New Mexico wins 15th straight, advances in MWC tourney

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/11/2010 - Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darington Hobson erupted for 28 points and 15 rebounds, carrying No. 8 New Mexico to a hard-fought 75-69 victory over Air Force in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

Dairese Gary returned from an early injury and made 14-of-15 free throws to account for most of his 20-point effort for the Lobos (29-3), who set a single-season school record for wins thanks to their 15th straight victory.

New Mexico, the top seed in the tournament, moves on to play the winner of the Colorado State/San Diego State battle.

Tom Fow and Michael Lyons scored 17 and 15 points, respectively, to lead the ninth-seeded Falcons (10-21), whose win over Wyoming on Wednesday was their second in MWC tourney history.

The Falcons, who lost a 59-56 decision at New Mexico less than three weeks ago, again gave the Lobos all they can handle at the Thomas & Mack Center.

A Roman Martinez three-pointer had the favorites up 58-49 with less than 7 1/2 minutes to play, but Lyons' jumper two minutes later cut it to a 61-58 game.

New Mexico pulled away with five straight from the free throw line, and Hobson's acrobatic tip-in provided a 68-58 margin.

Mike McLain's offensive foul followed by two Gary free throws capped the game- sealing 11-0 run with 1:13 remaining, helping New Mexico grind out the surprisingly tough win.

Air Force was on top 13-12 when Todd Fletcher capped a 9-0 run with a three- pointer six minutes into the game. The Falcons went the next seven minutes without scoring, though the Lobos only scored eight during that stretch.

New Mexico's largest lead in the first half was 10, but Evan Washington beat the halftime buzzer with a long deuce to pull the underdogs within 38-31 at halftime.

Fow made two free throws and a three-pointer before Washington's three-point play cut Air Force's deficit to 48-47 with 12:48 to play.

Game Notes

This is New Mexico's second-longest winning streak in school history behind a 17-game streak set in 1967-68...The Lobos have won seven straight over Air Force...Grant Parker, the Falcons' leading scorer with 13.1 ppg, scored just six, while Fletcher and Washington netted 12 and 11, respectively, in defeat...Air Force outshot New Mexico 54.0 percent to 46.8 percent from the floor but were outscored on the foul line, 25-8.

Wwwbetus NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Volunteers vault past LSU into SEC quarterfinals
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wayne Chism had 17 points and 10 rebounds as 15th-ranked Tennessee downed LSU, 59-49, in the first round of the SEC Tournament. Bobby Maze had 14 points and J.P. Prince added 11 points for the Vol

<< Aggies top Nebraska, No. 1 Kansas up next in Big 12 semis
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Donald Sloan finished with 23 points, as No. 23 Texas A&M defeated Nebraska, 70-64, in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. Khris Middleton added 17 points while B.J. Holmes provided 11 poi

<< Buffalo extends AHL agreement with Portland
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres announced on Thursday that the club has renewed its affiliate agreement with Portland of the American Hockey League on a long-term extension. "Greater Portland has embraced a group o

<< Big Ten Conference Tournament Recaps
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Harris scored a team-high 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds as he led the Michigan Wolverines to a 59-52 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes in the opening game of the 2010 Big Ten Conference Tournam

<< Liverpool drops first leg at Lille
Lille, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eden Hazard scored off a free kick with just five minutes remaining and Lille edged Liverpool 1-0 on Thursday in the first leg of their Europa League Round of 16 series at Lille Metropole. Hazard curled a 2

Bills re-sign TE Klopfenstein >>
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Bills re-signed tight end Joe Klopfenstein on Thursday. The Bills signed Klopfenstein two different times last season, and he played in only one game, the season finale, making one catch for

Western Athletic Conference Tournament Recaps >>
Reno, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tai Wesley, one of three players to score 18 points for Utah State, collected 10 rebounds as the Aggies defeated Boise State, 84-60, in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournam

Bears re-sign S Bullocks >>
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears signed safety Josh Bullocks to a one-year tender offer on Thursday. The 40th pick by New Orleans in the 2005 draft, Bullocks has recorded 327 tackles, six interceptions, 28 p

Raiders cut ties with DT Warren >>
Alameda, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Raiders released defensive tackle Gerard Warren on Thursday. The Raiders acquired Warren from the Broncos prior to the 2007 season, but the 6-foot-4, 330-pounder registered just 97 tackles and 10

Schwartzel finds himself alone in front at Doral >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - South Africa's Charl Schwartzel posted a brilliant, bogey-free, five-under 67 on Thursday to take the first-round lead of the WGC-CA Championship. Schwartzel braved tough, windy conditions at the TPC Bl

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.