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At a Jan. 14 press conference, UNM men’s basketball head coach Steve Alford called the subsequent days a “big week” with a challenging road battle at Boise State.
At Monday’s press conference, Alford called it a “big week” with games against Colorado State and San Diego State, two of the better teams in the Mountain West Conference.
“Next week when we meet and we’ve got Wyoming and Nevada, we’re going to be saying the same thing,” Alford said.
Such is life in the hotly contested league, especially when six of the nine MWC teams have at least a .500 winning percentage through the first two weeks of league play.
“Each week it gets more and more difficult,” Alford continued. “They get more and more important. You just have to continue to do your body of work and continue to get better. That’s always been our emphasis.”
So far, only the No. 15-ranked Lobos (16-2, 3-0) are unbeaten in league play. In its first three MWC outings, UNM topped league favorite UNLV, Fresno State and Boise State. It’s the school’s first 3-0 start since the Lobos became a MWC charter member in 1999.
San Diego State, another team expected to contend for a league title, is UNM’s opponent on Saturday. The MWC preseason-favored Aztecs, however, sit with a 2-2 league record following losses to UNLV and Wyoming last week.
UNM’s opponent today, however, is also a force to be reckoned with. With a 2-1 record, Colorado State sits one game behind UNM in the conference standings. The Rams (15-3 overall) and the Lobos were the only two MWC teams to survive the week without a loss.
“If we’re better (today) than we were at Boise, we’ll give ourselves a chance to win,” Alford said. “If we improve then (Thursday) and Friday getting ready for (San Diego) State on the weekend, we’ll give ourselves a chance. If we don’t improve, it will be a very difficult week for us.”
Wyoming, UNLV and Air Force are the other 2-2 teams.
Colorado State comes to The Pit after a 66-61 Saturday victory against UNLV, which was ranked No. 23 at the time. Colorado State senior guard Dorian Green scored 24 points in that contest, earning MWC Player of the Week honors in the process.
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The physical Rams squad is one of the best rebounding units in the nation. With 42.6 boards per game, Colorado State ranks fourth nationally and tops the MWC. Only Maryland, North Carolina, and Missouri are better on the glass.
UNM puts a heavy emphasis on the boards. On average, the Lobos get 36.3 rebounds per game and are led by sophomore center Alex Kirk’s 7.9 per game. Junior guard Hugh Greenwood and junior forward Cameron Bairstow each add 5.1 a game.
Colorado State shoots 45.2 percent from the field and has outscored its opponents by an average of 14.9 points per game.
Iverson leads the Rams with 14.4 points per game.
The Rams are also one of the most experienced teams in the MWC.
They have six seniors in their starting lineup in Iverson, Hornung, Green, Carr, guard Wes Eikmeier and guard Greg Smith.
“They’re tough — we have to match their toughness,” UNM junior guard Kendall Williams said. “They have great leadership, and that’s why they’ve won a lot. We just have to match their intensity, and I think skill-wise and athletic-wise we can match up fine with them.”
Tony Snell has caught fire since league play began. UNM’s junior guard has a 17-point average in three conference games. He scored 38 points between the Lobos’ last two games, his best two-game stretch of the season. He has 12.1 points per game overall.
Kirk is maintaining his strong play with 12.3 points per game overall and 17.3 against league foes. Alford said flu-like symptoms have limited Kirk’s performance in practice. Williams continues to lead all UNM scorers with 14.4 points per game overall.
