Tough call: How fast should the Lobos go?
Quicker tempo is Wyoming’s style
On the one hand, there is some hope that Wyoming’s penchant to play fast will be just what the doctor ordered today for the New Mexico men’s basketball team in Laramie, Wyo.
After all, the Lobos haven’t been able to score at their usual rate the past two games — both losses — as opponents slowed down the tempo and took away driving lanes from the guardheavy Lobos lineup playing its seventh game without power forward Tim Williams (stress reaction, left foot). Wyoming, meanwhile, has allowed a Mountain West-worst 80.5 points per league game, though the Cowboys still rank in the middle of the pack in points allowed per possession.
So the Lobos stand a good chance of scoring more than the 58.5 they averaged over the past two losses (they averaged 76.6 per league game prior). On the other hand, teams trying to keep up with the new-look, run-andgun Cowboys (16-12, 6-9 MWC) are usually playing right into the hands of the team that as of Friday morning was ranked No. 8 nationally in tempo.
“They could definitely get caught up in the pace,” Lobos head coach Craig Neal acknowl-
edged when asked if his young guard rotation might be lured into playing too fast.
The Lobos (16-12, 9-7 MWC) start two freshmen guards — Jalen Harris and Damien Jefferson — and have two sophomores seeing extended minutes off the bench in Dane Kuiper and Jordan Hunter. The temptation to get out and run, even if that’s what might spark a Lobos offense that has been held 18 points below its average the past two games, has to be approached with caution.
“I don’t mind us running with them. I don’t mind us playing that tempo because I think we’ve got a lot of guys that can play,” Neal said. “I think we’ve got a lot of guards that can play. My biggest concern is going to be on the defensive end, giving them easy shots, easy 3-point looks and they can really shoot it. We’ve got to limit transition points and I think once you get going up and down like that, you start giving up too many transition points and that will hurt us.
“But, in the same sense, it’s also a Catch 22 in the sense that it’s an easy way for us to score getting out in transition. That’s all going to be dictated on if we can get some stops.”
The full-strength Lobos beat Wyoming 78-71 on Jan. 21 in the Pit and got 33 points from junior guard Elijah Brown, who also had 10 rebounds and three assists.
In the absence of Williams, who had 14 points and 11 rebounds in that Jan. 21 game, opposing teams have focused their efforts on Brown and taken their chances that the other Lobos wouldn’t be able to score enough. No other Lobo scored more than Kuiper’s eight points in the first meeting.
Neal is optimistic the tempo and style of play should open up the driving lanes Colorado State and Fresno State took away from his team over the past week.
But, they may have to do it without relying as heavily on Brown, who has looked frustrated and tired in recent games while trying to carry the load without Williams.
“We’ve got to give him some breaks,” Neal said of Brown.
FEBRUARY: UNM is 3-3 in February. A win today in the Lobos’ final game of the month would give the program its second winning February in Neal’s four seasons as head coach. UNM has an overall February record of 12-17.
SCORING LEADER: If the loss to Colorado State weren’t enough, Gian Clavell’s 24 points allowed the Ram senior to take over the conference scoring lead from Brown, who scored 20 in the game. Entering weekend action, Clavell is averaging 20.93 points through 15 league games. Brown is averaging 20.88.