LAS VEGAS, Nev. — New Mexico fans planning to track the Lobos in the NCAA Tournament might want to get it cleared through their cardiologist.

These No. 8 ranked Lobos are good enough to set a school record with 29 wins and counting. They've won 15 straight, haven't lost since the dead of winter and are within a win of tying the UNLV Rebels of three seasons ago for the most wins in Mountain West Conference history.

As head coach Steve Alford noted, they've set just about every school record worth mentioning.

But the impressive résumé has been built on one cliffhanger win after another. They've developed a propensity for photo finishes and Thursday's 75-69 victory over Air Force, the lowest seeded team in the MWC tourney, was no different.

They are now 12-0 in games decided by six points or less.

New Mexico never came close to covering the 17-point spread by which they were favored and the six-point margin wasn't indicative of how much trouble the Falcons gave New Mexico.

It's a good bet that the casinos on The Strip cleaned up on the overzealous Lobo fans who have packed into town to root them on and tried to make a quick score by betting the Lobos.

The nerve-shattering pattern has run the course of the season. They beat San Diego (82-78) and Texas A&M (84-81) on the road in early December and have been living on the edge ever since.

"They are very poised and they believe they are going to win," is how Alford explains the Lobos' ability to consistently dodge a loss.

Air Force head coach Jeff Reynolds, whose team nearly upset the Lobos last month in The Pit in a 59-56 loss, said New Mexico simply has too many weapons and too many athletes.

"I've been in the league five years and they may be the most versatile team I've seen," said Reynolds. "They can score in a number of ways."

Early on Thursday, it appeared the Lobos were going to ride their 3-point shooting to victory. Senior Roman Martinez connected on back-to-back 3s in the game's first two minutes and guard Phillip McDonald added another 3 as the Lobos built a 12-4 lead.

But once the 3s stopped falling, the Falcons dug out of that early hole and gave the Lobos fits the rest of the afternoon with their milk-the-shot-clock offense and backdoor cuts.

New Mexico, apparently confident they couldn't lose to a team that finished 10-21, kept firing away from long range. Ten of the Lobos' first 15 shots were 3-pointers, but after the early barrage by Martinez and McDonald, the Lobos would hit just 3 of 18 from behind the arc.

Air Force used a 9-0 run to take it's only lead of the game (13-12) and Alford and his staff apparently decided it was time to go with higher percentage shots. Like in golf, it may be 20-foot putts that get the gallery roaring, but it's the ability to make 3- and 4-footers that get you on the leaderboard on Sunday afternoons.

Point guard Dairese Gary and Mountain West Conference Player of The Year Darington Hobson did just that for the Lobos on Thursday.

They sparked a 13-3 New Mexico run that included a short jumper inside by Hobson, a coast-to-coast 3-point-play by Gary off a block by center Will Brown, a pair of Hobson free throws and another layup by Gary off a steal.

"They make the game easy," said Martinez, who's 3-for-12 shooting became irrelevant. "They have the ability to take over games. They've shown that they can take us over the edge that we've had most of the season."

Hobson and Gary combined to hit 23 of 26 free throws. That was the product of their ability to beat the slower Falcons to the basket every time the Lobos needed a basket or free throws. Hobson's 15 rebounds tied him with former Lobo and current Indiana Pacer Danny Granger for the most double-doubles in a season with 13.

Thousands of Lobo fans have come to Las Vegas and the Falcons said they again were a factor.

"If you look back on our game at The Pit, we were very poised," said Falcons forward Tom Fow. "New Mexico, they brought The Pit to the conference tournament."