LAS VEGAS, NEV. – Utah State men's basketball (25-6, 15-3 MW) will meet New Mexico (14-17, 7-11 MW) in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament on Thursday, March 14, at 7 p.m. (MT). Fans can watch the game live on the CBS Sports Network (Comcast Ch. 269, DirecTV Ch. 221, Dish Ch. 158).
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO
New Mexico entered the Mountain West Tournament as the No. 7 seed and posted a 78-68 victory over No. 10 Wyoming in the first round of the tournament. Redshirt sophomore wing Vance Jackson led the Lobos with 26 points and also paced UNM with a team-best eight rebounds and five assists during the game. He was followed in scoring by sophomore wing Makuach Maluach with 13 points, redshirt sophomore guard Keith McGee with 12 points and redshirt junior forward Carlton Bragg with 10 points.
During the regular season, UNM averaged 76.1 points per game and shot 42.6 percent (763-of-1,793) from the floor, 34.9 percent (275-of-788) from behind the 3-point line and 69.8 percent (481-of-689) at the free throw line. Senior guard Anthony Mathis led the team with 14.7 points per game, followed by Jackson, Bragg and Maluach with 12.3, 10.9 and 10.0 points per game, respectively. Bragg also paced the Lobos on the boards, averaging 9.3 rebounds per contest, while Jackson led the team with 2.5 assists per game.
Defensively, New Mexico allowed 76.5 points per game as opponents shot 45.1 percent (823-of-1,823) from the floor, 35.2 percent (216-of-613) from behind the 3-point line and 68.1 percent (433-of-636) at the free throw line. Jackson totaled a team-best 29 steals, while Bragg totaled 29 blocks, averaging 1.3 per game.
UTAH STATE/NEW MEXIO SERIES
Utah State leads the all-time series against New Mexico, 25-11, and swept the Lobos during the regular season, marking the first season sweep over the Lobos since the 1961-62 season. USU faced UNM during the 2018 Mountain West Tournament, falling to the Lobos 83-68 in the semifinals.
UTAH STATE IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST TOURNAMENT
Utah State is 5-5 all-time in the Mountain West Tournament, advancing to the semifinals during the 2017 championships. The Aggies earned a first-round bye for the first time during the MW-era this season after finishing the regular season with a league mark of 15-3.
UTAH STATE AS THE NO. 2 SEED
Utah State is 13-4 all-time as the No. 2 seed in a conference tournament. The Aggies have won their conference tournament three times as the No. 2 seed.
