Utah and UNM are so close to the NCAA tournament they can taste it.
But only one team from the Mountain West Conference will go.
Although the regular-season title is shared by Utah and UNM, there are several other teams that have the potential to steal the crown right from their grasp.
But the UNM Lobos (12-2) have earned the No. 1 seed at next week's conference tournament in Denver, Colo., and they are going in on fire. The Lobos have won eight-straight games, have matured quickly and learned to keep their composure in pressure situations. But both of UNM's conference losses - to Utah and Colorado State - have come on the road. In order to succeed, the Lobos have to persevere through the boos, as they will not have 17,000 fans cheering them at the Pepsi Center.
The Utah Utes (12-2) are the No. 2 seed in the tournament. The Utes have a better overall record than the Lobos, but the tiebreaker came down to the No. 3 seed UNLV. Utah split the series against the Rebels and UNM swept the Rebels. UNM bumped the Utes out of the top 25 on Feb. 19.
If the championship was decided by statistics, the third-place UNLV Rebels would own it. UNLV brings to the table the leading scorer in the Mountain West, RanDee Henry, who is averaging 18.5 points per game. Henry is also the second-leading rebounder, averaging 8.2 points per game, following only Sherry McCracklin, also from UNLV.
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Colorado State was placed in the No. 4 spot and is a wildly unpredictable team. After losing to the likes of Wyoming and San Diego State, the Rams out rebounded UNM to win in Fort Collins and proved Saturday that they are capable of doing so.
Wyoming consistently starts out on fire, but then struggles in the second half. Kristen Lenhardt is the driving force behind the Cowgirls, and she has a pump-fake no one can read. If she can play two complete halves, the fifth-seeded Wyoming could likely upset everyone.
BYU is the sixth seed and one of the most physical teams in the conference. Their record of 5-9 is not necessarily indicative of their strength. Most of their conference losses were within five points.
The Aztecs are 3-11 in conference, and the No. 7 team has a pair of guards that can be dangerous. The only road game SDSU won was at Air Force. Although the team has shown potential, it is not likely to catch fire this late.
And finally there is the Air Force Falcons. They have won only three games this season and are still looking for their first conference win. That's about all there is to say about Air Force.
