NM, Utah State meet in MWC quarters

No. 7 seed New Mexico (14-17, 8-11) vs. No. 2 seed Utah State (25-6, 15-3)

Mountain West Conference Tournament Quarterfinals, Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: New Mexico and Utah State are prepared to match up in the MWC tourney quarterfinals. Utah State swept the two-game regular season series. The teams last played each other on Feb. 20, when the Aggies forced 18 New Mexico turnovers and turned the ball over just eight times en route to a 16-point victory.

SUPER SENIORS: New Mexico’s Vance Jackson, Carlton Bragg and Anthony Mathis have collectively accounted for 46 percent of the team’s scoring this season, including 52 percent of all Lobos points over the last five games.

JUMPING FOR JACKSON: Jackson has connected on 32.3 percent of the 164 3-pointers he’s attempted and has gone 6 for 20 over his last three games. He’s also converted 64.7 percent of his foul shots this season.

PERFECT WHEN: New Mexico is a perfect 5-0 when the team blocks at least six opposing shots. The Lobos are 9-17 this season when they block fewer than six shots.

ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Lobos have recently created baskets via assists more often than the Aggies. Utah State has 49 assists on 90 field goals (54.4 percent) over its past three outings while New Mexico has assists on 45 of 71 field goals (63.4 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: Utah State is ranked second among MWC teams with an average of 79.1 points per game. The Aggies have averaged 83.7 points per game over their last three games.