Mountain West Conference Tournament Quarterfinals: No. 1 BYU beat No. 8 TCU 77-64 to advance to the Mountain West Conference Tournament semifinals. The Cougars got 22 points from Trent Plaisted and 16 from Mike Rose to pace BYU’s offense. The Cougars’ defense stymied the Horned Frogs, holding them to worse than 40 percent shooting from the field. BYU doubled up TCU on the glass, out-rebounding the Horned Frogs 43-20. The Cougars will play No. 5 Wyoming in the semis.
Wyoming advanced after beating No. 4 Air Force 67-62, potentially crippling the Falcons’ NCAA Tournament résumé. Brad Jones scored 29 points for the Cowboys, and Brandon Ewing added 19. Jones and Ewing made up for lost time in the last meeting against Air Force. The duo missed that game because of a suspension for fighting following a scuffle in a game against New Mexico.
No. 2 UNLV protected its home court at the Thomas & Mack Center with an 80-54 victory against No. 7 Utah. Kevin Kruger, coach Lon Kruger’s son, led the Runnin’ Rebels with 21 points and helped UNLV outlast the Utes’ quick start. Utah made 8-of-12 field goals to open the game with a slim lead that evaporated when the shots stopped falling.
No. 6 Colorado State pulled off the second upset of the day, knocking off No. 3 San Diego State and likely ending the Aztecs’ hopes of an NCAA Tournament at-large bid. The Rams were led by Stuart Creason’s 19 points. San Diego State uncharacteristically relied on the three-pointer, attempting 24 of them and only hitting seven. The Rams will play UNLV in the semifinals. [3/08/07]
