Staff Report
The preseason picks are out for the Lobo men's and women's basketball teams, and each squad should find ample motivation in the selections.
The men were selected to finish fourth in the Mountain West Conference behind UNLV, Utah and Air Force, despite having Danny Granger who was named Top Returning Player in the poll.
Granger was also selected for the preseason All-MWC team. He was first in the conference last year with an average of 19.5 points per game, and fifth in rebounding at nine per game.
The Lobo women were picked to finish second in the conference despite their championship-caliber play last year.
The team actually earned more first-place votes - eight - than top pick UNLV, who had five. The Rebels grabbed 134 total votes compared with UNM's 131.
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Last year, the Lobos went 12-2 in the MWC - good enough for a share of the regular season title. They proved to be the class of the conference in the MWC tournament, where they rolled to the title game and trounced Utah 71-50, taking their second consecutive tournament championship. They made the NCAA Tournament for the third-straight year.
Senior guard Mandi Moore was the Lobos' lone representative on the preseason all-conference team. Last year Moore became UNM's all-time assists leader, and now has 496 career assists heading into this season. Moore led the team in minutes played at 34.7 and played the entire 40 minutes in five games. She ranked in the top 15 in the conference in assists, steals, 3-point shooting percentage and assist-turnover ratio.
The men's All-MWC team is composed of three forwards: Granger, UNLV's Odartey Blankson and Utah's Andrew Bogut, and two centers: Colorado State's Matt Nelson and Air Force's Nick Welch.
The league media picked UNLV as the No. 1 men's team in the conference, the first time the Runnin' Rebels have ever been picked for the top spot. Utah, last year's MWC Tournament champion, earned just seven of 23 first-place votes and was picked to finish second.
Air Force, last year's regular-season conference champion, was picked to finish third and received four first-place votes. Last year, the Falcons made the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1962 despite being picked to finish in last place in the preseason poll.
Men's Preseason Media Poll
1. UNLV (14) - 182
2. Utah (7) - 169
3. Air Force (4) - 142
4. New Mexico - 122
5. BYU - 92
6. Colorado State - 87
7. San Diego State - 71
8. Wyoming - 35
Men's Preseason All-MWC
Danny Granger, Sr., F, New Mexico
Odartey Blankson, Sr., F, UNLV
Andrew Bogut, So., F, Utah
Matt Nelson, Sr., C, Colorado State
Nick Welck, Jr., C, Air Force
Top Returning Player
Danny Granger, Sr., F, New Mexico
Top Newcomer
Justin Williams, Jr., F/C, Wyoming
Women's Preseason Media Poll
1. UNLV (5) - 134
2. New Mexico (8) - 131
2. Utah (7) - 131
3. Colorado State - 92
4. BYU - 88
5. Wyoming - 65
6. San Diego State - 43
7. Air Force - 28
Women's Preseason All-MWC
Kim Smith, Jr., F, Utah
RanDee Henry, Sr., F/C, UNLV
Sherry McCracklin, Sr., F/C, UNLV
Mandi Moore, Sr., G, New Mexico
Ashley Elliot, Sr., G, Wyoming
Top Returning Player
Kim Smith, Jr., F, Utah
Top Newcomer
Mary Martha Abell, Fr., F, BYU
