Utah Utes basketball: Team faces critical test vs. Lobos

ALBUQUERQUE — Suddenly the path to the Mountain West Conference regular-season title isn't so clear for the Utah basketball team.

Saturday's loss to BYU, coupled with New Mexico's double-overtime win over Colorado State, leaves the Utes just a game ahead of both the Cougars and the Lobos heading into tonight's game at The Pit.

The Utes and Lobos tip it off at 7 p.m. in what could be close to a sellout at the 18,000-seat arena.

A victory will vault the Lobos into a tie for first, while the Cougars also could tie with a victory Wednesday night at Wyoming. However, a Ute win tonight would clinch at least a tie for the title and give them an outright title if BYU loses to Wyoming.

"We're coming off a tough game at BYU where we didn't play our best and are excited to play," said Utah coach Jim Boylen. "We have to defend the 3-point line and rebound the ball. We can't give them second-chance opportunities or loose ball opportunities and have to defend the 3-point line."

The game is probably more crucial to the Lobos, who conclude their regular season Saturday at Wyoming. At 19-10, the Lobos are barely on the NCAA Tournament bubble and probably need an MWC Tournament victory to qualify for the Big Dance.

However, if they can get a piece of the MWC regular-season title and improve their seeding, that will help their NCAA tourney chances and perhaps give them an outside chance at an at-large bid.

Utah, meanwhile, has been listed as a "lock" for the NCAA Tournament by some experts, in part because of its impressive top 10 RPI ranking. Boylen said he's not worried about the NCAA Tournament at this point, however.

"I haven't talked about it with my team at all," he said. "We have to continue to learn and grow and get better and recover from a game in which I didn't think we were tough enough."

If recent history is any indication, tonight's game should be a close one. Of the last six games between the two, four have gone into overtime and the other two were decided by one point, including last month's 69-68 Utah victory in Salt Lake.

In each of the past two years at The Pit, the Utes lost in overtime, 86-82 in 2007 and 77-67 last year. The last Utah win in Albuquerque came in 2002.