The UNM men's basketball team has a chance to make a statement before entering the Mountain West Conference Tournament when it faces UNLV on Tuesday at The Pit.
In the first meeting this season, the Rebels beat the Lobos 79-60 at the Thomas and Mack Center, which is hosting the MWC Tournament for its second consecutive year.
Lobo head coach Steve Alford said his team is ready to put up a fight this time around.
"Hopefully, we're just a little bit better than we were the first of February when we played them," he said. "I think we are. If we continue to bring the effort that we've been bringing, then I think we give ourselves a chance."
UNLV comes into The Pit off a 19-point win against TCU, bolstering their record to 22-6 overall and 11-3 in conference play.
Meanwhile, the Lobos are coming off a devastating 70-69 home loss to BYU and are now 22-7 overall and 9-5 in conference play.
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One of UNM's strengths this season has been 3-point shooting, but the Rebels are only allowing 29 percent 3-point shooting against them, which is best in the MWC.
The Lobos struggled against BYU from 3-point range, going just 3-of-21.
Also, the Rebels have two of the top three free-throw shooters in the conference in Wink Adams and Joe Darger.
Against BYU, the Lobos the committed 24 personal fouls, sending the Cougars to the line 28 times.
The Lobos have bounced back from a 15-17 season last year and proved to be a force through resilient and dependable play, Alford said.
"I think our guys have done a tremendous job all year," he said. "We've been very consistent all year. If we can take care of business this week, then we go on to the Mountain West Conference Tournament in really good shape. I think these guys deserve it, because they've worked awfully hard to get to this point. Regardless of what happens, I've been very pleased with what I've seen."
If the Lobos win their remaining two games and perform well in the MWC tournament, they could find themselves with an NCAA Tournament bid.
That is something not a lot of people, including Alford, believed could happen at the beginning of the season, he said.
"Right now, I don't think we are a team that is a lock to get in or a lock to be out. We've got work to do," Alford said. "I'm just pleased that we're looking at March 1, and people are considering us for the NCAA Tournament. I don't know if, in early October, that's something that we thought that could have happened."
Men's basketball vs. UNLV
Tuesday, 7 p.m.
The Pit
