A lot of heavy mojo was floating around the Lobos in their 72-61 win over Colorado State - a raucous, sold-out Pit crowd, senior night and overwhelming "bubble watch" talk that necessitated a win.
The Lobos needed that win to keep their Big Dance hopes alive should they falter in the Mountain West Conference tournament this week.
But none of it mattered if they didn't tighten up their defense heading into the second half.
UNM was down 38-33 after the first 20 minutes, and its tissue-paper zone defense was allowing a parade of easy inside shots by CSU's big front line.
The Rams sank a blistering 65 percent of their shots in the first half.
"That's all we talked about at halftime," guard Troy DeVries said. "We weren't defending. They were getting lay-in after lay-in. And that wasn't just the post players' fault. Everyone contributed to the lack of defense in that first half."
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McKay made sure his players knew they were getting ripped for such a high percentage, and they came out in the second half and halted any notions of a CSU upset.
UNM finished with 19 steals in the game and forced 24 turnovers while committing just seven. Sixteen of those turnovers came after halftime.
"Our defensive intensity in the second half was the difference," forward Danny Granger said. "We were getting our hands into passing lanes and making steals and getting out on the fast break because of that."
They also set a few program landmarks. The 19 steals were the most ever in a conference game and the fourth highest in school history, and the 24 turnovers were the most the team has forced all year.
Granger finished the contest with a game-high 19 points, along with four assists and five steals.
The Lobos won their sixth straight conference game for the first time in seven years - a fitting season finale for a team on a serious hot streak. Heading into the MWC tourney in Denver, UNM has won nine of its last 10 games.
But while so-called "bracketologists" online and on ESPN say the team needs only to get to the MWC final in order to make the NCAA tournament, the Lobos say they aren't thinking "at-large."
They know how many games they have to win this week in the eight-team bracket.
"That's the number: three," Granger said. "We're going there to win all three. We don't want to say we have to win two and we might get an at-large bid. We'd rather win the whole thing."
Head coach Ritchie McKay said it is time to put away any speculation.
"If we just keep winning, we'll have a good chance," he said. "I don't want to put a number on it, because if I tell you two and we don't get in, I'll look bad. Actually, I'll give you a number. If we win three, we're in."
Three would make them champs, but first things first. Game 1 comes Thursday when the second-seeded Lobos take on Brigham Young.
"I like that matchup," Granger said. "They're the seventh seed, and it's going to be a really good matchup for us."
UNM and BYU split their two games this season, each winning at home.
