Steve Alford looked like a champion when he walked out of the Rudy Davalos Basketball Center on Sunday after the Lobos returned from Laramie, Wyo.
The UNM men's basketball head coach was decked out from head to toe. A cherry, button-up Oxford shirt contrasted nicely against Alford's black slacks.
And like Alford's suave ensemble, the Lobos, too, are worth a pretty penny - at least to their fans - after they clinched a share of the Mountain West Conference regular-season title on Saturday, edging Wyoming 74-73 in Laramie, Wyo.
But they didn't start off that way. A few games into the season, the Lobos were far from fashionable.
After two unsightly losses against Drake and Virginia Commonwealth in Cancun, Mexico, they returned home 3-4 and to a whirlwind of concerns, questions and criticism.
"We weren't very good when we left that tournament," Alford said.
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Far from it.
But somewhere along the way, probably on the flight back from Mexico, the Lobos became good. And UNM proved it, coming out victorious in six of its next seven games to improve to 9-5.
In the conference opener, the Lobos were poised to slay MWC-goliath UNLV, only to lose by two, 60-58. Still, UNM's leaf-turning moment was just around the corner.
Enter BYU - a team that was 14-2 and had bullied the Lobos in their last six meetings.
"They're an eyelash away from being 16-0," Alford said in his pre-game news conference.
The Lobos didn't blink, though, pounding the Cougars 81-62.
From there, the Lobos split their next four contests. But in two games against Utah, which concluded the season tied for first with the Lobos, and SDSU (11-5), UNM lost by a combined margin of six points.
Then came the home win against UNLV, the consensus regular-season champs, according to the MWC preseason poll.
The Rebels gave the Lobos all they could handle, but Tony Danridge remained steady at the helm, guiding the Lobos to bay in overtime with 26 points. The Lobos won 73-69.
Even after that, a loss to BYU at an inopportune time nearly ramshackled the Lobos' regular-season title bids. After all, the Lobos were cached in the standings, two games behind league-leader Utah.
In order to have the slightest of chances, they had to win out.
"Five alive" was the Lobos' catchphrase. Five wins later, the Lobos now have the co-rights to the MWC regular-season title, alongside Utah and BYU.
"It's a maturing process with our guys," Alford said. "They've learned how to win and win differently. To win a league's one thing. To win a league that's sixth, seventh best in the country - that's saying something."
Now begins phase three, Alford said: closing arguments in NCAA Tournament Selection Committee vs. Lobos.
"Well, there no question," Alford said. "I think we've made our case. It's the sixth, seventh best league in the country, and we won it. We did a lot of good things. If you look at our body of work - 21-10, conference champs - that's a great case, but the only way to truly know your destiny is go in season No. 3."
The Lobos will call Wyoming to the stand for the third time on Thursday in Las Vegas. And you can bet Brandon Ewing and the Pokes will be prepared after seeing the Lobos twice this season.
"It's not easy," Alford said. "You start figuring each other out. This is going to be, really, the third time we've played them in a three-week span."
Already, ESPN has the Lobos in the Big Dance. But Alford said he'd rest assured only if the Lobos win the MWC Tournament.
"Only way we get to 24 is by winning the conference tournament, and that's an automatic (bid)," he said.
Men's basketball vs. Wyoming
Today, 9:30 p.m.
Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas
