2019 Mountain West Tournament: New Mexico vs. Wyoming Preview, Live Stream, How To Watch
New Mexico and Wyoming square off in the 7/10 match-up
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Wyoming beat New Mexico in Arena Auditorium just days ago
WHO: New Mexico Lobos (13-17, 5-7 MW) vs. Wyoming Cowboys (8-23, 4-14 MW)
WHEN: Wednesday, Mar. 13 — 2:30 PM MT/1:30 PM PT
WHERE: Thomas & Mack Center; Las Vegas, Nevada (17,923)
TV: AT&T SportsNet
STREAM: The Mountain West Network
RADIO: New Mexico | Wyoming
WEBSITES: GoLobos.com, the official New Mexico athletics website | GoWyo.com, the official Wyoming athletics website
Odds: New Mexico -8
Seventh-seeded New Mexico faces off against tenth-seeded Wyoming in the Mountain West Conference Tournament on Wednesday, marking the second straight game between the two teams. In the last meeting, Wyoming had the hot hand, shooting 51.9% from the floor, 40.0% from three, and 24-29 from the free-throw line while holding the Lobos to just 40.0% from the floor en route to a 88-81 final.
Despite a poor offensive outing, New Mexico was able to keep pace with the Cowboys late because of a a +16 margin in second chance points coming from 16 offensive rebounds.
But the Cowboys had plenty of offense of their own, and a surge in defensive intensity that was too much for the Lobos to handle.
Can the Cowboys repeat a win over the Lobos after finishing the conference season with just four wins?
Maybe.
If they are to manage a second win over the Lobos in as many games, they’ll have to (again) get production from more than just first-team all-mountain-west Justin James. In Laramie, A.J Banks and Jordan Naughton were critical in the win over New Mexico. In fact, five Cowboys finished in double figures, making the game more than just limiting scoring to (or shutting down) James.
For New Mexico, continuing to crash the boards and playing inside-out basketball is critical to success in Wednesday’s game and throughout the tournament. If they continue to do so, take care of the ball, and shoot the ball better than their 42.02% average field goal percentage in their last four games, they’ll have a chance to win on Wednesday.
