Jan. 12, 2005
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The University of New Mexico hits the Mountain West Conference road for the first time Saturday when it visits defending conference champion Air Force. Tipoff is 4 p.m., Mountain Time from Clune Arena at the United States Air Force Academy.
KRQE in Albuquerque will televise the game on a delayed basis immediately following the conclusion of the Pittsburgh-New York Jets NFL playoff game, which starts at 2:30. The Lobo telecast will probably start around 6 p.m.
New Mexico is now 14-2 overall and 1-0 in the MWC following a hard-earned 89-75 decision over Wyoming. It continues to be the best start for a Ritchie McKay-coached team and the Lobos’ best beginning since streaking to a 16-2 record in 1998-99. UNM has not started 2-0 in league play since 2001-02.
The Lobos will probably be without the services of All-America candidate Danny Granger for Saturday’s game. The versatile 6-8 senior forward underwent minor arthroscopic surgery Monday to repair torn cartilage in his left knee. The injury occurred during the first half of last Saturday’s win over Wyoming. He could return for the Utah-BYU trip next week.
Senior Alfred Neale is expected to take Granger’s spot in the starting lineup. Neale started 25 games a year ago. Saturday will mark the first disruption of a starting lineup that has been intact for UNM’s first 16 games.
New Mexico has equaled last year’s win total of 14. The Lobos’ 14th and final win came on Feb. 28 in their 25th game of the year, 72-60 against San Diego State in The Pit.
UNM is in a relatively slow stretch as it is playing just two games in 13 days. After Air Force, New Mexico continues on the road next week with contests at Utah and BYU. The next home series starts Jan. 29 when UNLV visits the Duke City.
After dropping 29 consecutive games away from The Pit, UNM is gunning for its third straight road victory. That has not happened since the 2000-01 season when the Lobos won at New Mexico State and Gonzaga in overtime, and at San Diego State. New Mexico is 2-1 on the road this year with wins at New Mexico State and Texas-Arlington.
The Lobos, however, are looking to halt a 19-game losing streak in conference road affairs. The last win was 70-64 at Colorado State on Jan. 28, 2002. It will be a big challenge Saturday as Air Force has won 21 straight home games, the nation’s 4th-longest active streak.
The reigning league champion Falcons are 10-6 overall after a 59-58 loss at St. Mary’s (Calif.) Tuesday night. Air Force is 1-0 in the MWC, nipping Colorado State 58-53 last Saturday at the Academy.
Saturday’s game matches the league’s top scoring team against the nation’s best defensive unit. UNM is averaging 83 points a game and has been held to less than 70 points only twice. Air Force leads the NCAA in scoring defense at 51.7 ppg. The Falcons have yielded more than 70 points only once this year, that coming in a 73-63 loss at Iowa.
The game also pits the league’s top 3-point shooting teams. The Lobos are 1st in the MWC, making 138 in 16 games, an average of 8.6. Air Force has hit 133 in 16 outings, or 8.3 a game. The Falcons are 2nd in the nation in fewest turnovers, committing just 9.4 a game. Consequently, they have a huge edge in turnover margin at +6.9 a game as their opponents have been guilty of 16.3 a game.
The Falcons start just one senior in guard Tim Keller, who is averaging 7.7 points a game. Chris Mooney (Princeton `94) is in his first season as head coach, taking over for Joe Scott, who is now the head man at Princeton.
The Falcons finished 22-7 last year and, despite being picked to finish last among eight schools, won the MWC regular-season crown at 12-2. They lost to North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Junior C Tim Welch shared MWC Player of the Year honors with BYU’s Rafael Araujo.
POLL WATCHING – UNM received 13 points – up from eight – in the latest USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ poll released on Monday. That’s good for the 30th position. In the AP rankings, the Lobos got eight points, tying North Carolina State and Ohio State for the 39th spot. New Mexico is the only MWC school to receive votes in either poll.
UNM has not been ranked in six years. The Lobos were No. 25 entering the 1999 NCAA Tournament. They beat Missouri in the first round before losing to eventual national champion Connecticut in round two.
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 121-123, 38-34 at New Mexico. While at UNM, McKay is 36-12 at home, 28-14 in non-conference games and 26-7 in non-league games at The Pit. He is 10-19 in MWC games, 10-5 at home and 0-14 on the road.
McKay is 5-3 in his career vs. Air Force, 1-3 while at New Mexico. He is 2-2 at the Academy, 0-2 as the Lobos’ coach.
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.
TWO BAD HALVES FROM BEING 16-0 – Had it not been for a couple of poor-shooting second halves, the Lobos could be among the nation’s unbeaten teams. On Nov. 22 at Oregon, UNM led 43-41 at halftime. The Lobos trailed by nine twice in the second half, but made it a 2-point game with 16 seconds remaining before falling 79-75. New Mexico hung around despite shooting just 26% (8-31) after halftime, including 22% (4-18) from 3-point.
The Lobos were held to 32.8% accuracy (20-61) by No. 5 Wake Forest in The Pit on Dec. 22, but it was a 4-point game with 11:39 remaining and UNM trailed by just seven at the 8:23 mark. The Demon Deacons eventually won 81-64 to halt UNM’s 6-game winning streak.
QUICK HITS – Through games of Tuesday, Jan. 11, Danny Granger is the only player in NCAA Div. I basketball who is averaging at least 19 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks and 1.8 assists a game…here’s how Granger ranks in the conference and nationally:
Points – 19.1 – 2nd in MWC – 33rd in NCAA
Rebounds – 8.9 – 2nd in MWC – 34th in NCAA
Steals – 2.44 – 1st in MWC – 43rd in NCAA
Blocks – 2.31 – 2nd in MWC – 34th in NCAA
FG% – 57.1 – 8th in MWC – 47th in NCAA
3-Pt. FG% – 54.2 – 2nd in MWC
Interestingly, of the top-40 players in the nation in steals, Granger is the tallest at 6-8. Granger has increased his shooting percentage to 57.1% by converting 26 of 38 shots (68.4%) the past 4 games. His 3-point percentage is now a team-high 54.2% thanks to 9 of 11 accuracy (81.8%) the past 4 games. He also has 12 blocks in the past 3 contests and ranks 10th all-time at UNM with 68.
After averaging 19.5 points and 9.0 rebounds a year ago, Granger is attempting to become just the third Lobo to average more than 19 points and 9 rebounds twice in a career, joining Mel Daniels (1966-67) and Willie Long (1970-71).
Senior G Troy DeVries ranks No. 1 at UNM for career 3-point FG accuracy at 45.1%…he has made 102 of 226 treys in his 38-game Lobo career…Willie Banks is 2nd at 44.1% (78-177)
New Mexico is 23-3 at home since Danny Granger and Troy DeVries joined the team on Dec. 21, 2003
Through games of Jan. 11, New Mexico leads the Mountain West Conference in scoring (83.0 ppg), scoring margin (+17.5), 3-pt. FGs made (8.63) and assists (16.81)
The six-game winning streak from Nov. 27-Dec. 18 is the longest for a Ritchie McKay-coached team and the best by New Mexico since it captured eight straight during the 2001-02 season
The Lobos have shot 50% or better in 10 of their 16 games this season, including a season-best 64.3% vs. New Mexico State Dec. 1…UNM has eclpsed 60% four times
The past 4 games, UNM has shot 54.7% (117-214) from the field, including 46.5% (40-86) from 3-point
New Mexico has led at halftime in 15 of 16 games this season, averaging an 12.1-point advantage at the break…the only time UNM has trailed was 36-33 to No. 5 Wake Forest
Head coach Ritchie McKay used the same starting lineup in the first 16 games of the season…that’s quite a change from his first two Lobo teams as he used nine different quintets last season and a whopping 16 sets in 2002-03…the last time New Mexico employed the same five starters for more than 20 games was 2000-01 when Eric Chatfield, Ruben Douglas, Marlon Parmer, Brian Smith and Wayland White drew the nod 22 times
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
New Mexico has limited opponents to 60 points or less seven times this season…they did so only nine times all of last year and on only six occasions in 2002-03
UNM has made a 3-point basket in 469 straight games, the 12th-longest active streak in NCAA Div. I hoops…UNLV is 1st at more than 580
A Lobo has led the MWC in scoring four of the first 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…after the win at UT-Arlington, the Lobos have now registered back-to-back road victories for the first time since taking three straight in 2000-01
The Lobos saw three winning streaks come to an end in the 81-64 setback to No. 5 Wake Forest on Dec. 22: six straight wins overall, nine straight at home and 14 consecutive non-conference victories at The Pit
WYOMING RECAP – Troy DeVries’ 15 points led six New Mexico players in double figures and the Lobos, with leading scorer and rebounder Danny Granger out with a knee injury, beat Wyoming 89-75 last Saturday night.
New Mexico dominated the Cowboys in the first half, when Granger led a torrid shooting effort by the Lobos during which they hit 16 of their first 21.
UNM led 39-19 when Granger – averaging 19.5 points and 9.4 rebounds a game – went out with 6:27 left in the first half. He didn’t play the rest of the game, but New Mexico was able to withstand a brief second half rally by the Cowboys.
Moments after Granger went to the locker room, the Lobos extended their lead to 47-23. But with Granger out, Wyoming picked up some momentum and started cutting into the deficit.
The Cowboys closed the first half with an 8-2 run, then outscored the Lobos 12-2 in the first five minutes of the second half. A 14-foot jumper by Jay Straight, who led the Cowboys with 20 points and a short jumper inside by Alex Dunn got Wyoming within 51-43 with 15:11 left. That was as close as the Cowboys would come.
Lobo center David Chiotti hit a free throw and after Dunn made one of two free throws, New Mexico scored eight straight points. True freshman Tony Danridge hit a pair of field goals, Alfred Neale banked in a shot and DeVries scored off the board in traffic for a 60-44 lead with 10:45 left. Another 8-0 run late in the game rebuilt New Mexico’s lead to 72-51 with 5:14 to go.
Neale, playing in place of Granger, finished with 11 points, while Danridge matched his season-high with 10 points. Kris Collins added 13 points and Chiotti had 14. Granger scored 12 points and had 3 blocks in the 12 minutes he played.
WYOMING POSTGAME NOTES – The Lobos improve to 12-1 at home for the season…UNM has won 24 of its last 27 games at The Pit
UNM snapped its two-year losing streak in MWC openers…the Lobos are now 4-2 all-time in MWC openers and 4-2 in home MWC openers
After a 5 of 12 start from the line, the Lobos made 16 of their last 17 free throws
The Lobos had six players score in double figures for the first time since Dec. 30, 2000, vs. Drexel…the Lobos won that game, 93-60…UNM had five players score in double figures earlier this season against Tennessee and Duquesne
True freshman wing Tony Danridge tied a season high with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor…the five FGs were a season-high…the past 2 games, Danridge has scored 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting from the field in just 25 minutes
Junior C David Chiotti was 8-of-9 from the FT line, establishing a season high for made free throws…he made his last 8 attempts…Chiotti was 3-of-6 from the field and finished with 14 points despite playing only 18 minutes due to foul trouble
Senior Troy DeVries netted a team-high 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-4 from 3-point…he tied his collegiate high with four steals, matched when he was at Portland State
Junior Kris Collins scored 13 points…it was his fifth game scoring double figures, but first in 9 games…he scored 10 points in the first half on 4-of-7 shooting.
The Lobos dominated the first half, leading 49-31 at the break… UNM shot 61% from the floor (20-33) for the half as it made 9 of its first 11 field-goal attempts and 16 of 21…UNM led by as many as 24 points (47-23) at the 3:32 mark
The Lobos were outrebounded for only the 4th time this season as the Cowboys had a 40-31 advantage
IT’S ONLY HALFWAY BUT… – The Lobos are shooting 51.8% from the field…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 83 points per game compared to just 69.6 ppg last year…the last Lobo 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 17.5 ppg…the school record is 14.6 set by the 1977-78 Lobos
Opponents are shooting just 41.2% on the season…UNM has allowed 43% accuracy or higher each of the past four seasons
New Mexico’s rebound margin of +6.1 would be the 6th-best in the school record book…currently, the top-five margins were all set between 1962-67
DOMINATING AT HOME – Before the loss to Wake Forest, the Lobos had won their first nine home games for the first time since the 1998-99 season when they took 16 in a row. They have captured 24 of their past 27 in The Pit.
SHOOT BETTER AND WIN – The Lobos have won 30 straight games when shooting better than their opponent. The last loss was at Tennessee on Jan. 4, 2003. UNM shot 45% (18-40) to the Vols’ 43% (22-51). New Mexico is 64-4 in such situations since 2000-01, 161-13 since the 1995-96 season.
HEALTH LEADS TO SUCCESS – An issue somewhat overlooked is that the 2004-05 Lobos are healthy, Danny Granger’s Jan. 10 knee surgery notwithstanding. 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. 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.