It was a big win on Saturday for New Mexico State at Utah State in men’s basketball.
First off, it was a split on what was a brutal road trip. I wrote in a recent blog post that a split of the road swing at Idaho and then Utah State would be considered a win.
From a psychological standpoint, it was important. NMSU has now swept Utah State this year and, while the UtAgs are down in 2012, they’re still a team that’s given New Mexico State trouble over the years, particularly in Logan.
And it puts the Aggies closer to a No. 2 seed in the WAC Tournament. Such a seeding would allow NMSU a possible shot at Nevada in the conference championship game.
Is Nevada the best team in the WAC? At this point, yes. But that doesn’t mean NMSU can’t beat them on the third night of a league tournament.
Frankly, it’s the best-case scenario the Aggies can hope for at this point in terms of advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
• NMSU hit some early 3-pointers in the game and this is a big factor, as early makes help open up the defense.
The Aggies don’t need to hit a ton of threes. They need to be timely, however, and those early ones qualified as such.
• Bandja Sy (pictured above) played a good game off the bench, scoring 13 points including three 3-pointers in the first half. NMSU also got 3-pointers in the opening half from Hernst Laroche and Remi Barry.
• Despite the tough travel schedule, NMSU didn’t look or play fatigued.
• The Aggies survived a 15-2 run to win the game on the road. They did so by countering with an 11-0 run to end the first half.
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2 comments:
Too bad they didn't take care of biz in potato land.
Considering all the CUSA-MWC merger talk, I guess we can start the speculation about NMSU. I have seen a report that has the UTEP president mentioning NMSU and USU for the new conference that will likely have 18-24 teams. I am not sure that an affiliation with a mega-conference is in NMSU's best interest, but I think being in a division with regional rivalries is a great idea.
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