut. The Lobos would have to win a play-in game to become a No. 11 seed.

Our Handicappers Love the Mountain West

If you’re a member of Sports Hub, you know that we have handicappers that specialize in various sports. Two of our top college basketball handicappers are Sal Lombardi, who was actually our top capper yesterday, and Coach Rick, who has been killing it over the last 30 days.

Cappers like these two love conferences like the Mountain West. If you want to be successful betting on college basketball, one of the things you should do is narrow the field. There are 366 Division I basketball teams. You can’t be an expert on all of them, but you can become an expert on a 14-team conference like the Mountain West.

Yesterday, Coach Rick hit both of his college basketball picks. Our partners at Scores and Stats, the Sas Insider had a huge CBB day. The Insider went 21-15 on 36 NCAA basketball picks and earned a total of $450. Sas Insider stuck to this strategy of narrowing the field. Yesterday, the Insider had picks for all of the Big West and West Coast Conference games.

While we’re on the subject, let’s see how all of our cappers did yesterday.

• Living the dream: Sal Lombardi has been one of our most consistent handicappers here at Sports Hub. He was at it again yesterday, hitting on 9 of 12 picks. That added another $575 to his already fat bankroll. 
• College basketball experts: We already mentioned Sas Insider and the 21-15 record yesterday. The Insider could be a Mountain West expert. You’ll have to check the members’ area today to see if the Insider has picks for tonight’s games. There are two Mountain West games on the schedule.
• Why you need Sports Hub: Four Sports Hub experts each went 3-0 and earned $300 yesterday. A fifth capper, Scott Wetzel of Paid Picks from Scott, also hit his trifecta of picks yesterday for $300. Frankie the Fan, James Acker, Al Grant, and James Anderson are all handicappers that you can only find here at Sports Hub. There are many more and they are the reason why every bettor needs a SportsHub membership. I mean, don’t you want more wins? Our guys don’t win them all, but man, they sure do win a lot!

NFL Combine Underway

If you started planning for the 2024 NFL season, it’s starting right now. Over 300 college football players are in Indianapolis right now at the NFL Combine. Hopes and dreams hinge on a battery of mental and physical tests. A tenth of a second in a 40-yard dash or a great interview could move a player up the draft board and earn him several million dollars.

The combine isn’t the only thing going on in the sports world right now. Let’s see what else is trending. 

• Choppin’ up a 40: Penn State’s Chop Robinson clocked a 4.48 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine yesterday. Chop, whose real first name is Demeioun, is a 6-foot-3, 254-pound edge rusher who will be a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

• Clark out: Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, the NCAA women’s college basketball all-time leading scorer, will enter the WNBA draft after this season. She is projected to be the No. 1 pick.
• Ohtani gets ring: No, Shohei Ohtani didn’t win a World Series yet, but he did get married. It was a bit of a surprise. Will it affect his play in 2024? You might want to file that in the back of your mind when you enter Sports Hub’s 2024 MLB handicapper contest.
• Rookie battle: Victor Wembenyana won the battle with Chet Holmgren of OKC last night as the Spurs recorded a 132-118 upset win over the Thunder. Wemby had 28 points and 13 rebounds for the Spurs. Holmgren had 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists for OKC.

The Best Thing About Friday

The best thing about Friday this time of year is that it means that Saturday is coming tomorrow. We will have a weekend full of great sporting events. There will be tons of choices for bettors. While we don’t have those same choices today, we’ve certainly got enough. 

To help you along the way, visit the Sports Hub picks database. It is full of picks across all sports from the world’s best handicappers. All you need is a Sports Hub membership. Click that orange button at the top of the screen to get started. And, yes, it’s FREE! 

Here’s what you could bet on today.

1. Bet on the NBA: There are nine games on the schedule tonight highlighted by the ESPN doubleheader. Boston looks to win its tenth game in a row tonight against Dallas. Luka Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer, is questionable. Game 2 pits Milwaukee at Chicago starting at 10:00 p.m. ET.
2. Mountain West action: There are two games in the Mountain West Conference tonight. No. 22 Utah State hosts Air Force. Fresno State is at Nevada as the Wolfpack look to secure their chances at an at-large bid in March Madness. There is more Mountain West Conference basketball this weekend.

3. More college basketball: No. 21 Dayton is at Loyola in an Atlantic-10 matchup tonight. The MAC, Ivy League, and Metro Atlantic dominate tonight’s CBB schedule.
4. Working for the weekend: Fridays are not a big day on the ice as NHL teams get ready for Saturday. There are three games tonight that bettors could check out. Check our database to see if guys like Sal Lombardi have any NHL picks tonight.
5. Soccer teaser: The top soccer leagues in the world give us a single match each today. They too will gear up for a big weekend of action around the globe. Geovanny Araya has been crushing the books lately. Check the members’ area and see what he has cooking for today.
6. Golf: Chad Ramey and S.H. Kim shot 64 yesterday to take the early lead in the Cognizant Classic 2024. Round 2 is already in progress.
7. Tennis: We’ve reached the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships on the ATP Tour. The men are also playing the Movistar Chile Open and the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Mexico. The women’s WTA tour continues with play in the Cymbiotika San Diego Open and the ATX Open in Austin, Texas.

Get yourself ready for the weekend here at Sports Hub. There is a ton of college basketball and, if you play it right, you could win big betting on conferences like the Mountain West. Check what our handicappers are betting on tonight and this weekend. It will pay off.

We’ll see you back here tomorrow. Make it a great Friday and we’ll set you up for another winning weekend tomorrow. See you then!