March 8, 1999
By BRIAN MAHONEY
AP MegaSports Writer
A poor conference tournament left Missouri nervous that it had jeopardized its NCAA tournament berth. A good one left New Mexico confident it had finally wrapped its up.
Both teams got the bids, and the result is a first-round West Regional matchup Thursday in Denver between the eighth-seeded Tigers (20-10) and ninth-seeded Lobos (24-8).
Missouri finished second in the Big 12 conference during the regular season, seemingly locking up an at-large bid. But after an opening-round loss to Kansas State in the conference tournament, the Tigers worried they had damaged their chances.
The fears stayed with the Tigers as the announcement of three brackets before the West were shown.
"It was tough watching the three brackets unveiled and us not being shown - it was kind of nerve-racking," guard Brian Grawer said.
New Mexico had plenty to worry about after a suspect non-conference schedule and poor play on the road characterized its regular season. But the Lobos regrouped to reach the championship game of the Western Athletic Conference tournament, where they fell to Utah.
"We felt our finish down the stretch did it," coach Dave Bliss said of earning a bid. "I think the most rewarding wins were the ones in the (WAC) tournament because of how they (Lobos) did it."
They did it by fighting off injuries to star Kenny Thomas and fellow starter Brian Smith. Both were lost in the quarterfinals and did not play again.
"I think we played harder than we did all season," said Greg Davis, who start
ed in Thomas' place. Thomas, who averages 18.5 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, has a strained groin but is expected to play. If he does, it sets up what should be an exciting duel with Missouri forward Albert White, who averages 16.4 points and 8.5 boards.
The Tigers are back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1995, when they also played in the West Regional and suffered a heartbreaking 75-74 loss to eventual champion UCLA in the second round. Coach Norm Stewart is happy to be back.
"We worked hard all year and this is a great time of year in basketball," Stewart said.
The winner will await top-seeded Connecticut or No. 16 Texas-San Antonio in the second round.