The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: First Four/Round of 64

The first round of the NCAA tournament was full of mixed results for Mountain West teams. The conference had one of its best years in conference history with six teams qualifying for the big tournament. The first games of the tournament were certainly mixed for the six teams that qualified; let’s take a look at how each team performed.

The Good

San Diego State

Jaedon LeDee put the Aztecs on his back and carried his team to a win over a scrappy UAB squad that gave San Diego State everything they could handle. Without LeDee, this game would have likely been a blowout. LeDee reminded me a lot of Utah Jazz great Karl Malone with his ability to run the court and hit mid-range jump shots. They avoided what would have been a catastrophic loss for the Aztecs and the Mountain West with a strong finish that allowed them to come away with the victory.

Utah State

The Aggies were the biggest surprise of any Mountain West team in the opening round. I thought the athleticism of TCU would be too much for the Aggies to overcome, but Utah State played an extremely disciplined game and did an excellent job of capitalizing on open looks. The job that Danny Sprinkle has done in Logan is extremely impressive; he turned a team that was expected to be in the bottom half of the conference into a champion. Ian Martinez was spectacular against the Horned Frogs, finishing with 21 points.

The Bad

Colorado State

The Rams really surprised me with their defensive performances against Virginia and Texas. They made life really difficult for both teams and weren’t giving up any easy baskets. The offensive side of the ball is what haunted the Rams and prevented them from making a run in the tournament. The Rams shot only 29% from the field and had 19 turnovers against Texas in the Round of 64. If you would have told me they would hold the Longhorns to 56 points, I would have liked their chances to come away with the win.

The Ugly

Boise State

The Broncos had an elite defensive performance against a great Colorado offense, but their own offense was abysmal. A lot of people were giving credit to the Colorado defense, but I watched this game twice and the Broncos missed numerous open shots. March teaches us what players are made of, and Boise State’s top players laid an egg in the biggest game of the year. Bronco fans can complain all they want about seeding, but they could have and should have won this game.

Nevada

The Wolf Pack played 33 great minutes against a talented Dayton squad that resulted in a 17 point lead late in the second half. The Wolf Pack then proceeded to blow one of the biggest leads in NCAA tournament history. Nevada struggled to match the physical play of the Flyers, attempting only six free throws. This loss will haunt the Wolf Pack for a long time.

New Mexico

Maybe the Lobos used all of their energy in the Mountain West tournament, because they looked exhausted and beat from the opening tip. New Mexico was dominated for all 40 minutes of the first round contest. Mashburn, House, Toppin, and Dent picked a bad day to have their worst game of the year. The four Lobo starts combined to shoot 10 of 40 and scored only 30 points. New Mexico needed those guys to double that production to have any chance against Clemson.

Did the Mountain West’s first round performances meet your expectations? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.