Not since Dave Bliss' final season in 1998-1999 has the UNM men's basketball team started the regular season 2-0.
Led by head coach Ritchie McKay, the Lobos have begun their season with lopsided victories over Division II teams San Francisco State and New Mexico Highlands, en route to their best start in five years.
Tonight UNM welcomes its first Division I competition of the year, the University of Portland Pilots. Tonight's game will be the start of a four-game trek in eight days that will take the Lobos down south to intrastate rival New Mexico State and bring Bobby Knight and his nationally ranked Texas Tech Raiders into The Pit.
The series will provide the first real challenge for the young Lobos and will give players, coaches and fans a chance to see the progress of a team still undefeated after six exhibition and two regular season games.
The Pilots, who hail from the West Coast Conference, come to Albuquerque with a 2-1 record. PU lost to Boise State University in its opener, but scooped up a double overtime win over Oregon State and got a win over Cal State Long Beach on Saturday.
Michael Holton is in his third year with the Pilots and was a UCLA assistant coach for five years. He returns five starters and nine lettermen from a team that finished a disappointing 11-17 last year.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Portland is led by sophomore guards Eugene Jeter and Donald Wilson. Jeter, a 5-foot-10 sharp shooter averaged nine points per game last year, but in Portland's overtime win over OSU, Jeter contributed 25 points, nailing five of seven from behind the arc. He is averaging 23 ppg after two competitions.
Wilson is a 6-foot-4, 200-pound guard who has proven to be an all-around powerhouse and is similar to UNM's Mark Walters.
Last season, Wilson averaged 11.9 ppg and 3.8 rpg. In the game against OSU, Wilson scored 23 points and dished out eight assists.
Much like the Lobos, the Pilots are a guard-oriented team. They get up and down the floor and love to shoot 3-pointers. Their inside game is suspect, but they should give David Chiotti and the Lobos a tougher challenge than their two previous frontcourt opponents. In UNM's first two games, the Lobos averaged 90.5 points and won by an average margin of 40.
The Lobos are lead by senior Javin Tindall and sophomore David Chiotti. Tindall is coming off a career-high 27 points against New Mexico Highlands, while Chiotti contributed his first ever double-double, dropping 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
In UNM's first two regular season games against lowly competition, McKay has been able to give his freshmen and newcomers some quality minutes. But as Portland rolls into town and the Lobos' season kicks into full swing against tougher teams, McKay must fine-tune a lineup and rotation filled with uncertainty.
Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m. at The Pit. The game can be heard on 770 KOB-AM.
