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Saturday, February 27
Salt Lake City, Utah
2:00 PM
University of Utah
77
vs
47
New Mexico
No. 12 Utah Cruises Past No. 21 New Mexico
6/21/1999 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
February 27, 1999
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Utah scored the first 14 points while shutting out No. 21 New Mexico for nearly nine minutes, and the 12th-ranked Runnin' Utes breezed to their school-record 19th straight victory, 77-47 Saturday.
Utah (24-4, 14-0 Western Athletic Conference) became just the second team in WAC history to finish its conference season undefeated. The Utes also stretched their homecourt winning streak to a school-record 35.
The showdown between the WAC's two ranked teams was lopsided from the start as New Mexico failed to score on its first 13 possessions. Hanno Mottola scored nine of Utah's first 11 points, and Alex Jensen's layup gave the Utes a 20-2 lead in less than 11 minutes.
Utah led 38-16 at halftime, and the Lobos were never closer than 22 points again. The Utes' demolition of their longtime rivals continued in the second half as they scored 15 straight points and shut out the Lobos for 6:32 to take a 70-29 lead with 7:48 to play.
Andre Miller's final home game was one to remember. The senior guard, honored both before and after the game, had 14 points. When he left the game with 5:30 to play and the Utes up 72-33, the sellout crowd at the Huntsman Center stood and cheered for two full minutes.
After the game, Utah fans stormed the floor and the Utes raised Miller on their shoulders before cutting down the net in celebration of the school's fifth straight WAC title. Miller and Utah coach Rick Majerus cut the final strands.
With the victory, Utah bested its 18 straight wins to start the 1997-98 season. The Runnin' Utes haven't lost since Dec. 12 and have beaten the Lobos 10 straight times at home.
Mottola led the Utes with 20 points, while Jensen matched Miller's 14 points. Kenny Thomas had 16 points to lead the Lobos, and Lamont Long added nine.
The Lobos (22-7, 9-5 WAC) had their five-game winning streak snapped in humiliating fashion. New Mexico's dismal effort in its final game of the regular season won't impress the NCAA Tournament selection committee.
The Lobos, whose strength-of-schedule rating is well out of the top 50, may have to win next week's WAC Tournament in Las Vegas to advance to the NCAAs. Utah fans began chanting "N-I-T!" in the final minutes of the game.
The Utes will be the Pacific Division's top seed in the conference tournament, while New Mexico was locked into the second seed before the game.
Jensen left the game early in the second half after an accidental Lobos elbow opened a large cut on his forehead. But he returned three minutes and several stitches later, and he tipped in a rebound with 12:24 to play that gave the Utes a 61-29 lead.
The game was the 100th meeting between the two schools, both of which will leave the WAC to help form the Mountain West Conference next year. Utah leads the rivalry 65-35.
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