The Mountain West had at least four teams in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season, with New Mexico, Utah State and San Diego State earning at-large bids and Colorado State securing the conference’s automatic berth. This is a good result for MW considering there have only been four at-large bids from mid-sized conferences, with MW getting three and the fourth going to Gonzaga from the WCC. MW had an outside chance of having five teams in the field, but Boise State was among the “final four outs” and will play in the college basketball crown with San Jose State, the sixth MW team playing in the postseason after securing the league’s NIT berth after three teams above in the standings declined the opportunity.
Here’s a look at every MW team playing in the playoffs in March.
NCAA Tournament
New Mexico
Save: 26-7, 17-3 MW
Seed: No. 10
Match : vs. No. 7 Marquette, 4:25 p.m. Friday (TBS) at Cleveland
Betting Odds: Marquette favored by 3.5
Chances of moving forward: BPI — New Mexico has a 28.7 percent chance of winning the first round and a 6 percent chance of reaching the Sweet 16; Bart Torvik – 35.3 percent chance of winning the first round; 9.2 percent chance of making the Sweet 16
Preview: New Mexico had an underseeded line, but there is minimal difference between a 7, 8, 9 or 10 seed. It all depends on the coin toss. The Lobos get Marquette, which went 23-10 overall and 13-7 in the Big East (tied for fourth). Coached by Shaka Smart, the Golden Eagles started the year 8-0 with non-league victories over NCAA tournament teams Maryland, Purdue and Georgia. They were 15-2 before going 8-8 in their last 16 games and 5-7 in the last 12. Marquette has a star guard in Kameron Jones (19.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 4.5 rpg). This will be a fun matchup against MW Player of the Year Donovan Dent. Marquette has a strong starting lineup but only has seven. The Golden Eagles rank top 32 in KenPom offense and defense, but are not a good shooting team (32.5 percent from three) and have been overshot (minus-1.7 per game). Both are excellent at forcing turnovers, with Marquette third in DI in turnover margin (plus-5.5 per game) and New Mexico 15th (plus-3.9).
State of Utah
Save: 26-7, 15-5
Seed: No. 10
Match : vs. No. 7 UCLA, 6:25 p.m. Thursday (TNT) in Lexington, Ky.
Betting Odds: UCLA favored by 5.5
Chances of moving forward: BPI – Utah State has a 37.9 percent chance of winning the first round and a 6.3 percent chance of reaching the Sweet 16; Bart Torvik – 30.2 percent chance of winning the first round; 7.7 percent chance of making the Sweet 16
Preview: Utah State (40th) was just two spots behind New Mexico (38th) on the seed list as the last team in the field to get a bye. The Aggies enter the 64-team NCAA Tournament field directly with a first-round matchup against UCLA, which finished 22-10 overall and 13-7 in the Big Ten (tied for fourth). The Bruins started and finished the season strong with a soft center going 1-5 over a six-game stretch. Take that away and this team went 21-5. UCLA is battle tested, having gone 9-8 in Quad 1 games. Utah State, meanwhile, has limped to the finish line, going 4-4 in its last eight games with three lopsided losses in its last five games. The Aggies have a huge offensive ceiling if 3-pointers fall and will face one of the best defensive teams in the country (the Bruins are 17th in KenPom’s defensive rankings). The turnover battle will also be important in this one. UCLA is seventh in turnover margin (plus-4.6) while Utah State is forcing 14 takeaways per game.
State of Colorado
Save: 25-9, 16-4
Seed: No. 12
Match : against No. 5 Memphis, 11 a.m. Friday (TBS) in Seattle
Betting Odds: Colorado State 3.5
Chances of moving forward: BPI — Colorado State has a 47.3 percent chance of winning the first round and an 11.3 percent chance of reaching the Sweet 16; Bart Torvik — 37.9 percent chance to win first round; 14.1 percent chance of making the Sweet 16
Preview: This is a rare situation where the double-digit seed is the betting line favorite with Colorado State minus-3.5. The Rams enter the tournament having won 10 straight, including the MW tournament. This is a battle of mid-major conference teams, as Memphis hails from the American Athletic Conference and was the highest-rated team outside of a power conference after earning 20th overall. The Tigers went 29-5 overall and won the AAC at 16-2 before also winning the tournament title. Memphis has won its last eight games and 16 of the last 17, with the only loss coming in overtime at Wichita State in a game the Tigers appeared to have locked out. AAC Player of the Year PJ Haggerty (21.8 ppg, 5.8 apg, 3.8 apg) is a handful with Memphis, an athletic team that is better on defense than offense. The Tigers went 11-1 in games decided by six points or fewer. Memphis PG Tyrese Hunter injured his ankle during the AAC Tournament and could be out for the NCAA Tournament.
San Diego State
Save: 21-9, 14-6 (tied for fourth)
Seed: No. 11
Match : vs. No. 11 North Carolina, Tuesday at 6:10 p.m. (truTV) in Dayton, Ohio in the First Four matchup
Betting Odds: North Carolina by 3.5
Chances of moving forward: BPI — San Diego State has a 12.3 percent chance of winning the first round and a 2.2 percent chance of reaching the Sweet 16; Bart Torvik — 12.8 percent chance of winning the first round; 3.6 percent chance of making the Sweet 16
Preview: SDSU plays in the First Four against North Carolina, the most controversial team in the tournament after going 1-12 in Quad 1 games and having its athletic director, Bubba Cunningham, chair of the selection committee. These are the last two teams in the field, with SDSU sneaking in and giving MW a First Four team for the fourth straight season (the conference is 1-4 in these games). The Aztecs have the best history of any MW team advancing in this tournament and have a 38.8 percent chance of beating the Tar Heels, according to Bart Torvik. SDSU is limited offensively and is playing a North Carolina team that is better on offense than defense. The Tar Heels are a deep offensive team that gets to the line, with the foul-prone Aztecs. The whistle will be loud. North Carolina was brutal against the NCAA Tournament team, going 2-10 with wins over UCLA and American (a 16-seed team). The winner of that game plays No. 6 seed Ole Miss on Friday.
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Other playoff tournaments
Boise State: The Broncos (24-10) were the next-to-last team off the court and turned down a spot in the NIT to play in the College Basketball Crown, a freshman tournament in Las Vegas that appears to have a better court than the NIT. There are also NIL incentives for teams that advance to the final four of the 16-team tournament. Boise State faces George Washington (21-10) in the first round at the MGM Grand and would face the Utah-Butler winner in the second round if it advances.
San Jose State: The Spartans (15-19) were fortunate to secure an NIT berth after Boise State, Nevada and UNLV declined the offer. The Spartans earn the fourth seed and will host Loyola Chicago (22-11) in the first round on Wednesday. San Jose State is one of two teams among the 32 teams with a losing record, along with Oklahoma State. This is SJSU’s second appearance in the NIT after losing to UTEP in the first round in 1981. The winner of SJSU-Loyola Chicago advances to face the winner of USF-Utah Valley.
Columnist Chris Murray provides insight into Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @ByChrisMurray.
