Mountain West leader New Mexico will try to hold onto the top spot in the conference tonight at Nevada.
New Mexico and Utah State had a comfortable lead in the race for the Mountain West’s regular-season championship for most of the season, but things got interesting last week.
Both the Lobos and Aggies lost back-to-back games last week. Utah State fell to Boise State and lost, 93-66, against Colorado State on Saturday. The Aggies (24-6, 14-5 MWC) have fallen to No. 3 in the conference standings, while the Rams (20-9, 14-4) have moved into second place.
New Mexico (23-6, 15-3) dropped games against Boise State and San Diego State, leaving the Lobos just two games ahead of Colorado State because they swept their series against the Rams this season. The Lobos responded with a 92-71 win over Air Force on Saturday, and they host UNLV in their regular-season finale on Friday.
The Mountain West Tournament kicks off in Las Vegas on March 12.
New Mexico struggled to protect the ball and the rim against Boise State and San Diego State. The Lobos gave up 15 turnovers against the Broncos and 13 against the Aztecs, and both teams scored 30 points in the paint. New Mexico also shot just 34% from the floor against the Aztecs. Air Force scored 32 points in the paint against the Lobos on Saturday, but New Mexico had five players score in double digits and shot 53% from the floor.
Nevada (16-13, 8-10) has lost three of its past four games, including a 68-55 loss at UNLV on Friday. The Wolf Pack wraps up the regular season at San Diego State on Saturday.
New Customer Offers at BetMGM
Bonus Bets Expire in 7 Days. One New Customer Offer Only. Add’l Terms
New Mexico at Nevada Odds
New Mexico is a 1.5-point college basketball betting odds favorite on BetMGM, and the Over/Under is at 149.5 points.
The Moneyline is at -110 for both teams.
New Mexico at Nevada on TV
The Mountain West game featuring New Mexico and Nevada will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET.
New Mexico at Nevada Prediction
I predict New Mexico wins, 74-68.
New Mexico point guard Donovan Dent has all but wrapped up the Mountain West Player of the Year award. He leads the conference with 20 points a game, and he’s No. 2 in the league with 189 assists.
The Lobos also have some talented rebounders, including Nelly Junior Joseph, who leads the conference with 10.8 boards a night. He’s also averaging 13.6 points a game. As a team, the Lobos lead the league and rank No. 16 in the country with 39.7 rebounds a game.
They’re going to need Dent to keep putting up points and the Lobos need to keep racking up rebounds if they’re going to make a run at the Mountain West Tournament title, but they’re also going to have to clean up the turnovers and do a better job defending the paint.
Nevada is led by 6-foot-10 forward Nick Davidson, who has posted 15.8 points and 6.3 rebounds a game. Fifth-year senior Kobe Sanders is chipping in with 15.7 points a night.
