The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Mountain West March Madness

Now that the postseason is over and a new national champion has been chosen, it’s time to look back at how the Mountain West did in college sports’ biggest tournament. Here are the good, bad, and ugly performances from March Madness.

The good about San Diego State:

The good about San Diego State is that when they beat Alabama in the Sweet Sixteen, they got a lot of attention from people all over the country. The Aztecs then beat Creighton in the Elite Eight with a free throw in the last second. The Aztecs are a great example of what can happen when you play good defense. This San Diego State team isn’t the best I’ve seen, but they had some great matchups and played like they had something to prove. This may be the most impressive thing a Mountain West team has ever done in terms of sports. I’m sure PAC 12 was paying close attention to how the Aztecs did.

The Bad: Boise State:

The Broncos did just enough to keep up with Northwestern for most of the game, but their slow start and lack of depth were too much to overcome. Boise State relied too much on its starting five, and by March, the team was starting to feel the effects. It was a disappointing loss for a team that still hasn’t won in the tournament yet. Addressing depth issues and production in the post will be the top concerns for Leon Rice and his staff this offseason.

Utah State:

The Aggies live and die by the three-point shot, and even though they didn’t make many, they gave Missouri a good fight. Similar to the Broncos, it seemed like the size and athleticism of their counterparts were just too much to overcome. The Aggies showed a lot of progress as a program this year, but they are now looking for a new head coach and have whispers of some key players possibly transferring. It will be interesting to see how this program responds next season.

Nevada’s ugly side:

The Wolf Pack was a case of a team that peaked too early. As the season went on, it seemed like this team was getting tired, and that was clear in the Mountain West Tournament when they played Arizona State in the first round. The Sun Devils were much faster and better at shooting than Nevada, and Nevada had no way to stop them. Many fans didn’t think Nevada deserved to be in the tournament, and their play did nothing to change their minds.

What did you notice about how the Mountain West teams did in March Madness? What do you think? Tell us in the comments.

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