New Mexico 79, Air Force 64 [64 possessions]

For the third time in three meetings, New Mexico beat Air Force convincingly. The Falcons did actually hold the lead just before that halfway mark of the first half, but the Lobos went on a 22-3 from that point and the game was never seriously in doubt.

What was noteworthy about the first half was the 29 fouls called.  Had the game been close down the stretch, we could have entered some unusual territory for total fouls. As it was, the game finished with a mere 50 as Air Force coach Dave Pilipovich was content to let the clock wind down naturally in the closing minutes. The loss drops Air Force to 3-26 all time in conference tournament play, and their three offensive boards allowed them to finish with an OR% of 20.1 on the season, easily the lowest in all the land, an honor they last earned in 2008.

UNLV 56, Wyoming 48 [69]

Wyoming set an MW tournament record for first half futility by scoring but 11 points. And the points were distributed such that no Cowboy tallied more than two. To get to 11, Wyoming made three of its 24 field goal attempts en route to averaging 0.33 points per possession. Mike Moser outscored Wyoming by seven all by his lonesome.

Despite this, there would eventually be some mild intrigue late in the game as UNLV saw a 22-point second half lead get trimmed to seven with six minutes to go. The Cowboys would whiff on three successive possessions to get it closer and would ultimately lose in a defensive bloodbath, a fitting end to the regular season for a Wyoming team that often played outstanding defense (21st nationally), but struggled to convert on the other end (166th). They were something of an anti-Creighton.

In the end, the top four seeds advanced to Friday’s semis, and both the San Diego State/Colorado State and New Mexico/UNLV games are virtual toss-ups.