NEW MEXICO GAME NOTES | LOYOLA-CHICAGO GAME NOTES | MOUNTAIN WEST NOTES | LIVE STATS | LIVE AUDIO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – (-/RV) The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team (2-0) will host the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers (2-0) Wednesday in the Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge Series at 7 p.m. in the WisePies Arena.
The Lobos enter the game with a 2-0 record and a vote in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll, following a road win at New Mexico State Sunday evening, 83-74. The Lobos were led by a career-night from sophomore Elijah Brown, who scored 31 points on 8-for-17 shooting. The guard scored 13 of his points at the line out of 14 attempts. It’s the most points a Lobo has scored since Alex Kirk dropped in 32 on Nov. 22, 2013. The effort, combined with 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting against Texas Southern, earned the newcomer MW Player of the Week honors. Fellow sophomore Cullen Neal scored 18 points with five rebounds and 36 minutes played, both tying a career highs.
The Ramblers head into Wednesday’s game after wins this past weekend over UTSA, 76-64, and NCAA Division III Eureka, 84-51. Both games were played at Loyola-Chicago’s Gentile Arena. The Ramblers were selected fifth overall in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll. Wichita State, picked to win the league, received 42 first place votes, while Loyola-Chicago earned the only other first-place vote.
Canned Food Drive:
New Mexico athletics will hold its annual Canned Food Drive Wednesday. Fans will receive a $10 ticket in bench Rows 1-10 while supplies last if you bring in a canned food donation at time of purchase at the Lobo Ticket Office in WisePies Arena. Donations will go directly to the Road Runner Food Bank, serving the community here in Albuquerque.
The Coaches:
Neal is in his third season as head coach of the Lobos and his ninth year with the university. Neal holds a 44-23 overall record as a head coach. This season, Neal has continued two traditions: one of strong starts (3-0 in season openers as head coach), and another in winning at New Mexico State (eight straight wins there as a member of the Lobo staff). Loyola-Chicago is led by Porter Moser, in his fifth year at the helm. Moser, who went 7-23 in his first season, has risen the Ramblers to prominence and finished 24-13 last season. It was the program’s best record since 1984-85.
Series History:
This is the first meeting ever between the New Mexico men’s basketball team and Loyola-Chicago.
Broadcast Information:
The game will be televised on ROOTS SPORTS. The broadcast will begin at 7 p.m. MT and air exclusively on ROOT SPORTS in most areas of New Mexico, as well as Colorado, Eastern Wyoming, and portions of South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas. The game may also be available in additional markets, so please check your local listings.
For fans tuning in on the radio, Robert Portnoy will give the play-by-play action alongside analyst and Lobo great Hunter Greene on 770 KKOB, the flagship station of the New Mexico Lobos. This feed will also be available via the TuneIn Radio App.