March 2, 2013
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New Mexico Basketball Postgame Notes
(14 AP / 14 Coaches) UNM vs. Wyoming
Saturday, March 2, 2013 *** The Pit / Bob King Court *** Albuquerque, N.M.
New Mexico improves to 25-4 overall (12-2 MWC, 1st place by 2 ½ games) after a 53-42 win against Wyoming (18-11, 4-11 MW)
The Lobos have won 5 in a row overall and 10 straight against Wyoming in The Pit
UNM allowed a season-low 42 points and 28.1% (16-57) shooting today
Picked to finish 3rd in the Mountain West preseason poll, the Lobos have clinched at least a tie for the MW regular-season championship…it is UNM’s 4th conference title in the past 5 seasons…the Lobos tied for the championship in 2009 and 2012 and won it outright in 2010
New Mexico is guaranteed being the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Mountain West Tournament…the Lobos will play the winner between the eighth and ninth place teams in Las Vegas on Wednesday, March 14
UNM seniors Chad Adams and Jamal Fenton extended their school record with 105 career wins…the Lobos are 105-29 in their four seasons with 3 conference championships
The Lobos have won 25 games for the 8th time in program history – all since 1986-87 – and the 3rd time in the past 4 seasons under head coach Steve Alford
UNM made 15 FGs today, 7 of those dunks
UNM tied a season low with 6 turnovers (1 in the 1st half) and has committed just 24 the past 3 games
New Mexico has started 5 underclassmen – 3 juniors and 2 sophomores – the past 9 games
UNM held Wyoming to 19 points in the 1st half, tying a season low by a Lobo opponent…New Mexico led 33-19 at Indiana State
In 2 games against UNM this season, Wyoming was 19-46 (41%) from 3-point, but just 17-60 (28.3%) from inside the arc
UNM averaged 15,022 for 16 home games in 2012-13…that’s the highest average attendance in 10 years, since 15,186 in 2002-03
Alex Kirk (15 and 9) and Cameron Bairstow (13 and 9) combined for 28 points and 18 rebounds today…the last 2 games, the duo has totaled 69 points and 30 rebounds (Kirk 40-16, Bairstow 29-14)
Under Steve Alford, UNM is 70-2 when allowing less than 60 points, the only losses 59-56 to Louisville in the 3rd round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament and at San Diego State (55-34) on Jan. 26, 2013
The Lobos won for the 9th time this season when shooting less than 40% from the floor…UNM shot 35.7% (15-42) for the game and just 14% (2-14) from 3-point, however, the Lobos were 21-27 from the FT line
New Mexico is 21-1 in its last 22 home games and has won 14 straight Mountain West home games
Opponents FG shooting in the last 5 minutes and overtime this season:
– All games 33.0% (75-227)
– MWC games 27.4% (32-117)
– MWC home games 24.6% (16-65)
UNM had 12 assists on 15 FGs today and has 30 on 36 FGs the past 2 games
The Lobos have won 13 straight games when they wear their silver uniforms and 11 in a row when head coach Steve Alford wears his red blazer
New Mexico is now shooting 41.6% for the season, which is still the poorest by a Lobo team in 51 years, since the 1961-62 team ended at 37.4%…the 1961-62 Lobos finished with a 6-20 record
UNM has won 26 straight games when leading at halftime…the last loss was last year to San Diego State in The Pit…UNM led 31-30 before losing 75-70
UNM is 176-71 all-time when nationally ranked, 121-8 in The Pit, 40-50 on the road and 15-13 neutral
UNM has made a 3-point FG in 722 straight games…the last game without a 3 was Jan. 3, 1991 at Colorado State (0-for-8)
New Mexico has a 105-29 record since the start of the 2009-10 season
Head coach Steve Alford
459-233 in his 22nd season as a head coach
151-50 in his 6th year at New Mexico, 92-11 in The Pit, 45-29 on the road and 14-10 neutral
67-25 in Mountain West regular-season games, 40-7 in The Pit and 27-18 on the road
32-12 when UNM is ranked, 20-2 in The Pit, 9-7 on the road and 3-3 neutral
11-2 in his career against Wyoming, 6-0 in The Pit
18-9 in March games at UNM, 8-0 in The Pit and 4-3 on the road and 6-6 neutral
16-7 against ranked opponents while at UNM, 6-2 at home, 7-3 on the road and 3-2 at neutral sites
10-5 in overtime games at UNM, 7-2 in the Mountain West regular season and 7-1 on the road
Sophomore C Alex Kirk
15 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks in career-high tying 36 minutes played
averaging 15.1 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocks the past 7 games
Junior F Cameron Bairstow
13 points and 9 rebounds in 33 minutes
averaging 12.0 points as a starter the last 9 games
made his 13th start of the season
Junior G Kendall Williams
7 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists in 31 minutes
8th place all-time at UNM with 417 career assists
passed Mark Walters for 19th all-time at UNM with 1,205 career points
UNM is 35-4 in Williams’ career when he has at least 5 assists in a game
played in 97 career games with 92 starts
Junior G Tony Snell
9 points and 4 rebounds in 35 minutes
played in 98 career games with 64 consecutive starts
Freshman G Cleveland Thomas
career-high 6 points on 6-6 FTs in 10 minutes