[jwplayer jF5wU66N-sNi3MVSU]
2021 Mountain West Basketball Tournament Day 2 Results
Quarterfinals day is done & some big things happened.
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Recapping a loaded day of games:
GAME ONE: San Diego State narrowly escapes Wyoming 69-66
The entire College Hoops world was locked in on CBSSN in the final ten minutes between the top-seeded San Diego State & eight seed Wyoming.
It was tightly contested the entire game, entering half with the Cowboys leading by one. The game was back & forth the entire 2nd half, but Wyoming saw light at the end of the tunnel after Hunter Maldonado drilled a step-back triple with 1:52 remaining, putting Wyoming up one.
Then Terrell Gomez got fouled & nailed the ensuing foul shots, and SDSU was able to pull away by three following two defensive stops & some made free throws.
.@Aztec_MBB survives the upset bid from Wyoming!#MWMadness | #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/YwE3suUrPc
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) March 11, 2021
San Diego State is headed to the semifinals for the third consecutive season, hunting for a trip to the championship for the third consecutive season also.
GAME TWO: Nevada puts the final nail in the coffin for Boise State with a 89-82 win
As the old saying goes, beating teams three times in a season is hard to accomplish. Nobody relayed that to Nevada, as they defeated Boise State for the third time.
The lethal guard tandem of Desmond Cambridge Jr and Grant Sherfield showed off once again, with Cambridge dropping a season-best 31 points, and Sherfield dropped 26 points on 8-14 shooting. Guard play in March is what wins you games & Nevada has that.
For Boise State losing the final four games of the year is a gutting feeling for talented roster that faltered at the worst time imaginable. Their hopes for an at-large aren’t completely dead, if some other bubble team lose & no bids are stolen, but that’s far from a guarantee and not a likelihood at this point. It’s looking like an NIT bid is in store for the Broncos, as Leon Rice affirmed today they will accept an NIT bid.
Leon Rice says the Broncos will "absolutely" accept an NIT bid if that's what it comes to.
"We'll go down swinging. We want it to end better than it has, no doubt about it."
— B.J. Rains (@BJRains) March 12, 2021
Nevada’s season continues, facing San Diego State tomorrow, for a chance to make the Mountain West championship game.
𝗪𝗶𝗻. 𝗔𝗻𝗱. 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.#BattleBorn pic.twitter.com/3cRpqUm6an
— Nevada Basketball (@NevadaHoops) March 12, 2021
GAME THREE: Utah State never broke a sweat, defeating UNLV 74-53
Utah State dominated UNLV on the defensive end, allowing only 53 points to a team with two lethal scorers in Bryce Hamilton & David Jenkins. Maybe saying “Never broke a sweat” is a bit of an exaggeration, as the game was tight in half number one, but USU won half number two with ease.
Star big-man, Neemias Queta dropped 18 PTS & 13 Rebounds, while blocking three shots, being the catalyst for Utah State making the semifinals.
Rollie Worster is a pleasure to watch. The way the freshman guard navigates the offense, dropping 14-6-8 here, looking like a future star in the Mountain West.
Marco Anthony dropped a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds, a major factor for Craig Smith’s Aggies.
ROUND 1️⃣ ✅
Keep Punching 🥊#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/T0MOds1OXL
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 12, 2021
Utah State gets to the semifinals once again, trying to earn a spot in the Mountain West championship game for a third consecutive season, after cutting down the nets both of the last two years.
GAME FOUR: Colorado State avoided disaster following a win over Fresno State by a score of 72-62.
I said “avoid disaster” because Colorado State needed this win in the worst way. If they weren’t able to win, their hopes of snagging an at-large bid would’ve been a kibosh, as a loss to Fresno would’ve been a Q3 loss.
Colorado State was up only one point with four minutes left, but Niko Medved said something that worked during the final media timeout, leading Colorado State to an eventual 10 point victory. It wasn’t pretty, but good teams can win ugly.
𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.
Round 1 ➖
Round 2 ✅CSU 72 || FS 62
FINAL#TeamTogether pic.twitter.com/6pFk07woQK— Colorado State Men’s Basketball (@CSUMBasketball) March 12, 2021
Tomorrow, in the semifinals, Colorado State faces Utah State for a right to appear in the conference championship game. They’ll face the winner of Nevada/San Diego State.
