Heading into Paul Weir’s second season in charge the University of New Mexico men’s basketball team, the Lobos have been slated to finish third in the Mountain West for the upcoming season, the conference announced on Tuesday.
Nevada, who’s expected to have a national ranking this season, was picked to win the conference title.
San Diego State, who defeated the Lobos last season in the Mountain West Tournament championship, was picked to finish second.
The Wolf Pack got 18 of 19 first place votes, while SDSU was able to snag one. UNM, however, received no first place votes.
In voting, Nevada finished with 207 points total, the Aztecs with 188 and UNM with 153 points, respectively.
It was just a season ago that the Lobos were slated to finish ninth in the conference. And at the start, things started to trend that way. By the time UNM lost to Arizona last December the team was a measly 3-8.
But the Lobos found their groove and went 12-6 in conference play — and Weir led them to the tournament title game at the conclusion of the regular season.
The Lobos finished the 2017-18 season with a 19-15 record and a 13-4 record at home.
UCONN transfer and current UNM guard/forward Vance Jackson was picked as the Mountain West’s Newcomer of the Year.
Jackson is a sophomore and will be playing his first season in the Cherry and Silver after sitting out a season due to transfer rules.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
At UCONN, Jackson, then a freshman, started in 21 of the Huskies’ 32 games. He averaged 8.1 points per game and shot 40.9 percent from the field, including 39.7 percent from beyond the arc.
The Lobos return four players who saw action last season in Dane Kuiper, Anthony Mathis, Vladimir Pinchuk and Makuach Maluach.
On Friday, the men’s basketball team will host a Cherry & Silver scrimmage, giving fans a glimpse of the new-look Lobos. Tip-off for that event is slated for 6 p.m at the Pit.
Matthew Narvaiz is a sports beat reporter and senior writer for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers football. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz.
