The men’s basketball team opened its conference play last weekend by doing something it didn’t do in the previous three seasons—win.

Senior forward Drew Gordon said the team made a point to get off to a winning start in conference.

“Our team is a lot more focused at this point in the season than they were last year,” he said.

Sophomore guard Kendall Williams said the team’s one-point conference opener loss to Wyoming last season set the tone for the stagnant 8-8 record it had.

After a rough 2-2 start to the 2011-12 season, including a home loss to NMSU and an overtime letdown against Santa Clara, the Lobos, 15-2, found a spark and now own a 13-game winning streak that catapulted the team to the top of conference standings.

With the conference schedule, or as head coach Steve Alford calls it, “season two,” underway, the Lobos need to improve and play at a higher level despite their success, Alford said.

“Season one is over,” Alford said. “We did a heck of a job. (We are) extremely pleased as coaches and very appreciative of what kind of effort we got on both ends. Now we wipe out season one and we start again.”

Moving forward, the Lobos only face winning teams.

Every squad in the conference has at least 10 wins and a winning percentage over 60 percent. Two of those teams, San Diego State (15-2) and UNLV (16-3), are nationally ranked.

The Lobos are 7-1 away from The Pit and understand that winning games in hostile environments is how championship teams are made.

“We go into league play knowing how, not just to play away from home, but we know how to win away from home,” Alford said. “You’re going to have to do that if you’re going to get in the league race.”

The departure of BYU and Utah has given the MWC a different look this season.

Instead of the usual 16-game conference schedule that the conference has seen for the last six years, each team plays 14 games.

Boise State plays in its first MWC after coming from the Western Athletic Conference. Texas Christian University plays its final season in the conference as it becomes a member of the Big East next year.

UNM’s toughest stretch will be from Jan. 18 to Feb. 18. During that time it plays No. 16 San Diego State and No. 20 UNLV twice each in a span of 30 days. One of those games will be televised nationally on CBS on Feb. 18.

During the stretch, the Lobos also host Colorado State (12-4), TCU (10-6) and Wyoming (14-3). They also travel to Air Force (11-4) and Boise State (10-6).

“We have a really good conference this season,” sophomore guard Demetrius Walker said. “Every night is going to pretty much be a dog fight.”