The 2012 Mountain West Conference tournament has reached its crescendo, as the top-seeded San Diego State Aztecs meet the No. 2 New Mexico Lobos in the championship game on Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas. The Aztecs are coming off a 79-69 win over the Colorado State Rams in the semifinals, where Mountain West Player of the Year Jamaal Franklin scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds and Chase Tapley added 17 points and six assists to send San Diego State into the finals. Meanwhile, the Lobos edged UNLV by a score of 72-67, behind 19 points on 8-10 shooting and 13 rebounds from forward Drew Gordon and 12 points from sophomore guard Demetrius Walker.
It was a disappointing finish for the Colorado St. Rams and UNLV Runnin' Rebels, as both teams played feisty basketball against the top teams in the MWC, but still failed to pull out the win in crunch time. For the Rams, Jesse Carr and Dorian Green did all they could keep their team in the game, scoring 17 and 20 points, respectively, but it just wasn't enough to overcome the Aztec's attack. After the game, head coach Tim Miles said he thinks the Rams did enough to convince the NCAA Tournament committee that they belong in March Madness anyways:
"We've made our case," coach Tim Miles said. "We don't pass the eye test, the smell test, the airport test. We don't pass any test. Put me on the floor and let these guys compete and we'll see. You know, yeah, we made our case."
quote via CSURams.com.
The championship game between New Mexico and San Diego St. is set for 5 p.m. MT on Saturday.
Here's a look at the updated bracket, via CBSSports.com:
For more on the 2012 Mountain West Tournament, stick with SB Nation Denver and Mountain West Connection. Head over to SB Nation NCAA Basketball for more on March Madness.
