Mountain West Semifinals Recap

Huff…Huff…Puff…and I’ll blow your house down. Sound familiar? Right, it should, because the MWC should have never been built out of hay. Coming into the conference tournament, it was believed that there were 2 “locks.” Oh yeah, don’t forget this conference is rated No. 7 amongst all other conferences. Well, Air Force goes and gets knocked off by lowly Colorado State and BYU can’t get by Utah. Put that together with some major upsets in some mid-major conferences, and the bids are going fast. Could the MWC regular season champ (Air Force) NOT make the Dance? Unfortunately, the Falcons may not soar. As for the Cougars of BYU, you’d have to believe they shot themselves in the foot.

(3) Utah 54, (2) BYU 51
It was not a shocking upset (54-51 in favor of Utah), but enough to make the cougars meow like a crippled cat. Utah (23-8) rode the tails of some precise shooting in the second half to get one step closer to the big dance and fend off a run by BYU. Nick Jacobson had 19 points, including seven points in the last 4:27. He continues to be the stud for this Ute Squad. Tim Frost chipped in 10 points and freshman Andrew Bogut had an all-around game with 9 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.

BYU was lead by their big gun, Rafael Araujo (13 points and 8 rebounds). Mike Hall and Luiz Lemes both added 9 points a piece. The loss ends BYU’s 9-game winning streak and at 21-8, one would think that they are on the outside of March Madness and knocking on the door begging to be let in.

(4) UNLV 80, (8) Colorado State 83
Ahh, the days of yesteryear. Remember when the Runnin’ Rebels were dominant? Remember when they knocked off Duke in the NCAA Final, then reeled off an undefeated season the next year, before getting beaten in the Final Four? Well, those days are over, but this UNLV team is making a late push for the NCAA tourney. It started last night. Colorado State, after upsetting Air Force in the quarters, they were unable to make it happen twice in a row. UNLV did their thing, and won this one, 80-73. The Runnin’ Rebels were led by Odartey Blankson’s 21 points and 13 rebounds. Jerel Blassingame, also had 19 points.