Lobos Face San Diego State in MW Quarterfinals Monday
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— It is Mountain West tournament time, with New Mexico set to face San Diego State on Monday at 2:30 p.m. PT in the No. 4/5 matchup.
The Lobos enter the MW Tournament on a six-game win streak, while also winning seven of the last eight and 10 of their last 12.
UNM will face a familiar opponent in the quarterfinals in San Diego State, with the two teams meeting in the quarterfinals last season. The Lobos won 63-60 last year in Las Vegas, and this season, split the series with the Aztecs with each team winning at home.
The Lobos are 7-3 as the No. 4 seed and 15-6 all-time in the MW quarterfinals. Against SDSU, UNM is 8-3 in the MW Tournament.
SDSU enters the tournament as the No. 5 seed and 3-2 in its last five games.
Monday’s game features UNM with the second-best scoring offense in conference games against the best scoring defense in conference games, with UNM scoring 75.7 ppg and SDSU allowing 59.2 ppg. The two teams are also 3-4 in field-goal percentage with the Lobos at 45.2% and the Aztecs shooting 44.2%. When it comes to three-pointers, UNM leads with 36.3% with SDSU third at 35.3% and UNM is second in defensive three-point percentage at 29.4% and SDSU third at 29.7%.
20/10 AGAIN
The Lobos earned their 20th win of the season with Tuesday’s win at Fresno State, the second-straight year with 20 wins and the fourth time under Coach Bradbury.
In addition, the Lobos surpassed 10 wins in the MW, the third-straight year and sixth overall in Bradbury’s seven years at UNM.
LOBOS FINDING THEIR STRIDE
During UNM’s six-game winning streak, the Lobos have averaged over 81.5 points per game, outscoring opponents by 17.8 ppg.
UNM scored a season-high 111 points in the win over Utah State and followed that with 88 points in the win at Fresno State, making 16 three-pointers in both games.
Four Lobos averaged double figures over the six game stretch, led by LaTascya Duff with 16.2 points per game with 22 three-pointers. LaTora Duff has averaged 12.8 ppg and 4.3 assists per game, Shaiquel McGruder 12.7 ppg and 7.2 rebounds per game, and Amaya Brown 10.8 ppg and 6.8 rebounds per game.
UNM is also outrebounding opponents 39.8 rpg to 31.7 rpg, averaging 16.0 assists per game, 7.3 steals per game and shooting 41.0% from three and 47.5% overall with two games shooting over 50.0%.
The Lobos are second in offense at 75.7 ppg and second in scoring margin (+7.78) in conference games, third in field-goal percentage (45.2%) and lead the conference in three-point field-goal percentage (36.3%) with a MW-best 8.6 made three-pointers per game.
Historically, UNM has finished either first or second in the conference in scoring offense in the last six years (four times first).
THE CUMBER EFFECT
Since Vianè Cumber entered the starting lineup, the Lobos have gone 9-2 with the sophomore finishing in double figures in seven of the games. Cumber has also led the team in scoring in one of those games (16 against SJSU) and in rebounds in one game (nine against Wyoming).
GET AHEAD, STAY AHEAD
The Lobos are 17-3 on the season and 10-1 in conference games when leading after the first quarter and 17-2 overall and 10-1 in MW games when leading at the half. When leading at the end of the third quarter, the Lobos are 18-2 overall and 11-1 in conference games.