Of the UNM men's basketball team's five losses, none was due to a lack of effort like last week's fall to BYU, head coach Steve Alford said.
And it won't get any easier for the Lobos this week, as they go on the road to take on Mountain West Conference co-leader UNLV.
Alford said UNM didn't show enough energy to compete with a team as strong as BYU Jan. 26, which is something he hopes was fixed in practice this week.
"That's what we've really worked on this week," he said. "Just kind of getting re-energized. Getting back to doing the things that we do and not worrying so much about what other people are doing."
The Lobos will need to prepare mentally and physically for a Runnin' Rebels team that is having an impressive season, especially in conference.
UNLV is 16-4 overall and 5-1 in the MWC, with their only conference loss coming at Air Force on Jan. 12.
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Since then, they've won four games in a row and have scored at least 70 points.
The Rebels have done a good job taking care of the ball this season, averaging just 11 turnovers per contest while dishing out 15 assists per game.
Alford said UNLV is a fast-paced team that likes to create points off turnovers.
He said that trying to match the Rebels' speed might be tough, but quickness is also a strength of the Lobos.
"It's dangerous, but yet that's probably when we're at our best," he said. "So, that's a dangerous balance that you have to have. I think that you just got to do a good job of taking transition baskets away, because they're terrific in transition."
UNM hasn't played since Saturday's loss at BYU, giving the team a few extra days of preparation.
Forward Daniel Faris said the added time to prepare was important for a road trip against a team like UNLV.
"I think that this week off is going to be really good for us," he said. "We had a couple days of really good practice. It's just nice for us to get away from the game and just get back to the basics in practice."
After starting 14-2 this season, the Lobos have dropped three of their last five. UNM is 16-5 overall and 3-3 in the MWC.
Alford, in his first year as UNM head coach, said the Lobos have a ways to go to become an elite program within the conference.
But even though he is taking a long-term approach, he wants to see consistently strong efforts from his team, he said.
"We're not at the top of this league yet," he said. "We've still got a lot of building to do. But in the process, that doesn't mean we can't be competitive."
