Dec. 8, 2011
New Mexico Lobos Men’s Basketball – At Southern Cal
Saturday: 5 p.m. (MT), Lobos (6-2) at USC Trojans (4-5)
On The Air: Fox West/Prime Ticket; 770-AM KKOB/ Lobo Radio Network
GoLobos.com: Game Story, Stats, GameTracker
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
Is the Pac-12 becoming the Mountain West’s whipping boy when it comes to men’s hoops?
That might be the question Southern Cal coach Kevin O’Neill throws at his Trojans prior to New Mexico’s visit to the Galen Center on Saturday. More than a few Pac-12 teams have fallen to Mountain West teams, including USC, Arizona State, Arizona, Washington State, Colorado and Cal-Berkeley.
If O’Neill really wants to get his team’s attention, he might just go for the Trojan throat and ask his players if “they” are the Mountain West’s whipping boy?
The Trojans are 0-2 vs. the Mountain with losses to San Diego State (56-54) and to UNLV (66-55).
The Trojans get a chance to reverse that skid down the Mountain when Steve Alford’s Lobos visit for what the Trojans likely will look to turn into a low-scoring walk while the Lobos just might look to run-and-gun.
“I think now we are going to have to push it a little bit harder and get it out in transition,” said Lobo center Drew Gordon. “I think coach would like to see the pace picked up a little bit more.”
Said Alford: “They want the game in the 50s, no more than the 60s, but they really want it in the 50s. We have to find ways of scoring.”
The Trojans are No. 16 in the nation in scoring defense allowing 55.4 points per game. The UNLV Rebs of the MW put the most points on USC at 66. “They do a really good job of being a physical defense,” said Alford. “And they are big.”
In a way, the Trojans have no choice but to step onto the court with a nasty defense. The Trojans are challenged on offense where they average 55.1 points per game. They gave up 35 points in one game this season and scored 36 in another. They hold opponents to 38.3 shooting, but gun at a 43.2 clip. They shoot 29 percent from behind the line.
A high scoring game probably would favor the Lobos. USC returns 19.7 percent of its scoring and 12.4 percent of its rebounding from 2010-11. The USC game notes say only eight teams in the whole country return less than 20 percent of their scoring.
The Trojans lost four starters from last year and lost returning senior point guard Jio Fontan to ACL surgery prior to this season. USC also lost sophomore forward Curtis Washington to surgery. Another sophomore post, Dewayne Dedmon, is in a walking cast/boot and is day-to-day as far as playing, but so far is making the lineup.
Sophomore guard Evan Smith is being treated for a shoulder injury which was to keep him out for six weeks, but he is expected to see limited time against the Lobos.
Yeah, the Trojans are hurting, not real deep off the bench, and challenged on offense. But they like the “D.” Alford says the game will “be more about our offense because of how good they are on defense.”
The top Lobos to guard in eyeing point production are Tony Snell (13.5 points per game), Kendall Williams (11.4) and Gordon (10.6).
“I don’t think Kendall or Drew have hit their stride,” said Alford, noting that one of the reasons the numbers are down for those two standouts is because they were “targeted” Lobos heading into the season.
“They are being hounded,” said Alford.
Drew, a senior, says he is “getting different looks” from defenses. He is being double teamed. There is defensive help coming over from the weak side. Teams are dropping guards down to front him. He is being pushed away from the hoop.
“It’s frustrating running into a double team because nobody wants to be guarded by two people,” said Gordon. “I don’t want to push too hard. If something is not working, don’t use it. I just have to find different ways to get to the basket and find different ways to get the ball into the basket.”
It’s possible that Gordon will not be looking at a double team in Los Angeles. The Trojans start the 7-foot Dedmon and probably will challenge Gordon to shoot over the towering Trojan. USC also has 7-1 James Blasczyk on the bench. Blasczyk averages 16 minutes a game, 2.1 points, and has one start.
The Trojans’ top scorer is 5-7 Maurice Jones with a 14.7 average. He has taken 114 shots this season with 49 of them from behind the 3-point line.
“Jones is an electric point guard,” said Alford. “He has the ball in his hands a lot and creates a lot of their offense for them.” Jones has the lowest shooting percentage of the starters at 38 percent.
USC’s Aaron Fuller, a 6-6 forward, averages 12.3 points and has taken 74 shots, none behind the line. Dedmon averages 7.0 points and shoots 57 percent from the floor.
The Lobos ride a four-game win streak into L.A., winning each game by ten points or more. Alford has battled illness and injuries in trying to create consistency and rhythm among his Lobos. UNM is getting closer to that, but still has to work the injured Phillip McDonald back into the lineup. The Lobos’ offense has looked smoother with Australian freshman Hugh Greenwood at the point.
“Hugh has done an amazing job,” said Gordon. “He is one of the smartest basketball IQ people I have seen, maybe ever.”
Said Alford: “Hugh has given us some consistency and a lot of stability. He has a phenomenal assist to turnover ratio.” Greenwood has 24 assists and five turnovers while averaging 23.5 minutes a game.
Alford said a key to winning at USC, and anywhere on the road, is to be “right there with ten minutes to go to give yourself a chance to win.”
With the Trojans, that might not be difficult to do. If USC can control the tempo and the scoreboard, there probably won’t be any huge gap in scoring.
For several Lobos, this game marks another return to their home turf. “I can’t wait,” said Gordon, a former UCLA Bruin from San Jose, Calif. “It’s cold in Albuquerque right now. It’s not 12 degrees (in L.A.) I have a lot of family members there and a lot of friends.
“It will be nice to get out of there with a win and that’s what we’re expecting.”
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NEW MEXICO LOBOS 2011-12 ROSTER/STATISICS
| Possible Starters | HT | Position | Season Statistics |
21 – Tony Snell6-7Wing13.5 Pts. – 3.5 Rebs
32 – Drew Gordon6-9Post10.6 Pts. – 9.1 Rebs.
10 – Kendall Williams6-3Guard11.4 Pts. – 5.1 Asts..
03 – Hugh Greenwood6-3Guard6.6 Pts. – 3.0 Asts.
00 – A.J. Hardeman6-8Forward4.5 Pts. – 4.3 Rebs.
| The NM Bench | HT | Position | Season Statistics |
40 – Demetrius Walker6-2Guard8.9 Pts. – 2.9 Rebs.
13 – Jamal Fenton5-9Guard5.3 Pts. – 1.6 Asts.
04 – Chad Adams6-6Wing3.7 Pts. – 1.5 Rebs.
23 – Phillip McDonald6-5Guard4.7 Pts. – 1.7 Rebs.
41 – Cameron Bairstow6-9Post5.3 Pts. – 3.9 Rebs.
05 – Dominique Dunning6-4Guard1.0 Pts. – 1.0 Rebs.
02 – Chris Perez6-1Guard0.0 Pts. – 0.0 Rebs.