The UNM men’s basketball team walked away with a 13-point victory during the first Rio Grande Rivalry game of the season a few weeks ago, but getting a second win could prove to be a lot more difficult.
The Aggies (7-2) will have home court advantage this time around and are a perfect 6-0 at the Pan American Center. The Lobos (6-3) are also undefeated on their home floor at WisePies Arena, but on the road they are 1-3.
On Nov. 18, UNM claimed a 72-59 victory over New Mexico State. A win on Saturday could give the Lobos some confidence, but head coach Craig Neal says his team can’t relax too much, as rivalry games are always intense.
“No matter how teams are playing, no matter how decimated they are with injuries, it’s always going to go down to the wire,” he said.
The Lobos haven’t lost a game in Las Cruces, New Mexico since Neal stepped into the head coach position. However, the team can’t get too comfortable on Saturday because both teams have been trending in opposite directions since their last meeting.
After the loss to UNM, the Aggies turned things around and have gone on a five-game winning streak entering Saturday’s matchup.
“I think they are playing better,” Neal said when asked if he saw a difference between NMSU today and NMSU a few weeks ago. “I think (Sidy)N’Dir is playing better, I think (Braxton) Huggins is playing a lot better. They seem to shoot the ball. We are going to have to control (Ian) Baker.”
NMSU senior guard Ian Baker played 33 minutes and led his team with 25 points during the first rivalry match. He shot 8-of-17 with four of his makes coming from beyond the 3-point line.
“Our guards have to get better defensively as a collective group,” Neal said.
New Mexico has given up 29 made 3-pointers in the past two games as its defense in that facet of the game has been exposed. The coach has been emphasizing the importance of defense since the beginning of the season, but the offense won’t be able to sit back too much.
Tim Williams led the Lobos with 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting when the Aggies came to Albuquerque. This season, the forward has taken the role of the lead scorer for his team.
He has sat out the last two full games due to an apparent concussion suffered on Nov. 30 and it is still unclear if he will be able to play against the Aggies. He is expected to be a game-time decision.
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Junior UNM guard Elijah Brown wasn’t far behind Williams, scoring 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting when he played NMSU.
Brown has filled the void in Williams’ absence, lifting the Lobos to a 78-77 victory over the UTEP Miners on Wednesday. Brown scored a season-high 25 points and hit the game-winning basket with five seconds remaining.
Three out of the Lobos’ last four games have come down to one-possession games in the final minute, something Neal wants his team to fix.
“When we get a lead we have to make sure that we get good offense where we get good shots, but then we have to get continuous stops,” he said. “I thought late (on Wednesday) we did a really good job. We got seven stops in a row but we were really passive on the offensive end.”
The rivalry game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will air on ESPN3.
Isabel Gonzalez is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She mainly covers men’s soccer and basketball. She can be reached at sports @dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cisabelg.
