Stevens: Lobos Face Relentless Aztecs in The Pit

February 16, 2015

New Mexico Lobos Men’s Basketball – In WisePies Arena/The Pit

Who/When: 7:30 p.m., Tuesday – San Diego State (20-6, 10-3 MW) at New Mexico (14-11, 6-7 MW)

On TV: CBS Sports (Comcast 274/838, DISH 158, DirecTV 221)

On The Radio: 770-AM KKOB/Lobo Radio Network; 1450 AM KRZY

GoLobos.com: Game Story, Complete Stats (Live Stats at www.LoboStats.com), LoboTV, Quotes

By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com

The San Diego State Aztecs are about as subtle as a hammer to a chin bone – or a left hook to an unprotected jaw. The Aztecs attack and attack and attack. Then they attack again.

They are as tough as wet leather, as relentless as a shark in bloodied water, as ornery as a junkyard dog. Throw out a cliche on toughness and that’s the Aztecs.

And they are not stepping into WisePies Arena Tuesday night to be gentle on a New Mexico Lobo team on a four-game losing streak.

The Aztecs plan to step on a neck. They want to hear a crack. They are rushing toward a Mountain West title.

Really, as a Lobo fan, that’s what you want from the Aztecs. You want the Aztecs to be hard and relentless. You don’t want to like them. You want Coach Steve Fisher to throw his wave of athletic Aztecs at the Lobos and you want The Pit to howl in rage at these enemies from San Diego.

The Aztecs are the type of enemy that can make The Pit special. They bring out the best in that sunken gym and usually they bring out the best in the Lobos. This is a challenge. This is one of the league bullies chesting you back into a wall.

And if ever there was a time for the Lobos to rise to the nature of their opponent, Tuesday night is it. Lobo Bench at San Diego State

“We’ve had a fierce rivalry that has been a lot of fun and I think has brought out the best in both programs,” said Lobo Coach Craig Neal. “Hopefully, we’ll play at a higher level.”

Yeah, that would be nice and probably necessary. The Aztecs are looking at an NCAA season with a 20-6 overall mark. They are eyeing another Mountain West regular-season crown with the 10-3 league mark they carry into WisePies Arena. The Lobos are 14-11 and 6-7. The Lobos are struggling and Neal is not one to dodge reality.

“We’re all upset about it. We all don’t feel good about it,” said Neal of his Lobos four-game losing streak. “We’ve done a lot of soul searching.

“I’m upset as far as we don’t like to lose. I’m not happy about how the games have gone lately. We are going through a hard time right now, but it’s a process.”

It’s a process because really this is a rebuilding year for Neal and the Lobos already lost point guard Cullen Neal (17.0 ppg) and on Monday announced that 6-9 Jordan Goodman will be lost the rest of the season to foot surgery. That’s a starter and a scorer (Neal) and arguably a starter and a scorer (Goodman), if the JC star had entered the 2014-15 season healthy.

Of course, the Aztecs don’t care anything about all that. The Aztecs will be coming into The Pit to put the hammer down on any and all Lobos, who take the court. Jordan Goodman Out For Season

“It’s going to be a big game. Maybe we can play spoiler a little bit,” said Neal. “The Aztecs are very talented and they put a lot of pressure on you. They are a terrific team.”

The Aztecs pressured the Lobos into a 42-point output on Jan. 6 in San Diego in a convincing 56-42 SDSU win. The Lobos scored 18 points in the first half after shooting 22.2 percent. UNM shot 29.8 percent for the game.

That’s what the Aztecs do to an offense. They disrupt it with quickness, athleticism, length and vicious intent.

“You can’t let their pressure bother you and cause turnovers that lead to easy baskets for them,” said Neal. “We need to control tempo and not rush shots. They get you into playing faster and taking bad shots. You can’t let them do that

“You have to execute and get the shot you want. Then you have to guard them and keep them off the boards.”

The Aztecs outrebounded UNM 37-to-31 in San Diego going 10-to-5 on the offensive glass. The Lobos only had 11 turnovers, but often the Aztecs are more interested in ball and shot pressure than they are in turnovers. The Aztecs consider a bad shot to be a turnover – which is pretty much what it is if you take care of the rebound.

The Lobos’ mentality will be an interesting factor on Tuesday. UNM went to San Diego coming off an impressive 66-53 win over a ranked Colorado State teams – and UNM lost by 12 in a low-scoring game. The Lobos are currently on a four-game losing streak, but have the warmth of The Pit as the sixth man.

In San Diego, Aztec Winston Shepard went 7-of-10 from the field and scored 20 points. He had nine boards. The Lobos had no players in double figures and Hugh Greenwood and Deshawn Delaney combined for nine points combining for 3-of-14 shooting.

“We have a group that hasn’t let up, but we need to shoot the basketball better,” said Neal.

Here is an interesting note about the Aztecs’ defense. They were allowing 54.3 points prior to UNM’s visit to San Diego. The Aztecs now allow 53.7 points a game. Are they getting better?

The Lobos also pride themselves on defense. UNM allows 59 points a game which is good for the No. 3 spot in the Mountain West behind Wyoming’s 55.1 point yield. SDSU is No. 1 on the Mountain in field goal defense at .378 percent. UNM is No. 2 at .387. They are No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in 3-point defense.

There is a chance that the first team to 56 points wins again.

New Mexico Lobos 2014-2015 Roster

No.