Lobos Riding Fast-Break Offense on Eight-Game Winning Streak

With just five games remaining and the Lobos owning the tiebreaker via their first season-sweep of Utah State since 2013-14, UNM is certainly sitting pretty in the conference race.

New Mexico has at the minimum, clinched a first-round bye in the conference tournament, the lone team to accomplish that so far.

The UNM’s last loss, and their only one in conference play, came on January 14th at the hands of San Jose State.

Since that loss, the Lobos rolled off eight in a row, their second-longest Mountain West win streak, tied for the fourth-longest in program history.

It’s also the fifth-longest active win streak in the nation and the longest of any team west of Eastern Ohio.

A big reason for the Lobos’ success has been their ability to get out and run. New Mexico is fourth nationally with 17.1 fast break points per game.

Aztecs Getting it Done with Nation-Leading FG Defense and Blocks

While the Lobos are getting it done offensively, the Aztecs are starting to find their stride defensively. Brian Dutcher and his San Diego State teams always hang their hats on the defensive end of the floor and this year’s version is no different.

SDSU has won six of their last seven games and appears to be heating up at the right time of year. In the last five games, San Diego State has had second-half scoring runs of 20-0, 18-0, and 17-0, all of which contributed to comeback wins.

Those scoring runs were all fueled by their defensive intensity. The Aztecs lead the nation in FG defense, limiting opponents to just 36.8% from the floor while they are blocking 5.7 shots per outing, the sixth-best mark in the nation.

Against Boise State last weekend, the Aztecs held the Broncos to just 34.5% shooting and 47 points, the lowest total in a conference loss for BSU since joining the MW.

While picking up the season sweep of Boise State, the Aztecs blocked 10 shots, six of them coming from Magoon Gwath as he set a San Diego State freshman single-game record.

The freshman is blocking 1.33 shots per foul committed, the seventh-most efficient rate in the nation. As a team, SDSU is blocking 10.1% of opponent shot attempts, the fourth-highest rate in the Mountain West with New Mexico second at 9.2%.

Justin McBride Keying Late-Season Turnaround for Wolf Pack

Another team starting to find their rhythm is Nevada.

The Wolf Pack win streak was at four games before ended last night at Colorado State.

Following a 0-4 start to conference play, the Wolf Pack won seven of their next ten to even things out in conference play until dipping back below .500.

The emergence of Justin McBride has been a big reason for Nevada turning things around. During the last five games, he has averaged 11.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per outing.

SuperWest Player of the Week: Tru Washington, G, New Mexico

Washington averaged 20 points, 4.l0 rebounds, and 3.5 steals per game in two wins for the Lobos last week.

The sophomore transfer from Arizona shot 54.2% from the field and knocked down 50% of his shots from beyond the arc.

SuperWest Freshman of the Week: Magoon Gwath, F, San Diego State

Gwath continues to look like a lock for Mountain West Freshman of the Year.

In a couple of wins last week he averaged 5.0 blocked shots per game along with 5.0 boards and 7.5 rebounds.

The six blocked shots vs Boise State were not only a freshman record, but the most ever by an Aztec in a MW game.