Feb. 12, 2010
CLICK HERE for Lobo tickets against Wyoming, Air Force and TCU!
Up Next: Saturday, Feb. 13; 7:02 p.m. MST; Huntsman Center (15,000) Salt Lake City, Utah
Records: New Mexico 22-3, 8-2 MWC (14-1 home, 7-2 road, 1-0 neutral); Utah 11-12, 4-5 MWC (7-6 home, 3-5 road, 1-1 neutral)
Radio: 770 KKOB / Lobo Radio Network (Scott Galetti and Scott Didrickson) with air time at 6:30 p.m. MST
TV: The Mtn. (James Bates and Joe Cravens); Ch. 276 Comcast Albuquerque, DirecTV 616
Live Stats: GoLobos.com / GameTracker
Series: 126th meeting; Utah leads 78-47
Last Meeting: Jan. 13, 2010; UNM 74, Utah 57 at Albuquerque
Next Up: Wednesday, Feb. 17 vs. Wyoming (9-15, 2-8 MWC), 7:02 p.m. MST, The mtn.
RED-HOT LOBOS FINISH ROAD TRIP SATURDAY AT UTAH
Picked to finish 5th in the Mountain West Conference preseason poll, league-leading New Mexico (22-3, 8-2 MWC) guns for its ninth straight victory Saturday when it visits Utah (11-12, 4-5 MWC). Tip-off is 7:02 p.m. Mountain Time from the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The game will be televised nationally on The mtn., channel 276 on Albuquerque Comcast and 616 on DirecTV.
It’s never easy for the Lobos in Salt Lake as they are just 6-52 in games played on the Utes’ home floor. And, UNM is 1-6 playing as a ranked team at Utah.
(15/23) New Mexico moved into sole possession of first place in the MWC after an impressive 76-66 win at (23/25) UNLV on Wednesday. The Lobos, who never trailed, held on after the Runnin’ Rebels cut an 18-point deficit (61-43) to 65-63 with 3:40 remaining.
UNM has now established a new school record by beating five top-25 teams in one season. More impressive is that the Lobos have not lost to a top-25 opponent (5-0).
After starting 0-2 in the MWC, New Mexico has won eight straight conference games for the first time since an 8-game run in 1997-98. The Lobos have won nine straight league games just one time in school history, It was 1977-78 when they started 10-0 in the Western Athletic Conference. That streak came to an end by – you guessed it – Utah on Feb. 23, 1978. The Utes nipped the 5th-ranked Lobos 95-92, though UNM won the WAC title at 13-1.
New Mexico broke into the top-25 for the first time in 11 seasons on Dec. 14. UNM started 12-0 before losing at Oral Roberts on Dec. 23.
UNM was picked to finish 5th in last year’s MWC race, but tied BYU and Utah for the MWC title at 12-4 to win its first conference title in 15 years.
A WIN AT UTAH WOULD GIVE…
UNM a 9-game winning streak
Steve Alford the only UNM head coach to win two games against the Utes in Salt Lake City
UNM nine straight conference wins for only the 2nd time in school history (10 in a row in 1977-78)
UNM a 5-game winning streak in MWC road games, a feat, again, only accomplished in 1977-78
tie a school record for most true road wins in a season at 8…won 8 in 1972-73, 1977-78, 1995-96 and 2007-08
tie a school record for most wins away from Albuquerque (road and neutral sites) at 9…won 9 in 1963-64, 1992-93, 1995-96 and 1997-98
THE NEW MEXICO-UTAH SERIES
It’s game No. 126 in a series that started Jan. 3, 1952. The Utes have a 78-47 lead, although UNM has won the past two and it’s 8-4 in the Lobos’ favor the past 12 games. Utah has an overwhelming 52-6 lead in games played in Salt Lake City, however, UNM snapped an 18-game losing skid at the Huntsman Center with a 72-71 victory in 2008. New Mexico has won the last 8 meetings in The Pit. Utah’s last win in Albuquerque came in 2002.
Current Lobo head coach Steve Alford has a chance to do what no other Lobo head man has done and that’s beat Utah twice in Salt Lake City.
Before UNM’s 74-57 victory in Albuquerque on Jan. 13, the previous four games were decided by a total of 10 points (2.5 avg.). The previous seven were decided by a combined 26 points (3.7 avg.), and four of those went into overtime – one requiring double OT.
NEW MEXICO-UTAH: EXPECT A VERY, VERY CLOSE GAME IN SALT LAKE CITY
The results of the past 3 games between New Mexico and Utah at the Huntsman Center:
2-24-07 Utah, 93-91 (2OT)
2-23-08 New Mexico, 72-71
1-31-09 Utah, 69-68
JAN. 13 IN ALBUQUERQUE
Darington Hobson scored 14 points to lead five New Mexico players in double figures as the Lobos defeated Utah 74-57. The 17-point winning margin is UNM’s largest over Utah in 20 years, since an 86-66 decision in The Pit on Feb. 17, 1990.
Dairese Gary added 13 points and a game-high six assists for New Mexico, which pulled away from Utah late in the second half with a 13-1 run to go up 68-51.
The Lobos, who ended a two-game losing streak, led for most of the game after a 9-0 run early in the first half. New Mexico closed the half with a 10-0 surge that gave it a 35-24 lead at the break.
Hobson added a game-high eight rebounds. Marshall Henderson, the only Utah player in double figures, finished with 12 points.
LAST YEAR IN SALT LAKE CITY
Lawrence Borha made a baseline jumper with 11 seconds left to lift Utah to a 69-68 victory. Borha scored 15 points to lead the Utes, while Luke Nevill and Luka Drca each added 11.
The Lobos called timeout to set up a potential game-winning play after Borha’s basket, but Ramon Martinez lost control of the ball and teammate Chad Toppert threw up an airball after a scramble.
Daniel Faris scored 18 points to lead the Lobos, who failed in their bid to win back-to-back games at Utah for the first time since 1972-73. New Mexico shot 54 percent and held Utah to 40.1%.
The Lobos took a 64-58 lead with 5:32 remaining after Roman Martinez nailed his 4th 3-pointer of the half. At that point in the game, UNM was 13 of 16 from the floor in the second half. It got tougher down the stretch, though, as the Lobos missed 7 of 9 shots, the front end of a 1-and-1 and committed two turnovers in the final 5:32.
TOUGH SLEDDING FOR LOBOS AT UTAH
Playing as a ranked team, New Mexico is 6-9 all-time against Utah and has lost four in a row. Of course, Utah was also ranked in nine of those meetings:
Jan. 20, 1967 Utah 66, (9) UNM 64 Salt Lake City Jan. 18, 1968 (6) UNM 72, (5) Utah 66 Albuquerque Feb. 17, 1968 Utah 71, (5) UNM 64 Salt Lake City Feb. 15, 1973 (18) UNM 73, Utah 70 Salt Lake City Jan. 4, 1974 (12) UNM 98, Utah 81 Albuquerque Jan. 28, 1978 (14) UNM 113, Utah 89 Albuquerque Feb. 23, 1978 Utah 95, (5) UNM 92 Salt Lake City Feb. 1, 1997 (13) UNM 87, (4) Utah 71 Albuquerque March 1, 1997 (4) Utah 78, (11) UNM 58 Salt Lake City March 7, 1997 (3) Utah 72, (14) UNM 70 Las Vegas (WAC Tournament) Feb. 1, 1998 (14) UNM 77, (3) Utah 74 Albuquerque Feb. 28, 1998 (5) Utah 65, (16) UNM 55 Salt Lake City Feb. 1, 1999 (20) Utah, (17) UNM 39 Albuquerque Feb. 27, 1999 (12) Utah 77, UNM 47 Salt Lake City March 6, 1999 (8) Utah 60, (25) UNM 45 Las Vegas (WAC Tournament)
Albuquerque: 5-1
Salt Lake City: 1-6
Las Vegas: 0-2
5-0 VS. RANKED TEAMS IN 2009-10 SETS SCHOOL RECORD
New Mexico has established a new school record with five wins (5-0) against ranked teams this season. The ledger in 2009-10:
Date Ranking/Opponent Result Location Dec. 2 rv/25 Cal W, 86-78 Albuquerque Dec. 12 16/18 Texas A&M W, 84-81 Houston Dec. 29 19/17 Texas Tech W, 90-75 Albuquerque Jan. 27 12/10 BYU W, 76-72 Albuquerque Feb. 10 23/25 UNLV W, 76-66 Las Vegas