The first day of the 2012 Mountain West Tournament begins on Thursday afternoon at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV. All eight teams will be in action during the quarterfinals since even the lowly Boise St. Broncos and Air Force Falcons get a chance at winning three straight games for an automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
The Broncos face the No. 1 San Diego St. Aztecs in the opening round, and it might not be out of the question for an upset to be had. The Broncos nearly defeated the Aztecs on the road in January, but a 12-point lead was lost and a three-pointer failed to drop for points as the buzzer went off to end the game at 58-56 in favor of the Aztecs.
Below is the complete schedule for Thursday:
| Thursday March 8 | Time (MT) | TV |
| No. 1 San Diego State vs. No. 8 Boise State | 1:00 p.m. | MTN HD |
| No. 4 Colorado State vs. No. 5 TCU | 3:30 p.m. | MTN HD/CBS Sports Network HD |
| No. 2 New Mexico vs. No. 7 Air Force | 7:00 p.m. | MTN HD |
| No. 3 UNLV vs. No. 6 Wyoming | 9:30 p.m. | MTN HD/CBS Sports Network HD |
For more on the 2012 Mountain West Tournament, stick with SB Nation Denver and Mountain West Connection. Head over to SB Nation NCAA Basketball for more on March Madness.