The Mountain West title is on the line today at Utah State’s Dee Glen Smith Spectrum when the Aggies host New Mexico.
The Aggies (24-6, 14-5 MWC) have already clinched a share of the regular-season title. They can lock up their second outright regular-season championship with a win over visiting New Mexico. Utah State won its first outright title in 2023-24. It shared the title with Nevada in 2018-19.
If the Lobos (22-8, 13-6) win, they’ll share the regular-season title with Utah State and San Diego State (20-10, 14-6). All three have already locked up top-four seeds in the Mountain West Tournament, which come with first-round byes.
New Mexico was riding high after a home win over San Diego State last week, but then Colorado State ruined senior night with an 82-74 win at The Pit on Wednesday. The Rams (20-10, 11-8) have won eight-straight games and have a chance to earn a top-five seed in the conference tournament.
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The Lobos are led by likely Mountain West Freshman of the Year Tomislav Buljan, who posted 14 points and 12 rebounds against Colorado State. It was his conference-leading 13th double-double of the season. The 23-year-old native of Croatia is averaging 12.2 points a night and leads the Mountain West with 10.2 rebounds a game.
His main competition for freshman of the year may be his teammate, Jake Hall, who leads the conference with 92 made 3-pointers and a .447 3-point percentage. The 6-foot-4 guard has started all 30 games this season and leads the Lobos with 15.8 points a night. He’s 10 points shy of setting the program record for most points in a season by a freshman.
Utah State is coming off a disappointing 92-65 loss at UNLV on Tuesday. It was the Aggies’ third loss in their past four games.
Likely Mountain West Player of the Year candidate Mason Falslev posted his second double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds against the Rebels. It was the eighth time this season that he scored at least 20 points in a game, including a season-high 27 against Wyoming.
Falslev ranks No. 7 in the conference with 16 points a game, and he leads Utah State with 5.8 rebounds a game and 60 steals. He’s No. 3 on the team with 87 assists. Vanderbilt transfer MJ Collins Jr. leads the Aggies and ranks No. 4 in the league with 17.3 points a game.
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New Mexico at Utah State Odds
Utah State is a 7.5-point college basketball betting odds favorite on BetMGM as of this writing, and the Over/Under is 157.5 points.
The Moneyline is at -300 for the Aggies and +240 for New Mexico.
Utah State leads the all-time series 35-15. The Aggies beat the Lobos, 86-66, in February, snapping New Mexico’s two-game winning streak in the series.
Utah State is 13-1 at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum this season.
New Mexico at Utah State On TV
The Mountain West game featuring New Mexico and Utah State will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.
Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.
New Mexico at Utah State Prediction
I predict Utah State wins 82-74.
New Mexico could shock the world by knocking off Utah State and roll into the Mountain West Tournament with a ton of momentum.
Buljan is quite literally a grown man under the basket. He knows how to score in the paint and throw his weight around on the boards. Hall is one of the best shooters in the conference, and Utah State transfer Deyton Albury can light up the scoreboard. He put up 22 points against Colorado State.
What New Mexico doesn’t have is a deep bench. Utah State, on the other hand, has plenty of big bodies to throw at Buljan. Six-foot-9 junior Karson Templin has grown as a scorer this season, and 6-foot-9 freshman Adlan Elamin had a double-double in the Aggies’ win over the Lobos in February.
Falslev is going to get his, but he needs some help, especially from Collins, if the Aggies are going to ride off into the sunset as Mountain West champions.
