Back in October, the team that we all thought was going to be the best in the Mountain West was New Mexico. It took awhile for those Lobos to show up, but this has been a different team since they lost to UNLV back in January.
And they showed it on Wednesday night, going into SDSU’s Viejas Arena and knocking off the No. 13 Aztecs 77-67. Kendall Williams led the way with 21 points — including three ridiculous threes in a row to spark a 16-1, game-deciding run — while Drew Gordon added 17 points and 17 boards.
In their previous five games, New Mexico’s defense has turned into a thing of legend. They had not allowed an opponent to score more than 54 points against them since the UNLV loss. And while the Aztecs did break the 54 point barrier in a losing effort, New Mexico held Chase Tapley to just seven points — all of which came in the final three minutes when New Mexico had firm control of the game — on 3-11 shooting.
The magnitude of this win for New Mexico cannot be overstated. The Lobos currently own sole possession of first place in the Mountain West, sitting a game in front of both SDSU and UNLV, and host UNLV on Saturday. A win in that game and all the Lobos have to do to is sweep their last four games — teams they beat by a combined 105 points the first time through MWC play — to lock up the regular season title.
What’s more is that a win at Viejas Arena gives the Lobos the kind of resume boost they needed to lock up their NCAA Tournament standing. Barring a collapse down the stretch, the Mountain West will be sending three teams to the NCAA Tournament.
The only downside is that, after Saturday, we are going to have to wait for the conference tournament to start to see a rematch between the top three in the MWC — New Mexico, UNLV and SDSU. After the Runnin’ Rebels pay their visit to The Pit, the round robin between these teams will be complete.
Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @ballinisahabit.
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If I were to say the name Leonard Washington to you, one of two things would probably pop into your head: You’d either a) recall one of the many iconic characters from Chapelle’s Show, or b) the kid from USC that gave Blake Griffin a shot to the jujubees. You might be surprised to find…
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I don’t think you’ll find much of an argument from anyone that Creighton is the best mid-major program in the country this season. They spent much of last year ranked, finishing second in a strong Missouri Valley Conference before winning the MVC tournament, advancing to the Round of 32 in the NCAA tournament and finishing…
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Recruiting rundown: Talent pool thins as signing period closes
May 16, 2012, 4:48 PM EDT
AP
The college basketball regular signing period for the 2012 class officially ends today, and most signings are typically over as the National Letter of Intent signing dates conclude. Still, many athletes elect to sign financial aid documents that become the equivalent in tuition-free attendance, without binding players to schools. Only a handful of presumed meaningful…
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Ex-Ohio State forward J.D. Weatherspoon transfers to Toledo
May 16, 2012, 4:15 PM EDT
Former Ohio State forward J.D. Weatherspoon is transferring to Toledo, the Associated Press is reporting. The former Top 150 recruit played in 26 games this past season, but saw limited minutes in his two seasons in Columbus, averaging 2.9 points and 1.1 rebounds for the Buckeyes in 2011-12. Weatherspoon was a high school teammate of…
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Kyle Smyth, a 6-4 guard who last month announced his intent to transfer from Iona, has committed to Seton Hall, according to J.P. Pelzman of The Record. Smyth averaged 5.7 points and two rebounds per game last year for an Iona team that finished 25-8 and lost in the NCAA tournament to BYU. The New…
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All 14 teams to play in revamped ACC conference tournament
May 16, 2012, 2:32 PM EDT
The ACC is now following in the footsteps of the Big East, expanding its conference tournament to include all 14 teams and run from Wednesday through Sunday during Championship Week, the league announced Wednesday afternoon. The conference will include 14 teams once Pittsburgh and Syracuse leave the Big East and join the ACC. The idea…
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A day after Duke landed Top 30 recruit Amile Jefferson of Friend’s Cental (Pa.), a tax return obtained by USA Today shows that Blue Devil head coach Mike Krzyzewski is doing pretty well for himself. The report shows that Coach K brought in more than $7.2 million in compensation during the 2010 calendar year, second…
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AP
The attention remains on the so-called national elite prospects, but many programs continue to add role players, or prospects with potential that could impact next year’s college basketball rosters. Some signings or commitments of note that have dropped over the last few days include: Baylor made a late move on forward Taurean Waller-Prince, an in-state…
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2013 NCAA tournament East Regional to be held in Washington D.C.
May 16, 2012, 11:24 AM EDT
Getty Images
The Verizon Center in Washington D.C. will be the site of the 2013 NCAA tournament East Regional on March 28 and 30, the NCAA announced in a statement Wednesday morning. “The decision to delay the announcement of the East Regional site was made because the committee wanted to explore several options,” Mark Lewis, the NCAA’s…
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AP
Gotta hand it to the Atlantic 10. The hoops-centric league will lose Temple to the Big East and Charlotte to C-USA, but will replace them with Butler and now VCU. Yes, George Mason elected to stay in the CAA. Tough break. The league’s still going to be better than ever. The A-10 usually ranks as…
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AP
Laurie Fine, the wife of former Syracuse assistant coach Bernie Fine, will sue ESPN for libel in response to the network’s reporting of her involvement in the alleged incidents that led to child molestation accusations being levied against her husband, the Post-Standard is reporting. In a 44-page document provided to the Post-Standard, the lawsuit accuses…
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Recruiting rundown: ‘Bama lands in-state center Jimmie Taylor ’13
May 16, 2012, 8:45 AM EDT
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Curiously, Alabama is one of only a few known D-1 college basketball programs that has yet to sign a player as an incoming recruit for next year. While they have a great chance at landing top-25 prospect Devonta Pollard, they have been shut out on other prospects they pursued. With that said, the Crimson Tide…
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- Virginia Commonwealth had a million reasons to stay in the CAA. But they decided to bolt for the Atlantic-10, a move that will take place immediately. As Jeff Eisenberg points out, this was a risk that VCU had to take. With the immediate addition of VCU, what will the A-10 look like in 2012-2013?…
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Jeff Hathaway has landed on his feet. After getting forced out as the athletic director at UConn prior to the 2011-2012 academic year, Hathaway has found a way to revive his career, taking over the same position at Hofstra. “In collegiate athletics, the name Jeff Hathaway means success on any number of levels: in the…
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Grad transfer rule has to remain as long as we have “student”-athletes
May 15, 2012, 10:58 PM EDT
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I can honestly say that I can go either way when it comes to the graduate transfer exemption. For those that are unaware, the rule is simple: if an athlete completes their undergraduate degree with eligibility remaining, they can transfer to another school without being forced to sit out for a year so long as…
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Mark Gottfried as added yet another talented piece to the mix at NC State, as former LSU guard Ralston Turner officially decided to transfer into the Wolfpack program. Turner started 59 games in two years with LSU, averaging 12.3 points as a freshman and 9.1 points as a sophomore. “I felt like I knew coach…
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Jabari Parker’s already been tagged as the “next big thing” for some time now. The Chicago product and top recruit in the class of 2013 was the 2012 Gatorade national player of the year – as a junior – thanks to his impressive mix of size, skill and savvy. Even better? By all accounts, he’s…
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Believe me when I tell you that I probably hate talking about realignment more than any of you, and if I had any say in the matter, the structure of college sports would a) not completely change by the year 2015 and b) would prioritize college hoops over the money generated by college football. But…
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Donnie Tyndall had an impressive run in his time as the head coach at Morehead State. After going 12-18 over all and 8-12 in the Ohio Valley Conference in his first season with the Eagles, Tyndall never again finished below .500 for the season — a fairly impressive feat for a team that makes up…
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The wait for Amile Jefferson is finally over. The nation’s No. 24 recruit according to our Consensus Recruiting Rankings committed to Duke on Tuesday afternoon, picking the Blue Devils over NC State, Kentucky, Villanova and Ohio State. Jefferson joins Rasheen Sulaimon as the only two members of Duke’s 2012 recruiting class. “In the end, I…
