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Regardless of the outcome Saturday afternoon, the No. 16 New Mexico men’s basketball team will leave Fort Collins, Colo., leading the Mountain West Conference race.
UNM could have a two-game lead over the rest of the league, but Colorado State wants a share of first place. The Lobos (22-4, 9-2 MWC) tip off with the No. 22 Rams (21-5, 8-3 MWC) at 2 p.m. Saturday.
This was the same situation as when UNM played at San Diego State and UNLV earlier in the year. The Lobos dropped both of those games but maintained their conference lead.
“That doesn’t happen all the time,” said head coach Steve Alford. “It didn’t happen to (SDSU, UNLV and CSU), but it’s been able to happen to us. It’s a great credit to the guys of taking care of business to this point.”
With five games left in the regular season, UNM and CSU have at least a game-and-a-half lead over every other MWC team. The remaining seven teams have five conference losses or more.
UNM did not have a Wednesday game this week, giving Colorado State a shot to tie the Lobos for first place. UNLV had other plans, defeating the Rams 61-59 in Las Vegas, Nev. As a result, CSU sits one game behind UNM.
The Lobos and Rams last battled Jan. 23, at which New Mexico let a 22-point second-half lead slip away but held on late in the contest for a 66-61 victory. At the time, it was UNM’s fourth-straight win.
Colorado State then won six straight games before Wednesday’s setback. The Rams averaged 71.9 points per game during that seven-game stretch, outscoring their opponents by 8.7 points per game.
Saturday, UNM captured a 60-50 win over Boise State.
CSU boasts some of the league’s best numbers on the offensive end. The Rams have scored 71 points per game through 11 MWC contests, outscoring their league foes by an 8.5-point average. They lead the conference in both categories.
Four Colorado State players average double-figure scoring overall this season, led by senior forward Colton Iverson’s 13.7 points per game. Joining him on the league’s top 20 scoring list are senior guard Dorian Green (12.9), senior guard Wes Eikmeier (11.8) and senior forward Greg Smith (11.5).
The Rams remain the MWC’s top rebounding team. They’ve pulled down 41.1 boards and given up 29.4 per conference game. Iverson and senior forward Pierce Hornung are first and second, respectively, in the MWC in rebounding, averaging more than nine apiece overall this season.
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“If you eliminate their rebounding and their second-chance 3s, that’s going to be huge in cutting down their points,” Lobo sophomore center Alex Kirk said.
UNM, meanwhile, has emerged as the league’s best defensive unit, surrendering a league-best 57.8 points per game against MWC opponents. The Lobos trail CSU in scoring margin of 6.2-points per game, the second best mark in the league.
Opposing conference teams have a combined .383 shooting percentage against UNM through 11 games. The Lobos also lead the league in steals per game (7.0) and turnover margin per game ( 2.27).
“We’ve got a locker room full of guys who have won it and know a championship run,” Alford said. “They’ve got a group in their locker room that’s trying to break through again. They broke through last year and got in the (NCAA) tournament. They know their next breakthrough is trying to win a league championship.”
Averaging 13.1 points per game, junior guard Kendall Williams continues to lead UNM’s scoring overall this season. Junior guard Tony Snell has 11.6 points per game, while Kirk has 11.2.
In 11 league games, UNM has scored an average 66.7 points per game. Only Wyoming (61.7) and Fresno State (59.6) have lower scoring averages in conference play.
Women’s basketball
With the men in Fort Collins this weekend, the UNM women host Colorado State at The Pit. Tipoff is 6 p.m. on Saturday.
The Lobos (13-11, 5-6 MWC) enter the game coming off a 66-58 win at Boise State on Saturday. The team snapped a two-game losing streak. The Rams travel to Albuquerque looking for their third straight win. CSU defeated UNLV 62-49 on Wednesday.
On Jan. 23, UNM captured a 68-54 victory over CSU, its first victory in Fort Collins in three years. Lobo junior Deeva Vaughn netted 15 points in that game; junior guard Sara Halasz added 14.
Colorado State has scored the league’s lowest point total through 11 games, averaging 56.7 points a game in MWC play. However, its scoring defense is second-best in the conference at 58.5 points per game. UNM averages 59.5 points per game offensively and 61.7 per game defensively.
Junior forward Sam Martin leads CSU’s offense with 13.1 points per game this season. Freshman guard Caitlin Duffy has added 11.1 per game.
Senior guard Caroline Durbin, UNM’s only double-digit scorer, averages 12.3 points per game.
The Athletics Department announced in a release issued Thursday that Durbin received Capital One Academic All-America Second Team honors for the second-straight year. She is one of 15 NCAA Division I women’s basketball players to be honored, the release stated.
Women’s basketball vs. Colorado State
Saturday
6 p.m.
The Pit
