Men's Basketball Releases Full Schedule
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico men’s basketball program officially announced its full schedule for the 2019-20 season on Thursday. The competitive schedule is highlighted by 18 home contests, the most in a decade for the Lobos, along with 13 road games, including a trip to Brooklyn, N.Y. to take on 2019 Final Four participant Auburn in November.
Of the 18 conference contests on the 2019-20 slate, 16 will be broadcast via either ESPN2, ESPNU, CBS Sports Network, AT&T SportsNet or STADIUM.
“This schedule has shaped up to possibly be the strongest non-conference Lobo men’s basketball schedule since 2013-14,” head coach Paul Weir said. “We feel like we have the team to take on this challenge and are excited about the opportunities we have provided ourselves.”
2019-20 Men’s Basketball Schedule: WEBSITE | DOWNLOADABLE PDF
The last time UNM hosted 18 matchups in front of Lobo fans in The Pit was during the 2009-10 season when the squad finished 30-5 with a Mountain West Championship. That team advanced to the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament as the No. 8 team in the nation.
“Giving our fans, especially our season ticket holders, this many home games partially served as a thank you for their continued loyalty to our team these past few seasons,” Weir said.
The Lobos are set to face at least six teams that advanced to postseason competition last season including four 2019 NCAA Tournament squads. Teams on the Lobo slate that made it to the Big Dance include Auburn, NM State, Nevada and Utah State, however the Lobos also have the potential to face Wisconsin in Brooklyn as part of the Legends Classic. All five of those squads finished 2018-19 in the top 50 in both the RPI and NET rankings.
Two teams on the 2019-20 Lobo schedule earned a berth in the 2019 CBI including CSUN and Grand Canyon.
Action inside Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit will tip off on Wednesday, Nov. 6 with a regular-season contest against Eastern New Mexico. The contest will begin a four-game homestand that includes CSUN (Sat. 11/9), Green Bay (Wed. 11/13) and McNeese State (Sat. 11/16). The Lobos took down CSUN last year in the season opener in exciting fashion with a buzzer-beating three to kick off the season with a victory. The contests against Green Bay and McNeese State are part of the Legends Classic tournament.
The Lobos then head out on the road for a quartet of tough road contests as they travel to UTEP on Tuesday, Nov. 19 followed by game one of the Rio Grande Rivalry against NM State in Las Cruces on Thursday, Nov. 21. The Aggies fell to Auburn by just one point in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year (78-77)
UNM will stay on the road as it makes the trek to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. to take on the Auburn Tigers in the Legends Classic Semifinal. That game is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 25 followed the next day by the championship or consolation contest against Richmond or Wisconsin, which also advanced to the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Wisconsin entered as the fifth seed but fell to 12-seed Oregon.
The Lobos return home for two more games beginning Dec. 1 with a matchup against the Montana Griz before hosting the 2019 conference opener against Boise State on an uncharacteristically early date of Dec. 4. UNM will compete in one more early conference contest on the road at Wyoming (Dec. 7) before returning home to complete its non-conference slate with four more straight games in The Pit.
In-state rival NM State will make its journey to Dreamstyle Arena on Saturday, Dec. 14 to kick off another four-game homestand including Grand Canyon (Dec. 17), Houston Baptist (Dec. 22) and UC Davis (Dec. 29).
The remainder of conference action tips off on New Year’s Day at San José State.
One of the most anticipated contests of the season will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 18 when the Nevada Wolf Pack comes to town, following an exciting 27-point Lobo blowout in The Pit last season in which UNM blemished No. 5/6 Nevada’s 14-win streak. After the matchup, UNM will hit the road to face Boise State (Feb. 23) and Air Force (Feb. 26) before returning for senior night on Saturday, Feb. 29.
Senior night looks to be a thrilling affair as it will mark the first and only time of the regular season that the Lobos will face defending Mountain West Champion Utah State. Last year, the Lobos were on track to take down the Aggies in The Pit, however, with UNM up by one, a later-determined errant backcourt call returned possession to Utah State with the clock winding down. The Aggies hit the gamewinner with 1.8 seconds left on the clock.
The deadline to renew season tickets for the upcoming season is Monday, September 16. Non-season ticket holders can place deposits to secure their seats for the coming year. For more ticket information, fans can visit www.GoLobos.com/Tickets, stop by the Dreamstyle Arena Ticket Office in person, or call over the phone at 505-925-LOBO (5626).