Saturday's game against BYU is a bit like those "Looney Tunes" episodes featuring Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner.
The UNM men's basketball team is the Coyote, and the Cougars are the Roadrunner. Try as they might, the Lobos can never get their hands on the Cougars.
In the Lobos' last six matchups with BYU, UNM hasn't beat the Cougars - at home, on the road, anywhere. The Cougars have dispelled the myth that home-court advantage is indeed an advantage. In its last three appearances in The Pit, BYU has swept the Lobos.
Much to UNM's chagrin, most of those losses came because of the Lobos' ineptitude - at least in Albuquerque. Last year, before a sellout crowd, the Lobos sent their fans home nauseous, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. UNM had a 58-50 lead with just over six minutes to go in the game, but BYU rallied and outlasted the Lobos in overtime, 70-69.
So that leads one to question. In Saturday's 2 p.m. contest, does homecourt factor into the outcome of the game?
"It does mean a lot," Daniel Faris said. "We have to get this game, not only for our conference, but for our fans."
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Aside from the initial burst of emotion, the only thing a change in venue has affected is the Cougars' margin of victory. In Provo, BYU won all three games by an average of 11.3 points, compared to 9.3 in a trio of wins in Albuquerque.
"Each game you play takes on a personality and a life of its own," BYU's head coach Dave Rose said. "(The Pit) - it's a very enthusiastic crowd; they're very knowledgeable fans, and they love their home team. (Crowd noise) is a factor."
Rose and his Cougars might bring travel kits packed with ear plugs - or maybe just a team that's good no matter where it plays.
UNM was 17-1 last season before dropping its second game to BYU in The Pit. The Lobos enter with a 8-2 home record this time around.
"Our fans have been terrific all season long," Alford said, "and this is when we're really going to need them."
Unless the fans are going volunteer to guard Lee Cummard (18.1 points per game), Jonathan Tavernari (17.5) and Jimmer Fredette (14.6), the Lobos might need a little bit more than fan support.
Alford said it's important not to forget there are five players on the court - not only BYU's Big Three.
"I like their role guys," he said. "I like (Chris) Miles inside - he just keeps getting stronger. Their bench has two seniors. (Jackson) Emery just had a solid game against TCU. This is a team's that's extremely balanced. They can hurt you in a lot of ways. You can't play off people. So, you have to trust the defensive schemes that you come up with to contain their main guys and not let their role guys get crazy."
In short, as long as the Lobos don't institute some harebrained, ACME-distributed defensive schemes on Saturday, they should be OK. So far, UNM has been effective in limiting opponents offensively this season. Whereas BYU is first in the MWC in shooting percentage (50.9), the Lobos are second in defensive shooting percentage, limiting opponents to 39.1 from the field.
Admittedly, Alford said "he doesn't even think it's close" - the Cougars are, without a doubt, playing the best basketball in the conference.
"They're an eyelash away from being 16-0," Alford said.
To beat BYU, then, the Lobos will need to play better than the best. It never happened throughout the course of the cartoon, but if a plucky UNM team comes out stoked, perhaps the Coyote can, for once, nab the Roadrunner.
"It stings when you see all these opportunities you've had that you let slip away," Faris said. "But this is a big game for us on Saturday. We have to get it; there's no other option if we want to be competitive in the league this year."
It won't be easy. Remember, the Roadrunner likes to run.
