NEW MEXICO GAME NOTES | UTAH STATE GAME NOTES | MOUNTAIN WEST RELEASE | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team (9-6, 2-0 MW) returns to WisePies Arena Saturday to host the Utah State Aggies (9-5, 1-2 MW) at 4 p.m.
The Lobos enter the game with two wins in conference play, opening the Mountain West Conference schedule with an 88-76 home win over Nevada and a commanding road victory at Fresno State, 77-62. The 2-0 start to conference is the third straight in as many years for head coach Craig Neal and the fourth straight overall. Prior to this run of solid starts, the Lobos had not started 2-0 in conference since the 2001-02 season.
On Saturday, the Lobos will be looking to stretch that start to 3-0 for the second time in three years. If the Lobos are victorious again, it will be against a team that will give the Lobos a contrasting style. Since returning from Hawaii, the Lobos have stepped on the gas pedal and emerged as the most up-tempo team in the Mountain West. The Lobos average 73.7 possessions per game, the fastest pace in the league, but have averaged 78 possessions a game in league play. Utah State enters the game on the opposite end of the spectrum at 67.5 possessions per game, the second slowest pace in the league.
Utah State finished nonconference play with an 8-3 record, but have faced adversity as of late. The Aggies opened up the league with a road win at San Jose State, 80-71, but have lost two straight home games to San Diego State and Boise State. Saturday’s game will open up a run of five road games in the next eight outings for Utah State.
The Coaches:
Head coach Craig Neal leads the Lobos after reaching a pair of milestones in the last two games. The win over Nevada was Neal’s 50th and helped lead to his current winning percentage of .638, one of the five best records for Lobo head coaches with at least 50 wins. The Fresno State win made Neal the first New Mexico head coach to start league play 2-0 in his first three seasons since the Lobos joined the Mountain West. On the opposite bench, Tim Duryea continues his first season as head coach of Utah State. Like Neal, Duryea was promoted from his position as associate head coach after 17-year Utah State leader Stew Morrill retired.
Series History:
The Lobos and Aggies will be meeting for the 28th time in program history Saturday but just the fourth time inside WisePies Arena. All-time, the Lobos are 7-20 against Utah State in a series that dates back to Feb. 2, 1952. All but five of the games were played between 1952-1962. After a near-18 year break, the Aggies defeated New Mexico inside WisePies Arena, 117-83. They did not play again until Utah State joined the Mountain West two seasons ago. The Lobos are 3-1 over that time. After a sweep of the Aggies in 2014, New Mexico and Utah State split the series last year, with each team winning on the road. The Lobos won in Logan, 66-60, on Jan. 10 and the Aggies won in Albuquerque on Feb. 7, 63-60.
Broadcast Information:
The game will be televised on ESPN3. The broadcast can be found HERE.
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.