NCAA’s ‘Patrick Mahomes’ Shoots First Domino Down Toward March Madness as New Mexico Win vs Boise State

Jaelen House’s bang in the MWC quarter-finals has got all the spectators looking out for him. Many have also started calling him Patrick Mahomes of men’s basketball due to his impact on the floor. With March Madness right around the corner, this formidable guard of the New Mexico Lobos is ensuring that the team makes its way into the NCAA tournament. Apparently, the Lobos have not appeared in the tournament since 2014.

However, they are all set to make a massive entry after a decade of silence. Already showing a strong background, New Mexico at 24-9 handed an interesting loss to Boise State tonight to jump to the semi-finals. In a post-match interview with CBS Sports’ Evan Washburn, House talks about their mentality going into the game. He said, “Keep our foot on their neck the whole time. They got us twice already this season, and it’s hard to beat a team three times.”

Adding to his thoughts, the leading scorer said, “We just thought if we go out there and play physical rebound and defend, we’ll have great chances of winning this game.” Washburn then asked House what he felt like, possibly ensuring a place in the NCAA tournament to which he said, “Amazing, this is my first tournament ever.” 

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Continuing on his thoughts about going into the March Madness and potentially winning the semifinals, Jaelen said, “Trying to win. I’m not trying to go home. I’m trying to stay here till Sunday morning.”

New Maxico had lost to Boise State twice this season, that too with a good difference of 86-78 and 89-79. However, they were able to get over their fears and reign the opponent with 76-66. It was an exciting match as the crowd at the Thomas and Mack Center, Las Vegas, saw two prolific teams try to catch each other’s throats.

Here is what the night looked like for the MWC fans.

New Mexico makes its way ahead of March Madness

The two teams were really in a neck-to-neck competition, their stats also show how parallel the two walked. With a 44% field goal percentage and 50% more steals than Boise State, New Mexico ensured their win tonight. The senior guard House led the team with 29 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. The Lobos forward JT Toppin grabbed the highest rebounds on the night with 13 to his name. At the same time, Donovan Dent dished out the highest assists (4) tonight and grabbed 22 points for the team.

On the opposite end, while the Boncos’ leading scorer did grab higher scores than his average of 17 with 23 points in the bag, the team’s overall field goal percentage was quite low at 29% tonight. Nevertheless, he also grabbed 12 rebounds, adding to his personal account.

New Mexico is definitely giving its opponents a good run for their money. However, it will be interesting to see how they perform against the co-semifinalists Colorado State with whom they have a 1-1 total score this season.

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