Jan. 18, 2005
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The University of New Mexico continues its MWC road swing this week when it visits white-hot Utah Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is 1:05 p.m., Mountain Time from the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
The game will be shown live on ESPN+Plus with local availability on KRQE in Albuquerque. It will also be part of the ESPN Full Court package. The Lobos visit BYU Monday before returning home to face UNLV on Saturday, Jan. 29.
New Mexico is 14-3 overall and 1-1 in the MWC after a statistics-defying 64-62 loss at Air Force last Saturday. Playing without leading scorer and rebounder Danny Granger, the Lobos shot 69.2% (27-39) from the field and out-rebounded the Falcons 28-9. However, UNM was guilty of 23 turnovers that led to 31 Air Force points and, ultimately, its undoing.
The Lobos are hoping to have the services of Granger soon. The versatile 6-8 senior forward underwent arthroscopic surgery Jan. 10 to repair torn cartilage in his left knee. The injury occurred Jan. 8 during the first half of UNM’s 89-75 win over Wyoming.
New Mexico is facing one of the nation’s hottest teams Saturday afternoon. Utah has won 10 straight for an record of 15-3 and 3-0 in the MWC. The Utes blasted Wyoming 74-49 and Colorado State 75-52 on the road last week.
Utah’s last loss was at Arizona (67-62) on Dec. 11, and it’s average margin of victory during the winning streak is a mind-boggling 20.4 points. Only Illinois (18), Boston College (14), Kansas (13) and Duke (13) have longer current winning streaks through games of Jan. 17. More bad news for MWC teams? Utah has only one senior on its roster in guard Marc Jackson.
Utah finished 24-9 last year, losing to Boston College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Utes finished third in the regular season at 9-5, but captured the MWC postseason tournament in Denver. Taking over for Rick Majerus is Ray Giacolletti, who came to Salt Lake from Eastern Washington.
Sophomore forward Andrew Bogut is coming off a 25-point, 18-rebound performance at Colorado State. The 7-footer leads the nation in double-doubles (12) and is 2nd in rebounding (11.9 a game). Jackson is among the nation’s leaders in 3-point shooting, converting 55.2% (37-67) of his tries.
Saturday’s game will showcase two of the top shooting teams in the country. Through games of Monday, Jan. 17, the Lobos were No. 1 in FG accuracy at 52.5% while the Utes were third at 52.2%. Utah is also the 3rd-best rebounding team in the nation with a margin of +11.3. UNM is second in the MWC at +6.8.
Like most schools, the trip to the Wasatch has not been very successful for the University of New Mexico. The Lobos have made the trek 42 times since UNM, BYU and Utah joined the Western Athletic Conference in 1962-63. The results: one sweep in 1973; a split 17 times and losing both games on 24 occasions. That’s a record of 19-65. In fact, New Mexico has lost eight straight on this particular sojourn. The last win was 78-74 at BYU on Feb. 17, 2000.
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.
After dropping 29 consecutive games away from The Pit, UNM is gunning for its third road victory of the season. New Mexico is 2-2 on the road this year with wins at New Mexico State and Texas-Arlington and losses – by a combined six points – at Oregon and Air Force.
The Lobos are looking to stop a 20-game losing streak in regular-season conference road affairs, and it’s 23 in a row when you include the MWC Tournament the past three years. The last win was 70-64 at Colorado State on Jan. 28, 2002. It will be a huge challenge to cease the skid as Utah is 10-0 at home this year and 71-4 in conference games at the Huntsman Center the past 11 seasons.
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 10-20 in MWC games, 10-5 at home and 0-15 on the road.
McKay is 3-3 in his career vs. Utah, 2-2 while at New Mexico. He is 0-3 at the Huntsman Center, 0-2 as the Lobos’ coach. Ritchie McKay’s Oregon State team defeated Ray Giacoletti’s Eastern Washington squad 58-50 in Corvallis, Ore., on Dec. 19, 2000.
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.
ALMOST A 16-0 START – Had it not been for a couple of poor-shooting second halves, the Lobos could have started 16-0. 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 – Thanks to 69.2% shooting at Air Force, the Lobos lead the nation in FG percentage at 52.5% through games of Jan. 17
Through games of Sunday, Jan. 17, Danny Granger remains 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 (MWC) – 36th (NCAA)
Rebounds – 8.9 – 2nd (MWC) – T30th (NCAA)
Steals – 2.44 – 1st (MWC) – 33rd (NCAA)
Blocks – 2.31 – 2nd (MWC) – 32nd (NCAA)
FG% – 57.1 – 8th (MWC)
3-Pt. FG% – 54.2 – 2nd (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%) his past 4 games. His 3-point percentage is now a team-high 54.2% thanks to 9 of 11 accuracy (82%) in his last 3 games. He also has 12 blocks in his last 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).
The Lobos are 3-4 the past two seasons without Danny Granger, 25-13 when he is available. Granger became eligible on Dec. 21, 2003, after transferring from Bradley.
Senior G Troy DeVries ranks No. 1 at UNM for career 3-point FG accuracy at 45.2%…he has made 103 of 228 treys in his 39-game Lobo career…Willie Banks is 2nd at 44.1% (78-177)…DeVries currently ranks 1st in the MWC and 18th nationally at 45.8% for the season
New Mexico is 23-3 at home since Danny Granger and Troy DeVries joined the team on Dec. 21, 2003
Through games of Jan. 17, New Mexico leads the Mountain West Conference in scoring (81.8 ppg), FG% (52.5%), scoring margin (+16.4), 3-pt. FGs made (8.41) and assists (16.52)
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 11 of their 17 games this season, including 69.2% at Air Force on Jan. 15, tying for the 5th-best percentage in school history…UNM has eclpsed 60% five times this year
The past 5 games, UNM has shot 60.9% (154-253) from the field, including 47.9% (45-94) from 3-point
The past 2 games, the Lobos have shot 67% from the floor (33-49) in the first half, including 81% (13-16) at Air Force
New Mexico has led at halftime in 15 of 17 games this season, averaging an 11.1-point advantage at the break…the only time UNM has trailed was 36-33 to No. 5 Wake Forest and 36-31 at Air Force
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 470 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 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
AIR FORCE RECAP – Nick Welch scored 19 points and Air Force won its 22nd straight home game, beating New Mexico 64-62 despite grabbing just nine rebounds and allowing the Lobos to shoot nearly 70 percent.
Air Force couldn’t stop the Lobos from hitting shots and had trouble getting inside for rebounds, making up for it by harassing the Lobos into 23 turnovers – 16 on steals – that led to 31 points.
New Mexico shot a staggering 69 percent, had just three players – Troy DeVries, Mark Walters and Alfred Neale – miss shots, and had a 28-9 rebounding advantage. Even with the mistakes, New Mexico still had a chance at the end.
The Lobos got within three on DeVries’ layup two minutes into the second half, then went more than six minutes without a field goal as Air Force pushed the lead to 45-36. New Mexico got close again, fell behind by 10, then made a late 11-0 run, taking a 58-57 lead on Neale’s 3-pointer with 46 seconds left.
Air Force took the lead right back with 29 seconds left, when Welch powered inside for a three-point play that made it 60-58.
The Lobos never got a chance to get it back. Matt McCraw snared another sloppy crosscourt pass by the Lobos and hit two free throws with 21 seconds left to put the Falcons up four, then Welch hit two free throws after David Chiotti scored at the other end.
Chiotti led New Mexico with 17 points and Neale added 15.
Playing its first game without injured star Danny Granger, New Mexico set a torrid pace at the start, scoring from the post, the perimeter, everywhere. By the time they were done, the Lobos had hit 13-of-16 shots (81 percent) and had an 11-1 rebounding advantage. It still wasn’t good enough to give them the halftime lead.
Air Force took a different tact, working the ball around the perimeter and out of the high post, and was pretty effective, too. The Falcons shot 13-of-21 in the first half, including Tim Anderson’s four-point play with seven minutes left, and led by as much as 12. It wasn’t quite as good as New Mexico’s start, but Air Force made up for it with scrappy defense, scoring 20 points off 13 turnovers for a 36-31 halftime lead.
AIR FORCE POSTGAME NOTES – Despite tying for the 5th-best shooting game in school history, the Lobos had their 4-game winning streak end with a 64-62 loss at Air Force….New Mexico has dropped 4 straight to Air Force for the second time in the history of the series…AFA won the first four games between 1957-62…UNM has lost 5 straight to the Falcons at the Academy
The Lobos made 27 of 39 shots from the floor, which is 69.2%…that’s the best accuracy since UNM made 36 of 52 – also 69.2% – at BYU on Feb. 27, 1997
The Falcons shot 50% (22-44) meaning a streak comes to an end: New Mexico had won 30 consecutive games when shooting better than its opponent…the last loss was Jan. 4, 2003, at Tennessee when UNM shot 45% (18-40) to the Vols’ 43% (22-51)
Before the game, UNM had shot at least 67.9% from the field 10 times in school history, and was 10-0 in those games
Turnovers were the story…New Mexico committed 23, the 3rd-highest total of the season and the most since 25 miscues against Northern Arizona on Nov. 27…Air Force had a whopping 31-8 scoring edge in points off of turnovers, including 20-0 in the first half
Down 57-47 with less than six minutes remaining, the Lobos used an 11-0 run to take a 59-58 lead with 49 seconds left on a 3-pointer by Alfred Neale…it was UNM’s first lead since 8-6…the Falcons’ Nick Welch converted a conventional 3-point play for a 60-59 lead with 29.8 seconds to go…UNM committed its 23rd and final turnover on its next possession
Neale, making his first start of the season for the injured Granger, scored the Lobos’ first 8 points of the game and finished with 15 on 6-7 shooting from the field…that’s his best output since getting 15 points at Oregon on Nov. 22
Junior David Chiotti led UNM with 17 points, making all 8 of his FGs…it’s Chiotti’s best scoring since he had 18 in the season opener against North Carolina A&T
Junior G Mark Walters had 13 points, his most since 14 against Tennessee on Dec. 18
DAZZLING NUMBERS… – The Lobos are shooting 52.5% 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..the UNM record is 54.5% set in 1988-89
UNM is averaging 81.8 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 16.4 ppg…the school record is 14.6 set by the 1977-78 Lobos
Opponents are shooting just 41.6% on the season…UNM has allowed 43% accuracy or higher each of the past four seasons
New Mexico’s rebound margin of +6.8 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 are 12-1 in The Pit this year and have captured 24 of their past 27 at home.
SHOOT BETTER AND WIN…MOST OF THE TIME – The Lobos had won 30 straight games when shooting better than their opponent until the loss at Air Force on Jan. 15. The previous loss was at Tennessee on Jan. 4, 2003. UNM shot 45% (18-40) to the Vols’ 43% (22-51). New Mexico is 64-5 in such situations since 2000-01, 161-14 since the 1995-96 season.