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New Mexico vs. Boise State: Preview, TV Schedule, Live Stream, Radio, Odds
Both teams are trying to climb before tournament time
Contact/Follow @MWCwire
A battle between two 6-10 teams in the Mountain West
WHO: New Mexico Lobos (12-16, 6-10 MW) vs. Boise State Broncos (11-18, 6-10 MW)
WHEN: Wednesday, Mar. 6 — 7:00 PM MT/6:00 PM PT
WHERE: Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit; Albuquerque, New Mexico (15,411)
TV: ESPN3
STREAM: WatchESPN Get a one-week trial of SlingTV.
RADIO: New Mexico | Boise State
WEBSITES: GoLobos.com, the official New Mexico athletics website | BroncoSports.com, the official Fresno State athletics website
ODDS: New Mexico -2
New Mexico (6-10 MW) hosts Boise State (6-10 MW) on Wednesday night in the Pit in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
New Mexico is coming off of a win over Colorado State at home, which came after a surprising loss to San Jose State at the Events Center in San Jose, California.
Meanwhile, Boise State took UNLV to overtime at the Thomas & Mack Center before falling to fifth place UNLV, 85-81 in its last contest, but has lost its last five games.
Each team can finish as high as a modest sixth in the conference standings with two games remaining. This may not seem all that impressive, but considering sixth place avoids a potential first round match-up with Nevada or Utah State in favor of a match-up against either Fresno State, San Diego State or UNLV, this game is meaningful for each of the teams involved as they hope to make noise in the conference tournament next week.
While making a run in the conference tournament won’t be a breeze for either of these teams (independent of the path), there is no question that avoiding the conference’s top two teams to open things up is in their best interest.
Notably for New Mexico, the Lobos have shown a strong propensity for rebounding in their last two outings, despite one having resulted in a loss, out-rebounding its last two opponents by an average margin of +18.5. Offensive rebounds have provided ample opportunity for second chance points. However, ball control continues to be an issue.
Boise State has shown that it can compete with anyone in the conference (see their games against Nevada, Utah State, San Diego State and UNLV), but the team has been unable to close out games. Will that change on Wednesday night?
This will be an interesting game on a night celebrating two four-year senior Lobos, Anthony Mathis and Dane Kuiper, between two teams that are looking for consistency and an ability to close out close contests.
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