March 14, 2010
Thursday: Lobos vs. Montana Grizzlies, 7:50 p.m. (MT)
On The Air: CBS-TV; 770-AM KKOB
GoLobos.com: Game story, stats
“There’s talk on the street, it sounds so familiar. Great expectations, everybody’s watching you.” — Eagles.
By Richard Stevens — Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
The talk on the street does sound familiar. Lobos to the Sweet 16. Lobos to the Elite Eight. Look out Montana. One thing is for certain: When you have an invite to participate in the NCAA March Madness, everyone is watching you.
The Lobos take CBS-TV center court at 7:50 p.m. (MT), Thursday in San Jose, Calif., when the 29-4, No. 8-ranked Lobos battle a would-be NCAA Cinderella from Montana called the Grizzlies.
The Lobos aren’t exactly a new kid on the NCAA block, but they haven’t danced in five years and, yes, there are great expectations. That’s just the way it is with Lobo basketball. With the fans. With the players. And why not?
“This year we’re going to the Elite Eight, if not further,” said Lobo junior Darington Hobson. “That’s my prediction.”
Said senior Roman Martinez: “We’re going to shoot for the stars and go as far as we can. We’ve proven we can go on great runs. Why not one more run for this team?”
Probably the greatest expectations for a Lobo NCAA team came in 1978 when the No. 4-ranked, 24-3, Norm Ellenberger Lobos were supposed to walk over Cal State Fullerton and use The Pit to roll into The Final Four. That team crashed in the first round and the Fullerton Titans stole The Pit.
If the Lobos can run past the Grizzlies and into the Sweet 16 (Syracuse, N.Y.), it will be the first time ever for this proud program. The stage for Steve Alford’s No. 3-seed NCAA Lobos is huge and national and, as Martinez put it, the Lobos “need to stretch this out as long as we can.”
Yeah, there is good PR stuff that comes with March Madness when your school’s name is tossed onto that NCAA bracket. The Lobos got a sweet taste of that national stage Sunday in The Pit and from the get-go of this NCAA dance to the Final four, the Lobos rose above the pack of 64 to steal the CBS spotlight.
The Lobos` Pit Party Sunday put to shame gatherings across the country as fans and teams grouped to celebrate their team’s official seed, site and opponent in the NCAA Championships.
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When the 29-4 Lobos appeared as the No. 3 East seed in San Jose, Calif., the reverberations in The Pit probably could be felt on the West Coast — and maybe all the way up to Missoula, where those Cinderella Grizzlies already are plotting against our beloved Lobos.
“Look at Selection Sunday, they (CBS) did maybe nine, 12 teams across the country, but there was nothing like this,” said Lobo coach Steve Alford.
Depending on which Pit expert you polled, University Arena was jammed with anywhere from 5,000 to 7,000 fans Sunday for the bracket-viewing party. The mob went wild from start to finish and let a nation of viewers witness the passion and the support that comes to New Mexico Lobos.
“This was amazing,” said Martinez of the crowd.
Said Alford: “We have maybe 7,000 people in here to watch a 30-minute TV show. That speaks volumes about the type of fans we have here at New Mexico.”
The passion of this fan base already is making more noise. The Lobo fans set a record with ticket requests to the Mountain West tourney in Vegas. The requests for Lobo tickets in San Jose already has exceeded UNM’s allotment.
There are thousands of Lobo fans willing to continue this amazing train ride that saw the Lobos churn out 14 consecutive regular-season wins to grab the Mountain West Conference title. You can bet the airports in San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco will be dotted with Lobo red when the Southwest flights from Albuquerque hit the Bay area.
It will be interesting to see how many Lobo fans pack it up for Syracuse, N.Y., if the Lobos advance. UNM’s ticket to Syracuse starts with Montana. If the Lobos win, they play the winner of Marquette/Washington. That’s a tougher game. Washington won the Pac-10. Marquette is a No. 6 seed.
The top seed in the East is Kentucky (32-2). The No. 2 seed in the East, on UNM’s half of the bracket, is No. 2 West Virginia (27-6). Wisconsin (23-8) got the No. 4 seed.
The Lobos carry a one-game losing skid into the NCAA tourney compliments of the San Diego State Aztecs, who bumped UNM out of the MWC tourney semifinals. That loss might have cost UNM a No. 2 seed, which isn’t a huge thing. If the top seeds advance, No. 3 plays No. 6 and No. 2 plays No. 7.
Alford said he had no problem with the No. 3 seed the Lobos were handed on Sunday.
“We’re very pleased with a three seed and getting to go out West to San Jose is a great spot for us,” he said.
Kansas (32-2) got the No. 1 seed in Midwest, Syracuse (28-4) was No. 1 in the West and Duke (29-5) was No. 1 in the South. The Mountain West also is represented by Brigham Young (29-5), a No. 7 seed in the West, SDSU (25-8) a No. 11 seed in the Midwest, and UNLV (25-8), a No. 8 seed in the Midwest. The Rebs’ slot in the bracket has them looking at a possible second-round crash with Kansas.
A couple of Lobo rivals, New Mexico State and UTEP, also cracked the tourney. The Aggies (22-11) are a No. 12 seed in the Midwest and UTEP (26-6) is a No. 12 seed in the West.
The Lobos’ rise to a No. 3 seed borders the miraculous when you consider the Lobos, one of the youngest teams in the nation, were expected to finish fifth in the MWC race — a finish that would not have produced an NCAA at-large bid.
“In October, we weren’t even in this tournament,” said Hobson. “We were NIT. I think I saw destiny for greatness when we beat Cal and then went on the road and beat Texas A&M.
“When we won those games, I knew we were for real. But a lot of it was just practicing with the guys and seeing how focused and hungry everyone was. This is something we believed in and went out and worked to make happen.”
The Lobos’ youth surely will be considered when evaluating UNM’s chances to go deep into the NCAA bracket. So will the UNM’s inside game which was considered a preseason weakness — a weakness that never materialized.
A Pit celebration |
“The Big 12 is supposed to be a league for big men and we handled our own against Texas A&M,” said Hobson. “Cal had a 7-footer and we handled our own against them. A.J. (Hardeman) and Will (Brown) are our two-headed dragon, or a two-headed monster.
“They do a great job of handling things inside and we are a bunch of tough guys who can handle our own.”
The Montana Griz that might need the most handling by the Lobos is Anthony Johnson. The Grizzlies’ senior hit a Big Sky Tournament-record 42 points (34 in the second half) to pace Montana to a 66-65 win over Weber State. Johnson scored the final 21 points of the game for Montana.
The win pushed Montana into the NCAA bracket ahead of Weber State. Johnson led Montana in scoring with a 19.6 average. No other Grizzlies reached double figures. Montana will bring a 22-9 mark into NCAA play. They are 7-7 in road games.
The Grizzlies are coached by Wayne Tinkle, an ex-Griz. Montana actually has a winning record (16-7) against UNM. The teams used to play together in the old Skyline Conference. They haven’t played since 1961-62.
The Grizs don’t have the big name, are a No. 14 seed, and don’t come from a marquee conference. But Martinez says the Lobos will be focused on this first-round enemy.
“Any team in the NCAA is there because they can play,” he said. “There are no easy opponents. We have to be ready and we will be.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling to be in the NCAA tournament. It’s a storybook ending for me. This team has proved itself all year and we have to show it again in the tournament.”
Yep, great expectations, Roman. Everybody is watching you.
Editor’s Note: Richard Stevens is the former Associate Sports Editor and sports columnist for The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net.