Cougar home advantage broken

Last season, the UNM men’s basketball team captured a share of the Mountain West Conference championship with a win in its final game of the season.
Saturday, the Lobos sealed that title a game earlier, with an 83-81 win against BYU in Provo, Utah.

“We are playing well,” said head coach Steve Alford. “We have won back-to-back titles. So now it is time to party in The Pit on Wednesday.”

The Lobos halted the Cougars’ 21-game home win streak on the back of Darington Hobson (20 points), Roman Martinez (15 points) and Dairese Gary (23 points). The Lobos pulled off their 13th conference win in a row in front of more than 22,000 people.
“It was really just so loud that I didn’t know what to think — everybody yelling and stuff,” Gary said. “We just tried to keep our composure down the stretch. We kept saying, ‘We were going to win the game.’ And that was the only thing in my mind.”
The Lobos also beat BYU, 76-72, inside The Pit on Jan. 27. But away from home, the Lobos were labeled an eight-point underdog.

BYU point guard and MWC star Jimmer Fredette played just sixteen minutes because of a stomachache.

Alford said that BYU didn’t lose a lot with Michael Loyd Jr. subbing in.
“Well, the kid that subbed for him scored 19 in one half,” Alford said. “So I think the only time Fredette has done that was at Arizona. You can always play the hypothetical games, but when you are playing basketball and winning championships, hypothetical doesn’t come into it.”

There is nothing hypothetical about the Lobos share of the MWC title, but they can become the lone title-holder with a win on Wednesday.

Last year, the Lobos shared the title with BYU and Utah.

And Alford said the normally unselfish Lobos need to change their mindset when it comes to the title.

“Last night, we talked about being a little more selfish,” Alford said. “Let’s win this thing outright. We have got one more game to go. And let’s not share it with anybody. So hopefully the team, over the next (48) hours, gets a little more selfish.”
Alford said that he is only focused on the conference title and the conference tournament. He will let the NCAA tournament shake out as it may.
“We haven’t even talked about seeding,” Alford said. “The team knows that. We have really been driven to win a conference championship. It’s a two-and-a-half-month deal. We went into the league 0-2, and now we have a chance to rip off 14 in a row.”
But he said that their road record and record against ranked opponents will serve them well later in March.

“We are 10-2 on the road. We are 6-0 (against ranked opponents),” Alford said. “There are very few teams that are undefeated against ranked opponents, and we are one of them. We just have to wait and see how it all falls out. Those are pretty impressive stats, I think.”

Hundreds of fans thought so, welcoming the Lobos home at the Albuquerque Sunport Airport on Sunday afternoon.

“These fans amaze us at every turn, kind of like this team,” Alford said. “This team has been amazing. I honestly believe that the fans are the ones who make this team who they are. They love playing so hard because of people like this.”