New Mexico is half a game away from first place in the Mountain West again, and the team could have a chance to move up in the conference standings this weekend.
“These guys have to understand that you’re a half-game back and we have to get better,” UNM head coach Craig Neal said during Friday’s press conference. “That’s the method to the madness, that’s what I’m telling them. We have to get better, we have to keep winning at home.”
The Lobos are hosting the San José State Spartans on Saturday afternoon. The two teams first faced each other back in 1961, and the Lobos have yet to see a loss.
The Spartans have a 10-10 overall
SJSU took a 76-72 victory over the UNLV Rebels last Saturday, but the Spartans were previously stuck on a three-game losing streak.
The Lobos’ last opponent was also UNLV, and just like the Spartans, they walked away on top, pulling off an 80-77 win without senior forward Tim Williams, a leader on both ends of the
New Mexico was also without the services of Dane Kuiper, a key member of the defense.
Williams is suffering from a stress reaction
Neal confirmed that both players will still be out this weekend, but that his team will do just fine with the necessary adjustments.
“As you guys know, we’ll play a little differently and seem a little different,” Neal told the media.
Without Williams and Kuiper, the game should be interesting as well, especially with two of the best offensive players facing off against each other.
UNM redshirt junior guard Elijah Brown and SJSU’s sophomore forward Brandon Clarke are the conference’s top-two scorers.
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Brown averages 22 points per game in league play and sits just below Clarke, who is scoring in conference games at a rate of 23.3 points.
Neal is confident in his offense’s potential and said he is happy with what he is seeing from Brown.
“I thought the reason why he played at a high level in (Las) Vegas was that he was mature and he had some poise,” the head coach said. “He didn’t rush it, he didn’t think he had to take every shot. He trusted his teammates. When he does that, he is really really good.”
Neal also gave credit to Clarke, calling him a “unique” player.
“He gives you points in different varieties and he plays hard,” Neal said. “I like his game, I like the way he plays. I think he is a very good player.”
The Lobos are not in a bad spot with seven regular season games remaining, but Neal said his team needs to remain focused because there’s still a long way to go.
The game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. and will be available on ROOT Sports, as well as 770 KKOB.
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.
