Mountain West Tournament 2013: Power Ranking Title Contenders

As the top seed, New Mexico is the clear favorite to take the Mountain West tournament, but it certainly isn't going to be a cake walk. 

There is a log jam at the top of this conference, and it is setting up for a great close to the Mountain West Tournament. 

Here is how I rank the top three contenders' chances: 

No. 3: UNLV

In his second season at the helm of the program, Dave Rice led UNLV to a nice 23-8 regular-season record and a 10-6 in conference play. It also easily dispatched Air Force in the tournament-opener.

The Runnin' Rebels do two things really well; they can pass and rebound with the best of them. UNLV is the ninth-best passing team in the nation as well as the fifth best on the glass. 

It will have a shot in every game in this tournament because freshman Anthony Bennett has the ability to be the best player on the court each time out.

At 6'8" and 240 pounds, Bennett is an excellent scorer and rebounder, and he leads the team in both categories at 15.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

The Rebels could easily get hot and run the table. 

No. 2: Colorado State

As good as UNLV is on the boards, the Rebels are still at a disadvantage against Colorado State. The Rams are the fourth-best rebounding team in the nation.

The Rams are led 6'10" senior Colton Iverson. He hit for 14.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game in the regular season.

This team is putting up 73.4 points per game, which is the 45th-best mark in the nation. 

The Rams hit a bit of a rough patch recently as they lost three out of four, but have since won three straight—including a six-point win over Fresno State in the tournament-opener.

This is a resilient group, and they will be a tough out for anyone in this tournament.  

No. 1: New Mexico

New Mexico likes to keep the possessions down, and it is very adept at that.

The Lobos scored just 67.8 per game, which is 165th in the nation, but they parlayed that into a 26-5 regular-season record.

New Mexico started off slow against Wyoming in the tournament-opener, but they closed out strong and won by 13.

While the Lobos solid defense is a great recipe for consistent success, it also means they are vulnerable to a team that gets hot shooting the rock. 

The Lobos simply don't have the fire power to match a team on fire.