LAS VEGAS — Editor's note: The video above this article was published March 11, following Boise State's semifinal win over Wyoming.
Update: Boise State defeated San Diego State 53-52 on Saturday to win the program's first Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship. KTVB's game recap can be viewed here.
For the first time in program history, the Boise State men's basketball team is set to play in the Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship game Saturday at 4 p.m. MT against San Diego State.
The Broncos (26-7, 15-3 MW) made history Friday night with a 68-61 win over Wyoming in the tournament semifinal. The seven-point victory at the Thomas & Mack Center set a new single-season record 26 wins for Boise State.
Boise State's last trip to a conference tournament title game was in 2011 as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). If the Broncos can take down the Aztecs Saturday, they would be just the fifth team in Mountain West history to win both an outright regular season title and a tournament championship in the same season.
The Broncos also have an opportunity to hoist their first conference tournament championship trophy since 2008, when Boise State won its most recent WAC tournament title.
As for San Diego State (23-7, 13-4), making it through the gauntlet of the Las Vegas tournament is nothing new. The Aztecs have played in the Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship in five consecutive seasons and eight out of the last nine years.
In 2021, San Diego State became the fifth team in conference history to win both an outright regular season championship title and win the Mountain West Tournament -- a feat Boise State could accomplish with a win Saturday afternoon.
Boise State swept San Diego State in their two regular season matchups, defeating the Aztecs 42-37 on Jan. 22 in San Diego and 58-57 Feb. 22 at ExtraMile Arena.
The two programs have met four times prior to Saturday in the Mountain West Tournament, with San Diego State coming out on top each time. The Aztecs pulled out a 63-58 victory over Colorado State Friday night to earn a matchup with the Broncos for the conference crown.
Bronco Nation can keep up with the score, updates and highlights from Saturday's game with KTVB's Game Tracker and live blog. Scroll down to find KTVB's Game Tracker, which will have the latest scores and a live blog with the newest tweets and updates by KTVB's Jay Tust and Will Hall from Las Vegas.
In his latest NCAA Tournament projection published Saturday at 12:25 a.m. MT, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi ranks Boise State as a No. 6 seed in the tournament West region. Lunardi moved the Broncos up from a No. 7 seed following Friday's semifinal win over Wyoming.
The Aztecs currently rank as a No. 9 seed in the Midwest region in Lunardi's bracket. Both teams are presumably locked in to make the big dance, but a win Saturday night ensures an automatic qualifier bid and bragging rights as the highest seeded Mountain West team in the field of 64.
Saturday's matchup is loaded with some of the conference's biggest stars. San Diego State's Nathan Mensah earned Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and Matt Bradley was voted conference Newcomer of the Year.
Boise State rides into the Thomas & Mack Center with the Mountain West's Freshman of the Year -- Tyson Degenhart -- and conference Coach of the Year, Leon Rice.
The Mountain West Championship tips off Saturday in Las Vegas at 4 p.m. MT.
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