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All-Time Mountain West Basketball: 2005 Utah vs. 2013 New Mexico
No. 6 Utes take on 11th-seeded Lobos.
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Who is better Utah or New Mexico?
The next game in our best of Mountain West basketball series features the 2005 University of Utah which is a six-seed and featured No. 1 draft pick in Andrew Bogut. Those Utes will take on the Lobos who have plenty of talent and are one of the best teams in league history.
Both of these teams are pretty balanced, but Utah is better overall. The playstyle differences come largely on offense, where Utah likes to pound the ball inside with Andrew Bogut, whereas New Mexico likes to move the ball around the perimeter and is much more likely to take an outside shot.
Both teams are great at drawing fouls, Utah is great at finishing inside while New Mexico is great at defending the rim. The difference may come on the boards, where Utah is much better, especially offensively.
Keys for New Mexico: Move the ball around for open looks; make someone other than Andrew Bogut beat you.
Keys for Utah: Control the offensive glass; funnel their offense into your big men and make them take tough two’s.
Game 1: Jon M Hunstman Center, Series tied 0-0.
Utah can’t get anything going in Game 1 and lose home court advantage.
Game 2: Jon M Huntsman Center, New Mexico leads 1-0.
Andrew Bogut has the performance his team needs, but Utah can’t slow down New Mexico and loses it’s second at home.
Game 3: The Pit, New Mexico Leads series 2-0.
In a result that had me double checking if I set the home court correctly, Utah absolutely dominates New Mexico in the Pit.
Game 4: The Pit, New Mexico leads series 2-1.
Utah seems to have found their groove. Can they keep up their momentum once they return home, or will New Mexico make adjustments?
