NEW MEXICO GAME NOTES | PURDUE GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | LIVE AUDIO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team (5-1) will look to give the No. 11 Purdue Boilermakers (7-0) their first loss on the road Saturday at 12:15 p.m. MT on the Big Ten Network.
The Lobos enter the game after two straight great defensive performances at home against Nicholls State and Oral Roberts. The Lobos held their last two opponents to 36.6 percent shooting and a cold 28.6 percent from 3-point range. On the year, the Lobos are holding opponents to 38 percent shooting from the floor and 31 percent shooting from 3-point range. Their field goal defense mark has ranked in the national top-50 for the last two weeks. Despite a jump in total possessions per game, the Lobos are still holding opponents to 68.3 points per game, leading to a scoring margin of 13.7.
Offensively, the Lobos are receiving strong production from several players. The top three leading scorers, Tim Williams, Elijah Brown and Cullen Neal, are all within 17.5 and 17 points per game and have all led the team in scoring twice. Obij Aget and Sam Logwood, who have started all six games, are shooting 73 and 50 percent, respectively.
The Lobos will need to bring intensity on both ends Saturday against the nation’s 11th ranked team. Purdue is holding opponents to 32.4 percent shooting, the best defensive mark in the country. They are led by Isaac Haas at 13.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. The 7-0 Boilermakers are coming off a road win Tuesday evening at Pittsburg, 72-59.
The Coaches:
New Mexico head coach Craig Neal has led his team to a 5-1 start for the second time in his three-year tenure. The victory over Oral Roberts Tuesday gave the Lobos five wins in their first six games for the sixth time since Neal joined the Lobos staff as an associate head coach in the fall of 2007. His current winning percentage of .662 ranks in the top five all-time at New Mexico among coaches with 50 games and is .001 behind Lobo legend Bob King. Matt Painter is in his 11th season at the helm of Purdue and has a pair of Sweet 16 appearances and seven NCAA Tournament berths to his credit. At 219 wins, he is the third winningest coach in Purdue history and one of six coaches in history to be named Big Ten Coach of the Year three times.
Series History:
New Mexico and Purdue will be playing in the second ever game between the two storied basketball institutions. The first and only meeting between the two schools came on Dec. 23, 1963 in West Lafayette, Indiana. The Lobos went on the road and defeated the Boilermakes, 63-61. The close win came on a pair of late free throws from New Mexico’s Skip Kruzich. Ira Harge, a future draftee of the Philadelphia 76ers and a 1,000 point scorer, led New Mexico with 21 points. The Lobos, who finished a then-record 23-6 that season, bounced back from a one-point loss to Washington-Missouri two days prior. It was the fifth straight loss for the Boilermakers, who finished 12-12 that season.
Broadcast Information:
The game will be televised on Big Ten Network. The broadcast will begin at 12:15 p.m. MT can be found on channels 272 and 865 on Comcast, 405 on DISH, and 610 on DirecTV.
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.