Still improving: Lobos roll to 9-0
Aggressive defense keys early 20-2 run as UNM looks the part, continues best start in a decade
ALBUQUERQUE — Every time on the court, increase your value.
That, in a nutshell, is Richard Pitino’s message to his team before every practice and game.
The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team has collectively increased its value this season, navigating its first nine games without a loss while elevating the program’s status to a fan base that is slowly starting to come around.
Saturday’s late-arriving crowd of 10,049 patiently made its way through metal detectors at every entrance to watch the Lobos (9-0) show flashes of brilliance in a 94-76 win over visiting UTSA (5-4) in The Pit. It’s the first time this season a home crowd has reached five figures and just the second time it has happened in the last 27 home dates.
It certainly doesn’t hurt UNM is off to its best start in a decade. It’s not at all bad that the Lobos are starting to get a vote here and there for the Top 25, something that hasn’t happened in a long time.
“Well, rankings are great for your fans,” Pitino said. “There’s an engagement level when you have a number in front of your team name. That certainly is important to your fan base and in recruiting. It helps to get that exposure. But at the end of the day if the goal is to win championships and the goal is to go to an NCAA Tournament, an ESPN or an AP ranking has nothing to do with it.”
Pitino said the only metrics he uses to gage how his team is doing are the so-called “nerdy” numbers that have become the defining characteristic used in baseball. For college hoops, it’s the NET Rankings used by the NCAA and the ever-popular KenPom Ratings
that are updated daily. The Lobos are No. 29 in the latest NET Rankings and No. 82 in KenPom.
On Saturday, the Lobos looked every bit as good as an upper-level team should. They used a 20-2 run early in the first half to take control, much of it fueled by the defense — Jaelen House in particular.
A veritable nightmare for opponents as an on-ball defender, House made life miserable for UTSA’s backcourt by poking at every pass, staying on the hip of his man on the dribble and throwing his body all over the court to make a play.
“I thought he was phenomenal in the first 10 minutes,” Pitino said. “He’s taking really good shots.”
His message to House is the same as it is for the entire team, and that’s the idea of improving their value every time out. House took that to another level early on. He was the first player in double figures and helped open an early 10-point lead.
After those first 10 minutes, it was time for the bigs to go to work. Josiah Allick hit a 3-pointer from the wing to open a 20-point lead at the midway point of the half, then Sebastian Forsling followed that with an emphatic swat of a layup attempt by UTSA’s Japhtet Medor on the next possession, sending the ball ricocheting off the backboard.
Power forward Morris Udeze got into the act in the next two minutes, scoring once on a Euro-step fastbreak layup and again on a hesitation drive from the top of the key to push the lead to 17. He went on to score 24 points with eight rebounds, drawing nine fouls on the UTSA defense in the low post.
Saturday’s game was all about fouls. The teams combined for 49 whistles, leading to 69 free throw attempts and two technicals.
The Lobos scored twice as many points from the free throw line (36) as they did from behind the 3-point line (18).
House finished with 21 points and Jamal Mashburn Jr. 18. Allick had 13 points and six rebounds while House had seven assists.
UNM has a quick turnaround before its next game, Monday night in Las Vegas, Nev., against San Francisco. After that comes perhaps the most anticipated game of the nonconference schedule, a Dec. 18 home date against Iona.
“I don’t know if you know this, but my dad is the coach at Iona,” Pitino joked as he ended his postgame media session. “That’s a pretty good story line.”