Steve Alford is in First Place - and Screaming at Midcourt

They take college basketball seriously at New Mexico and Utah.

New Mexico Coach Steve Alford, a person with whom Iowa Hawkeyes fans are familiar, had a little to-do with Utah Coach Jim Boylen Tuesday night in Albuquerque.

From the Salt Lake Tribune: http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_11831091?source=rss

New Mexico's Steve Alford had to be restrained by his assistant coaches, screaming as furiously at midcourt as he was at Utah's Jim Boylen. Boylen, meanwhile, shouted back, and gestured menacingly with his finger for Alford to come over to his side of the floor.

"He's competitive, I'm competitive," Alford agreed. "We're all trying to win a league championship. I think he's out on the floor; he thinks I'm out on the floor. He thinks I'm nuts; I think he's nuts. That's just being competitive. It's all part of the game, and it's all fun. His staff's holding him back, and my staff's holding me back, so it all turned out well."

On the same night Iowa was going down to its 13th Big Ten loss in 17 games with some of the remnants of what Alford left behind in Iowa City, his Lobos beat Utah 77-71 to tie the Utes for first place in the Mountain West Conference at 11-4.

Both teams have one MWC games left, and Brigham Young, 10-4, is also in the title mix.

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