LAS VEGAS — What’s good for the Mountain West Conference is good for the UNM men’s basketball team.
As it goes, the Lobos’ inch-away-from-life-or-death 72-69 loss to fourth-seeded San Diego State is individually souring but collectively empowering for the conference.
Entering Friday’s contest, the Lobos — after breaking the school record for most wins (29), bursting into the top 10 of the national rankings and smashing bucket-loads of other school records — were already assured of an NCAA Tournament berth, regardless of the outcome of their MWC semifinal showdown with the Aztecs.
If anything, the only question mark which lingered how high UNM would be seeded in the Big Dance.
The same could not be said for SDSU, which teetered, in the last weeks, between bubble and tournament team. In fact, before Friday’s contest, the Aztecs, according to ESPN bracket guru Joe Lunardi, were one of the last four teams in the NCAA Tournament.
At this time last year, the Aztecs made a late-season tournament push, except they fell short in the MWC championship to Utah. And with that, their postseason aspirations were strewn aside. Promptly, many familiar with the MWC, coaches included, wondered aloud why the league didn’t get at least three bids after the tournament field was decided. Lobo head coach Steve Alford was most vocal, saying that the conference had to find a way to garner respect, because, clearly, it wasn’t receiving any.
Understandably, though the Lobos were tri-regular-season champions, they were left out of the field of 65 because they bowed out to a mediocre Wyoming team in the quarterfinals of the MWC.
What was most unsettling was the Aztecs being snubbed. After all, they took the Utes down to the wire, losing in the waning seconds if the MWC championship. Their tournament credentials were robust. Yet their tournament hopes, at the end of Selection Sunday, were little more than fiction fantasy.
Back to this year.
On Friday, the Aztecs resoundingly dispelled the notion that they can’t win games against top-tier teams. Previously, the Aztecs were 2-53 against the Associated Press’ top 25. They hadn’t won a game against the top 25 since 1988, when they defeated seventh-ranked BYU.
That all changed Friday, and, without argument, it should stake the Aztecs into the NCAA Tournament, especially since the Lobos are 6-0 against the top 25 and were previously undefeated in games decided by three points or less.
Of further note, Alford said, is the fact that, of the Lobos’ four losses, two have come at the hands of the Aztecs.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that they should be in this tournament,” Alford said. “We we’re 14-1 heading into San Diego State … We left there 14-2. That’s the best team we’ve played.”
Aztecs’ head coach Steve Fisher wants to be absolutely certain they’re not left out. And to absolutely certain, Fisher said there’s only one way.
“Our goal is to cut down the nets tomorrow,” Fisher said. “We’ve added to the resume. There’s no question about it.”
And no question that the Actecs can, and will, give other teams problems in the tournament should they get in.
They’re size makes them a nightmare to guard.
Alford conceded that the Lobos didn’t have a schematic answer to compensate for a lack of height. It didn’t help that Roman Martinez was plagued by foul trouble, playing the fewest amount of minutes he had all season (22).
The Lobos blended together a variety of defenses. They played man-to-man. They sat in the zone. They even doubled down on entry passes into the post.
“We come out — we want to trap the post,” Alford said. “We started the game by trapping the post because we didn’t want our bigs in foul trouble. Maybe it was a coaching mistake.”
Well, at least retrospectively.
Taking advantage of open looks created off the Lobos double team, Kawhi Leonard hit back-to-back 3s to give the Aztecs a 6-0 advantage. A little later, Billy White and Kelvin Davis hit 3s to give the Aztecs a 14-2 lead with 16:01 to go in the first half.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
It should be noted that Leonard entered Friday’s contest shooting 18.8 percent from the 3-point line.
“They swing the ball to Leonard … If you tell me, ‘You want Leonard to shoot two 3s to open the game, I tell you yes,’” Alford said. “They made it. Then you don’t look very good.”
Not at all.
The opening minutes of the first half were reminiscent of the Lobos matchup with San Diego State on Feb. 6, when the Aztecs used a flurry of 3s to knot the game late and send it into overtime.
“We sprinkled some zone,” Alford said. “We’ve zoned them all year. I think it’s one of those teams that you do zone. They’re extremely big. You get in foul trouble as well. I thought we’d zone a little bit more. For whatever reason, San Diego State picks the Lobos to have really good 3-point shooting nights.”
Not just that. The Aztecs had it all going. Inside trench warfare led to 3-point shelling. White, the Aztecs best player, scored with 28 points off a barrage of low-post maneuvers.
Despite all that, Alford said, “We lose by one possession.”
To a NCAA Tournament-quality team — if the NCAA Selection Committee will have it.
