New Mexico

New Mexico, Utah State sit atop Mountain West men’s basketball standings

Published

1 year ago

January 5, 2025

New Mexico, Utah State sit atop Mountain West men’s basketball standings

With nearly 20 percent of the conference’s men’s basketball games in the books, the top teams in the Mountain West have already separated themselves.

New Mexico (12-3, 4-0), Utah State (12-3, 4-0) and UNLV (9-5, 3-0) are all undefeated in conference play. Boise State (11-4, 3-1), Colorado State (8-6, 2-1) and San Diego State (9-3, 2-1) have just one MWC loss.

The Broncos, who were picked to win the MWC in the preseason coaches poll, dropped their first home game of the season Saturday afternoon to San Diego State, 76-68. Boise State had won five straight game overall entering the showdown with the Aztecs.

After beginning conference play with victories over three of the MWC’s weakest teams in Air Force (3-11, 0-3), San Jose State (7-9, 0-4) and Wyoming (9-6, 2-2), the Broncos are now in a tough portion of their schedule.

Boise State hosts UNLV at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday night before traveling to Utah State on Saturday. The Broncos then return home to face Wyoming as a tuneup for road matchups with New Mexico and Colorado State.

“We won’t look that far ahead,” Broncos head coach Leon Rice said after the San Diego State loss. “I always tell our guys that our issues are our issues until we solve them. This time of the year, you’re still solving issues and figuring stuff out. And new ones can pop up.”

Utah State has been the story of the MWC this season.

Picked to finish sixth in the preseason coaches poll under first-year head coach Jared Calhoun, the Aggies have been perfect outside of a mid-December home loss to Big West leader UC San Diego (13-2). Utah State’s biggest margin of victory in MWC play was Saturday’s 89-83 win over Fresno State (4-11, 0-4), a game in which the Aggies trailed by 17 points in the first half.

Friday night, Junior Joseph hit an overtime buzzer-beater against Nevada (8-7, 0-4) to keep New Mexico’s perfect MWC record intact. The Lobos boast an early-season win over UCLA but sit way down at No. 70 in the NET Rankings, trailing Utah State (No. 29), San Diego State (35), Boise State (57) and Nevada (64) among MWC teams.

San Diego State and Utah State were the only MWC representatives in the latest NCAA Tournament projection by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.

While sitting at 3-0 in conference play, UNLV has yet to face a team with a MWC victory. The Rebels own wins over Air Force, Fresno State and San Jose State.

The Aztecs bounced back from a Dec. 28 home loss to Utah State — also on a buzzer-beater — with a big road victory at Boise State. San Diego State is the top MWC team in KenPom at No. 34, followed by Utah State (No. 48), Nevada (58), Boise State (60) and New Mexico (65).

“They are a great defensive team. Not a good defensive team, a great one,” Rice said of the Aztecs, who check in at No. 13 in KenPom’s defensive rating. “I think they’re protecting the paint maybe better than — I mean they always do a good job of it — but this team has really stepped it up there.”

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New Mexico

School Danger Zones: Data reveals alarming number of shootings near New Mexico schools

Published

3 hours ago

April 2, 2026

Press Room

School Danger Zones: Data reveals alarming number of shootings near New Mexico schools

On average, more than once a week, there is a shooting near a school in New Mexico, and nearly half the time, someone is killed.According to data obtained by the Get the Facts Data Team, there have been 833 shootings adjacent to New Mexico’s schools in the past ten years, resulting in 526 people killed.”When you first told me the numbers, I thought I heard you wrong,” said Darren White, former Bernalillo County sheriff and public safety director. “I was shocked that there are so many shootings close proximity to our schools,” White said that numerous state laws make penalties harsher for crimes occurring near schools, including firearm possession and drug dealing. “We put laws in place years ago because we recognize that schools should be sanctuaries, right?” White said.La Mesa Elementary in Albuquerque’s International District leads the list. In the past ten years, there have been 24 shootings within 500 yards of this school, resulting in 20 deaths. However, this school is not alone in being close to gunfire.A map from the data team shows that statewide, Missouri Avenue and Valley View Elementary Schools in Roswell had 11 and 8 shootings, respectively, while Las Montanas Charter and Lynn Middle Schools in Las Cruces both had 8 and 8 respectively.”If it’s being reported that it’s over 800 in this period of time, how many more are taking place that haven’t been reported that we didn’t know about?” White asked. “And so I would argue, like in many of our crime stats, that number is even higher. And, uh … It’s chilling, it really is.”These shooting have either occurred at or close to the shools.For instance, 16-year-old Andrew Burson was killed right next to the football field at West Mesa High School. Another incident involved a shooting right outside Sandia High School and Christ Lutheran School, which led to both institutions being locked down in the middle of the day.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —

On average, more than once a week, there is a shooting near a school in New Mexico, and nearly half the time, someone is killed.

According to data obtained by the Get the Facts Data Team, there have been 833 shootings adjacent to New Mexico’s schools in the past ten years, resulting in 526 people killed.

“When you first told me the numbers, I thought I heard you wrong,” said Darren White, former Bernalillo County sheriff and public safety director. “I was shocked that there are so many shootings close proximity to our schools,”

White said that numerous state laws make penalties harsher for crimes occurring near schools, including firearm possession and drug dealing.

“We put laws in place years ago because we recognize that schools should be sanctuaries, right?” White said.

La Mesa Elementary in Albuquerque’s International District leads the list. In the past ten years, there have been 24 shootings within 500 yards of this school, resulting in 20 deaths. However, this school is not alone in being close to gunfire.

A map from the data team shows that statewide, Missouri Avenue and Valley View Elementary Schools in Roswell had 11 and 8 shootings, respectively, while Las Montanas Charter and Lynn Middle Schools in Las Cruces both had 8 and 8 respectively.

“If it’s being reported that it’s over 800 in this period of time, how many more are taking place that haven’t been reported that we didn’t know about?” White asked. “And so I would argue, like in many of our crime stats, that number is even higher. And, uh … It’s chilling, it really is.”

These shooting have either occurred at or close to the shools.

For instance, 16-year-old Andrew Burson was killed right next to the football field at West Mesa High School.

Another incident involved a shooting right outside Sandia High School and Christ Lutheran School, which led to both institutions being locked down in the middle of the day.

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New Mexico

New Mexico vs. Tulsa Prediction Odds, Key Player to Watch for NIT Semifinal

Published

15 hours ago

April 2, 2026

Press Room

New Mexico vs. Tulsa Prediction Odds, Key Player to Watch for NIT Semifinal

It’s not just the NCAA Tournament that’s down to the final four teams, but the NIT also has just four teams remaining in its bracket. The semifinals are set to begin on Thursday night, with the first of two games being a showdown between New Mexico from the Mountain West and Tulsa from the American.

Let’s dive into the odds and my best bet for Thursday night’s matchup, with a berth in the NIT final on the line.

New Mexico vs. Tulsa Odds, Spread, and Total

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Spread

New Mexico -3.5 (-118)
Tulsa +3.5 (-104)

Moneyline

New Mexico -178
Tulsa +146

Total

OVER 161.5 (-110)
UNDER 161.5 (-110)

New Mexico vs. Tulsa How to Watch

Date: Thursday, April 2
Game Time: 7:00 pm ET
Venue: Hinkle Fieldhouse
How to Watch (TV): ESPN
New Mexico Record: 26-10
Tulsa Record: 29-7

New Mexico vs. Tulsa Betting Trends

Tulsa is 1-5 ATS in its last six games
The OVER is 8-3 in Tulsa’s last 11 games
Tulsa is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games as an underdog
New Mexico is 5-0-1 ATS in its last six games
The OVER is 13-7 in New Mexico’s last 20 games

New Mexico vs. Tulsa Key Player to Watch

David Green, F – Tulsa Golden Hurricanes

If Tulsa wants to pull off the upset and win this game, they need David Green to step up in a big way. He’s the team’s leading scorer, averaging 15.7 points per game, but he scored just five points in the NIT quarterfinal. Let’s see if he can bounce back with a strong performance tonight.

New Mexico vs. Tulsa Prediction and Pick

Tulsa has already beaten one Mountain West team in the NIT, taking down UNLV by a score of 77-66, and I think they can at least cover as underdogs against New Mexico.

The Golden Hurricanes are one of the best shooting teams in college basketball, ranking 25th in effective field goal percentage. Well above New Mexico, which comes in at 70th in that metric. Tulsa is also a solid team defensively, ranking 106th in defensive efficiency.

The Mountain West continues to be an overrated conference. Their regular season and tournament champion lost in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, Colorado State and Wyoming both lost in the first round of the NIT, and UNLV fell in the second round to Tulsa.

I’m going to continue to follow my strategy of fading the Mountain West in postseason tournaments.

Pick: Tulsa +3.5 (-104) via FanDuel

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