The University of New Mexico men’s and women’s basketball teams each learned their 2005 NCAA Tournament destinations and opponents as the brackets were announced this afternoon. After a six-year absence, the Lobo men (26-6) return to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 12 seed in the Syracuse Regional and will meet fifth-seeded Villanova (22-7) on Friday, March 18, in a first round game in Nashville. The winner will face the victor of fourth-seeded Florida and No. 13 seed Ohio on Sunday, March 20.
The New Mexico women (26-4), who are making their fourth-straight trip to the “Big Dance,” were given a No. 8 seed in the Philadelphia Regional and will square off against ninth-seeded Purdue (16-12) Sunday, March 20, in the first round in Knoxville. The winner will take on the victor of top-seeded host Tennessee and the No. 16 seed West Carolina on Tuesday, March 22.
Game times will be announced as they are made available. Fans interested in tickets for the men in Nashville or the women in Knoxville should call the UNM ticket office Monday morning at 8:30. Call 505/925-5626.
The Lobo women will be playing in Knoxville for the second time in their NCAA Tournament history, falling to Notre Dame 58-44 in first round action in 2002. The men, meanwhile, are 0-2 in the Volunteer State with a pair of regular season losses to Tennessee, including a 71-64 setback in 2003. The two UNM teams will play 180 miles away from each other in the first round with Nashville and Knoxville being roughly a three-hour drive apart.
UNM and Villanova will face off for the first time on Friday in what some experts are calling one of the most talented regional brackets in NCAA Tournament history. Both squads will be making their first trip to the NCAAs since 1999. Villanova was upset by West Virginia in the semifinals of the Big East Conference Tournament, snapping the Wilcats’ eight-game winning streak. Villanova enters the NCAA tournament having won 13 of its last 16 games.
New Mexico has not had much luck against Big East teams, posting a 1-16 all-time mark. The Lobos will be playing a Big East opponent for the fourth time in their last eight NCAA Tournament games since 1996. Each of the previous meetings have come in the second round with UNM falling to Georgetown (73-62) in 1996, losing to Syracuse (56-46) in 1998, and dropping a 78-56 game against Connecticut in its last NCAA Tournament game in 1999.
“Obviously we’re very excited to be a part of the NCAA Tournament,” said UNM head men’s basketball coach Ritchie McKay. “It’s a compliment to our players and all the hard work they put in this year. We’re playing excellent basketball right now, but we’re not just happy to be there – we’re going to win. I don’t know much about Villanova, but we’ll have a scouting report ready for our guys tonight.”
On the women’s side, New Mexico and Purdue meet for the second time, 24 years after the Boilermakers earned a 62-51 victory on a neutral floor in Anchorage, Alaska in the 1980-81 season-finale. The Lobos’ finished that year with a 7-25 record, nearly opposite its current 26-4 mark.
Purdue advances to the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection after falling to Minnesota 71-68 in the first round of the Big 10 Conference Tournament last week. The Boilermakers opened the season with a 10-4 record before dropping eight of their final 14 games, finishing fifth in the Big 10. Purdue, however, did rally to win three of its last five games down the stretch to move on to the NCAAs for the 12th straight year and 16th time in the last 17 years. The Boilermakers won the women’s national title in 1999.
“We’re a little disappointed with our seed because it doesn’t reflect how good of a season we really had,” said UNM head coach Don Flanagan. “However, we’re looking forward to the challenge of playing Purdue – a team that has won a national championship and is from a power conference.”
NEW MEXICO WOMEN’S BASKETBALL QUICK FACTS
UNM is making its seventh consecutive postseason appearance, all under 10th-year head coach Don Flanagan, including four straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. The Lobos are 8-7 overall in the postseason with a 2-4 record in four NCAA Tournament appearances (’98, ’02, ’03, ’04).
The Lobos have had the luxury of playing their last four NCAA Tournament games in front of their home crowd in The Pit in Albuquerque, where they have compiled a 2-2 mark over the past two years. New Mexico advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history in 2003 before losing to Texas Tech 71-48 in the regional semifinal. The Lobos, however, are 0-2 away from home in the NCAA Tournament, falling to Nebraska 76-59 in Norfolk, Va. in 1998 and dropping a 58-44 decision to Notre Dame in Knoxville, Tenn. in 2002.
New Mexico enters the tournament having won seven straight games and 12 of its last 13 en route to its third consecutive Mountain West Conference Tournament title. The Lobos shared the regular season league title with Utah, a team they defeated in all three head-to-head meetings this year, including Saturday’s MWC tournament championship game.
UNM has won at least 20 games in seven of the past eight seasons, including each of last five years. The Lobos are 117-43 over the past five years, good for a winning percentage of .731. This year’s team owns the best wining percentage (.867) in program history and will finish the year with the fewest losses in school history.
NEW MEXICO MEN’S BASKETBALL QUICK FACTS
This is the first NCAA appearance for Ritchie McKay, either as a player, assistant coach or head coach. He is in his ninth season overall and third year at New Mexico. McKay did have a 2-1 record in the 1999 NIT while at Colorado State.
New Mexico enters the field of 65 as one of the hottest teams in the country and also as one of the most improved. The Lobos have won nine straight, including a three-game sweep of BYU, San Diego State and 15th-ranked Utah in last week’s Mountain West Conference Tournament in Denver. UNM’s last loss was Feb. 7 at Wyoming. The Lobos have won five straight games away from Albuquerque, a feat last achieved in 1977-78.
UNM has won 12 more games than last year, the second-best improvement in school history. The Lobos have actually surpassed their win total from the past two seasons when they were 24-32.
The Lobos’ 9-game 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.
The nine-game skein is the longest for a Ritchie McKay-coached team and the Lobos’ best run since nine straight in 2000-01. The last 10-game winning streak for New Mexico was Feb. 10-March 15, 1996, during the end of a 28-5 season. That streak was snapped by Allen Iverson and Georgetown in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Richmond, Va.
UNM enters the Big Dance having won 12 of 13 since 6-8 senior Danny Granger returned to the lineup Jan. 29 against UNLV. Granger, the MVP in last week’s MWC Tournament after averaging 24.3 points and 11 rebounds in three games, was felled 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 26-3 when he plays (13-1 against Mountain West Conference 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 16-1.
Picked to finish fourth in the MWC preseason poll, New Mexico ended up in second place behind Utah with a record of 10-4. The 10 wins came on the heels of four straight losing records in conference play and are the most since reaching 11 victories in the Western Athletic Conference in 1998.
Although there has been void of postseason play in recent seasons, UNMis making its 27th postseason appearance in the past 42 years, since reaching the NIT championship game in 1964.
The Lobos are 6-11 in 10 previous NCAA showings and have appeared inthe NIT 16 times where they have a 16-17 record. UNM participated inthe NIT from 2000-02, advancing to the second round in 2000 and thequarterfinals in 2001.
New Mexico first danced in the NCAAs in 1968 under head coach BobKing. The Lobos advanced twice under Norm Ellenberger in 1974 and `78.
UNM’s best representation came in the 1990s with Dave Bliss. NewMexico qualified seven times in nine years between 1991-99, falling inthe second round each season between 1996-99.
The Lobos’ best showing in the NCAA Tournament was in 1974 when theymoved to a regional semifinal, however, there were only 25 teams in thefield at that time and only one win was required to advance. UNM lostto San Francisco 64-61 in that semifinal game in Tucson.
New Mexico’s 12 seed is the team’s lowest in the NCAA Tournament since being seeded 14th in 1991. The ’91 squad fell to No. 3 seed Oklahoma State 67-54 in the first round at College Park, Md.