In a raucous atmosphere on the campus of conference foe UNLV, the No. 7 New Mexico Lobos defeated the No. 6 Colorado State Rams in the Mountain West Conference semifinal from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on Friday night.
With the win, UNM will face the San Diego State Aztecs at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday for the MWC Tournament Championship, the capstone on what has been a banner year for men’s basketball in the league.
Fifth-year senior guard Jaelen House finished with 19 points to lead all scorers and added eight assists. Freshman big man JT Toppin added 16 points and nine rebounds.
“I love how we’ve turned into a terrific defensive team in this tournament,” said Lobos head coach Richard Pitino afterwards, with UNM keeping the Rams to just 6-28 from three-point range while forcing 14 turnovers.
CSU senior First Team All-MWC point guard Isaiah Stevens struggled early, going 0-6 from the floor with three turnovers before intermission. The grad student finished with 11 points and three rebounds, with forward Joel Scott leading all Rams with 20 points on 9-16 shooting.
With the arena ribbon boards advocating via hashtag for a #SixBidMW, it appears the league accomplished its goal of having most of its 11 members qualify for the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Lobos were the team by far the most on the bubble, and a big Quad 1 win on a neutral floor should put them on the right side of most bracketologists.
New Mexico entered the game at No. 23 in the NET, and the win puts them at 5-6 vs. Quad 1 teams. A home loss at The Pit to NET 207 Air Force had dramatically hurt their case, but with the win even if there are several bid steals, the Lobos appear to be safe for their first NCAA Tournament since 2014.
This is the 25th anniversary of the Mountain West Conference Tournament, and UNM will be the first team to win four games in four days to win the championship if they’re able to beat San Diego State tomorrow.
New Mexico closed as a three-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook.
