NCAA Tournament bubble teams New Mexico, San Diego State to face off in Mountain West Tournament semifinals

Four of the top five seeds are still alive after two rounds at the Mountain West Tournament.

No. 1 Utah State (26-6) opened Thursday’s quarterfinal round at Thomas & Mack Center with an 80-60 rout of No. 8 UNLV (17-16). The Aggies got 24 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals from MWC Player of the Year Mason Falslev.

UNLV swept the regular-season series with Utah State, including a 92-65 home victory earlier this month.

“Basketball is a game of matchups,” Aggies head coach Jerrod Calhoun said. “It’s really different than college football and different sports. Some teams just give you different problems, and I’m really, really proud of our players and our staff.

“We were possessed the last two or three days to get this win. We had been hearing about it for a couple of days, but our preparation was really good.”

Utah State, which will face No. 5 Nevada (22-11) in Friday’s semifinals, is the only MWC team considered a lock for the NCAA Tournament.

No. 2 San Diego State (21-10) and No. 3 New Mexico (23-9) were both among the first four out in Joe Lunardi’s latest field of 68 projection, which was released Friday morning. The Aztecs and Lobos both took care of business in Thursday’s quarterfinals and will meet in the semis.

San Diego State came away with a 71-62 victory over No. 7 Colorado State (21-12) while New Mexico earned a 93-77 win over No. 11 San Jose State (9-24).

Nevada pulled off the lone quarterfinal upset, getting 27 points from Corey Camper Jr. en route to an 84-80 win over No. 4 Grand Canyon (20-12).

Here are Thursday’s results and the upcoming schedule for the MWC Tournament.

All times listed are Mountain Daylight Time

Wednesday, March 11

First round

No. 8 UNLV 73, No. 9 Wyoming 70

No. 5 Nevada 80, No. 12 Air Force 45

No. 7 Colorado State 67, No. 10 Fresno State 63

No. 11 San Jose State 84, No. 6 Boise State 74

Thursday, March 12

Quarterfinals

No. 1 Utah State 80, No. 8 UNLV 60

No. 5 Nevada 84, No. 4 Grand Canyon 80

No. 2 San Diego State 71, No. 7 Colorado State 62

No. 3 New Mexico 93, No. 11 San Jose State 77

Friday, March 13

Semifinals

No. 5 Nevada vs. No. 1 Utah State, 7:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)

No. 3 New Mexico vs. No. 2 San Diego State, 10 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)

Saturday, March 14

Championship game

Semifinal 1 winner vs. Semifinal 2 winner, 4 p.m. (CBS)