The months-long grind of the Mountain West’s regular season is coming to a close this week. For many of the conference’s top teams, this couldn’t come at a better time. Top teams like San Diego State, Utah State, and Nevada are struggling at times to put away the likes of San José State, Air Force, and Fresno State. New Mexico had an opportunity to shore up its tournament chances with a Q1 game at Boise State, but couldn’t get by the Broncos. Let’s dive in.
Team of the Week: Boise State
As mentioned at the top, many of the MW’s top teams are struggling to get to the finish line. Boise State is the clear exception to this rule. In February, the Broncos played five games against bottom-four teams and won by 38, 24, 32, 20, and 29 at an Air Force team on Tuesday that had just won in the Pit. Taking care of business like this has lofted Boise State from being the bubbliest MW team in January to being very securely in the tournament field as we enter March.
Oh, and the Broncos hosted a desperate and rested New Mexico team in Boise on Saturday and came away with a cool ten point win, fueled by a 24-13 performance from O’Mar Stanley. Ho-hum, another day at the office for Leon Rice and company.
Boise State still remains in a tie for first place with Utah State, though they don’t hold the tiebreaker, and they finish with a tough pair of games at home against Nevada and at San Diego State. The Broncos may not get the #1 seed they desire, but at this point they’re playing more like a #1 seed than anyone else in the Mountain West.
Player of the Week: Jarod Lucas
Jarod Lucas has earned a reputation as being one of the best shooters in the Mountain West. He’s third in the conference in three-pointers made while shooting them at a 41% clip. He leads the conference in free throw percentage (despite a notable cold spell) at a hair over 90%. On Tuesday night, he took the metaphorical descriptor “in-the-gym range” a bit more literally, sinking a half-court, banked-in buzzer beater to stun Colorado State in Moby Arena. That miracle was part of a 23 point, 7 rebound performance and followed an unthinkable (for Lucas) stretch of three missed free throws in the final minute.
On Friday night in Reno, Nevada got everything from a suddenly feisty Fresno State team, but Lucas again came through with 21 points (and zero missed clutch FTs) to stave off the upset bid.
Nevada is just a game behind Utah State and Boise State for the conference lead, and travels to Boise along with hosting UNLV this week. With a strong finish and some help from New Mexico, Nevada has a chance at a regular season title and even a top seed in Vegas.
Game to Watch: New Mexico at Utah State
3/9, 6:30 PM MT (CBSSN), Logan, UT
New Mexico couldn’t secure a much needed Quad 1 win on Saturday in Boise, but has another opportunity to feel a little more secure about their NCAA tournament chances with a Quad 1 road opportunity at Utah State. The Aggies have lost just once at home all season, but following a week where they barely survived Fresno State and struggled to put away Air Force at home, the conference leaders look a bit vulnerable right now.
For New Mexico, win and the Lobos should be safely in the field (barring disaster in Vegas or at home Wednesday against the Bulldogs). Lose, and UNM might need a run in Pit West to get back to the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade. For Utah State, a win secures a regular season title and a #1 seed in Vegas (barring a defeat Wednesday at SJSU). The Aggies have plenty to play for of their own on Senior Night in Logan.