While most bracketologists have the University of New Mexico men’s basketball team safely in the NCAA Tournament, the Lobos’ postseason fate is now in the hands of the selection committee. The Lobos fell to Boise State, 72-69, in Friday night’s Mountain West Conference Tournament semifinals in the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev.
The NCAA field will be announced Sunday afternoon. Most college basketball observers have the Lobos in the tournament as an 8 or 9 seed, even with Friday’s loss.
The Mountain West is expected to land from three to five teams in the 68-team draw. San Diego State and Colorado State are also under consideration.
Lobos coach Richard Pitino isn’t convinced Boise State is a lock, comparing its situation to the one his team faced a year ago. The Lobos entered the 2024 MWC Tournament apparently needing one or two wins to land an at-large berth, but on Selection Sunday it was revealed they likely would not have gotten in without winning the league’s automatic bid.
“Darn close,” Pitino said. “Depending on who they play and everything. Probably a little bit like us last year; them and Colorado State, I would assume where some things gotta go their way. Certainly they’re good enough to be in it.”
The regular season Mountain West champions, the Lobos (26-7) led Friday’s game for nearly 29 minutes despite getting no points from player of the year Donovan Dent for much of the first half. He eventually heated up and finished with a game-high 23.
Dent missed what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer near the buzzer, air balling a rushed shot from the right wing after Tyson Degenhart missed one of two free throws with 12 seconds left.
Rather than calling a timeout to set up the last play, Pitino let the final sequence play out as Dent dribbled the length of the court and put up a contested shot with three seconds remaining.
It ended a frustrating night for the Lobos, who lost for the first time this season when Tru Washington scores double figures. Washington had 10 points but did so with six missed shots and a pair of turnovers.
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Mustapha Amzil and Filip Borovicanin also continued to struggle. Amzil hit two early 3-pointers and had 10 points, but he missed nine of his 13 shot attempts while Borovicanin had just three points on 1 of 6 shooting.
The Broncos took the lead with eight minutes remaining and never gave it up as Degenhart scored 22 points to set the school record for career points.
“You could send three, four people on him, he’s going to find a way to finish at the basket,” Pitino said. “I’m rooting for him. I don’t want to see him again, obviously, but he’s a terrific, terrific player.”
Nelly Junior Joseph had 19 points and eight rebounds for the Lobos, starting the game off strong with a number of quality baskets in the low post.
“We battled and it was pretty close, then they kind of pulled away with some crucial ones towards the end,” Pitino said.
NOTES
No repeat: New Mexico’s loss ensures a fifth straight year without a repeat tournament champion. Utah State was the last to do it in 2019 and 2020. There has not been an outright regular season champion to win the tournament in the same year since Boise State in 2022.
That is the only time the Broncos have won the tournament title.
No word (yet): UNM had not made a determination about a watch party in The Pit for the team and fans. The Lobos held one last year after ensuring their trip to the Dance by winning the Mountain West’s automatic bid.
Metrics: The Lobos are mentioned in 112 of 112 brackets by various experts, this according to the website BracketMatrix.com. Their average seed is 8.96, a scenario that would put them against Mississippi State, UConn, Gonzaga or Memphis in an opening round matchup.
