(24-6) (10-20) 12PM PT TV:
Air Force actually won their first conference game of the year by defeating Colorado State in the 8/9 game 71-67 which ended a 17 game winning streak. A win against number one seeded BYU is far fetched, but the two play last week in Provo with a lot on the line for BYU. In that game BYU struggled and only won by five against a bad Air Force team.
For Air Force to have any hope they need to stay turnover free and use long possessions to limit the scoring chances for BYU. The score could be low but BYU has a few all-conference selections who can all share the scoring. BYU's top scorers in Lee Cummard, Jonathan Tavernari, and Jimmer Fredette all three score 16 or more per game.
BYU should run away in this game and prepare for a tough semifinal matchup Friday afternoon.
This is essentially an elimination game for the NCAA tournament field, because as of now the MWC is getting three and maybe four seeds. San Diego State probably has the most talent in the league, but they stumbled mid conference season and now have to play Vegas at home. SDSU did sweep the series against UNLV, but the home crowd and home court advantage his HUGE.
The past two conference tournaments UNLV won, but this years team is not as good and Wink Adams their best player has not stepped it up this year. UNLV has the edge because they are at home, but SDSU has the players.
Neither team scores a lot and this game should be in the mid to low 60's and a close game. The Aztecs need Lorrenzo Wade and Kyle Spain to step up big time and score more then their 14 per game, and since the Aztecs do not score a lot they need a third scorer to put in about 10-12 which could be enough in this game.
Utah ended the season on a down note by losing at BYU and at New Mexico. The Utes did end up sharing the conference title with New Mexico and BYU, and got the best seed which avoids UNLV until the finals.
TCU started the year off great and looked to be a threat to contend for the league, but did their annual TCU fall. However, Utah should be careful because last year TCU was worse and played extremely well against a very good UNLV team and lost because of bad officiating.
Utah's Center Luke Nevill should have his way against TCU who has no real match for the seven footer. Look for Utah to pound it into Nevil and when that is covered then the Utes will use Shaun Greene and Tyler Kepkay for the three point shot.
TCU would need to use some type of zone to try to equalize Nevil and hope Utah has an off shooting night to be able to pull off this upset. This year the Utes have shown up in big games and this should be a Utah victory.
(18-12) (21-10) 8:30PM PT TV:
New Mexico really needs this game to get consideration for the NCAA tournament, and this is another very interesting matchup for New Mexico. First off away from the Pit New Mexico is average at best with a 6-6 record. Wyoming has four legit scorers in Brandon Ewing, Sean Ogirri, Afam Muojeke, and Tyson Johnson. All four of those players score 13 or more, so New Mexico has its work cut out.
New Mexico also has a spread out scoring with four players who score 10 or more, but with these players usually one is not consistent and does not show up. The Lobos must have all four of their scorers contribute and try to slow down Wyoming.
This is a must see game tonight, and the edge goes New Mexico to advance.
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