The undefeated San Diego State Aztecs became Mountain West champions after they destroyed the New Mexico Lobos in the second match-up in the last two weeks between the two teams on Tuesday night.
Although the Lobos had a strong first half and led by five at one point in the first half, the Aztecs dominated the second half, going on run after run, eventually outscoring the Lobos by 21 in the second half.
The Lobos had JaQuan Lyle and Vance Jackson back for the game (two players that were out the first time these two teams played) but in the end, it wasn’t nearly enough for the depth of the fourth-ranked team in the AP Poll.
The Aztecs dominant second half was led by Matt Mitchell, Yanni Wetzell and Malachi Flynn.
Flynn finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, Mitchell finished with a team-leading 22 points and 12 rebounds, and Wetzell finished with 20 points and nine rebounds, tying his season-high scoring 20 for the third time.
Matt Mitchell also made Sports Center Top 10 with an electric dunk in the second half, in addition to reaching 1,000 points during the game, making him the third player on the team to reach 1,000, joining Malachi Flynn and KJ Feagin.
Forward Vance Hendricks had a huge game for the Lobos, scoring 20 points off of the bench.
Corey Manigault also had another good game for the Lobos, but only scored nine points in 25 minutes after he earned two technical fouls and was ejected from the game in the second half.
The Aztecs are still ranked fourth in both major polls and first in the NET Rankings.
The selection committee released a bracket revealing the top 16 teams as of right now. In the bracket, the Aztecs were listed as a potential #1 seed in the East Region. If Gonzaga were to lose another game this year, the Aztecs would potentially take the No. 1 seed in the West region, which would give San Diego State a huge advantage.
The Aztecs also won the Mountain West regular-season title with the win over New Mexico and are highly favored to go undefeated all the way through the Mountain West Tournament.
The Aztecs next game will take place Sunday, Feb. 16 against the Boise State Broncos in Boise, Idaho. The game will start at 1 p.m. PT on CBS Sports Network.