Records (and some regrets) in Wyoming
Defense was an issue, but Lobos scored 119 points
So, about that defense. The New Mexico Lobos left Laramie, Wyo. happy as could be Tuesday night after a recordsetting offensive performance — 119 points scored, to be exact.
That total, the most for UNM against a Division I opponent since November 1977, is tied for third-most nationally this season by a Division I team against another Division I team. UNM also happens to have the season’s highest point total in a game by a DI team with the 147 points against NAIA Northern New Mexico in the Nov. 11 opener.
But the story of Tuesday’s win didn’t end on the left-hand side of that scoreboard.
The 114 points the Wyoming Cowboys scored against the Lobos (14-14, 9-6) marks the second consecutive Mountain West road game in which UNM allowed the once-elusive century mark. UNM lost at Air Force 100-92 on Feb. 12.
“Very concerning,” Lobos head coach Paul Weir said. “Our defense is an issue. I wish I could tell you otherwise. Our offense is clicking, and it’s been clicking for a while. We’ve got a very good offensive basketball team. Whether that means we’re going to have to give some things up because some of these guys are good offensive
players and not good defensive players, I don’t know. But our defense can’t be this way for us to continue to win games.”
For historical perspective on the Lobos’ defense, or relative lack thereof in games outside of Dreamstyle Arena as of late, consider this: UNM surrendered 100 or more points in Mountain West Conference play twice in a 10-day span. In the first 18 seasons of the league’s existence, the Lobos had done so only once in a regulation game (a 103-91 loss to Wyoming on Feb. 15, 2003), and three times total if you include overtime games (a 105-104 loss to Nevada on Jan. 7, 2017) and the Mountain West tournament (a 120-117 overtime loss to UNLV on March 7, 2002).
In the Air Force loss, the Lobos were without Joe Furstinger, the team’s lone rim protector, and gave up a ton of points via easy layups or dunks. On Tuesday, when Wyoming’s best defender and lone rim protector Al Herndon played just seven minutes because of flulike symptoms, the Lobos had different issues.
“I think it was just transition (offense by Wyoming) and oneon-one,” Weir said. “We don’t have a lot of really good oneon-one defenders we can put on a guy.”
The Lobos’ next three regular season games are against teams — UNLV, Colorado State and Fresno State — that averaged 78.3 points against the Lobos in their earlier matchups.
Weir said Tuesday’s win played out in a way unlike any other game he’s been a part of, and despite the obvious concerns about his team’s defense, he didn’t want to read too much into it.
“It was a really weird game,” Weir said. “I don’t want to make a lot of judgments off of this because it was a very unusual 40 minutes.”
POINT OF EMPHASIS: UNM committed 20 turnovers Tuesday, nine combined from its point guard position. Chris McNeal had five turnovers to go with his 17 points, six assists and 10 free throw makes, and Antino Jackson had four turnovers to go with just three points.
The duo also had nine turnovers (McNeal 6, Jackson 3) against Wyoming in the Jan. 10 game in the Pit.
“Our point guard play in this game (Tuesday) and the last time we played them just wasn’t great,” Weir said. “I don’t think the game was managed well. It has to get better. We can’t have (those) kind of turnovers from our point guards.”