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The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team lines up prior to its Wednesday home game in Lubbock, Texas, vs. Utah State. (Courtesy John Moore for UNM Athletics)
Here are some extra notes, quotes, tweets, stats and other odds & ends I managed to empty out of the old notebook after Wednesday’s 77-45 Lobos loss to Utah State in a game played in Lubbock, Texas:
Well, shoot
A couple games ago, it was the free throws what some would say is the easiest shot in basketball since there is nobody defending you that the Lobos just couldn’t seem to hit (they went 15-of-35 at the line against Nevada on Dec. 31).
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UNM head coach Paul Weir, left, walks off Bob King Court in Dreamstyle Arena – the Pit as Utah State coach Craig Smith, right, hugs Abel Porter (15) after he hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left in the game, giving the Aggies a 68-66 win on Jan. 26, 2019. Utah State has won several close games with UNM in recent years. (Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal)
Regardless of reason or the factors that led into it, the reality on the court is the UNM Lobos aren’t exactly killing it so far this college basketball season.
But Craig Smith, in his third season overseeing the Utah State Aggies, is, after all, still a coach.
LUBBOCK, Texas With a one-point lead with just 4:50 left to play, the University of New Mexico men’s basketball team made it a close one against the Nevada Wolf Pack on Saturday night, but a 15-4 final run by Nevada clinched its victory in an 84-74 final.
The Lobos (3-4, 0-4 MW) showed resilience, stringing together the largest scoring run of the game, 14-0, in the second half, followed later by a 10-0 run for yet another comeback, but Nevada (8-3, 3-1 MW) pulled away with 2:20 left for the win.
UNM had four players score in double figures on the night including redshirt-senior Keith McGee (14), senior Makuach Maluach (13), junior Saquan Singleton (10) and sophomore Jeremiah Francis (10).
The Rip Griffin Center on the campus of Lubbock Christian University. (Geoff Grammer/Albuquerque Journal)
LUBBOCK, Texas Here are a few extra notes, stats, Tweets, videos, odds & ends and whatever else I could empty out of the old notebook after the Lobos’ 68-54 loss to the Nevada Wolf Pack on Thursday night in the Rip Griffin Center at Lubbock Christian University:
A number to know: 42.9
UNM was 15-of-35 from the charity stripe on Thursday for a 42.9% clip. It’s the most misses in a game by a Lobos team in at least a decade.
It’s hard enough to get to the line 20 times, but to miss 20 is historically bad (more on that below).
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The Lobo basketball team during a game last week in Rice. The Lobos will now head back to Texas, where they’ve relocated this season to practice and play. (Courtesy photo)
Here are some notes, quotes, stats, videos, analysis, odds & ends and whatever else I managed to empty out of the old notebook after Wednesday night’s 89-52 Lobos loss to the Boise State Broncos in Boise, Idaho:
Get back on that bus
At the top of my game story Wednesday night, I used a small piece of a minute-long Paul Weir answer to a question about where his team goes from here figuratively and literally.