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Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff Writer
LAS VEGAS — San Diego State’s unlikely run to the national championship game last spring opened the door for the Mountain West Conference to garner widespread respect.
New Mexico beating the Aztecs, 68-61, in the conference tournament title game at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center Saturday afternoon allowed for more reverence on a national level. As in a record number of Mountain West schools likely to receive bids to the NCAA tournament. The most the Mountain West has ever received is five, in 2013.
“Obviously, we’re going to get six in the NCAA tournament,” said third-year New Mexico coach Richard Pitino. “UNLV is as good as any of them, as well. So it was just, made-for-TV every single night. Great players, great coaches, fan bases that truly care.
“I remember coming [to New Mexico] thinking, Maybe it’s a little bit of a step down from the Big Ten. Didn’t feel like it on a nightly basis. It really didn’t. I mean, packed houses, national TV, and there were just wars every night. So, I know I got better as a coach going against some of these amazing coaches and programs and it was a long, long season. But very rewarding.”
Entering conference tournament play, the Mountain West had six teams in the top 40 of the NET rankings and Mountain West schools boasted a combined record of 24-7 against Pac-12 and WCC schools.
Only the Big 12 and SEC are projected to have more bids.
New Mexico, which earned the Mountain West’s automatic bid and is 27-9, and San Diego State, which is 24-10 and has been projected as high as a No. 4 seed in the Big Dance, are assured berths.
Then there’s regular season champ Utah State (27-6), Nevada (26-7), Boise State (22-10) and Colorado State (24-10). UNLV, which is 19-12, swept the Lobos and split with the Aztecs, was the No. 4 seed but likely headed to the NIT.
“It’s incredible,” said New Mexico senior guard Jamal Mashburn, Jr., who was named to the all-tournament team after scoring 21 points with four rebounds against the Aztecs.
“We worked so hard to get to this point…we had so many ups and downs this year and we all just stayed confident in ourselves and we all just stayed together. And, I mean, it feels great to, I mean, it is not over yet, but it does feel great to get a championship on my way out for sure.”
The No. 6-seeded Lobos had to win four games in four days, the first team to accomplish that feat in the Mountain West’s 25-year history. They beat Air Force, 82-56, Boise State, 66-56, and Colorado State, 74-61, to advance to the title game.
The No. 5 seed Aztecs outlasted UNLV in overtime, 74-71, and Utah State, 86-70.
It is New Mexico’s first NCAA appearance since 2014 as the Lobos were just 6-16 three years ago. It is their first conference tournament title since winning three straight from 2012-14, the Lobos’ fifth overall tournament title.
The Lobos used a 15-4 run over the last seven minutes to pull away from the Aztecs and New Mexico senior guard Jaelen House had a game-high 28 points, making three of 7 three-point attempts, and had three steals and was named tournament MVP.
San Diego State senior forward Jaedon LeDee led the Aztecs with 25 points and added six rebounds.
“Our guys never ever wavered from their confidence,” Pitino said. “They really didn’t. And they came into this tournament truly believing that they could win it. So it’s why I picked up my family and took a risk and it sure feels like it’s paying off right now. I think [New Mexico is] one of the best fan bases of college basketball. I truly, truly believe it. They are as invested in this program, on a daily basis, as a Kentucky, where I grew up for eight years. I don’t see a whole lot of a difference.
“And they’re loyal. When we first got here, we were 303 in the net, half the building was empty, and, to get guys like Jaelen House and Jamal Mashburn to come to your school, without ever seeing campus, and then being able to have this payoff, it’s just an amazing journey. Truly, I’m very grateful and appreciative.”
To underscore that, the announced attendance for Saturday night’s game was 11,112, a passionate crowd that was a majority New Mexico fans.
Pitino, who coached at Minnesota from 2013 through 2021 and took the Golden Gophers to a pair of NCAA tournaments, was asked what his father Rick, the coach at St. John’s, might say to him after winning the Mountain West tournament.
“Hopefully, very proud,” he said. “Anytime you get fired, it’s hard as a young head coach and you’re Rick Pitino’s son and everybody’s comparing you to him and you do feel a little bit of a burden. I’m probably not going to go into the Naismith Hall of Fame, like he is, and that’s okay. But you’ve got to have a high level of belief in yourself. And I wouldn’t be able to do this profession without being able to lean on my mom and my dad and the support because they’re always there.
“We’re far away from each other, but they’re always there. And I’m the person, the husband, the father that I try to be every day because of my parents.”