UP-TEMPO
UNM looks to get its offense moving as it preps for fast-paced Wyoming
Hurry up and wait. That’s the game plan for the University of New Mexico basketball team.
The Lobos (16-12, 9-7 Mountain West) insist they are fully locked into Saturday’s road game at Wyoming, an up-tempo, fast-paced team that plays at the ninth fastest pace of any team in the country.
But the reality is there is a
wait until next week for two dates that likely will have much more impact on the postseason fortunes of the up-and-down team that sits in a tie for the fourth/fifth spots in the league standings.
First, on Monday, Lobo power forward Tim Williams will have another X-ray and examination of the stress reaction in his left foot. The injury has kept the senior, who is averaging 17.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, out the past six contests. UNM is 3-3 in that span and struggling mightily on the offensive end in his absence.
The examination will determine if Williams can return for the final regular-season game and the March 8-11 conference tournament in Las Vegas, Nev.
Lobos coach Craig Neal calls Williams the team’s “security blanket” on offense — a player the team can turn to when in scoring lulls.
“He’s a security blanket when you can’t score,” Neal said. “If you get in trouble, you can just throw it to him. Right now we don’t have that . ... That’s his game … if you ever got in trouble, or you haven’t scored three or four possessions.”
UNM averaged 76.6 points per MWC game before being held to 58.5 points in the past two losses. Fresno State and Colorado State packed their defenses in, took away the dribble penetration from the new guard-oriented Lobos and keyed only on Elijah Brown without much fear that a second scorer would make them pay.
The other big date on the horizon for the Lobos is March 4. With or without Williams, the
Lobos will host San Diego State (16-11, 8-7) on senior night in the Pit. That game will likely determine which team earns the No. 5 seed in the league tournament, thus avoiding the No. 6 seed and dreaded “play-in” round that would start March 8 and require four wins in four days for a title. The top five seeds advance to the quarterfinals March 9 and need just three wins in three days for a title.
“We’re going try to win them all,” Neal said when asked about the jockeying for the 4-6 seeds between SDSU, UNM and Fresno State, all of which are within a half-game of each other in the standings.
“We’re just going to try and improve and get ready . ... We’ve just got to take care of what we can take care of.”
But, without looking ahead too much, Neal knows for his team — whether trying to work Williams back into the fold or continuing to run a new scheme without its big man — getting an extra day of rest and preparation in the tournament could be vital.
“I just think it’s going to be hard to win four (games in the MWC Tournament),” Neal said, before acknowledging that the parity of the league could lead to a team from the bottom six seeds making a title run.
“It can be done,” he said. “... Anybody can win it.”
SPEAKING OF REST: The Lobos are looking forward to some rest next week, getting their second “bye” in the unbalanced 18-game MWC schedule. They have a game off when the rest of the league plays next Wednesday.
That means they get a full week to prepare for San Diego State on March 4. SDSU had a week off before the first meeting between the teams on Jan. 1, a 68-62 Lobos road win in Viejas Arena.
It will be the third game in MWC play the Lobos will play with a week to prepare. They won Dec. 28 against Fresno State to open league play after eight days off and beat Boise State Feb. 14 with a week to prepare.
“They looked like a team that had a week to prepare,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said after UNM’s 78-73 win in the Pit. “They were ready.”
On the flip side, UNM will have played six league games against teams having a week to prepare, including Saturday at Wyoming, which is coming off its second bye of the season.
UNM is 3-2 in games against teams that had a week to prepare for them. The three wins were against Fresno State on Dec. 28, at SDSU on Jan. 1 and at Colorado State on Jan. 14. The two losses to teams with a week to prepare were vs. San Jose State on Feb. 4 and Colorado State on Tuesday.
UNM’s six games vs. teams coming off byes is most in the league this season.