Orlando Ramirez / USA TODAY Sports

It's always a scene in Las Vegas in March, with multiple conference tournaments taking place in the desert. Sin City's crown jewel for this week is the Mountain West conference tournament, where the five top teams' odds to win are separated by a thin margin at FanDuel Sportsbook. Two of those contenders, No. 5 San Diego State and No. 4 Boise State, are among the last four to make March Madness in Jerry Palm's latest bracket.

The Mountain West tournament will feature 11 teams battling it out at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The fun tips off with three first-round contests on Wed., March 12, followed by the quarterfinals on Thurs., March 13.

Below is a look at the entire conference tournament schedule, with the championship slated for Sat., March 15.

Mountain West Tournament Schedule

First Round (March 12)

FR1: No. 9 Wyoming vs. No. 8 San Jose State
FR2: No. 10 Fresno State vs. No. 7 Nevada
FR3: No. 11 Air Force vs. No. 6 UNLV

Quarterfinals (March 13)

QF1: Winner of FR1 vs. No. 1 New Mexico
QF2: No. 5 San Diego State vs. No. 4 Boise State
QF3: Winner of FR2 vs. No. 2 Colorado State
QF4: Winner of FR3 vs. No. 3 Utah State

Semifinals (March 14)

SF1: QF1 winner vs. QF2 winner
SF2: QF3 winner vs. QF4 winner

Final (March 15)

SF1 winner vs. SF2 winner

Richard Pitino lost three of his four top scorers from last year's conference tournament-winning squad, which entered as the No. 6 seed. But the Lobos actually took a step forward this campaign, as their 17-3 record in conference play earned them the No. 1 seed this time around. They're also the +250 favorites to repeat as conference tournament winners. Junior guard Donovan Dent, the lone double-digit scorer to stay from last year's team, is the likely MWC Player of the Year after putting up 20.4 points (12th in CBB) and 6.5 assists (11th in CBB) per game. He is the only player in the nation to rank in the top 20 in both categories.

The hottest team entering this conference tournament, however, is No. 2 Colorado State. The Rams have worked their way onto Palm's bubble after ripping off seven straight wins to close out the regular season, including double-digit victories over No. 3 Utah State and No. 4 Boise State earlier this month. Senior guard Nique Clifford leads the team in scoring (18.4), rebounding (9.7), assists (4.4) and steals (1.2) per game. The Rams have the second-lowest odds at +350 after winding up at 16-4 in the conference standings, though two of those defeats came to New Mexico.

No. 3 Utah State is right behind at +400, with No. 4 Boise State and No. 5 San Diego State each possessing +500 odds. That second-round matchup between the Broncos and Aztecs could very well decide who gets to go dancing. San Diego State swept the regular-season series, with the last meeting being a 17-point laugher at home. The Aztecs also have the most Mountain West conference tournament wins with seven, two ahead of New Mexico's five. 

No. 6 UNLV and No. 7 Nevada both reside at +2000, then a bunch of extreme longshots bring up the rear—No. 8 San Jose State at +16000, No. 9 Wyoming at +160000, No. 10 Fresno State at +30000 and No. 11 Air Force at +30000. 

Will there be a Mountain West team that doesn't have to sweat out its Selection Sunday fate by locking up the conference's automatic bid? SportsLine expert Thomas Casale thinks so, as he's taking No. 2 Colorado State due to its strong recent play and easier path. But which teams are the experts backing in all the other conference tournaments? You can get the best bets for each tournament at SportsLine, along with the SportsLine Projection Model's simulations for every game.