The 2004 Mountain West Conference

Mountain West Conference

The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...

 men's basketball tournament was played at the Pepsi Center

Pepsi Center

Pepsi Center is a multi-purpose arena in Denver, Colorado, United States. The building is home to the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association, the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League, and the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League...

 in Denver, Colorado from March 10–13, 2004. Third-seeded Utah

Utah Utes men's basketball

The University of Utah Utes have consistently been one of the most successful basketball programs in the NCAA. They are currently an NCAA Division I program that plays in the Pacific-12 Conference. The school has made the NCAA Tournament 26 times, which ranks 16th in NCAA history and 3rd behind...

 defeated UNLV

UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball

The UNLV Runnin' Rebels are a NCAA Division I men's basketball team who play at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada. Their most recent appearance in the NCAA Tournament was in 2011 when they received an at–large bid to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, earning an 8-seed in...

, which lost its third consecutive tournament title game (all by 3 points or less), 73–70 in the championship game to win the Mountain West Conference Tournament and the league's NCAA Tournament automatic bid.

This marked the first time in league history the tournament was held in a venue other than Las Vegas' Thomas and Mack Center.

Bracket

* Overtime