The UNM men’s basketball team is potentially two consecutive wins away from a national ranking.
The Lobos (8-0) are floating around the outskirts of the top 25 poll — getting votes in the AP and USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll.
And if college basketball kept track of the top 50, the Lobos would be ranked about 35th. But UNM’s two-game road schedule, which begins Wednesday, will be the ultimate test.
The limelight is a boost for the players, said Lobo head coach Steve Alford, but more than helping out the current team, the attention gives recruiting a shot in the arm.
“Anytime your name gets mentioned nationally, that always helps your recruiting efforts,” Alford said. “When that is taking place, you kind of amp up your recruiting efforts. During that time, it is always more fun calling your recruits when you are 8-0 than when you are 4-4.
So, you take advantage of that, because you don’t know how long this is going to last.”
If the Lobos sweep their road schedule this week, the spotlight will, no doubt, remain on them, especially with No. 16 Texas A&M slated for Saturday night.
But first, Alford said, UNM can’t look past San Diego.
“I haven’t seen Texas A&M play one game,” Alford said. “I haven’t seen them on tape. It was very similar to when we played Cal. I turned my attention to Cal after NMSU at about 11 that night. We will turn our attention late, late Wednesday West Coast time to Texas A&M (after San Diego).”
The Toreros (4-3) are a guard-heavy team mirroring the Lobos.
San Diego is led by Brandon Johnson and De’Jon Jackson, who average nearly 28 points combined.
However, the Lobos have a win against a mutual opponent (UC Riverside). Early in season, the Lobos dismissed UC Riverside in The Pit, taking an early first-half lead and never giving it up, finishing them off 67-51. Last Friday, San Diego narrowly fell to Riverside on the road, 58-55.
But Lobo guard Roman Martinez said opponents can’t necessarily be measured that way. Martinez, who was named Mountain West Conference Player of the Week on Monday, said The Pit gives the Lobos a hearty advantage, but playing on the road is a different beast.
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“To tell you the truth, road games are different. There are teams who come out who can score in bunches, or calls might go another way,” Martinez said. “I don’t like to relate games like that. I have done it in the past and it has hurt us. I think it is really important for us to focus on it as a road game, and we need to take care of business.”
The Lobos have taken care of business on the road this season, though they haven’t had much experience there. Only two of their eight games have been away from The Pit. And one of their only slips in the second half came against the Aggies in Las Cruces.
Again on Saturday, the Lobos let a huge lead die down against NMSU in The Pit. Yet they ended up winning by 17. And even when the Lobos taper off in the second quarter, Alford said he can let it slide.
“I would like to be coaching the perfect game every night, but it’s not going to happen,” Alford said. “When I look at that and I look at that on tape, we just got a little careless. But when you are up 26 at home, you are probably going to get careless. And we are going to stay on top of them, but I don’t know how I couldn’t be pleased through eight games.”
