Bracketology 2024: San Diego State and Colorado State lead a strong Mountain West

New Mexico Lobos 13-3, 1-2 in Mountain West

Richard Pitino’s New Mexico Lobos are now 13-3 after losing to UNLV on Tuesday. They began league play by falling to Colorado State on the road, before which they had reeled off 11 straight wins. The only other loss was to Saint Mary's in the second game of the year. They now look forward to two critical home games as they host San Diego State and Utah State in their next two.

Sophomore Donovan Dent and a returning Jamal Mashburn, Jr. Lead the way offensively did the Lobos both averaging over 15 points per game. As a team they put up 81.8 points per game despite shooting just 46% from the field and 34% from beyond the arc. The Lobos are one of the fastest playing teams in the country, averaging just 15 seconds per possession and score 81.8 points per game. But they’re even better defensively, ranking 36th  in defensive efficiency and in the top-110 in both two and three-point percentage defense.

Even though the Lobos have some solid wins against some decent mid-major teams, their strength of schedule could use some improvement over the 222nd it’s at now. They also have no wins in the top two quads, they don’t have any wins against potential at-large teams and the 8 quad 4 wins they have stick out. A three-game stretch in February might be key to New Mexico’s at-large hopes, back-to-back road games at Nevada and San Diego State, and a home tilt with Colorado State.