Dec. 15, 2004
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It’s game three of a six-game homestand as the Tennessee Volunteers come to The Pit/Bob King Court Saturday evening for a non-conference game against a New Mexico team looking for its sixth straight win. Tipoff is 7:36 p.m. Mountain Time. There is no local television, but Comcast Sports Southeast will air the game in the southeastern part of the nation.
Off to its best start since the 2000-01 team began 10-1, New Mexico is 9-1 and has won five straight, equaling the longest run under head coach Ritchie McKay. UNM’s last six-game winning streak occurred in 2001-02 when Fran Fraschilla’s Lobos took eight straight between Dec. 1-Jan. 5. The longest winning streak in McKay’s coaching career is also eight games achieved when he was at Colorado State during the 1999-2000 season.
The Volunteers are 4-3 and have won two straight after dispatching Alabama State 71-45 Tuesday in Knoxville. ASU shot just 27% (16-59) from the floor, including 22% (7-31) from 3-point.
STREAKING
UNM has won its first eight home games for the first time since the 2000-01 season. The last streak of greater length to open a season was 16 in a row in 1998-99.
The Lobos have not won nine straight home games since a 12-game run four years ago: the last four games of 1999-2000 and the first eight of 2000-01.
New Mexico has won 13 consecutive non-conference games at home, the last loss being dealt by Texas Tech (67-58) a year ago.
PAYING RESPECTS
Funeral services for former UNM head basketball coach Bob King were held in The Pit on Wednesday. King passed away at an Albuquerque hospital last Friday at the age of 81.
Known as the “Architect of Lobo Basketball,” King came to UNM in 1962 and immediately put a buzz into the community. His teams’ successes led to sellout crowds at Johnson Gym, which, in turn, forced The Pit to be built in 1966. King posted a 175-89 record and never had a losing record in any of his 10 seasons. He led UNM to postseason play for the first time in school history with three NIT appearances and the school’s initial NCAA Tournament showing in 1968. The playing floor at The Pit was officially named Bob King Court in 1992.
New Mexico had a 418-495 record with no postseason appearances before King arrived. Since that time, UNM is 797-466, an average of nearly 19 wins per year. The Lobos have made 26 trips to the postseason during that span, including 10 appearances in the NCAA Tournament and 16 showings in the NIT. King, an Air Force veteran, will be buried at the National Cemetery in Santa Fe. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to:
Lobo Legacy – Bob King Family Endowment
UNM Foundation
MSC 07-4260
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
HEAD COACH Ritchie McKay
Ritchie McKay is in his third season in charge of Lobo hoops and his ninth year as a collegiate head coach. He was named UNM’s 18th head coach on March 28, 2002.
McKay had previous two-year stops at Portland State (1996-98), Colorado State (1998-2000) and Oregon State (2000-02). He has a career record of 116-122, 33-33 at New Mexico. McKay is 32-11 at home, 24-13 in non-conference games and 23-6 in non-league games at The Pit.
McKay is 0-1 against Tennessee and 1-3 against the SEC, the lone win coming against Mississippi State in his first season at Colorado State. The Rams won 69-56 in the first round of the postseason NIT in Fort Collins on March 10, 1999. The other losses have come against LSU and Ole Miss.
While at Mountain West Conference member Colorado State, McKay led the Rams to the NIT in 1999. McKay is the son of the late Joe McKay, who was a three-year letterman at guard for the Lobos from 1961-63.
UNM VS. TENNESSEE AND THE SEC
Tennessee has a 2-1 lead in the series. The last meeting was Jan. 4, 2003, in Knoxville, a 71-64 UT win. Ron Slay scored a career-high 38 points to lead the Vols. The 6-8, 240-pounder scored 19 of UT’s final 23 points, including a big 3-pointer with 1:27 left that gave Tennessee the lead for good. UNM scored just four free throws in the last 5:30 and was scoreless for the final 2:37, missing eight of its last nine shots from the floor.
The game featured 7 ties and 10 lead changes in the second half. A Ruben Douglas trey gave UNM a 56-52 lead with eight minutes left, but Slay answered with his own 3 to trim the Lobo lead to one. A Jamaal Williams bucket with 5:30 remaining put UNM up 60-59, however, that would be New Mexico’s last field goal.
UNM regained the lead at 64-62 when Douglas made two free throws, but Slay’s two charities tied the game at 64. Williams missed a jumper before Slay hit the back-breaking 3.
The only current Lobos to see action in that game were juniors Mark Walters, Jeff Hart and David Chiotti. The Vols also won 96-85 in overtime in Knoxville in December of 1989.
The only meeting between the two schools in The Pit was an 83-80 UNM win on Dec. 20, 1990. However, Tennesse did visit Albuquerque six years ago, falling to Arizona 73-72 in the BCA Classic on Nov. 12, 1998.
New Mexico has a 3-6 record against current members of the Southeastern Conference and all three wins have coome in The Pit. The Lobos are 1-0 vs. Georgia, 1-0 vs. Ole Miss, 0-1 vs. South Carolina, 1-2 vs. Tennessee and 0-3 against Vanderbilt.
Tennessee head coach Buzz Peterson brought his Appalachian State Mountaineers to The Pit in 1996 for the Comcast Lobo Invitational. ASU fell to Mississippi State (75-63) but defeated Bucknell (71-62) in the third-place game.
QUICK HITS
Through games of Tuesday, Dec. 13, the Lobos are 1st in the nation in field-goal percentage at 53%, 14th in scoring margin (+20.0), 15th in scoring offense (84.5 ppg) and 20th in rebound margin (+8.9).
The Lobos have shot 50% or better in seven of their 10 games this season, including a season-best 64.3% vs. New Mexico State Dec. 1.
New Mexico’s 9-1 start is the best since the 2000-01 team began 10-1.
New Mexico has led at halftime of every game this season, averaging a 11.8-point advantage at the break.
Ritchie McKay has used the same starting lineup in every game this season…he used nine different quintets last season and a whopping 16 sets in 2002-03
After averaging 19.5 points and 9.0 rebounds a year ago, All-America candidate Danny Granger is currently averaging a double-double with 18.7 ppg and a league-leading 10 rpg…he could become just the 3rd Lobo to average more than 19 points and 9 rebounds twice in a career, joining Mel Daniels (1966-67) and Willie Long (1970-71)…Granger also leads the MWC in steals (2.7 pg) and the Lobos in blocks (1.8 pg)
UNM’s narrowest margin of victory during the current five-game winning streak is 11 points, 81-70 over Northern Arizona…the average winning margin in those five games is 21.2 points
New Mexico has shot 54.2% (147-271) from the field in the five-game win streak while holding opponents to 40.6% (124-305)
The Lobos have shot 76% (76-100) from the FT line the past four games, raising the season percentage to 68.9%
A Lobo has led the MWC in scoring four of the five years the league has been in existence…Lamont Long won the crown in 1999-2000 at 18.7 ppg…after a one-year absence, Ruben Douglas captured consecutive titles in 2001-02 (18.1 ppg) and 2002-03 (28.0)…Danny Granger took the 2003-04 crown at 19.5 ppg
New Mexico’s 27-game road losing streak – 29 in a row including neutral sites – ended with an 84-66 victory at New Mexico State on Dec. 4
MORE ON THE VOLS
Tennessee is off to a 3-3 start with wins against Stanford in the Maui Invitational and to Wofford, Xavier and Alabama State at Knoxville. The Vols lost to North Carolina and Texas in Hawaii and fell at home to UT-Chattanooga.
The Volunteers return all five starters from last year’s team that went 15-14 and 7-9 in the East Division of the SEC. Tennessee lost at George Mason in the first round of the 2004 postseason NIT.
Senior guard Scooter McFadgon is one of four Volunteers scoring in double figures at 16 points a game. The Vols are shooting just under 46% from the floor, but nearly 42% from the 3-point line.
ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF RECAP
Danny Granger had 18 points and 12 rebounds and New Mexico held Arkansas-Pine Bluff to 18 points in the first half in a 77-53 win Sunday.
New Mexico (9-1) erased a 7-2 Arkansas-Pine Bluff lead with a 16-0 run over a four-minute stretch early in the game. The Lions had only five field goals in the first half and the 18 points were the fewest scored against New Mexico in the any half this season.
With five minutes left in the first half, the Golden Lions trailed 30-11. Arkansas-Pine Bluff took 20 more shots than New Mexico but hit just 21 of 69.
Junior David Chiotti is 4th in the MWC in FG%, shooting 60.7% from the floor. |
Troy DeVries scored 11 points for New Mexico, including a trio of 3-pointers that ran his total for the season to a team-high 25.
ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF POSTGAME NOTES
Ritchie McKay evened his record to 33-33 at New Mexico
The Golden Lions’ .304 field goal percentage is the lowest by a UNM opponent in nearly a year since Northwestern State hit 24.2% (15-62) of its shots in a 87-51 loss in The Pit on Dec. 28, 2003
Shooting 49% for the game, the Lobos converted less than 50% for just the second time this season and the first time in eight home games
The Lobos hit 23-28 from the FT line for a season-high percentage of .821
UA-PB’s 18 points at the break were the lowest by a UNM opponent in any half this year
Danny Granger notched his third straight double-double and sixth of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds in just 22 minutes…he has 5 double-doubles in his last 6 games
Lobo freshman forward Bambale Osby established career-highs with 7 points, 9 rebounds and 16 minutes off the bench
LEAGUE LEADERS
Through games of Dec. 13, New Mexico leads the Mountain West Conference in scoring (84.5 ppg), scoring margin (+20.0), rebounding margin (+8.9), FG% (53.0) and assist average (17.1).
IT’S EARLY BUT…
The Lobos are shooting 53% from the field, which would be the 2nd-best accuracy in school history…the single-season record is 54.5% set by the 1988-89 Lobos…New Mexico has shot better than 50% for an entire season only five times since 1950-51 when stats became official…only three teams – Oklahoma State, Gonzaga and Utah State – finished the 2003-04 season converting at least 50% of their attempts from the floor
UNM is averaging 84.5 points per game compared to just 69.6 ppg last year…the last team to average at least 80 for the season was the 1986-87 squad at 80.8 ppg
New Mexico is winning by an average margin of 20 ppg…the school record is 14.6 set by the 1977-78 Lobos
Opponents are shooting just 40.5% on the season…UNM has allowed 43% accuracy or higher each of the past four seasons
New Mexico’s rebound margin of +8.9 would be the 5th-best in the school record book…currently, the top-five margins were all set between 1962-67
DOMINATING AT HOME
The Lobos have won their first eight home games for the first time since the 2000-01 season when they took eight in a row. They have also captured 21 of their past 23 in The Pit. A few homecourt notes from 2004-05:
UNM’s average lead at halftime is 13.8 points (41.2 to 27.4)…the Lobos are averaging 85.8 ppg in The Pit while holding opponents to 62.5, a winning margin of 23.3 points
The Lobos are shooting a steamy 56% (235-420) from the floor, and have shot no lower than 49% in any home game to date…the 64.3% accuracy against New Mexico State Dec. 1 is UNM’s best since making 67.9% (36-53) at Air Force on Feb. 14, 1998
New Mexico’s 3-point accuracy is 43% (68-158)
UNM nailed a school-record 20 treys against Santa Clara, including 13 of 20 in the first half…to put that number in perspective, UNM made more than 13 in an entire game just three times last year..the previous standard for 3-point proficiency was 18 on two occasions: vs. Holy Cross on Dec. 29, 1997, and vs. UTEP on Feb. 19, 1998. Both games were played in The Pit
SHOOT BETTER AND WIN
The Lobos have won 25 straight games when shooting better than their opponent, including a perfect 12-0 in 2003-04. The last loss was at Tennessee on Jan. 4, 2003. UNM shot 45% (18-40) to the Vols’ 43% (22-51). The Lobos are 60-4 in such situations since 2000-01, 157-13 since the 1995-96 season.
HEALTH LEADS TO SUCCESS
An issue somewhat overlooked is that the 2004-05 Lobos are healthy. A year ago, Mark Walters was recuperating from a torn ACL that never fully healed until this past summer; certainly his play so far illuminates that fact. Danny Granger was bothered by a nagging shoulder injury that required surgery during the offseason. And, Alfred Neale played through a pair of painful hernia injuries last season that also prompted two surgeries after the season.
SEASON NO. 102
The 2004-05 season is the 102nd in school history. The Lobos first laced up the hightops on Feb. 2, 1900, when they lost 8-6 to the Albuquerque Guards. While this season is actually the 105th anniversary of that inaugural year, UNM did not field a team for various reasons in 1900-01, 1903-04, 1917-18 and 1920-21.
The Lobos have been on the hardwoods continuously since the 1921-22 season and have compiled an all-time record of 1,215-961 (.558). New Mexico was 418-495 (.458) from 1900-62, but has gone 797-466 (.630) over the past 42-plus seasons, an average of nearly 19 wins per year. The Lobos have made 26 trips to the postseason during that span, including 10 appearances in the NCAA Tournament and 16 showings in the NIT.
LOBOS PREDICTED FOR 4TH-PLACE FINISH IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST
New Mexico was picked to finish fourth in the 2004-05 Mountain West Conference race during the league’s preseason media gathering Oct. 24, in Denver. Voters were a combination of head coaches and media. It’s the highest predicted finish for the Lobos since they were selected to place second behind Utah in the inaugural MWC season of 1999-2000. UNM was picked to finish seventh each of the past two seasons.
GRANGER NAMED MWC’S TOP RETURNING PLAYER
The MWC head coaches and the media that cover the loop picked UNM senior forward Danny Granger as the league’s top returning player. The 6-8 All-America candidate led the conference in scoring last year, averaging 19.5 ppg. He also led UNM in rebounding (9.0 rpg), steals (29) and blocked shots (31).
PERSONNEL PICTURE
The Lobos return eight lettermen, including four starters, from last year’s team that finished 14-14. Sean Phaler, a redshirt last season, gives the Lobos nine players total returning from 2003-04. The biggest loss from a year ago is senior Javin Tindall. Tindall was second on the team in scoring (12.6 ppg) and 3-pt. FG% (41.9%). He led the team in assists (98) and FT% (83.1%) and tied a school record with nine 3-pt. FGs at UNLV. Returning starters include senior forwards Alfred Neale and Danny Granger, senior guard Troy DeVries and junior forward David Chiotti. Juniors Jeff Hart and Mark Walters, along with sophomores Ryan Wall and Kellen Walter are also back.
It’s still a young team as the only players with more than one year of experience at UNM are juniors Hart, Walters and Chiotti.
Lettermen not returning are 6-2 guard Ryan Ashcraft, 6-2 guard Lenny Miles, 6-2 guard Collins Ferris, 6-6 forward Mikal Monette and 6-8 forward Justin Benson. Ashcraft was a senior who graduated from UNM in May, while Miles, Ferris, Monette and Benson all transferred.
McKay and his staff welcome six new faces to the team in 2004-05, one junior college transfer (Kris Collins) and five freshmen (Tony Danridge, Blake Harden, Bambale Osby, Darren Prentice and Chad Toppert).
TRYING TO REVERSE SOME TRENDS
UNM has had four straight sub-.500 seasons in Mountain West Conference play, finishing 6-8 in both 2000-01 and 2001-02, 4-10 in 2002-03 and 5-9 last season. New Mexico had previously not had a losing record in league games since 1983. The Lobos have not had four straight losing seasons in conference play since 1980-83.
THE PIT
The 2004-05 season marks the 39th year of basketball in The Pit/Bob King Court, which was completed in December of 1966. UNM has an all-time mark of 544-132 (80%) in the building that resides 37 feet below street level. The Lobos have had a winning record in The Pit in 37 of their 38 years as tenants and tore off a school-record 41-game home winning streak from 1996-98. Since the beginning of the 1995-96 season, the Lobos are 145-30 (83%) at home.
POSTSEASON PERENNIALS
Although there has been void of postseason play in consecutive seasons for the first time in more than 20 years, UNM has appeared in the NCAA Tournament or NIT seven of the past nine years and 18 times in the last 21 seasons, dating to 1983-84. The Lobos participated in the NIT from 2000-02, advancing to the second round in 2000 and the quarterfinals in 2001. The Lobos have also made seven NCAA Tournament appearances since 1991, including a school-record four straight from 1996-99, moving to the second round each time.
Freshman Bambale Osby scored seven points and grabbed nine boards – both season-highs – against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. |
Before a first-round exit in the NIT in 2002, UNM had been one of just eight schools in the nation to win at least one postseason game (NCAA or NIT) from 1996-2001: Connecticut, Cincinnati, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, Purdue, Stanford and New Mexico.
NCAA TOURNAMENT RETURNS
UNM will again play host to men’s NCAA Tournament games when the 2005 Albquerque Regional comes to The Pit. New Mexico hosts two regional semifinal games on Thursday, March 24, and the final on Saturday, March 26. The winner advances to the Final Four in St. Louis. It’s the ninth time Albuquerque has hosted NCAA men’s action since 1968.
New Mexico is in a stretch where it is hosting NCAA competition for five consecutive years. The NCAA Men’s First and Second Rounds were here in 2002 followed by the women’s first and second rounds and the Midwest Regional in 2003 and the first and second rounds last season. The women’s West Regional will be here in March of 2006.
EARLY SIGNEES
The University of New Mexico inked four during the November signing period. They are Joel Box (F, 6-8, 250) from Rockford, Ill., and John Wood Community College in Quincy, Ill., Daniel Faris (C, 6-9, 225) from Albuquerque Eldorado High School, Justin Holt (G/F, 6-7, 205) from Tacoma, Wash., and Indian Hills (Iowa) CC and Anthony Teague (G, 6-5, 190) from Cleveland, Ohio, and Dodge City (Kan.) CC.
2003-04 REVIEW
The University of New Mexico finished its 101st season of men’s basketball with a 14-14 overall record, the 20th time in the past 21 years that UNM has posted a .500 record or better.
Sitting at 13-8 following an 87-75 win over Wyoming on Feb. 9, New Mexico lost six of its last seven contests to miss postseason play for the second straight year, something that hasn’t happened since a four-year drought between 1980-83.
The Lobos fell to UNLV 55-53 in the first round of the Mountain West Conference Tournament, a troubling loss since UNM led for all but 41 seconds. New Mexico was eliminated in the first round of the tournament for the third straight year and is just 2-5 in MWC Tournament play since 2000. Both wins came in 2001.
After going 10-18 in 2002-03, the Lobos avoided consecutive losing seasons for what would have been only the second time in more than four decades. New Mexico was 6-20 in 1979-80 and 11-15 in 1980-81. Prior to that skid was eight straight sub-.500 records between 1955-62. The Lobos have only had four losing campaigns since former head coach Bob King arrived in Albuquerque prior to the 1962-63 season.
The Lobos surpassed their 2002-03 win total by four games and their conference total by one (4-10). UNM finished 14-4 in The Pit, winning five of its last six and 12 of 14. New Mexico was 10-7 at home in 2002-03.
UNM tied San Diego State for fifth place in the MWC with a 5-9 mark. The Lobos were picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll. New Mexico suffered its fourth straight losing record in conference play for the first time since 1980-83.
UNM had a full roster the final 22 games – since Dec. 21, 2003 – when Danny Granger (Bradley) and Troy DeVries (Portland State) became eligible as mid-season transfers. UNM was 11-11 following their arrival, 11-2 in The Pit.
At 19.5 points a game, Granger led the MWC in scoring and was named first team all-Mountain West Conference. The transfer from Bradley joined Lamont Long (2000) and Ruben Douglas (2002 and `03) as Lobos who earned a spot on the first team since the league started in 1999-2000. A Lobo has now led the MWC in scoring four times in the past five years. Long averaged 18.7 ppg in 2000 while Douglas averaged 18.1 ppg in 2002 and a nation-leading 28.0 ppg in 2003.
Granger became just the second Lobo in the past 33 years to average more than 19 points and 9 rebounds for an entire season. Luc Longley (19.1 and 9.2) did so in 1991. Willie Long (23.9/12.9 in 1970 and 23.9/10.6 in `71) and Mel Daniels (21.2/10.3 in 1966 and 21.5/11.6 in `67) each did it twice, while Ira Harge was the first to accomplish the feat in 1963 (21.1 and 13.2).
Granger was fifth in rebounding (9.0) and was also ranked among the top-15 in six other categories for conference-only games: FG percentage, 3-point FGs made, assists, FT percentage, steals and blocks. He became the first Lobo since Kenny Thomas in 1997-98 to record four straight double-doubles in one season.
DeVries averaged 10.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists, including 12 dishes against Coppin State, the best total by a Lobo in 12 years. He shot 44.6% (54-121) from 3-point, the sixth-best single-season accuracy in Lobo history. DeVries was third in the MWC with an average of 2.45 treys a game.