The UNM men’s basketball team is looking to stuff the first turkey on its schedule.
The Lobos will try to rebound after getting romped by 25 points against California on Saturday.
Now 2-1, the Lobos host Northwood, a Division II team from Michigan, today at 7 p.m.
Head coach Steve Alford joked that his team must carve through its opponent in order to avoid holiday stress.
“There might be no spread at all, if things don’t go well Wednesday,” Alford said. “If things don’t go well Wednesday, then Thanksgiving changes a little bit. Their holiday is always dependent on how well they play before the holiday.”
At 1-4 overall, the Timberwolves seem to be the perfect opponent for the hungry Lobos, who should be motivated by their lackluster road performance.
“(Cal) was our first road trip for a lot of these guys, and I have no idea why it was, but it was monotone,” Alford said. “There was no enthusiasm, no intensity and no concentration at either end. I’m discouraged in the way we got beat at Cal.”
If anything, the Lobos will likely benefit from guard Phillip McDonald’s return. The junior sat out the first three regular-season game after injuring his right elbow in an exhibition game.
Also, Alford said, expect the Lobos to play a complete game, something they forgot to do against Cal, which went on a 17-1 run and held UNM to just 28 points in the second half.
“Our young guys don’t have a real familiarity with what we are trying to do (on offense),” Alford said. “We are trying to get familiar with our offense and why we are doing things offensively.”
UNM’s first three tests against Detroit, Arizona and Cal will benefit it against Northwood.
To date, Northwood has lost to Missouri-St. Louis, Illinois-Springfield, Wright State and Wisconsin-Parkside, but did earn its first victory with a 76-70 over Rochester.
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The visitors are led by 6-foot-3-inch forward Bobby Lewis, who averages 16.4 points and 5.8 on the boards.
Guard Andrew Van DierenDonck averages 11.8 points and should be an interesting matchup for the Lobos’ smaller guards.
In the past — and likely in the future — the Lobos will lean on Dairese Gary with his 14.3 scoring average and his 4.7 assists per game. Freshman Kendall Williams scores 11.3 points a game and Fenton checks in with a 10.3 average.
“This week has to be big on conditioning, mental toughness, getting our offense to execute better, getting tougher defensively,” Alford said.
