The Lobos start a two-game road trip to the state of Texas today against longtime rival UTEP in El Paso. The Lobos are looking to rebound after a tough loss against Duquesne in the championship game of the Thanksgiving Tournament, losing 78-69. It doesn’t get any easier for the Lobos (4-2) though, as they face the undefeated Miners (5-0) Wednesday afternoon at 4:15. While the Miners haven’t played a great schedule so far this season, they haven’t even played a road game yet, they are undefeated and playing at home against a young Lobos team that has only played one road game this season, which they lost by 19 to NMSU. Already in this young season, both teams have played Houston Baptist at home, with the Lobos winning their game 65-57 and the Miners winning their game 98-63. While we can’t take too much out of those results, one thing we can take out is the Miners ability to score the basketball; they are averaging 77.6 points per game. For the Lobos to have a good shot to win this game they need to take care of the ball, take good shots, and force the Miners into bad shots.
Author: Zach
Women’s Basketball vs. Duquesne preview
The Lobos and Duquesne took care of business in the first round of the New Mexico Thanksgiving Tournament to set up a Championship game with two 4-1 teams. Duquesne beat North Carolina A&T 81-67, where they played very well in the second half, outscoring North Carolina A&T 47-30. The Lobos had a much easier time against Southern Utah, winning the game 70-48 and outscoring Southern Utah in each of the first three quarters. As I mentioned before the Southern Utah game, being able to rest your best players in the first game would be very important for the game Saturday and the Lobos did a great job doing that, with only Cherise Beynon (25) and Bryce Owens (28) playing over 20 minutes. On the other hand, Duquesne had three players play over 30 minutes and six players that played over 20 minutes.
Men’s Basketball vs. Nicholls State Recap
The calling card for the Lobos team on Wednesday Night was their defense. After giving up 90 points in their loss Saturday against USC, the Lobos only gave up 63 points to Nicholls State, including only 28 points in the second half. Nicholls State was held to 32.8% from the field in the game and 25% in the second half. However, one thing the Lobos need to find is reliable shooting from a night in, night out basis. The Lobos struggled from three in the game going 6-29 from three, which is a sub-par 20.7%. The Lobos need to get to where they are shooting around 35% from range as a team to become a really good offensive team.
Women’s Basketball vs. Southern Utah Preview
After a dominating performance Tuesday in their 83-43 win against Nicholls State, the Lobos return to action for their Thanksgiving Tournament. First up for the Lobos is Southern Utah, who they will play this afternoon. Today’s other game in the four team tournament is Duquesne vs. North Carolina A&T. New Mexico and Duquesne are both heavy favorites in their opening game and should square off on Saturday for the Championship Game. But, first things first; both teams need to win today.
Women’s Basketball VS Nicholls State Game Preview
The Lobos improved to 2-1 on the season after their 84-71 win against Sacramento State on Saturday. The Lobos were able to play to their strengths against Sacramento State and will look to continue to do that tonight and during the rest of this season. The Lobos will return to action Tuesday night against Nicholls State, from the Southland Conference, who are 1-1 on the young season. This will be the second of four straight home games for the Lobos this week, as they host the Thanksgiving Tournament this Friday and Saturday. The Lobos still haven’t lost in the PIT since the name changed to WisePies Arena and the streak should continue tonight.
Men’s Basketball AT USC Game Recap
Saturday night’s game was a tale of two halves for the Lobo Basketball team, as they found themselves in a huge hole at halftime but found enough of a spark to make it a game in the second half. Ultimately, they ended up losing to USC 90-82, but the fight the Lobos showed in the second half after the lackluster first half performance showed the potential the team can have this season. This game against USC was going to be a tough one to win, so we shouldn’t be extremely disappointed with the loss. This game is also a reminder that this season will be a process, but the talent is there to be a very good team.
Women’s Basketball vs. Sacramento State Preview
The Lobos return to The Pit today, where they haven’t lost since the name change to WisePies Arena last year. After Tuesday’s 78-59 road loss to instate rival NMSU, the Lobos are hoping to bounce back and fix what went wrong down south. The Saturday afternoon game against Sacramento State (1-1) is an interesting matchup since both teams are coming off of loses to NMSU, with Sacramento State losing their game 80-77. While Sacramento State’s score was closer against NMSU, it doesn’t really give an idea of how this game will play out. Look for the Lobos to come out and show that their game on Tuesday is not the team they are and more of a fluke. I expect that we will see some changes in the rotation after Tuesday’s game, but nothing dramatic. It should be a good game on a day filled with Lobo sporting events.
Women’s Basketball: NMSU Game Preview
After a game against Houston Baptist, where they played well defensively but had some struggles offensively in their 65-57 win, the Lobos look to get their offense going against instate rival NMSU. After playing just NMSU once last year, the Lobos and Aggies return to playing twice against each other this season. The Aggies won the lone meeting last year in Las Cruces 70-59, in a game where Sasha Weber scored 23 points for the Aggies. It will be important for the Lobos to get their offense going in the first quarter and keep the starters out of foul trouble. If the Lobos are able to control the pace of play and control the impact of Weber, the Lobos will have a decent chance to win this game.
Women’s Basketball: Houston Baptist Game Preview
The basketball season tips off for the Lobo Women’s Basketball Program tonight in the second game of a Lobo doubleheader. After dominating two instate DII schools in exhibition games, the Lobos open the season against Southland Conference’s Houston Baptist. The Lobos are coming off a season where they went 21-13 and Houston Baptist finished their season 15-18. This should be a good first test for the Lobos as they get their legs under them this season. The Lobos non-conference schedule isn’t as tough as last year’s, but that doesn’t mean they’re playing terrible teams.
Lobo Women’s Basketball Season Preview
The Lobo Women’s Basketball Program looks to build off of last year’s very encouraging season that saw the Lobos finish the season 21-13 overall and 14-4 in Mountain West Play. The Lobos ended up making the Mountain West Tournament Final and making the second round of the Women’s Basketball Invitational. With such a great turnaround, Coach Sanchez was awarded a contract extension as she tries to get the program back to where it was in the early 2000’s. This program is on the rise with a talented roster and recruiting keeps on getting better, I am excited for this season and do think this team has good shot to win the Mountain West.