History etched. Legacies forged. All doubts of an NCAA tournament appearance quelled.
In a year almost nobody could have guessed who’d come out on top, the Mountain West Men’s Basketball Championship title has gone to No. 6 seed New Mexico with a 68-61 win over No. 5 San Diego State.
And in Lobos coach Richard Pitino ’s third year with the program, he has won his first conference title. A monumental achievement, given this year’s Mountain West is arguably the best it has ever been.
“It means a lot. You know, I took a chance when I took this job, and I did it because of our fan base,” Pitino said. “I wanted to be at a place that celebrated basketball, and I wanted to be in a community that really cared about the basketball program.
“Our guys never ever wavered from their confidence. They really didn’t. They came into this tournament truly believing that they could win it. So that’s why I picked up my family and took a risk, and it sure feels like it’s paying off right now.”
Led by graduate student Jaelen House (6'0''-PG-2001) and junior Jamal Mashburn Jr. (6'2''-G-2001), the Lobos jumped out to a 14-point lead at one point during the first half, but had the lead cut to six at the break.
The Aztecs even took a lead midway through the second half, but the teams found themselves knotted at 59 at the final media timeout with 3:52 to go.
House, who scored 28 points, added two more as a part of a 9-2 run to win it.
He also added a game-high three steals. The Lobos have been a great offensive team all season, but they attribute their success in the tournament to their defense taking a massive jump.
In Friday’s semifinal against Colorado State, they tallied 22 points on 14 turnovers. Against San Diego State, they scored 14 more on 10 turnovers.
To fight a top defense in the country and beat it using its own superpower, a lot of confidence can be gained heading into the NCAA tournament.
“It definitely gives us confidence. I mean, that’s what coach has been emphasizing,” Mashburn said. “Just being scrappy, being tough, and getting out on the break and running. We’ve been executing the game plan these last few games, and we have to continue on doing that in the tournament.”
Mashburn added 21 points and two steals of his own, which was somewhat of a breakout performance after what was, by his standards, a disappointing first three tournament games.
Which was huge for the Lobos, given the fact Donovan Dent (6'2''-G) had his playing time limited with what the team has been calling the flu.
A microcosm of what Mashburn team had to overcome to even get to this point. With the program’s first title in 10 years, the Lobos became the first Mountain West team ever to play all four days and come out with a championship.
“Man, it’s just a testament to our group and our toughness. We’ve gone through so much stuff this year either individually, together,” Mashburn said. “Man, we’ve been through the ups and downs together, but we’ve never separated. We continue to work throughout our struggles.”
For Pitino, the fact he could win a championship with his first recruiting class at New Mexico was perhaps one of the biggest takeaways. When he took the job, he said, the COVID-19 pandemic limited what he could do in recruiting.
His two biggest recruits from his first class, never even set foot on campus before taking a chance with Pitino.
“When we first got here, we were No. 303 in the NET, half the building was empty,” Pitino said. “To get guys like Jaelen House and Jamal Mashburn to come to your school without ever seeing campus and then being able to have this pay off, it’s an amazing journey and truly I’m very grateful and appreciative.”
With a sure-fire bid to the NCAA tournament now, the legacy the Lobos have created is an ample reward for the chance Pitino and his stars took three years ago.
But they’re not done yet.
“Man, we’ve got six games to win. That’s our goal,” Mashburn said. “We’re very confident and humble about this process, and we’re ready to go. We’re ready to play whoever. We’re going to win some games, we’re going to make some noise.”

Courtesy of themw.com

MWC Tournament Final: San Diego State - New Mexico 61-68

MWC Tournament Semifinals:
Utah State - San Diego State 70-86
New Mexico - Colorado State 74-61

MWC Tournament Quarterfinals:
Utah State - Fresno State 87-75
Nevada - Colorado State 78-85
Boise State - New Mexico
UNLV - San Diego State 71-74

MWC Tournament First Round:
New Mexico - Air Force 82-56
Colorado State - San Jose State 72-62
Wyoming - Fresno State 73-77

All-Tournament MVP: Jaelen House (6'0''-PG-2001) of N.Mexico
Player of the Year: Great Osobor (6'8''-F-2002) of Utah St.
Defensive Player of the Year: Lamont Butler Jr. (6'2''-G-2002) of SDSU
Co-Freshman of the Year: Jadyn Toppin (6'9''-F) of N.Mexico
Co-Freshman of the Year: Dedan Thomas Jr. (6'1''-G) of UNLV
Newcomer of the Year: Great Osobor (6'8''-F-2002) of Utah St.
Co-Sixth Man of the Year: Mustapha Amzil (6'9''-F-2001) of N.Mexico
Co-Sixth Man of the Year: Joshua Uduje (6'5''-G-2002) of Utah St.
Coach of the Year: Danny Sprinkle of Utah St.

All-MWC First Team 2024

Degenhart

Stevens

LeDee

Brown II

Osobor

First Team
Tyson Degenhart (6'8''-F) of Boise St.
Isaiah Stevens (6'0''-PG) of Colorado St.
Jaedon LeDee (6'9''-F-1999) of SDSU
Darius Brown II (6'2''-G-1999) of Utah St.
Great Osobor (6'8''-F-2002) of Utah St.

All-MWC Second Team 2024

Stanley

Blackshear

Lucas

Dent

Toppin

Thomas Jr.

Second Team
O'Mar Stanley (6'8''-F) of Boise St.
Kenan Blackshear (6'6''-G) of Nevada
Jarod Lucas (6'4''-G-1999) of Nevada
Donovan Dent (6'2''-G) of N.Mexico
Jadyn Toppin (6'9''-F) of N.Mexico
Dedan Thomas Jr. (6'1''-G) of UNLV

All-MWC Third Team 2024

Clifford

Davidson

House

Boone

Third Team
Nique Clifford (6'6''-G-2002) of Colorado St.
Nick Davidson (6'9''-F) of Nevada
Jaelen House (6'0''-PG-2001) of N.Mexico
Keylan Boone (6'8''-F-2000) of UNLV

All-MWC Honorable Mention 2024

Agbo Jr.

Rice

Butler Jr.

Amey

Boone

Martinez

Honorable Mention
Chibuzo Agbo Jr. (6'7''-G) of Boise St.
Max Rice (6'5''-G) of Boise St.
Lamont Butler Jr. (6'2''-G-2002) of SDSU
Myron Amey (6'5''-G) of SJSU
Kalib Boone (6'9''-F-2000) of UNLV
Ian Martinez (6'3''-G-2001) of Utah St.
Sam Griffin (6'4''-G-2001) of Wyoming

MWC All-Defensive Team 2024

Coleman

House

Butler Jr.

Rodriguez

Brown II

All-Defensive Team
Tre Coleman (6'7''-F) of Nevada
Jaelen House (6'0''-PG-2001) of N.Mexico
Lamont Butler Jr. (6'2''-G-2002) of SDSU
Luis Rodriguez (6'6''-G-1999) of UNLV
Darius Brown II (6'2''-G-1999) of Utah St.

MWC All-Tournament Team 2024

House

Mashburn Jr.

Toppin

LeDee

Osobor

All-Tournament Team
Jaelen House (6'0''-PG-2001) of N.Mexico
Jamal Mashburn Jr. (6'2''-G-2001) of N.Mexico
Jadyn Toppin (6'9''-F) of N.Mexico
Jaedon LeDee (6'9''-F-1999) of SDSU
Great Osobor (6'8''-F-2002) of Utah St.