WAC Tournament: New Mexico State wins tournament final, pushes Utah State onto bubble

New Mexico State stops Utah State's 17-game winning streak, captures WAC championship and NCAA berth

New Mexico State upset the top-seeded Utah State Aggies to win the WAC tournament, and they may thrown a late curve to selection committee in the process.

NMSU slugged its way to a 69-63 win over Utah State, sealing the Aggies’ first NCAA tournament appearance since 2007. The loss ended Utah State’s 17-game winning streak and pushed USU onto the tournament bubble.

NMSU guard Jahmar Young had a team-high 19 points, including a bucket with under a minute to go that helped hold off a Utah State comeback. Young sent the Aggies into the tournament final with a last-second shot to beat Nevada in the semis on Friday, and his clutch play continued on Saturday night. Twelve of Young’s 19 points came in the second half.

As the game went back-and-forth throughout, Utah State built a five point lead with under ten minutes to go in the game. New Mexico State responded with a 17-6 run that gave NMSU a six point lead with under two minutes to play. Utah State would not come any closer than four points the rest of the way.

Utah State was led by Jared Quayle, who scored 25 points. Nate Bendall added 16, and Tai Wesley had 13 points and 12 rebounds. New Mexico State’s Troy Gillenwater had another strong game off the bench, scoring 15.

Jahmar Young's game-winner pushes New Mexico State past Nevada and into WAC championship game

Jahmar Young’s jumper with five seconds left gave the New Mexico State Aggies an 80-79 win over the Nevada Wolf Pack and punched the Aggies’ ticket to the WAC championship game where they will face top-seeded Utah State.

Nevada’s Luke Babbitt scored 33 points, including two clutch free throws to give the Wolf Pack a 79-78 lead late, but teammate Armon Johnson came up empty on Nevada’s last shot, silencing the partisan crowd at Reno’s Lawlor Events Center.

New Mexico State’s Young was ice cold for much of the night, finishing 4-of-15 from the floor and scoring 15 points. But he came up big when the Aggies needed him. Four of Young’s 15 came in the final minute of the game with a pair of free throws and the game-winning bucket. The Aggies were led by Troy Gillenwater’s 21 points; fellow big man Wendell McKines added 16.

New Mexico State and Utah State will square off at 7:00 p.m. PST Saturday in the WAC championship game. NMSU is one of only two WAC teams to beat Utah State this season, winning 55-52 back on January 2.

Utah State advances to WAC tournament final in dominating fashion with 30-point win over Louisiana Tech

Everything went Utah State’s way on Friday night as the top-seeded Aggies trounced No. 4 seed Louisiana Tech, 85-55.

Utah State shot over 58 percent from the floor and had eight players with more than one basket. First-team All-WAC guard Jared Quayle led the way with 16 points in a limited role as the Aggies rested him for tomorrow night’s championship. USU will play the winner of the Nevada-New Mexico State game that takes place later tonight.

An 8-0 run and a 14-4 run in the first half helped Utah State jump out to a 22-point lead at the break. A stifling defense and hot-shooting offense were too much for the Bulldogs to overcome, and an early injury to 6’11" post Magnum Rolle all but sealed LaTech’s fate.

Utah State’s Brady Jardine had 13 points and five rebounds. Louisiana Tech star Kyle Gibson was limited to 10 points, tied with two other Bulldogs for a team high.

Top Seeds Utah State, Nevada Advance To Semis, Blowouts Galore On Tourney's First Day

The big winner in the first round of the WAC tournament was the status quo. All four top seeds advanced, and three of the four games were decided by 16 points or more, leaving plenty of drama for the tournament’s final two days.

After wins by top-seeded Utah State and Louisiana Tech, the Nevada Wolf Pack, playing on their home court, easily dispatched the Idaho Vandals, winning going away, 87-71. Nevada held a 13-point halftime lead thanks in part to some hot shooting from behind the arc (seven three-pointers) in the first half. WAC Player of the Year Luke Babbitt led the Pack with 21 points.

The nightcap saw New Mexico State run past San Jose State, 90-69. NMSU’s Jonathan Gibson was 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, scoring a team-high 22 points. All told, nine Aggies found their way into the score book, and NMSU shot nearly 50 percent from three-point range as a team.

Friday’s semifinals will pit No. 1 Utah State against No. 4 Louisiana Tech and No. 2 Nevada against No. 3 New Mexico State.

Louisiana Tech Holds Off Fresno State, Gets To Play Top-Seeded Utah State Next

Reno, NV (Sports Network) - Jamel Guyton scored a career-high 31 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, as the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs held off the Fresno State Bulldogs for a 74-66 win in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament at the Lawlor Events Center.

Magnum Rolle netted 12 points and contributed nine rebounds for fourth-seeded Louisiana Tech (23-9), which will face top-seeded Utah State in Friday's semifinals. Olu Ashaolu added 11 points and eight rebounds in the win.

Paul George scored 22 points and pulled in 11 rebounds for fifth-seeded Fresno State (15-18) before fouling out with 24 seconds left in regulation. Brandon Sperling finished with 14 points and Sylvester Seay had 11.

Louisiana Tech led 33-32 at halftime despite shooting just 38.5 percent from the floor in the opening half. Tech did hit 10-of-13 foul shots.

The game was tied twice in the second half, the last at 48 with 12:28 left in regulation. Louisiana Tech went on a 16-6 run to grab a 64-54 lead with 4:32 left and Fresno State got no closer than three the rest of the way. Louisiana Tech shot 51.9 percent from the floor in the second half for the eight-point win.

Louisiana Tech finished the game 21-of-27 from the line. Kyle Gibson, Louisiana Tech's top scorer, was battling an injury and scored seven points in 33 minutes

Utah State Shows Why It's No. 1 Seed, Rolls Past Boise State 84-60

Reno, NV (Sports Network) - Tai Wesley, one of three players to score 18 points for Utah State, collected 10 rebounds as the Aggies defeated Boise State, 84-60, in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament at the Lawlor Events Center.

Wesley, who shot 9-of-15 from the floor for the top-seeded Aggies (26-6), added four assists, three blocks and a couple of steals as well. Brian Green and Pooh Williams both matched Wesley in the scoring column and Jared Quayle posted 13 points to go along with his game-high 13 boards as the Aggies logged their 16th win in a row.

The eighth-seeded Broncos (15-17) were paced by Daequon Montreal who dropped in 16 points as four of the five starters scored in double figures in the setback. Robert Arnold filled out his stat line with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks, while Ike Okoye and La'Shard Anderson checked in with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

A close game in the first half, BSU converted only 1-of-8 shots behind the three-point line in the period, yet the Broncos trailed by just five points at the break, 35-30.

In the second half USU took flight with 58.1 percent shooting from the floor and 10-of-14 at the charity stripe, en route to the 24-point triumph.

The Aggies survived 15 turnovers by hitting on 52.5 percent from the field and holding a commanding 47-27 advantage on the glass.

With the victory the Aggies now move on to the semifinals on Friday and will face off against Louisiana Tech.

WAC Tournament Preview: Utah State Has The Whole Conference In Its Hands

Take whatever you know about the WAC from football season - namely that the competition is weak, the level of play is lacking, Mark May knows very little about how it really works, and Boise State is supremely dominant - replace Boise State with Utah State, and you have a pretty good idea of how WAC men's basketball works.

There is Utah State and then everyone else.

The Aggies, winners of 15 straight, dominated the WAC conference schedule this year, going 14-2 against league foes. Utah State has not lost to a league opponent since football bowl season, rolling off 14 straight wins against conference teams with a win over RPI darling Wichita State on BracketBuster weekend thrown in for good measure. They are the NCIS to the WAC's NBC scripted dramas, the UCONN to the WAC's women's college basketball, the five-dollar footlong to the WAC's Burger King chicken fries.

Anything short of a Utah State win in this tournament would be a major upset.

The Stakes

Chances are good this year that the NCAA tournament will only be inviting one WAC team to the Big Dance. For sure, if Utah State wins the tournament, the WAC will be sending the Aggies and only the Aggies to the Big Dance. If anyone other than Utah State wins, then the conference's best team may be left out in the cold. Utah State is very much on the bubble, and depending on whom you ask (Aggie fans will ask Mark Schlabach because he hearts them), an NCAA tournament spot may be out of the question without a WAC tournament win. They will so own the NIT, though.

Speaking of the NIT, the rest of the WAC is playing for bridesmaid tournaments. Nevada and New Mexico State are likely to land somewhere, and a 22-win Louisiana Tech has good odds. If winning the conference tournament is out of the realm of possibility for these teams, expect them all to at least make a push for a couple extra wins, a little more prestige, and a postseason spot in a tourney that few people know exists.

Names You Should Know

F Tai Wesley, Utah State. The leader of the conference's best team, Wesley is a consistent low-post scorer who complements the guard play of fellow first-team all-conference pick Jared Quayle. On a team that shares the stat book, Wesley's numbers are not eye-popping, but his leadership has produced results.

F Luke Babbitt, Nevada. The player of the year in the WAC, Babbitt led the conference in scoring and was third in rebounding. And he's only a sophomore. Babbitt headlines the WAC's best offense along with second-team all-conference pick Armon Johnson.

G Jahmar Young, New Mexico State. The sweet-shooting Young can be killer from outside. He averages over 20 points per game and had a two-week stretch midseason where he was scoring over 30.

G Adrian Oliver, San Jose State. When Oliver - an All-WAC first-team selection - is on, SJSU can hang with anyone. As evidence, he had 35 points in a near-upset of Nevada two weeks ago, and he had 12 in a 29-point loss to Boise State on Saturday.

Bill Sproat, Utah State. Sproat does not play for the Aggies, but he is reviled by opponents nonetheless. As one of the WAC's most noticeable fans, Sproat has earned a reputation as a free-throw-distraction savant, thanks to his wide assortment of costumes that mostly render him shirtless.

Tournament Outlook

The WAC is Utah State's to lose. The Aggies are clearly the best team in the conference, they have the best defense, a seasoned coach, and an offense that can churn out points no matter the situation.

They also have a first round date with one of the hottest teams in the conference, the Boise State Broncos. Winners of three out of their last four, BSU came the closest on the scoreboard to the Aggies during USU's 15-game winning streak, managing a 5-point loss when the two teams tangled in early February.

Nevada has a tough first-round draw, too. The Wolf Pack face an Idaho Vandals team that took them to the wire in a one-point game in early February. The good news for Nevada is that the tournament is being played in Reno, which gives them a desirable home court advantage assuming there is no Keno this weekend.

The conference's four best teams - Utah State, Nevada, Louisiana Tech, and New Mexico State - should advance to face off in the semifinals, but don't be surprised if a lower-tier WAC opponent pulls an upset. Several of the lower seeds had hard-luck seasons, and all are capable of putting it together for a tournament run.

Assuming the Big Four advance, the high stakes semifinal matchup between Nevada and New Mexico State will be fun to watch. The Pack got the best of the Aggies in the season series between the two, and Nevada will benefit from the home court crowd. But it would be a mistake to count out NMSU, a team that can score in bunches if the mood hits right.

Either Nevada or New Mexico State were expected to give Utah State some trouble in a potential championship matchup - that is, until USU steamrolled NMSU by 18 points in the season finale. Utah State has the momentum, the experience, and ultimately the upper hand on both of these conference rivals. Every factor in the conference tournament seems to be in the Aggies' favor. The pressure is on Utah State to make good.

The Bracket

Thursday, March 11

Boise State vs. Utah State (8 vs. 1), 12:00 p.m. PST

Fresno State vs. Louisiana Tech (5 vs. 4), 2:30 p.m.

Idaho vs. Nevada (7 vs. 2), 6:00 p.m.

San Jose State vs. New Mexico State (6 vs. 3), 8:30 p.m.

Friday, March 12

Boise State or Utah State vs. Fresno State or Louisiana Tech, 6:00 p.m. PST

Idaho or Nevada vs. San Jose State or New Mexico State, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 13

Championship Game, 7:00 p.m. PST

Kevan Lee covers the Boise State Broncos with timeliness and hilarity at One Bronco Nation Under God (OBNUG)