Post Game Notes
March 18, 2005
NCAA Tournament First Round
Nashville, Tenn.
The Lobos’ season and a 9-game winning streak come to an
end with a 55-47 loss to Villanova in the first round of
the NCAA Tournament…New Mexico finishes 26-7 on the
season and also had a 5-game winning streak snapped in
games away from Albuquerque…that was UNM’s best streak
since 1978
UNM trailed 34-10 at one point in the first half and 34-11
at halftime, making just 4-22 FGs…the Lobos battled back
to make it a 52-47 game with 29.3 seconds remaining, but
could get no closer
UNM had season-lows for points (47), FG% (29.8%) and
3-point FG% (16%)
Villanova made just 3 of 23 FGs in the second half, the
last bucket coming at the 12:16 mark that gave them a
40-21 advantage
UNM is now 1-17 against current members of the Big East,
0-4 in NCAA Tournament play
The Lobos had been 12-0 this season when holding opponents
to less than 60 points…that’s now 12-1
Somehow, the Lobos managed to shoot better than Villanova,
29.8% (17-56) to 28.3% (15-53), meaning UNM lost for just
the 2nd time in 26 games this season when making a higher
FG% than its opponent…New Mexico came into the game tied
for 5th in the nation in FG% at an even 50%
The 29.8% shooting is New Mexico’s worst since 27.6%
(16-58) vs. BYU in the quarterfinals of the 2000 Mountain
West Conference Tournament
Villanova’s FG% of 28.3% is the lowest by a Lobo opponent
since Northwestern State converted only 24.2% (15-62) last
year
The Lobos also shot a season-low 16% (4-25) from 3-point,
the poorest since 10% (2-20) at UNLV in 2002-03
New Mexico is now 6-12 in 11 NCAA appearances
Playing in his 52nd and final game at New Mexico, senior
Danny Granger finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds for
his 13th double-double of the season, 21st while at UNM
and the 32nd in his collegiate career…Granger finished
his Lobo career with 994 career points (19.1 avg.) and 463
rebounds (8.9 avg.)
The starting lineup of David Chiotti, Troy DeVries, Danny
Granger, Alfred Neale and Mark Walters lost for the first
time in the past 10 games
Troy DeVries went 1-8 from the floor and 0-7 from 3-point,
ending his streak of 3-pointers made at 29 straight games,
the 2nd-longest in school history…Ruben Douglas is 1st at
35…despite the tough outing, DeVries still finishes his
career as the top 3-point shooter in school history at
45.1% (147-326)