With two elite teams and not a lot else in the Mountain West Conference, the post-season tournament seemed destined to feature a re-match of San Diego State and New Mexico. Thus far, the pair have dominated their competition, and are headed into the semifinals against lower-seeded squads. A meeting in the tournament final would be the third meeting between the MWC’s only ranked teams.
Mountain West basketball tournament 2014 schedule and bracket: San Diego State, New Mexico on collision course
Friday brings the semifinals of the Mountain West Tournament, where the top two seeds are still alive.
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Road to the Title
No. 1 San Diego State plowed into the semis with a 73-39 whipping of No. 8 Utah State. The Aztecs spread it around, with the starters playing limited minutes in the beating. No. 4 UNLV, on the other hand, beat No. 5 Wyoming by just four in its quarterfinal game. The Rebels got 22 from Bryce Dejan-Jones, who had his highest scoring total since dropping 24 on Fresno State New Years’ Day. In a pair of regular season games, San Diego State’s margin of victory over UNLV was 10 points.
No. 2 New Mexico rolled past No. 7 Fresno State, scoring 49 points in the first half and cruising to a 93-77 victory. Alex Kirk and Cameron Bairstow each scored 21 for the Lobos, with Bairstow grabbing 10 rebounds to notch a double-double. New Mexico shot just under 57 percent for the game as a team. The Lobos now draw No. 6 Boise State, who got 22 points from Deonte Burton in their 75-62 win over No. 3 Nevada on Thursday night. The Broncos delivered the Lobos one of their three conference losses this season with a 71-70 win in Boise on Feb. 12.
Friday’s schedule of games:
No. 1 San Diego State vs. No. 4 UNLV, 9 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network
No. 2 New Mexico vs. No. 6 Boise State, 11:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network
Here’s a link to the entire Mountain West bracket:
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