Home sweet home.
The UNM men's basketball team won't be leaving the friendly desert of New Mexico for a while - at least not until January.
With the exception of a meeting in Las Cruces to battle their intrastate rival NMSU in December, the Lobos won't leave the Land of Enchantment until their clash across the country with Wake Forest University 12 games into the season.
Is this an advantage or disadvantage for the Lobos?
When the Mountain West Conference season begins in mid-January, the Lobos will only have played two games before hostile crowds.
This may present a problem considering the lack of experience this young team has.
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Not only are the Lobos playing the majority of their games at home, but they will open the season with a series of contests against lesser competition.
Knowing that two potential starters, Danny Granger and Troy DeVries will be sidelined until mid-December, head coach Ritchie McKay filled the nonconference schedule with runt-of-the-litter teams.
Soft schedules have created problems for UNM basketball teams in the past. This is one of the main reasons the house fell down on former Lobo coach Dave Bliss.
Bliss loaded the schedule with home games and then faced the consequences for not being prepared for the road at conference time. Will it be the same for McKay?
With a team lacking experience, it might be better to send this squad into hostile territory early to make it grow and mature. Then the Lobos will be somewhat battle-tested come conference time.
Even though Lobo fans love to see UNM basketball teams win, beating below-average Division I teams at home is not the path to success.
With the exception of NMSU and Bobby Knight's Big 12 squad, Texas Tech University, the Lobos will play unworthy competition on The Pit floor.
Will the team know where it stands at the start of conference play? Will players have a fear of road games when they venture into unchartered waters? These questions can only be answered when the time comes.
