March 12, 2005
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The top-two teams in the regular season will face off tonight to determine the Mountain West Conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. No. 2 seed New Mexico (25-6), winners of eight straight games and 11 of 12, meets top-seed Utah (27-4) in the title game at 8 p.m., Mountain Time from the Pepsi Center in Denver. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN.
The Lobos advanced to the championship by running past No. 7 seed BYU (85-71) and 6th-seed San Diego State (77-67). The Utes defeated 8th-seed Colorado State (62-49) and No. 4 seed UNLV (73-67).
UNM is seeking its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1999 and 11th overall since the initial invitation in 1968. The NCAA Selection Show is Sunday at 4 p.m. MST on CBS.
Utah’s only loss in the past 23 games came against the Lobos in Albuquerque on Feb. 21 by a count of 65-54.
New Mexico is playing in its second MWC title game, falling to BYU in the 2001 finale. Utah won last year’s NCAA bid with a 73-70 win over UNLV. A Lobo victory would provide the sixth different champion in the first six years of the league: UNLV in 2000, BYU in 2001, San Diego State in 2002, Colorado State in 2003 and Utah last year.
This is the Lobos’ eighth appearance in a conference tournament championship game since the format was implemented in 1984 when UNM competed in the Western Athletic Conference. UNM has a 2-5 overal record, winning in Salt Lake City (UTEP) in 1993 and at The Pit (Utah) in 1996. The losses came in El Paso (UTEP) in 1984, in Albuquerque (Wyoming) in 1987 and in Las Vegas in 1998 (UNLV), `99 (UNLV) and 2001 (BYU).
New Mexico is 3-3 all-time against Utah in conference tournament play, 1-0 while members of the MWC. The Lobos topped the Utes 56-53 in the 2001 semifinals in Las Vegas. UNM knocked off Utah in The Pit for the 1996 WAC title behind 30 points and 17 rebounds from freshman Kenny Thomas.
UNM has won the eight straight games, all by at least 10 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 last nine-game skein was in 2000-01.
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 this season. They haven’t lost since.
UNM enters tonight’s game having won 11 of 12 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 25-3 when he plays (12-1 against MWC competition), 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 15-1.
UNM NITTY GRITTY
Has an 8-game winning streak and has won 11 of 12 since Jan. 29
25-3 with Danny Granger, 0-3 when he was out with an injury
15-1 with Danny Granger since Dec. 22
Granger was named MWC Player of the Year by CollegeInsider.com
7-5 away from The Pit, 7-2 with Danny Granger
Was 3-4 in MWC road games, 3-1 with Danny Granger
An 11-win improvement from last year and 15 games better than two years ago
The 25 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
UTAH GAME PREVIEW – Both teams won by 11 points on their home floor during the regular season. The Lobos lost their 16th straight game to the Utes in Salt Lake on Jan. 22, falling 69-58. However, UNM was without the services of leading scorer and rebounder Danny Granger, who missed his second game after knee surgery. New Mexico came back to knock off the Utes 65-54 in The Pit on Feb. 21, snapping Utah’s 18-game winning streak.
New Mexico shot just 43% (44-103) from the floor in the two games, but 40.5% (15-37) from beyond the arc. Utah converted 48% (49-103) of its tries from the field, but was a chilly 17% (4-29) from 3-point range. Andrew Bogut had 24 points and 20 rebounds in Salt Lake City, 15 points and 13 boards in The Pit.
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 in 2004-05 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 25-6, 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 132-127, 49-38 at New Mexico. While at UNM, McKay is 42-12 at home, 30-14 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.
Senior Alfred Neale is 8-11 from 3-pt. range in two games in the MWC Tournament. |
NOTES DURING THE 8-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 9-0 all-time at UNM, including one win last season
The above fivesome has scored 89% (540 of 608) of the Lobos’ points, grabbed 89% of the individual rebounds (186 of 210) and played 82% (1,308 of 1,600) of the team’s minutes
New Mexico has won every game by double digits with the average winning margin being 13 points
UNM has limited opponents to 41.1% (180-438) shooting and 31.4% (49-156) from 3-point
Meanwhile, the Lobos have shot 52.6% (210-399) from the field, including 44.4% (68-153) from 3-point
SAN DIEGO STATE RECAP – Whether he’s swishing a 3, ripping down a rebound or rejecting a shot into the second row, Danny Granger sure is fun to watch. If he keeps playing like this, Granger and his New Mexico teammates will be doing their thing much deeper into March.
Granger had 22 points and 14 rebounds Friday night to lift the Lobos to a 77-67 victory over San Diego State in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament. New Mexico has won eight straight and 11 of 12 – a stretch that coincided with Granger’s return from a knee injury that required minor surgery in January.
Indeed, he is just that important, and the Lobos needed everything he could offer against the sixth-seeded Aztecs. Marcus Slaughter (23 points) and Brandon Heath (22 points) had their second straight brilliant games for coach Steve Fisher’s team, and at one point, he scored 12 straight points for the Aztecs to cut their deficit to 56-52 with 7:50 left.
The Lobos built it back up to double digits behind 3-pointers from Troy DeVries (15 points) and Alfred Neale (17 points) and a layup by Granger with about 4 minutes left, and the Aztecs never threatened again.
Before that, though, Granger had his whole game on display. Early, he spotted up and made a 3 to cap a run of three straight 3-point shots the Lobos hit en route to a 9-0 lead. There was a steal and a nifty fullcourt dribble through two defenders for a layup. There was a pretty little bounce pass under the bucket to David Chiotti for a slam. There was an emphatic rejection of Trimaine Davis’ shot into the stands, and another of Heath’s shot that flew all the way into the backcourt and caused a shot-clock violation. Moments after the Heath rejection, Granger thundered home a dunk and got fouled. The three-point play with 11:54 left gave the Lobos a 52-40 lead.
Granger finished with three assists, five blocks and a steal to go with all those points and rebounds; he’s the first New Mexico player to amass 50 assists, steals and blocks in a season.
SAN DIEGO STATE POSTGAME NOTES
UNM never trailed as it took a 9-0 lead 73 seconds into the game on 3-pointers by Troy DeVries, Alfred Neale and Danny Granger…the lead was 26-14 before SDSU went on a 10-2 run to cut the margin to 28-24 as UNM went 4:31 without a basket…the Lobos answered with an 8-0 spurt, capped by consecutive 3s by Neale…SDSU trimmed the margin to 56-52 in the 2nd half, but a 12-5 burst salted it way for the Lobos
New Mexico shot 55% (83-150) in its three wins over San Diego State this season, including 43% (28-65) from 3-point…the Aztecs were held to 38% shooting (66-174) and 29% (17-58) from beyond the arc
Granger had another monster game with 22 points and 14 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season, 18th as a Lobo and the 29th of his collegiate career…he also added 5 blocks, the most ever by a Lobo in a conference tournament game, 3 assists and a steal
Granger’s two-game MWC Tournament totals: 45 points, 22 rebounds, 9 blocks, 8 assists and 4 steals
New Mexico was 9 of 19 from 3-point, making them 19 of 37 (51%) in the tournament …they were 10 of 18 in the opener against BYU
Senior Alfred Neale scored 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting, including 4 of 6 from 3-point…Neale is 8 of 11 from 3-point in the MWC Tournament and has scored 32 points
Troy DeVries hit a 3-pointer in his 28th straight game, the 2nd-longest streak in school history…Ruben Douglas is 1st at 35…DeVries has 144 career treys, good for 9th all-time at UNM…he has 90 treys this season, tying Clayton Shields for No. 5 in the UNM record book
Freshman Tony Danridge had made 9 straight FGs over a span of four games before a miss in the first half…his last miss had been in the first half of the game at San Diego State on Feb. 26..Tony finished 2 of 4 tonight
In the two MWC Tournament games, New Mexico has totaled 39 assists on its 56 baskets
The Lobos are now 7-5 away from Albuquerque this season, the most wins since the 1997-98 team went 9-7…UNM began the season with a 29-game losing streak in games away from The Pit
SECOND-HALF SURGES – In the second half of the past five games, New Mexico has averaged 45 points and shot 61% (73-120) from the floor, including a toasty 72% (47-65) from 2-point range.
THE COMPLETE GRANGER – Danny Granger continues to be the only player in NCAA Div. I basketball who is averaging at least 18 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists and 2 blocks a game. Surprisingly, of the top-50 players in the nation in steals, Granger is the tallest at 6-8.
Granger is 49 points from 1,000 in his UNM career, which currently stands at 50 games or an average of 19.02 per game. Only five Lobos have accomplished that 1,000-point climb in two seasons: Kenny Page, Marvin Johnson, Charlie Thomas, Johnny Brown and Ira Harge.
Granger is the only Lobo to register 50 assists, 50 blocks and 50 steals in a season. He is one block from becoming the sole member of 60-60-60 club.
Granger’s 61 steals are tied for No. 8 at UNM for a single season, while his 59 blocks are 10th.
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, 36-14 when he is available. Granger became eligible on Dec. 21, 2003, after transferring from Bradley.
WALTERS MAKING A POINT – Junior Mark Walters started the season on the wing, but switched to the point after Kris Collins went out with a broken foot on Jan. 26. Since that forced move, UNM is 11-1 and Walters – like the Lobos – is playing his best basketball right now.
Walters logged his fourth career double-double against BYU in the MWC Tournament with 12 points and a career-high 12 assists, a Lobo record for a conference tournament game. He has 27 assists against just six turnovers the past five games.
Missing only 43 minutes in the past six games, Walters has scored 87 points (14.5 ppg) on 26-51 FGs (51%), 9-21 on 3s and 26-33 FTs. He also has 23 rebounds, 28 assists, 12 steals and just eight turnovers.
As 21 scouts watched the every move of future pros Danny Granger and Andrew Bogut Feb. 21, Walters had to open some eyes. He orchestrated the Lobos offense and played his usual stifling defense. Walters scored a game- and season-high 22 points, draining 7 of 11 shots, including 3 of 6 from 3-point. His first trey gave New Mexico a 22-19 lead and it never trailed again. With the Lobos leading 51-42, Walters scored the team’s next seven points that pushed the margin to 14 and the Utes never recovered.
DEAD-EYE DEVRIES – Senior guard Troy DeVries continues to rank as the most accurate 3-point shooter in UNM and Mountain West Conference history at 46.2%. Coming off a sterling 6 of 8 effort at UNLV last month, DeVries has made 144 of 312 treys in his 53-game Lobo career. Willie Banks is 2nd at 44.1% (78-177). His 48% career accuracy in conference games only is an MWC record. DeVries shot a salty 51.3% (41-80) from 3-land this season in MWC competition.
DeVries still leads the MWC, averaging 2.9 treys a game, and he is 6th nationally in percentage at 47.5%.
DeVries has made a three-point basket in 28 straight games, the 2nd-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.
He is tied with Clayton Shields for the No. 5 spot on the UNM single-season list with 90 trifectas made, a figure that ranks tied for No. 3 in MWC history with Colorado State’s Andy Birley.
Despite playing less than two full season, DeVries is 9th in career 3s at New Mexico with 144 made.
CHIOTTI COOKIN’ – David Chiotti was especially solid on the most recent road sweep of San Diego State and UNLV. Chiotti tied a season-high with 18 points against the Rebels , canning 7 of 9 shots and all four of his FTs in the final 1:19 to help seal the victory. He also added 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks while playing a season-high 37 minutes. Chiotti’s totals for the two games: 32 points (11-14 FGs, 10-12 FTs), 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
PLUS 10 AND COUNTING – Currently sporting a record of 25-6, the Lobos have won 11 more games than all of last season, the 2nd-largest one-season improvement in school history. A look at the biggest jumps:
13 15-15 in 1994-95 to 28-5 in 1995-96
11 14-14 in 2003-04 to 25-6 in 2004-05
10 6-20 in 1961-62 to 16-9 in 1962-63
10 14-15 in 1982-83 to 24-11 in 1983-84
A REAL TEAM – Head coach Ritchie McKay is always talking about the unselfishness of his players. The numbers bear him out.
All five Lobo starters are currently averaging in double figures, led by Danny Granger’s 18.6, and all rank in the top-20 in scoring in the MWC. The last time UNM could boast of having five players finish the season in double figures – with each individual participating in a minimum of 20 games – was 1969-70.
The current Lobos are also the first team since 1997-98 to have five players with at least 50 assists in a season. David Gibson (116), Royce Olney (100), Kenny Thomas (95), Lamont Long (87) and Clayton Shields (54) did so seven years ago. UNM has an outside shot at having six reach 50. David Chiotti currently has 45.
NOTES FROM THE ARC
Shooting 40.0% from 3-point range, New Mexico is enjoying its best accuracy from the arc since the 1997-98 team made 40.2% of its tries…the Lobos rank 14th in the nation…only two other New Mexico teams have shot 40% or better for an entire season: 1988-89 and 1997-98
While the team is shooting 40% for the season, UNM’s four primary longe-range shooters – Troy DeVries, Danny Granger, Alfred Neale and Mark Walters – have combined to make 43.4% (221-509) of their attempts
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
UNM poured in 68.4% (13-19) from beyond the arc in the home win against BYU, the fourth-best accuracy in school history…New Mexico actually started 11 of 13 then was 12-15 before missing 3 of its last 4 from long range
In MWC games only, New Mexico led the league in 3-point FG percentage (38.8%) and 3-point FG percentage defense (31.1%)
Opponents are shooting 31.5% 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
UNM has made a 3-point basket in 484 straight games, the 12th-longest active streak in NCAA Div. I hoops…UNLV is 1st at more than 595