Jan. 8, 2010
Saturday: UNLV at Lobos, 2 p.m., The Pit
On The Air: Versus (Comcast 37, Dish 151); 770-AM KKOB
Online: GameTracker, game story, stats on GoLobos.com
Up Next: Utah at Lobos, Wednesday, The Pit
By Richard Stevens — Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
The scene is set almost perfectly. A full house. An ex-Lobo legend, Luc Longley, in the crowd for the first time ever. A quality and traditional enemy in those runnin`, gunnin` Rebels from Vegas. National TV.
Now, it’s up to the Lobos. Hit some jump shots. Play a bit tougher. Protect your turf. Finish.
The finishing thing really hasn’t been much of a problem for Steve Alford’s 14-2 Lobos, but the two games New Mexico dropped — at Oral Roberts, at San Diego State — didn’t feature a strong and confident finish by the Lobos.
There were a few jump shots missed, too.
Alford questioned his Lobos’ toughness in their 74-64 loss Tuesday at SDSU. “We did challenge toughness,” Alford said, emphasizing a finish that saw the Aztecs run away from the Lobos. “That, in my mind, is toughness.”
A key stretch in SDSU’s finish was when the Aztecs ran from a 61-55 lead into a 69-55 lead. That 8-0 run and that 14-point bulge was all the big, talented Aztecs needed to hold back the Lobos.
The toughness factor has not been a factor in The Pit because the Lobos have been more than tough enough on the Bob King Floor. New Mexico has won 19 straight home games. UNM also has won nine straight Mountain West Conference games — by an average victory margin of 17.9 points.
Here`s another statistic that promises Lobo success on Saturday: The Lobos have not lost consecutive games since Jan. 3 and 6 of 2009.
The (12-3, 0-1) Rebs are a team much like the Lobos. They have a ton of quickness, aren’t real scary inside, and have the gunners to shoot down almost anyone. They also are hungry to throw a Mountain West win onto their ledger after losing at Brigham Young.
“They probably had the best team in our league beat on its home court (BYU), but just couldn’t finish,” said Alford. “When you lose the midweek game, your objective is to get the split. We lost it (midweek game) and so did they. It’s going to be two teams fighting like crazy trying to earn a split.”
And to create a finish.
An 0-2 start means less if you are playing on the road, like UNLV. An 0-2 start isn’t as easy to overcome, if you have a home loss in that skid because that means you have to pick up an extra win somewhere on that nasty MWC highway.
For Vegas, a Pit breakthrough would be huge. Not many teams, if any, will beat the Lobos in The Pit this season.
The targeted Rebel for the Saturday afternoon matinee is 6-foot-4 TreVon Willis, a smooth gunner with a 15.2 scoring average.
“He scores in a variety of ways,” said Alford. “This team has a lot of balance. It goes beyond TreVon, but it obviously starts there.”
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LOBO ROSTER |
Willis gets help on the perimeter from 6-2 Oscar Bellfield (10.9). The Rebs on the wing show balanced scoring behind 6-8 Chace Stanback (8.2), 6-6 Derrick Jasper (7.4) and 6-8 Matt Shaw (7.1). The Rebs aren’t giants, but they are jumpers.
For the Lobos, it more or less starts with Darington Hobson (16.5), Roman Martinez (15.3) and a whole lot of Pit defense. The Lobos’ forte in The Pit, usually, has been defense, teamwork, ball handling and good shooting.
The Lobos have been a tad cool, of late, shooting 38.2 percent over the past five games from the floor and 30 percent from behind the line.
At SDSU, the Lobos shot 35.1 percent for 40 minutes and 28.6 percent in the second half. “We got in a hurry on offense,” said Alford.
The Lobo coach knows the jump shot comes and goes, but defense can be a constant friend. UNM held Texas Tech and Dayton to season-lows in field goal percentage in the Lobos’ last two Pit wins.
The Rebs should see an inspired pack of Lobo defenders in The Pit on Saturday. But will it be Lobos in the zone or Lobos in the man?
The answer probably is both. Alford expects his young Lobos to improve their man-to-man technique as the season progresses and the Lobo coach begrudgingly will fall back into a zone, if that defense is working.
The Lobos’ up-tempo attack and transition game seems to flow better coming out of a man defense, but the tempo shouldn’t be a problem with the Rebs in town.
“I don’t think either team is going to change their style or their system,” said Alford. “I don’t see either team walking the ball up. Both teams like transition. I think it’s going to be a real exciting style.”
One neat thing about this game is that sold-out status. The Pit is going through a $60 million facelift, but Alford’s Lobos are looking at their third straight sellout of 14,586. That hasn’t happened in 16 seasons.
Game Notes: Longley, who said he has never seen a Lobo game live as a fan, will be recognized Saturday by UNM. … Sophomore guard Nate Garth, who did not play at SDSU due to illness, will play against the Rebs. … Junior wing Darington Hobson leads UNM in scoring, rebounding and assists. No Lobo player has ever led all three categories for an entire season.