The Utah State men’s basketball team let a double digit lead slip away in a 66-64 loss to host New Mexico on Saturday in the teams’ final Mountain West Conference game.
If the Aggies had to do it all over again, would they handle that 14-point lead with more care? They may get a chance to find out.
The loss didn’t affect USU’s seeding in the MWC tournament, which will be held Wednesday through Saturday at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. The Aggies received the No. 2 seed and will get a first-round bye. Their second-round opponent will be either San Jose State or, yep, the Lobos, whichever wins the opener.
MOUNTAIN WEST TOURNAMENT
UTAH STATE VS. SAN JOSE STATE OR NEW MEXICO
At the Thomas and Mack Center, Las Vegas
When • Thursday, 7 p.m. MST
TV • CBSSN
New Mexico finished tied for seventh in the MWC with Fresno State. And as much as the USU players might want to redeem themselves, they may want even more for the Spartans to pull the upset in the first round. SJSU is 10th of 11 teams after having won just three conference games this season. One was against New Mexico.
USU (23-8) tied Nevada for second in the conference at 12-6 but beat the Wolfpack in head-to-head competition.
Those teams may meet in the semifinals Friday at 9:30 p.m. if the No. 3-seeded Wolfpack win their quarterfinal.
San Diego State holds the top seed.
The championship game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
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