March 11, 2005
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The late sprint towards postseason play continued Thursday night as UNM roared past BYU 85-71 in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament. The second-seeded Lobos (24-6) now play a semifinal game for the first time in four years as they meet No. 6 seed San Diego State (11-17), a 73-65 upset winner over No. 3 seed Air Force. Tipoff is 10 p.m., Mountain Time from the Pepsi Center in Denver. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN.
Tonight’s winner will play the winner of No. 1 Utah and No. 4 UNLV Saturday at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
New Mexico is looking to advance to the championship game of a conference tournament for the eighth time. The Lobos lost the title to BYU in 2001. UNM played in six title games in the Western Athletic Conference, winning in 1993 and `96.
UNM has won seven straight games, all by at least 11 points. It’s the longest streak for a Ritchie McKay-coached team and the Lobos’ best run since the 2001-02 season when they took eight in a row under head coach Fran Fraschilla.
The Lobo winning streak began against Air Force on Feb. 14 when the quintet of David Chiotti, Troy DeVries, Danny Granger, Alfred Neale and Mark Walters started together for the first time. They haven’t lost since.
UNM enters tonight’s game having won 10 of 11 since senior All-America candidate Danny Granger returned to the lineup Jan. 29 against UNLV. Granger was hurt in the first half of the Wyoming game on Jan. 8 and had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee two days later. He missed three conference road games between Jan. 15-24.
How valuable is Danny Granger to UNM? The Lobos are 24-3 when he plays (10-1 in MWC games), the only losses coming at Oregon, at home to 5th-ranked Wake Forest and at Wyoming. However, New Mexico was 0-3 with him out of the lineup. UNM has lost just once since Dec. 22 with Granger playing, a record of 14-1.
UNM NITTY GRITTY
Has a 7-game winning streak and has won 10 of 11 since Jan. 29
24-3 with Danny Granger, 0-3 when he was out with an injury
14-1 with Danny Granger since Dec. 22
Granger was named MWC Player of the Year by CollegeInsider.com
6-5 away from The Pit, 6-2 with Danny Granger
Was 3-4 in MWC road games, 3-1 with Danny Granger
A 10-win improvement from last year and 14 games better than two years ago
The 24 wins are the most for UNM in six years, since finishing 25-9 in 1998-99
10 conference wins for the first time in seven years, since the 1997-98 squad finished 11-5 in the Mountain Division of the Western Athletic Conference
Won consecutive MWC road games for the first time in five years, since winning three straight (at San Diego State, Air Force and BYU) in 1999-2000
18-1 in The Pit this year – including nine straight wins since Dec. 28 – with the only loss being dealt by nationally-ranked Wake Forest…18 home wins are the most since the 1998-99 team finished 19-1…UNM has also captured 30 of its past 33 games at Bob King Court
SAN DIEGO STATE GAME PREVIEW
The Lobos swept the season series, winning 88-71 in The Pit on Jan. 31 and 78-61 at Cox Arena on Feb. 26. UNM shot a steamy 57.3% in the two games, including 41.3% (19-46) from 3-point. The Lobos also had a 68-57 rebound advantage.
Mark Walters led four Lobos in double figures with 20 points in the victory at San Diego. Four Lobos averaged in double figures in the two games.
SDSU was held to 39.6% shooting (44-111) in the two games and only 28% (10-36) from beyond the arc. Marcus Slaughter had to leave the game in San Diego early in the second half after suffering a toe injury. UNM did a good job on Slaughter and Brandon Heath. The duo each scored 11 points in Albuquerque and 13 points in San Diego, well below their season averages. Heath was just 7 of 29 from the floor, including 0-11 from 3-point in the two games.
NON-CONFERENCE RPI TAKES A HIT, BUT WHO COULD PREDICT
The thing about strength of schedule is you don’t really know how strong it will be until the games have been played. It’s easy to criticize the schedule, but it’s also hard to predict how your opponents will fare over the course of an entire season.
Through games of March 1, 2005, the average RPI for UNM’s 13 opponents (14 games) was 223. However, the five-year average RPI of those schools entering the 2004-05 season was 170. UNM used the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook for its figures.
For instance, Tennessee had a five-year average of 48, but was at 137. New Mexico State’s average was 156, but the Aggies were at 291. Pepperdine was at 89, but lost to Troy – and its average of 206 – in the first round of the Lobo Invitational. Northern Arizona had been at 200, but was at 298. So, what looked decent on paper six months ago turned out not to work in UNM’s favor.
HEAD COACH Ritchie McKay
Ritchie McKay is completing 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.
At 24-6, McKay has the highest season win total of his nine-year coaching career. He was 19-11 at Colorado State in 1998-99.
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 131-127, 48-38 at New Mexico. While at UNM, McKay is 42-12 at home, 29-14 in non-conference games and 26-7 in non-league games at The Pit. He is 19-23 in MWC games, 16-5 at home and 3-18 on the road.
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.
LOBOS’ CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Including the Western Athletic Conference tournament, UNM has an overall record of 25-19 and has played in a championship game seven times, winning twice (1993 and `96).
UNM has not fared as well in the Mountain West tourney, compiling a 3-5 overall mark, including first-round exits the past three years and four of five times since its inception in 2000. The Lobos lost to BYU in the 2001 title game. They were eliminated in the first round by BYU in 2000 and `03 and UNLV in 2002 and `04.
POSTSEASON HONORS ROLL IN
The Lobos were well represented on the all-Mountain West Team as all five current starters received mention:
First Team: Danny Granger (2nd straight season)
Third Team: David Chiotti, Troy DeVries
Honorable Mention: Alfred Neale, Mark Walters
BYU RECAP
They were ready for prime time, and next, the New Mexico Lobos hope to prove they’re ready for the NCAA tournament, too.
Led by 23 points from Danny Granger and a career-high 12 assists from Mark Walters, the Lobos beefed up their postseason resume Thursday night with an 85-71 victory over BYU in the first round of the Mountain West Conference tournament.
Conference officials scheduled second-seeded New Mexico (24-6) for a 9 p.m. EST start so more members of the NCAA selection committee – many of whom live back East – would be awake to watch.
They need to impress at every opportunity and they did just that against overmatched BYU (9-21). Jared Jensen scored 19 points and Mike Hall had 13 for the seventh-seeded Cougars, who finished the season on a five-game losing streak and with the same record they had in 1997-98 – coach Steve Cleveland’s first season with the program.
Pushing the pace all night, Walters finished with 12 points to go with his 12 assists. Alfred Neale went 4-for-5 from 3-point range to finish with 15. The star of the team, Granger, showed his versatility – whirling in the paint, spotting up outside and catching a long pass for a sweet dunk late to lead the Lobos in scoring for the 16th time this season.
New Mexico improved to 24-3 with Granger in the lineup – another factor the Lobos hope the NCAA will consider – and coach Ritchie McKay got his first career victory in a postseason conference tournament in five tries.
Conference commissioner Craig Thompson said the Lobos were given the prime spot in the first day’s lineup – top-seeded Utah played at noon Denver time – in part to give them the exposure they might need to give the conference a second team in the NCAA’s 65-team field. “It was definitely part of the decision,” he said. “It was that, the crowd they could bring. They earned it.”
BYU POSTGAME NOTES
The 24 wins ties for the 5th-most in school history…it’s a 10-win improvement from last year and 14 wins better than 2002-03, Ritchie McKay’s first season at UNM
Conference Tournament Records Set by New Mexico (UNM Records)
3-point FG% – 55.6 (10-18); previous 55% (11-20) vs. San Jose State, 3-4-97
Assists – 26; previous 25 vs. San Diego State, 3-7-96
Assists – 12, Mark Walters; previous 10 by Kelvin Scarborough vs. BYU, 3-6-86 and Scarborough vs. San Diego State, 3-8-85
Blocks – 4, Danny Granger (tied); previous 4 by Luc Longley, Charles Smith and Kenny Thomas
The 14-point winning margin is UNM’s largest in a conference tournament game since beating San Jose State 103-70 in the 1st round of the 1997 WAC Tournament in Las Vegas
Danny Granger had a modest 7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist and 1 block in 16 first-half minutes…in 13 minutes of 2nd-half action, Granger had 16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and a steal giving him game totals of 23 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks and 3 steals…it’s his highest point total since coming back from Jan. 10 knee surgery and most since scoring 25 at Texas-Arlington on Jan. 3
Junior Mark Walters had his 4th career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 12 assists…his previous assist high was 10 earlier this season against New Mexico State…that’s the most assists by a Lobo since Troy DeVries had 12 last year against Coppin State…UNM is 10-1 since Walters was inserted as the starting point guard on Jan. 29
Led by Walters, the Lobos had an amazing 26 assists on their 28 baskets…they also had 26 earlier this year against Mississippi Valley State
UNM snapped a 4-game losing streak in MWC Tournament games and has advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2001 when it lost to BYU in the title game…the Lobos are now 3-5 in the MWC Tournament
Head coach Ritchie McKay won his first career game in a conference tournament…he had been 0-4 overall, 0-3 in the MWC, including 0-2 while at UNM
The Lobos are 6-5 away from Albuquerque this season, the most wins since the 2000-01 team went 6-9…UNM began the season with a 29-game losing streak in games away from The Pit
New Mexico has won 19 straight games when leading at halftime and is 23-1 overall this season…the only loss came at Oregon when UNM led 43-41, but lost 79-75 in the fifth game of the season
The Lobos led 55-37 after a Bombale Osby FT, but BYU scored seven straight to make it 55-44…UNM responded with a 10-0 run on a Granger FT then consecutive 3-pointers by Walters, Alfred Neale and Granger for a 65-44 advantage
Neale finished with 15 points on 5-7 FGs, including 4-5 from 3-point, and 7 rebounds
UNM received some nice contributions from its freshmen…Osby scored 4 of the Lobos’ first 12 points (and 5 total) when head coach Ritchie McKay put starters Danny Granger and David Chiotti on the bench at the 17:39 mark of the first half…Tony Danridge scored 7 points, including a drive and left-handed slam that provided a 32-20 advantage…point guard Ryan Wall had a pair of FTs in 18 minutes…the frosh combined to make all 7 of their FGs and 2 of 6 FTs in 42 minutes
Troy DeVries hit a 3-pointer in his 27th straight game, tying Charles Smith for the 2nd-longest streak in school history…Ruben Douglas is 1st at 35…it was DeVries’ only points of the game…he now has 141 career treys, good for 8th all-time at UNM
SECOND-HALF SURGES
In the second half of the past four games, New Mexico has averaged 46 points and shot 59.8% (58-97) from the floor, including 70% (35-50) from 2-point range.
NOTES DURING THE 7-GAME WINNING STREAK
Ritchie McKay has used the same five starters: David Chiotti, Troy DeVries, Danny Granger, Alfred Neale and Mark Walters…that quintet is 8-0 all-time at UNM, including one win last season
The above fivesome has scored 88% (467 of 531) of the Lobos’ points, grabbed 88% of the individual rebounds (154 of 176) and played 81% (1,134 of 1,400) of the team’s minutes
New Mexico’s average winning margin during its run is 13.4 points with four victories by 11 points, one by 14, one by 17 and one by 19
UNM has limited opponents to 42.1% (158-375) shooting and 31.3% (42-134) from 3-point
Meanwhile, the Lobos have shot 52.8% (182-345) from the field, including 57% (53-93) on the San Diego State-UNLV road trip, and 44% (59-1134) from 3-point