We are back for the third day in a row for the Semifinal match-up between the 6-seed New Mexico Lobos (24-9) and the 7-seed Colorado State Rams (24-9). The Lobos have handled both their first two games extremely well against two completely different teams in Air Force and Boise State. The game has become even more important than it looked like it would a few days ago with a lot of similar teams winning in their Conference Tournaments. Before everyone freaks out, we have no idea what the committee thinks about the teams after the top 20ish. We will be updating this as the game goes along.
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Running Blog: Lobos vs Utah State QF MW Tournament
We are back for the last game of the Quarterfianl round of the Mountain West Tournament. The Lobos (22-10) look to build on their second half against Wyoming, as they take on the 3 seed Utah State (24-7) in the second meeting between the two teams. In the first meeting the Aggies were able to find easy buckets around the rim, leading to a blow out win. The Lobos and Aggies have had some absolute battles in their MW Tournament Match-up. I will be updating this as the game goes on.
Live Blog: Lobos vs. Fresno State (FB) 10-22
Welcome to the live blog of the Lobos vs. Fresno State Bulldogs Football game.
UNM Regents Vote to Ax Sports
Yesterday was a rough day. UNM AD Eddie Nuñez and President Garnett Stokes proposed a series of cuts to the athletic department that were unanimously adopted by the board of regents. These cuts included the reduction of scholarships in some sports and, in the case of Skiing, Beach Volleyball, and Men’s Soccer, complete elimination. The cuts were deemed necessary to fulfill budgetary and Title IX requirements, but they really don’t sit well regardless.
MW Tournament Quarterfinal: UNM Lobos vs. WYO Cowgirls
Every Lobo game during the Mountain West Tournament I will be adding thoughts throughout/after the game in a blog post. This will be the first of this experiment, which should be fun to do. Let’s have fun.
Lobos have hit two threes already tonight, one by Flye and another by Bryan. If you read my preview I said the Lobos need to hit 10+ threes tonight.
There is a good sized crowd tonight for both Wyoming and New Mexico, should be a fun atmosphere all night.
3:06 1Q: Lobos 10 Wyoming 8. The pace so far tonight is in between what the Lobos and Cowgirls want, no decided advantage right now. The Lobos need to find Beynon and Nunn in the offense
There is The Microwave heating up with a 3. Madi Washington will be huge in this game.
Playing Nunn and AT together this game could be a game changer.
End of the first: Lobos 13 Wyoming 10. The first quarter was played at Wyoming pace but the Lobos end the quarter with a 3 point advantage.
Washington and AF are already putting their fingerprints on this game, and are trying to make me look smart.
Nunn starting to dominate the offensive glass, she has 6 points and 6 rebounds already tonight.
AT with another blocked shot, she is playing so well on defense.
4:12 2Q: Lobos 22 Wyoming 16. Nunn will have a 2 Free Throws after the media timeout, looking for her 7 and 8th point of the night to go along with 7 rebounds.
AT now has 5 points, 2 rebounds, 4 blocked shots. Thanks for making me look smart.
After playing at Wyoming’s pace in the first quarter the Lobos have been able to turn up the speed of the game with their defense and have outscored Wyoming 20-6 in the quarter.
This lead has been built with the Lobos defense.
Halftime: Lobos 33 Wyoming 18. Lobos were led by their defense and got 11 points and 8 rebounds from Nunn, 6 points from Washington and AT had a big first half with 5 points, 2 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots. To build a 15 point lead at the half against this Wyoming team is very impressive.
Lobos did a great job of limiting MW Player of the Year Liv Roberts impact, holding her to 4 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assists in the first half.
7:16 3Q: Lobos 33 Wyoming 25. Lobos have come out flat in the 3rd quarter and Wyoming has taken advantage and has started the half on a 7-0 run. Lobos need to find traction soon or this one could slip away.
4:49 3Q: Lobos 39 Wyoming 29. After getting the pace they way they like in the 2nd quarter the tide has turned in the 3rd as the Lobos have only scored 6 points so far this quarter. The tone of the game has shifted.
Wyoming has dominated the 3rd quarter so far outscoring the Lobos 20-9 with 2:16 left in the quarter.
End of 3 quarters: WYO 43 Lobos 42. Lobos lost their 15 points halftime lead and will have work to do to pull this one out. The Cowgirls won the third 25-9. The Lobo starters besides Nunn are 4 of 26 from the floor.
6:28 4Q: Wyoming 50 Lobos 45. Wyoming has outscored the Lobos 32-12 in the second half. The Lobos need to find a way to get Nunn the ball and turn the tide of the second half.
Lobos fall 69-66 and will wait for the fate to see if they will be playing more basketball. Lobos had great performances from Nunn, Washington and AT.
There will be questions that need to be asked about this game, the Lobos had their chances to win this game and have a golden opportunity to make it to the Championship game. I am surprised by the lack of minutes of AT in the second half and the inefficiency of Beynon, Buck, and Flye (combined 7 for 34). The game change in the third quarter when the Lobos shot 1 of 14 from the floor while Wyoming was 9 of 13 which lead to Wyoming turning a 15 deficit into a 1 point win.
A look back at the Paul Krebs Era
At the beginning of June, Paul Krebs announced that he was retiring from his post as the UNM Athletic Director at the end of the month. During his time at the helm of Lobo Athletics, the department had some of its best years, highlighted by a National Championship in Women’s Cross-Country in the fall of 2015. Krebs tenure had plenty of great things, but it is undeniable that there were some bad things that happened under his watch. To try to make sense of his legacy, here we look back at both the highs and the lows of the Krebs Era.
Catching up with Lobo Baseball and (AFA Series Predictions)
We are heading down the home stretch for the conference regular season with the first-place Lobos (26-19-1, 16-3-1), who are looking to lock up the MW Regular Season Championship and the honor to host the conference tournament in a couple of weeks. The Lobos have nine regular season games left, as they will host Air Force this weekend, will travel to Fresno State next weekend, and close out the season hosting Nevada. The Lobos are four games up in the loss column on San Diego State, but due to the tie and rain out at San Jose State, the Lobos and Aztecs will not have any tie breakers that could come into play, since the conference champion will be decided by win percentage. This week, we will look at the big picture for the Lobos going into the last month of the season and have a quick look at the series this weekend against Air Force.
Safe or In Danger?
The Lobos are in a very interesting spot when it comes to the possibility of making the NCAA Tournament this season. In both D1Baseball’s and Baseball America’s brackets this weekend, the Lobos were penciled in as a 3 seed (33-48 ranked teams), which means the Lobos should have some breathing room. The problem for the Lobos is that their nine remaining games are against teams ranked below 150 in the RPI (AFA 216, FSU 180, and Nevada 227). This means the Lobos will most likely see their strong RPI of 38 drop to somewhere in the 40s or 50s, which could put their at-large hopes in question. This brings up some question on how much influence RPI should have in the selection process, even more so with baseball than basketball. Here are some reason the Lobos should have their spot locked in the tournament without having to win the MW Tournament (this of course is barring a late season collapse).
- The Lobos put together one of the most difficult schedules a mid-major team can realistically schedule, and this is rewarded with the number 1 non-conference schedule. While their record isn’t the “normal standard” for a mid-major team to make the field, the Lobos should be viewed with the scope of doing everything they could to put together an incredible schedule.
- It isn’t the Lobos fault that the rest of the conference, except SDSU to some extent, didn’t play tough schedules and in turn have terrible RPI’s and strength of schedule. The rest of the conference needs to start taking the approach of the Lobos in scheduling big games, as the one team that has an excuse for this is AFA.
- The Lobos have quality wins and could end up winning a conference with fewer than 5 losses. No matter what conference you play in, if you can go 10 series with fewer than 5 losses, you should be in the field.
In the end, I hope that the Lobos don’t have to plead their case in front of the selection committee, simply because they won the conference tournament and earned the auto-bid. This Lobo team has a chance to make noise in a regional and it would be a huge letdown if they weren’t given a chance to compete in the NCAA Tournament.
All AmeriMang:
The growth of sophomore outfielder and Las Alamos native Jared Mang has been a blast to watch this season. Last season, Mang showed tons of promise and signs of what could become in the future, and the future is now. After a slow start, Mang has positioned himself to be in the conversation for an All-American team. There are a few honors that Mang could receive this year, including Conference Player of the Year and All-American.
Conference Stats:
- Batting Average: .488
- On Base Percentage: .552
- Slugging Percentage: .750
- Hits: 41
- Runs: 34
- Runs Batted In: 32
- Doubles: 8
- Home Runs: 4
Overall Stats:
- Batting Average: .386
- On Base Percentage: .448
- Slugging Percentage: .603
- Hits: 73
- Runs: 54
- Runs Batted In: 52
- Doubles: 13
- Home Runs: 8
This season is just the beginning for Mang, as he has a chance to be on the USA College Team this summer and could find himself as the most scouted UNM player since DJ Peterson in 2013. Enjoy watching Mang while you can, because you will probably only have one more full year of watching him play.
Conference Standings:
| Conference Record | Remaining Games | |
| UNM | 16-3-1 | 9 (AFA, @FSU, Nevada) |
| SDSU | 14-7 | 9 (@SJSU, @AFA, FSU) |
| FSU | 11-10 | 9 (@UNLV, UNM, @SDSU) |
| AFA | 10-13 | 6 (@UNM, SDSU) |
| SJSU | 8-14-1 | 6 (SDSU, @UNLV) |
| Nevada | 9-14 | 6 (UNLV, @UNM) |
| UNLV | 7-14 | 9 (FSU, @Nevada, SJSU) |
- The Conference Regular Season Champion will host the four-team Conference Tournament this season.
- The Lobos have clinched a spot in the tournament, and could clinch the title before the last weekend of the season. SDSU is likely going to be a top 2 seed in the tournament, but need the Lobos to struggle to have a legit shot of hosting the tournament.
- I believe that 14 wins from both FSU and AFA would clinch a bid to the Tournament, I would put the odds of FSU making the tournament at 85%, and AFA odds of making the Tournament at a much lower 60%.
- The teams to watch in the bottom three are last-place UNLV, as they have 9 remaining games which gives them more opportunities for wins. If they can manage to go 7-2 or possibly 6-3, they could find themselves in the 4 seed.
Series Prediction:
In the first series between these two teams in early March, the Lobos swept the series with 19-5, 24-16, and 16-7 wins. The Lobos have the advantage on the mound and this should be even more evident in a less hitter friendly environment at Santa Ana Field (yes, that was weird to type). The Lobos should be able to take advantage of the Falcons’ pitching again, and I expect the Lobos best hitters to have huge weekends. I give the Lobos a 30% chance of a sweep, 45% chance of a 2-1 series win, a 20% chance of winning 1 of 3, and a 5% chance of getting swept. I have the Lobos sweeping the series with relative ease. It should be a great weekend for Lobo Baseball and there should be a great turnout.
Series Info:
Who: New Mexico Lobos (26-19-1, 16-3-1) vs. Air Force Academy Falcons (21-20, 10-13)
When: Friday May 5th 6:30 PM, Saturday May 6th 2 PM, Sunday May 7th 1 PM
Where: Santa Ana Star Field, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Radio: ESPN 101.7 The TEAM
Stream: The MW Network.
Men’s Basketball Game 25 Preview: Air Force
After a shocking loss at home to SJSU, the Lobos now look to rebound on the road at Air Force, a place they haven’t won at since 2012. Strange things happen in Clune Arena, so be prepared for anything.
Men’s Basketball Weekend 1 Recap
In their first weekend of the season, the Lobos hosted two teams that they were expected to beat comfortably. And while the games themselves weren’t always completely comfortable, the Lobos ended up coming away with two double-digit wins. In those games, we got to watch Tim Williams dominate, the new guys show their stuff, and Sam potentially take a leap. All in all, not a bad weekend.
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.