Week 8 Mountain West Men's basketball schedule

With the out of conference slate coming to an end of for squads in the Mountain West Conference, the Holiday week is among the best for marquee games involving MWC teams.

Among the top games are:

• The UNLV Runnin' Rebels (11-1) @ the North Carolina Tarheels (9-3), Sat. Dec. 29, ESPN2, 12 p.m. MT: UNC is not the top-ranked squad it was last season when the Runnin' Rebels beat them in Vegas. But a win at the Dean Dome would be big time.
• The No. 18 San Diego St. Aztecs (10-1) vs. the Arizona Wildcats (9-0) or the Miami Hurricanes (7-1), Tues. Dec. 25, ESPN2, Time TBA: The Aztecs will play one of two quality teams on Tuesday pending their game against Indiana St. Sunday. A match up against the top 10 Wildcats would be preferred. But Miami isn't chopped liver either.
• The Colorado St. Rams (9-2) vs. the Virginia Tech Hokies (9-2), Sun. Dec. 23, 1 p.m.: The Rams play in the Las Vegas Classic championship game against the Hokies of the ACC, who beat Bradley in overtime Saturday and have quietly amassed a 9-2 record so far - tho their RPI rating is unimpressive (No. 178). Still, CSU is in a conference championship game...
• The No. 16 New Mexico Lobos (12-1) vs. the No. 11 Cincinnati Bearcats (12-0), Sat. Dec. 29, ESPN2, 7 p.m. MT: The Lobos' upset at the hands of So. Dakota State Saturday put a damper on this match up but UNM should still be a Top 25 team when this game goes down.
• The Air Force Falcons (8-2) @ the No. 8 Florida Gators (8-2), Sat. Dec. 29, Fox Sports Net, 2:30 p.m. MT: The Falcons face a stiff road test with the Gators, who have to be considered a top contender for the SEC title this season.This is a neutral site match - part of the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic at the Florida Panthers' home arena outside Ft. Lauderdale.