SAN DIEGO (AP)— Brian Dutcher has seen all 25 seasons of Mountain West basketball, and he’s never seen one as insane as this.
A season after Dutcher’s San Diego State Aztecs became the first Mountain West team to reach the Final Four, the conference may have a record six teams in the NCAA Tournament.
“Unbelievable,” Dutcher said of the Mountain West race, which extends from San Diego’s beaches to the towering peaks of the Rocky Mountains and into New Mexico’s high desert, where the Lobos want to return to March Madness after a decade away. “It is lively. “You just have to enjoy every victory you get.”
For the longest time, several teams were within one game of the lead. The reigning regular-season and conference tournament champion Aztecs, ranked No. 21 in The Associated Press poll and led by power forward Jaedon LeDee, could have jumped into the lead two weeks ago but lost at Utah State. The No. 22 Aggies continued their unexpected run under first-year coach Danny Sprinkle when they clinched at least a share of the regular-season title by winning at San Jose State on Wednesday night.
The Aggies can claim their first outright regular-season championship with a win Saturday against New Mexico. Utah State made the NCAA Tournament last season but was picked to finish ninth in the league this year after adding 13 new players and returning zero points from last year’s team.
