New Mexico Lobos Men’s Basketball – On The Mountain West Road
Who/When: 8 p.m., Saturday — New Mexico (14-14, 6-10 MW) at Fresno State (13-15, 8-7 MW)
On TV: ESPNU (Comcast 281/815, Dish 141, DirecTV 208)
On Radio: 770-AM KKOB/Lobo Radio Network with Robert Portnoy and Hunter Greene
GoLobo.com: Game Story, Complete Stats
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
In Fresno, Calif., Lobo Coach Craig Neal will be looking for some “swag.” He’ll also be looking for some defense.
“I think they have lost a little bit of swag,” said Neal of his New Mexico Lobos, who ride a seven-game losing streak at the Fresno State Bulldogs.
Prior to the Lobos’ win over Fresno in WisePies Arena, Neal said his Lobos “need to come together as a unit and figure out what is important and do the little things to win games.” The Lobos were coming off a loss at Grand Canyon.
The Lobos did all that stuff and won four or five including a 13-point win over Colorado State. The Lobos need to recapture a lot of that little stuff again.
And maybe one big thing – defense.
“We have to get back to guarding people,” said Neal. “We have to get back to playing defense.”
The Lobos have given up 76 points in their last two Mountain West defeats: 76-68 in The Pit to UNLV and 76-65 Tuesday night at Boise State. The Lobos beat Fresno 76-64 in The Pit.
You have to figure if Fresno State can hit that 76-point mark that the Lobos will have another loss on their hands. This is the Lobos’ final road game of the season and they end regular-season next Saturday in WisePies Arena vs. Wyoming.
The Lobos are on a two-game winning streak in Fresno’s Save Mart Center, but have lost five straight Mountain West road games
“We’ve been inconsistent and have had a bad stretch here,” said Neal. “(Fresno State) is good. We are trying to chase them down.
“We are stuck at six (MW wins). We could have done a lot of good things if we had won at home. We could have caught some people.”
The Lobos’ current slide includes three losses in WisePies Arena.
You lose at home in the Mountain West and it’s tough to be in the race for the regular-season title. San Diego State is on top of the Mountain at 12-3 followed by Boise State at 11-4.
The Lobos are 6-10 and appear destined to need a four-game winning streak in Las Vegas in order to defend their 2014 MW tournament title and return to NCAA play. The Lobos would need help in order for UNM to get a first-round bye.
The tournament opens at the Vegas Thomas & Mack on Wednesday, March 11 with No. 8 vs. No. 9 and No. 7 vs. No. 10. Based on the seeding heading into this Saturday, that would have the Lobos opening with Air Force with the winner advancing to play San Diego State. It might be better to be No. 7 – or No. 10.
If the Bulldogs beat the Lobos and UNLV loses to Wyoming, the ‘Dogs clinch a first-round bye in the MW tourney.
Fresno State is led by junior guard Marvelle Harris, who leads the league in steals (2.5 per game) and minutes played (37.8). This court warrior also is No. 2 in scoring at 18.3 points per game and No. 14 in rebounding with a 5.1 average.
“Harris is probably an all-league performer,” said Neal. “It’s going to be a tough contest for us because it’s on the road and we have to figure out how to get a win.”
Neal knows how to get a win. But his knowledge has to be carried onto the floor by his young Lobos. Neal needs aggression on both ends of the court, good ball handling – and more than a few shots to fall.
He needs his Lobos to attack the rim.
The Lobos outside gun is Hugh Greenwood with an 11.8 average. Deshawn Delaney brings a 12.0 average and is one of several Lobos good at attacking a defense.
“I thought he played aggressively (at Boise),” said Neal. “I thought he took shots he could make and he made them.”
The Lobos have two players in double figures while Fresno State has four: Harris (18.2), Julien Lewis (11.6), Cezar Guerrero (11.3) and Paul Watson (11.1). Watson hits 33 percent from behind the 3-point line and usually pulls a big defender out on the edge opening up lanes for the dribble-drive. Lewis is an aggressive defender and probably will see some time on UNM’s Greenwood.
Neal said his Lobos have played hard during the losing streak, but not consistent and not always focused. “You have to compete for 40 minutes if you want to win ball games in our league,” said Neal.
Editor’s Note: Richard Stevens is a former national award-winning Sports Columnist and Associate Sports Editor at The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net