Wyoming isn’t the UNM men’s basketball team’s biggest rival. Far from it.
But after losing to the Cowboys on a last-second shot in Laramie, Wyo., the Lobos are treating Wyoming’s visit tonight at The Pit as an opportunity for retribution.
Senior point guard Dairese Gary said he hasn’t forgotten about the Cowboys’ Francisco Cruz turn-around shot.
“They sent us home with a real nasty taste,” he said about the Pokes pulling off a 67-66 stunner. “But like coach was saying, we’re on a three-game winning streak right now.”
That the Lobos are. The streak included wins over No. 9 BYU on Jan. 29 and a win in Colorado Springs, Colo., against Air Force on Feb. 1. That Jan. 8 upset at Arena-Auditorium remains Wyoming’s only conference win. The Pokes’ 1-8 MWC start led to their coach Heath Schroyer’s dismissal. After three and a half years, Schroyer was fired Monday afternoon. He was a 49-68 at Wyoming, and associate head coach Fred Langley has taken over for the rest of the year.
Wyoming athletic director Tom Burman said it was in both parties’ interest to part ways.
“I just felt like rather than walk around on egg shells for the next month if this thing was going to happen, we might as well deal with it right now,” he told the Associated Press. “The kids, they understand the business. They want to see us turn this program around.”
Turning around was something the Lobos had to do to get back into MWC contention after a rough patch to start conference. The Lobos started 1-4 in MWC, but have bounced back to 4-4.
Head coach Steve Alford said the Pokes had a perfect game plan in the two’s first meeting.
“We have changed a lot of things since then, and so have they,” Alford said.
After the Lobos’ bye week, Alford said he hopes the Lobos improve above .500.
“You’ve got to hope that there is no rust and that the intensity and enthusiasm is still there,” he said. “You still have to execute at both ends because it’s going to take great efforts twice a week, because we’re back to playing Wednesday and Saturday from here on out.”
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Bring on the final stretch of the conference season, Gary said.
“I don’t think we’re going to be rusty,” he said. “We had a real good practice (on Sunday), and I think days off allowed us to just get our minds together. And we have another hard stretch coming up with some more tough games.”
With the rough schedule down the stretch before the MWC tournament starting March 10, the Lobos are looking to head back to the NCAA tournament.
Alford said February and March are real simple for UNM.
“We have to be our best,” he said.
