March 18, 2024 |
Photo – New Mexico Lobos – Courtesy golobos.com
No. 6-seed New Mexico is the Mountain West Conference champion after knocking off No. 5 San Diego State in Las Vegas Saturday night.
The Lobos, who showed up in Vegas last week on the bubble, are now headed to the NCAA Championships with the league’s automatic bid.
With 10 seconds on the clock, New Mexico was ahead by seven points, 68-61.
New Mexico’s win on Saturday was their first conference tournament title since 2014. The Lobos led by as many as 14 points in the first half before SDSU staged a comeback down the stretch. SDSU ended the game shooting 1-of-14 from the floor — opening the door for New Mexico to pull away,
The Mountain West projects to have six teams in the NCAA Tournament. San Diego State, New Mexico, Colorado State, Boise State, Utah State, and Nevada all project to make the field. Utah State won the regular-season conference title but fell to San Diego State in the semifinals.
