Feb. 20, 2005
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New Mexico closes a three-game homestand Monday evening by entertaining one of the hottest teams in college basketball. The Utah Utes – winners of 18 straight – come to The Pit/Bob King Court for a contest slated to tipoff at 7:07 p.m., Mountain Time. KASY-TV in Albuquerque will pick up the feed from Salt Lake City-based KJZZ and air it on a delayed basis beginning at 10 p.m. The game will also be available on the ESPN Full Court package (Channel 782 on DirecTV).
A total of 21 professional scouts representing 18 different organizations have requested credentials.
UNM shot lights out in a 91-72 pounding of BYU on Saturday, making 62% of their attempts from the floor, including 68.4% (13-19) from beyond the arc. The Lobos have won five of their past six and are now 19-6 overall, the highest win total since the 2000-01 team finished 21-13 under Fran Fraschilla.
With both Wyoming and Air Force losing Saturday, UNM is now tied with the Falcons for second place in the Mountain West Conference at 6-4. The Cowboys are 6-5. Air Force hosts BYU Monday while Wyoming welcomes San Diego State.
Riding that winning streak and a No. 14 national ranking in the most recent AP poll, Utah is 23-3 overall after a 65-56 victory at Air Force Saturday, snapping the Falcons’ 24-game homecourt winning streak. The triumph clinched the MWC regular-season title for Utah.
Picked to finish second behind UNLV in the MWC preseason poll, the Utes are a perfect 11-0 in MWC play. Their last loss was Dec. 11 at Arizona (67-62).
Utah is currently 2nd in the nation in FG percentage (52.8), 3rd in rebound margin (+10.7) and 6th in scoring defense (56.5 ppg), all categories that provide solid evidence of a fantastic season.
By contrast, the Lobos lead the league in scoring offense (77.2 ppg), are 9th nationally in FG accuracy (49.9%) and among the nation’s leaders in 3-pointers made (8.3 a game) and 3-point accuracy (39.5%).
In dominating the conference, the Utes are allowing just 52.9 points and have a rebound margin of +11.8 in league games only. They are shooting 53.5% from the field, almost 75% from the FT line and are winning by a hearty margin of 14.5 points in an unblemished conference season.
Sophomore Andrew Bogut is having a monster year, and he has been unworldly the past few games. The 7-foot Aussie leads the MWC in scoring (20.6 ppg), is the nation’s top rebounder (11.8 rpg) and is No. 2 in the nation in FG percentage at 65.1%.
The past three games, Bogut has scored 87 points (29 ppg), making 28-42 FGs (67%) and 31-39 FTs, plus 38 rebounds, 8 assists and 8 blocks. He’s only missed four minutes in the past three contests and has played the entire 40 minutes five times this year.
In the Lobos’ 69-58 loss at Utah on Jan. 22, senior All-America candidate Danny Granger was sidelined with his well-documented knee injury.
Granger was hurt in the first half of the Wyoming game on Jan. 8 and had surgery two days later. He missed three games between Jan. 15-24. UNM has won five of six since his return on Jan. 29.
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The first 10,000 fans will receive a Danny Granger All-America poster, courtesy of Pepsi. The Zooperstars will perform at halftime. Game sponsors include Pepsi, UPN-50 and Coyote 102.5 FM. |
How important is Granger to UNM? The Lobos are 19-3 when he plays (6-1 in MWC games), the only losses coming at Oregon, at home to 5th-ranked Wake Forest and at Wyoming. However, New Mexico is 0-3 when he is out of the lineup, all those being league contests on the road.
After dropping 29 consecutive games away from The Pit, UNM is 3-5 on the road this year with wins at New Mexico State, Texas-Arlington and Colorado State. The setbacks have come at Oregon, Air Force, Utah, BYU and Wyoming.
PROMOTIONS & SPONSORS – The first 10,000 fans will receive a Danny Granger All-America poster, courtesy of Pepsi. The Zooperstars will perform at halftime. Game sponsors include Pepsi, UPN-50 and Coyote 102.5 FM.
A WIN OVER UTAH WOULD GIVE NEW MEXICO:
Its third straight win overall and sixth victory in its last seven games
Its third straight win over the Utes in Albuquerque
Its seventh conference win, the most since finishing 9-5 in 1999-2000, the first year of the Mountain West Conference
The 20th win on the season, UNM reaching that plateau for the 20th time in school history, but first since 2000-01 (21-13)…all of the Lobos’ 20-win campaigns have come since 1963-64, however, 14 have occurred in the past 22 seasons, since 1983-84
A 17-1 record in The Pit this year with the only loss coming against nationally-ranked Wake Forest…the 17 home wins would be the most since the 1998-99 team finished 19-1…the Lobos captured 28 of their past 31 at Bob King Court
Head coach Ritchie McKay the highest season win total of his nine-year coaching career…he was 19-11 at Colorado State in 1998-99
LOBOS VS. NATIONALLY-RANKED UTAH TEAMS – This will be the 31st time the Lobos have faced a nationally-ranked Utah team. UNM is 9-21 in the previous 30 games, but has captured five of the past six meetings in The Pit since taking the 1996 Western Athletic Conference Tournament title. A look at the Lobos vs. ranked Utah teams in Albuquerque since the 1990-91 season. Parenthesis indicate ranking at the time:
Feb. 2, 1991 New Mexico 68, (13) Utah 62
March 4, 1993 New Mexico 69, (9) Utah 59
March 10, 1995 (22) Utah 86, New Mexico 50 – WAC Tournament semis
Jan. 27, 1996 (10) Utah 82, New Mexico 64
March 9, 1996 New Mexico 64, (10) Utah 60 – WAC Tournament title game
Feb. 1, 1997 (13) New Mexico 87, (4) Utah 71
Feb. 1, 1998 (14) New Mexico 77, (3) Utah 74 – Royce Olney’s shot wins it – Utah came in 18-0
Feb. 1, 1999 (20) Utah 57, (17) New Mexico 39
Feb. 19, 2000 New Mexico 72, (21) Utah 65
March 1, 2003 New Mexico 76, (22) Utah 69
UNM VS. RANKED TEAMS – New Mexico has a 47-108 all-time record against ranked opponents, including an 81-64 setback to No. 5 Wake Forest on Dec. 22. The record breaks down to 34-49 at home (32-28 at The Pit), 10-51 on the road and 3-8 on neutral floors.
The Lobos are 1-5 in their last six tries against ranked foes, the lone win 76-69 over 22nd-ranked Utah in The Pit on March 1, 2003.
UNM is 3-6 in its last nine games against ranked opposition. Included in that total is a 70-68 triumph at No. 2 Arizona on Dec. 21, 1999, halting the Wildcats’ 37-game homecourt winning streak.
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 126-127, 43-38 at New Mexico. While at UNM, McKay is 40-12 at home, 28-14 in non-conference games and 26-7 in non-league games at The Pit. He is 15-23 in MWC games, 14-5 at home and 1-18 on the road.
McKay is 3-4 in his career vs. Utah, 2-3 while at New Mexico. He is 2-0 at Albuquerque.
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.
THE INJURY LOG – New Mexico got off to a 14-2 start with all team members healthy. Danny Granger went down with a knee injury Jan. 8 against Wyoming and the Lobos lost their next three games. At BYU on Jan. 24, already minus Granger, starting post David Chiotti missed the final 26 minutes of the game with a hip flexor. Then, on Jan. 26, starting point guard Kris Collins broke his right foot in practice and is likely lost for the season.
MORE ON GRANGER – Danny Granger continues to be the only player in NCAA Div. I basketball who is averaging at least 18 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks and 2 assists a game…here’s how Granger ranks in the conference and nationally through Feb. 19:
Scoring – 18.4 – 2nd (MWC) – 46th (NCAA)
Rebounds – 9.0 – 2nd (MWC) – 26th (NCAA)
Steals – 2.27 – 1st (MWC) – 42nd (NCAA)
Blocks – 2.14 – 2nd (MWC) – T34th (NCAA)
FG% – 53.1 – 9th (MWC)
3-Pt. FG% – 47.2 – 3rd (MWC)
Assists – 2.36 – 14th (MWC)
Surprisingly, of the top-40 players in the nation in steals, Granger is the tallest at 6-8.
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 3-6 the past two seasons without Danny Granger, 30-14 when he is available. Granger became eligible on Dec. 21, 2003, after transferring from Bradley.
Granger is on the “Watch List” for the 2005 Creamland Dairies Collegiate Basketball Award of Excellence, which honors college seniors for their athletic and academic achievement as well as their community involvement.
He is also a nominee for the 2005 Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award. The Senior CLASS Award recognizes student-athletes for great achievement on the court and in the classroom while staying in school. CLASS stands for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School.
DEVRIES MAKING A MARK – Senior guard Troy DeVries continues to rank as the most accurate 3-point shooter in school history at 46.3%. He has made 127 of 274 treys in his 47-game Lobo career. Willie Banks is 2nd at 44.1% (78-177).
DeVries currently leads the MWC, averaging 2.92 treys a game, and he is 11th nationally in percentage at 47.7%.
DeVries has made a three-point basket in 22 straight games, tying Ike Williams for the 3rd-longest streak at UNM. DeVries last failed to make a 3-pointer in the third game of the season against Duquesne when he missed four attempts.
At 73 made this year, DeVries ranks No. 10 at UNM for a single season. He needs four to crack the top-10 for a career.
NEALE IN A GROOVE – The past seven games, Alfred Neale has averaged 14.4 ppg on 37-62 FGs (60%), including 16-34 from 3-point (47%). The past five games, he has been even better, averaging 15.4 ppg on 27-38 FGs (71%) and 14-24 from 3-point range (58%).
QUICK HITS
The Lobos have not trailed at any point during their last two home games in victories over BYU and Air Force
The 62% shooting against BYU pushed New Mexico’s season FG percentage to 49.9%, good for 9th nationally through games of Feb. 19…the Lobos led the nation after 17 games at 52.5%, but dropped to 15th after a 5-game stretch where they made just 39% (104-267)
The Lobos are 12-0 when scoring 80 or more points (18-1 the past two seasons) and 10-0 when holding opponents to less than 60 points
UNM is 27-3 at home since Danny Granger and Troy DeVries joined the team on Dec. 21, 2003
New Mexico is 19-1 when leading at half this year, 6-0 in MWC games…the only loss came at Oregon when it led 43-41, but lost 79-75
The Lobos had won 30 straight games when shooting better than their opponent until the loss at Air Force on Jan. 15 when they made 69.2% but fell 64-62…the previous loss was at Tennessee on Jan. 4, 2003…New Mexico is 18-1 in such situations this year, 69-5 since 2000-01 and 166-14 since the 1995-96 season
The Lobos beat UNLV 62-58, but had to overcome a 9-point deficit to do so…trailing 38-29 after the Rebels scored the first 14 points of the second half, UNM overcame its largest second-half deficit under Ritchie McKay and the biggest since trailing Pepperdine 69-59 in the 2001 postseason NIT…the Lobos won that game 81-78…in McKay’s second game as Lobos’ coach, UNM did come back from a 29-15 hole in the first half against Northwestern State to win 60-56
Opponents are shooting 32.1% from 3-point range, a figure that would be the lowest since the 1999-2000 Lobos allowed 31.4%…only once since 1986-87 when the 3-point shot was introduced has UNM allowed less than 30% for a season: 29.7% in 1992-93
The Lobos have only played three games this year decided by five points or less and they are 1-2 in such situations…both losses were on the road, 79-75 at Oregon and 64-62 at Air Force
New Mexico is 3-6 on the road this season, the most wins away from home since the 2000-01 team was 4-8
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 14 times this season, including 69.2% at Air Force, tying for the 5th-best percentage in school history…UNM has eclipsed 60% six times this season
Shooting 39.5% from 3-point range, New Mexico is enjoying its best accuracy from the arc since the 1997-98 team makde 40.2% of its tries
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
However, due to injuries, McKay had to utilize three different starting lineups in four games between Jan. 15-29
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
The Lobos lost at Air Force 64-62 despite tying for the 5th-best shooting game in school history (69.2%) and outrebounding the Falcons 28-9…the Lobos made 27 of 39 shots, the best accuracy since 36 of 52 – also 69.2% – at BYU on Feb. 27, 1997…turnovers were the story as New Mexico committed 23…Air Force had a whopping 31-8 scoring edge in points off of turnovers, including 20-0 in the first half
New Mexico has limited opponents to 60 points or less 10 times this season, winning all of them…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 478 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 55-47 victory at Colorado State snapped a 22-game losing streak in MWC road games and it was a 25-game skid when the past three seasons (losses) in the MWC Tournament were included…the last win had been on Jan. 28, 2002, also at Colorado State, by a score of 70-64
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
Senior Troy DeVries hit five 3-pt. FGs in the Lobos’ win over BYU on Saturday. |
BYU RECAP – Danny Granger scored 20 points, Troy DeVries hit his first five 3-pointers and New Mexico beat injury-riddled Brigham Young 91-72 Saturday night. New Mexico moved into a second place tie with Air Force in the Mountain West Conference with a dominating performance against the Cougars.
BYU struggled at both ends of the floor and never threatened after falling behind 7-0 as Granger hit a 3-pointer, added a layup and David Chiotti scored inside.
It was a complete turnaround from BYU’s 68-53 win in Provo last month. Granger was injured and didn’t play in that game and Chiotti played only 11 minutes because of a hip injury.
Jared Jensen led the Cougars with 20 points and Mike Hall scored 19.
The Cougars were without sophomores Garner Meads and Keena Young. Meads has missed the last four games with a bad ankle and Young broke his right hand in practice earlier in the week.
Led by DeVries on the perimeter and the inside by the trio of Granger, David Chiotti and Alfred Neale, New Mexico hit 8 of its first 9 shots and 19 of 25 (76 percent) in the first half.
DeVries, who has much more trouble at the free throw line than from behind the arc, hit back-to-back 3s – his second from about 26 feet – that pushed the Lobos’ lead to 30-18 with 8:34 left in the first half. Early in the game, DeVries, an enigma all season at the foul line, airballed another free throw, his seventh such miss this season.
DeVries finished with 15 points and led a torrid shooting Lobo offense that through the first 24 minutes hit 10 of 12 3s and 13 of 19 in the game.
In the paint, Chiotti, Neale and Granger combined to hit 13 of 18 first half shots. Chiotti finished with 16 points and Neale scored 15.
BYU POSTGAME NOTES
New Mexico has won back-to-back games over BYU in Albuquerque for the first time since winning in 1999 and 2000…the Lobos’ 91 points are the most they have scored against BYU since a 95-84 overtime victory at The Pit in 1992….it’s the most the team has scored in regulation versus the Cougars since posting 93 in 1987…the 19-point margin of victory is the Lobos’ biggest in the series since a 21-point win (85-64) in Provo in 1999
The Lobos’ 51 points are the most BYU has allowed in the first half this season, while UNM’s field goal percentage (.620) and 3-point percentage (.684) are also the best by a Cougar opponent this year
After going 5-15 from 3-point in its last game against the Cougars in Provo, UNM poured in 68.4% (13-19) from beyond the arc, the fourth-best accuracy in school history…New Mexico actually started 11 of 13 then 12-15 before missing 3 of its last 4 from long range
The Lobos started the game with a 14-4 run in the first five minutes of play and led from start to finish…their largest lead was 25 (78-53) with 8:32 left in the game…this marks the fourth time this year the Lobos have scored over 90 points…they are 4-0 in those games and 40-4 since 1991-92 when scoring 90+
Troy DeVries has made a three-point basket in 22 straight games…this ties Ike Williams for the 3rd-longest streak in UNM history…DeVries hit his first 5 from beyond the arc before misfiring late in the second half…he is now 10th on the UNM single season list with 73 3-pointers made…DeVries has converted 53.8% (28-52) from 3-point in MWC games
Four Lobos – DeVries, Chiotti, Neale and Granger – all scored in double digits…Chiotti has a season-high 13 field goal attempts
Alfred Neale has made 71% (27-38) of his field goals and 58.3% (14-24) of his 3-pointers the past five games, averaging 15.4 ppg over that span
The Lobos started DeVries, Granger, Walters, Chiotti and Neale for the second straight game and the group played the first nine minutes without a substitution…that quintet is 3-0 all-time at UNM
The Cougars had 17 turnovers, including 10 in the first half, after committing just 10 all night when the Lobos visited Provo last month…the Lobos’ held a 15-2 advantage in points off turnovers in the first half and finished with a 19-10 margin for the game