Oct. 30, 2006
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The University of New Mexico opens its exhibition season Thursday when its hosts Western New Mexico. Tipoff is 7:05 p.m., from the The Pit/Bob King Court in Albuquerque. Live audio and video is available at www.golobos.com.
The 104th regular season of New Mexico basketball gets underway Friday, Nov. 10 as UNM hosts Abilene Christian in the 40th anniversary of the inaugural game in The Pit. ACU was the Lobos’ first opponent when The Pit first opened its doors on Dec. 1, 1966.
UNM VS. WESTERN NEW MEXICO
UNM has an 19-2 lead in a series that started 91 years ago. The first game was Feb. 13, 1915, with WNMU winning 39-13 in Silver City. New Mexico has won 12 straight since 1933. The Mustangs won in 1915 and again in 1932.
The two in-state schools meet for the third time in Ritchie McKay’s tenure as head coach. UNM won 107-49 in The Pit on Jan. 22, 2003, and 93-53 on Nov. 19, 2004.
40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
The 2006-07 season will be a year-long recognition and dedication to the former student-athletes who have graced the floor of The Pit over the past 40 years. The highlights:
A 40th anniversary logo was created by Albuquerque’s Esparza Advertising at no charge…the UNM men’s team, spirit squad and Lobo Louie and Lobo Lucy will all wear the logo patch on their home uniforms during the 2006-07 season…40th anniversary apparel will be available at the Lobo Store
Throwback Night will be Friday, Nov. 10, when the Lobo men host Abilene Christian…Abilene Christian was UNM’s first opponent in The Pit on Dec. 1, 1966…members of the 1966-67 New Mexico squad will be recognized at this game while the 2006-07 Lobos will wear retro uniforms from that first game in The Pit
Special murals are currently hanging above all entrance doors inside The Pit…the displays highlight former Lobo greats alongside current team members…photos of former Lobos and the 40th anniversary logo will also be displayed prominently throughout the arena
A former Lobo team will be highlighted at each home game, including a player from that team…each game will feature specific themes (game program, music, trivia, prizes, etc.) from that era
Special promotions/giveaways at selected home games
SEASON NO. 104
The 2006-07 season is the 104th in school history. The Lobos first laced up the hightops on Feb. 2, 1900, when they lost 8-6 to the Albuquerque Guards. While this season is actually the 105th anniversary of that inaugural year, UNM did not field a team for various reasons in 1900-01, 1903-04, 1917-18 and 1920-21.
The Lobos have been on the hardwoods continuously since the 1921-22 season and have compiled an all-time record of 1,249-980 (.560). New Mexico was 418-495 (.458) from 1900-62, but has gone 831-485 (.633) over the past 43 seasons, an average of nearly 19 wins per year. The Lobos have made 27 trips to the postseason during that span, including 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament and 16 showings in the NIT.
EXHIBITION HISTORY
The Lobos have been playing exhibition games since the 1972-73 season. UNM has a 52-5 all-time record, 47-5 in The Pit. Last year, UNM defeated New Mexico Highlands (110-79) and Seattle Pacific (71-53). Average attendance for 52 home exhibition games is 15,090.
EXPERIMENTAL RULES
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee is experimenting with eliminating the first lane space nearest the basket on each side of the lane and using the present, second, third and fourth marked lane spaces on each side of the lane. All institutions are required to use the experimental rule in exhibition contests.
UNM PREDICTED FOR 5TH-PLACE FINISH IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST
Like last yeat, New Mexico was picked to finish fifth in the 2006-07 Mountain West Conference race during the league’s preseason media gathering in October. Voters were a combination of head coaches and media.
LOBO HEAD COACH Ritchie McKay
Ritchie McKay begins his fifth season in charge of Lobo hoops and 12th year as a collegiate head coach. He was named UNM’s 18th head coach on March 28, 2002.
He has a career record of 150-141, 66-52 at New Mexico. McKay is 57-14 in Albuquerque, 40-21 in all non-conference games, 36-7 in non-league games at The Pit and 5-14 in road/neutral games. He is 27-31 in MWC contests, 22-7 at home and 5-24 on the road.
The 26-7 record in 2004-05 is the best season of McKay’s career, surpassing a 19-11 ledger at Colorado State in 1998-99. The Lobos won the MWC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999, while posting the second-highest win total in school history. It was McKay’s first trip to the Big Dance.
McKay had previous two-year stops at Portland State (1996-98), Colorado State (1998-2000) and Oregon State (2000-02).
BIG-TIME TURNAROUND UNDER McKAY
Head coach Ritchie McKay’s first two Lobo teams went 24-32, but UNM had just eight scholarship players available in his first season of 2002-03 and only 10 in his second year. Since the 5/8 rule was repealed after the 2003-04 season, the Lobos have posted a 43-20 record since 2004-05, tied with Utah for the most wins among MWC schools.
McKay, Norm Ellenberger and Dave Bliss are the only head coaches to take the Lobos to the NCAA Tournament within their first three years at the post
Picked to finish 4th in the MWC in 2004-05, the Lobos finished 26-7 overall, 2nd in the conference at 10-4, won the MWC Tournament for the first time in nine years and only the third time in school history, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years
Coach McKay posed with the first group of students to get thier free tickets to the first four games last Wednesday. |
The 26 wins in 2004-05 is the second-best total in school history and were a 12-win improvement from 2003-04…that tied for the 2nd-largest jump in program history and tied for the 3rd-highest in NCAA Div. I men’s basketball
New Mexico won five straight games away from The Pit in 2004-05, a feat last accomplished in 1977-78
Six Lobo seniors who completed their eligibility at UNM between 2003-05 are now playing professionally (Javin Tindall, Ruben Douglas, Alfred Neale, Troy DeVries, Danny Granger and Mark Walters)…the other two – Ryan Ashcraft and Senque Carey – had their careers cut short by injury
GOV. RICHARDSON MAKES FINANCIAL PLEDGE TO PIT RENOVATION
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson announced at a news conference Jan. 28, 2006, that he is pledging $15 million to improving athletics facilities at the University of New Mexico. The focal point of Richardson’s capital outlay is an $8 million down payment for the renovation and modernization of The Pit/Bob King Court. The venerable arena opened Dec. 1, 1966. All renovations in the past 40 years have been limited to locker rooms and offices. An architect for the project should be chosen by the middle of November.
“It has been almost 23 years since Jim Valvano and North Carolina State won the national championship in The Pit,” said Richardson earlier this year. “If it is to continue to be one of the best arenas in college basketball, it has to be updated, and this is the first step.”
WHO’S GONE, WHO’S BACK
UNM’s four seniors from 2005-06 – David Chiotti, Kris Collins, Jeff Hart and Mark Walters – combined to play in 378 games and start 250 in their careers.
With the departure of junior Joel Box, the Lobos lose four of their top-five scorers and their top-three rebounders. The six returning lettermen have combined to start just 43 career games and represented only 30% of the team’s points, 25% of the rebounds and 34% of the minutes from 2005-06.
LOBO NITTY-GRITTY FROM 2005-06
The Lobos finished 17-13 overall for their 20th winning season in the past 23 years. UNM did lose four of its last five games following a four-game winning streak. New Mexico was 8-8 in the MWC, good for fifth place, which is exactly where it was picked to finish in the preseason polls. UNM was denied postseason play for only the fourth time in the past 23 seasons, since 1983-84.
The Lobos have a 43-20 record the past two seasons, tied with Utah for the most wins among Mountain West Conference schools…the Utes are 43-21
The 43 wins the past two seasons are the most by UNM in consecutive years since gathering 43 in 1998-99 (25) and 1999-00 (18)
Likewise, the 18 MWC victories are the most in back-to-back conference campaigns since winning 18 in 1998-99 (9 in the WAC) and 1999-00 (9 in MWC)
Thanks to a tenacious defense the last six games of the regular season, the Lobos led the MWC in FG percentage defense in conference games only, at 42.8%…that was a dramatic turnaround from the first 10 MWC contests when UNM was allowing 48.6%, worst in the league
Walters was named first team all-MWC…the Lobos have had a first team pick all four years that Ritchie McKay has been at UNM, a feat no other school in the league can claim: Ruben Douglas in 2003 and Danny Granger in 2004-05
Lobo senior Mark Walters and Air Force’s Jacob Burtschi were the only players in the MWC to rank in the top-20 in points, rebounds, assists and steals…Walters was named first team all-MWC
Senior David Chiotti became just the eighth Lobo to reach 1,100 points and 600 boards in a career, joining Mel Daniels, Willie Long, Hunter Greene, Luc Longley, Clayton Shields, Kenny Thomas and Lamont Long…Chiotti was named second team all-MWC
Chiotti was the sole interior player in the MWC who ranked in the top-20 in assists…the 6-9 senior tied for 19th with 70, or 2.33 a game
A fitting accomplishment for teammates and roommates, Mark Walters and David Chiotti each gained admttance into UNM’s 1,000-point club Jan. 14 at Wyoming…the last time two Lobos reached 1,000 points in the same season, let alone the same game, was Luc Longley and Rob Robbins in 1989-90
Walters finished No. 2 in MWC history with 153 career steals
In its last two games, New Mexico made 20-40 (50%) attempts from beyond the 3-point arc, but was just 10-24 (41.7%) from the free throw line…senior David Chiotti went 0 for 8 from the stripe in his final two games at UNM
The Lobos shot 50% or less from the FT line in five of their last six games, going 34 of 70, or 49%…the team had shot below 50% from the charity stripe just twice in the first 24 games of the season
The Lobos’ overcame an 11-point second-half deficit to win at Colorado State 80-78. UNM trailed 40-29 after CSU scored the first six points of the second half…the 11-point margin is New Mexico’s largest comeback in an MWC game under head coach Ritchie McKay…the previous best was 9 points against UNLV in 2005 in The Pit…the Lobos trailed 38-29 only to win 62-58…the last time New Mexico came back from at least an 11-point second-half deficit to win a road game was at UTEP on Jan. 20, 1996….the Lobos trailed 30-13 in the first half and 30-18 at the break, but rallied to beat the Miners 64-60.