Utes might rather finish 4th or 5th than 3rd

The Utah men’s basketball team looks like its headed for the 4 vs. 5 matchup in the Mountain West Conference Tournament next month. The Utes are a game and a half out of the No. 3 spot and a game and a half out of the No. 6 spot. There are certainly plenty of games left to be played, but unless some dramatic things happen, like the Utes winning all five remaining games or losing their two home games, they’re likely to finish in 4th or 5th place.
That would probably be better than finishing in 3rd since it looks like UNLV is going to end up in 2nd place. Although you probably have to beat the Rebels eventually, the longer you can put off playing the Rebels the better. After twice losing to BYU in the final minute or two, that looks like a much better proposition for a possible semifinal game than one with the Rebels. Of course, they first have to worry about their first-round opponent, most likely San Diego State at the moment.
That brings us to today’s game against New Mexico. If the Utes win, they’ll pull within a half game of the Lobos at 7-5.
However, the Utes have three road games remaining and just one home game, while the Lobos have only one road game — a likely win at Colorado State — and two home games against the first and second-place teams, BYU and UNLV.
So even with a win, the Utes aren’t likely to jump past the Lobos in the standings over the next couple of weeks. However, a loss could make them having to start looking over their shoulders at TCU and Air Force, who are 5-7, each with two home games and two road games remaining.