It’s never fun going to Las Cruces, but the Lobos haven’t seemed to mind it too much in recent years. With their 83-74 victory on Sunday night, the Lobos have won eight straight games at the PanAm Center and have now picked up two straight wins against teams that were in last year’s NCAA Tournament. Oh, and Elijah Brown made sure that the Aggies will be well aware of him when the two teams meet again in a month.
Lobos Stun Boise, Clinch Bowl Eligibility
For months, November 14th, 2015 was penciled in as a loss. The team from New Mexico was supposed to go on the road, face a dominant opponent, lose in a blowout, and collect a paycheck for their troubles. In fact, that was supposed to happen twice. Instead, within the span of a couple of hours, Albuquerque native Holly Holm knocked out Rhonda Rousey and the New Mexico Lobos beat Boise State on their blue turf, giving New Mexico its best sports day ever.
Men’s Basketball TSU Recap and NMSU Preview
Well, the Lobos’ opening game against Texas Southern went about as well as any of us could have hoped. The Lobos shot well, played good defense, and ultimately blew out a team that has a good chance of winning their conference. The team doesn’t get any time to rest on their laurels, though, as they head down south to take on New Mexico State Sunday night.
Football Game 10 Preview: Boise State
After their biggest win in the Bob Davie era, the Lobos head up to Boise in hopes of creating a new biggest win. On top of that, the Lobos, now 5-4 on the season, are just one win away from becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2007. This is probably their biggest test of the season and they are heavy underdogs because of it. However, on blue turf, it feels like anything is possible.
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.
Men’s Soccer vs. South Carolina Recap (CUSA Tourney)
The Lobos played a good match against South Carolina, but were unable to find the net on their dangerous chances. That ultimately gave South Carolina a chance to stay in the match and they found the game-winning goal late in the second half, likely ending the Lobos’ season in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament. The season didn’t go as many Lobo fans had hoped, but there is hope for the future and the youth on this year’s team will get better with more experience. The South Carolina game summed up the Lobos’ season very well, as they were unable to score in the first half, unable to find ways to score from more than one person, and unable to prevent giving up late goals off of broken plays. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the Men’s Soccer program, so this feels more like a temporary misstep than the start of a downward trend. This is still a very good college soccer team and program.
Men’s Basketball vs. Texas Southern Preview
After a couple of exhibition wins against D-II competition, the UNM men’s basketball team is ready to get to work, starting Friday night against Texas Southern University. After a disappointing season last year, the Lobos are ready to show that is all behind them and they’re back to where they want to be. Texas Southern is no D-II team, however, having scored some big road upsets last season and making the NCAA Tournament two years in a row. The Lobos will have to be ready for a fight, or they could be the Tigers’ next victim.
CUSA Conference Tourney First Round: UNM vs. South Carolina
After a strong finish in their last couple of games, the Lobos enter the seven-team Conference USA Tournament as the #6 seed. This tournament will take place Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, when the Championship Match will determine who will get the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The field is a very solid one, as it has the potential for five or six of its teams to make the NCAA Tournament this year. With Charlotte being the host, they will be considered one of the two favorites along with #1 Seed Kentucky.
Quest for a Bowl Game: Knocking at the Door
The Lobos just picked up their biggest win of the season by knocking off Utah State this past Saturday, which gave them their fifth win on the season and closer to bowl eligibility than they have been since 2007. The Lobos now have three games to pick up that sixth win they need to become bowl eligible and although the remaining schedule isn’t easy, they have to be feeling confident. They also, interestingly, still control their own destiny in the conference, as if they win their remaining three games, they’ll actually win the Mountain Division. “Why not us?” indeed.