March 17, 2010

Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Press Release Week No. 19

MWC POSTSEASON NOTES
Four teams topped the 20-win mark heading into postseason play in 2009-10 with New Mexico (29- 4), BYU (29-5), San Diego State (25-8) and UNLV (25-8) all hitting the benchmark. In the league's 11-year history, all 37 teams that have had 20 or more wins prior to Selection Sunday have been invited to the postseason. Including this year, the MWC has received 47 postseason bids since its inception in 1999-00.

New Mexico and BYU have been ranked in the Top 25 polls for eight consecutive weeks entering postseason action. The Lobos are currently listed at No. 8 in the Associated Press poll and No. 10 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll, while the Cougars are No. 17 and tied for 16th in the AP and Coaches' polls, respectively. San Diego State is receiving votes in both polls, while UNLV is garnering votes in the AP poll.

The Mountain West is sending a league-record four teams to the 2010 NCAA Tournament, topping the previous best of three bids, which has happened on three previous occasions (2002, 2003, 2004). This marks the ninth straight year, and 10th overall, the MWC has had at least one at-large qualifier on Selection Sunday. In 11 years, the Mountain West has had 26 NCAA bids, including 16 at-large berths. New Mexico's No. 3 seed is the highest by a MWC team in the league's 11-year history, topping Utah's No. 5 seed in the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

Making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2005, No. 3 seed and MWC regular-season champion New Mexico (29-4) will take on No. 14 seed and Big Sky tournament champion Montana (22-9) on Thursday in the East Regional at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. The Lobos are facing a former conference opponent in the Grizzlies, as both were members of the Skyline Conference from 1950-62. Thursday's meeting will be the 24th between the two teams but the first since 1962. The Grizzlies have a 16-7 lead in the series overall. New Mexico posted an 8-3 record vs. teams in the NCAA Tournament field this season, including a 4-0 mark against non-conference foes with wins over California, Texas A&M and New Mexico State (twice). The Lobos recorded a combined 4-3 mark vs. MWC teams BYU, San Diego State and UNLV.

Receiving an at-large bid for the fourth consecutive year, BYU (29-5) earned a No. 7 seed in the West Regional and will face No. 10 seed Florida (21-12) on Thursday at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Cougars are 2-0 all-time vs. the Gators, with the last meeting coming in 1991. BYU went 4-5 against the 2010 NCAA Tournament field, defeating UTEP and falling to Utah State in nonconference play, and registering a collective 3-4 record against MWC opponents New Mexico, San Diego State and UNLV.

UNLV (25-8), who is in the NCAA tournament for the third time in four years, captured a No. 8 seed in the Midwest Regional and will take on No. 9 seed and Missouri Valley regular-season/tournament champion UNI (28-4) at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. Thursday's contest marks the first meeting between the Runnin' Rebels and Panthers. UNLV tallied a 5-5 record against the NCAA tournament field this season, beating Louisville and losing to Kansas State in non-conference outings, while going a combined 4-4 against MWC foes BYU, New Mexico and San Diego State.

No. 11 seed and MWC tournament champion San Diego State (25-8) earned the league's automatic bid and will meet No. 6 seed Tennessee (25-9) Thursday in the Midwest Regional at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, R.I. The Aztecs, who are making their fifth straight postseason appearance, are 0-2 against the Volunteers, with the the last meeting coming in 1988. San Diego State garnered a 5- 5 record against the 2010 NCAA tournament field, beating UC Santa Barbara and falling to Saint Mary's in non-conference play, while posting a collective 4-4 mark vs. MWC opponents BYU, New Mexico and UNLV.

Colorado State makes its first postseason appearance since a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2003, accepting a bid to participate in the College Basketball Invitational. The Rams (16-15) will travel to Morehead, Ky., to face off against Ohio Valley Conference foe Morehead State on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET at Johnson Arena. This marks the first meeting between the Rams and Eagles.

LOBOS CAPTURE MOUNTAIN WEST REGULAR-SEASON CROWN
New Mexico captured its second straight and first outright Mountain West regular-season crown with a 14-2 record in 2009-10. This marks the Lobos' first outright league title since 1994, a span of 16 years. New Mexico, picked to finish fifth in the MWC's preseason media poll, opened Conference play with back-to-back losses to San Diego State and UNLV before reeling off an MWC-record 14 consecutive league wins to claim the title. The last time New Mexico won back-to-back conference titles was in 1944 and 1945.

SAN DIEGO STATE CLAIMS MWC TOURNAMENT CROWN
San Diego State earned its third MWC Tournament crown, defeating third-seeded UNLV, 55-45, in the 2010 championship game on March 13. The contest marked the first time in five tries the title was won by the No. 4 seed. The Aztecs began their run to the crown with a 72-71 win over fifth-seeded Colorado State in quarterfinal action. San Diego State then defeated top seed and eighth-ranked New Mexico in the semifinals (72-69) before meeting up with the Runnin' Rebels in the finals.