The Lobos (12-5, 4-1 Mountain West) will host the Boise State Broncos on Sunday evening at WisePies Arena, aka The Pit, in hopes of keeping their flawless home conference record (3-0) intact.
“I just told (the team), I said, ‘Your mission is to protect the home floor and your goal is to go undefeated at home,’” head coach Craig Neal said. “I think that’s what every team should have, and that’s the way we’ve always tried to do it.”
Neal said he is as surprised as anybody that his team is currently tied for first place in a competitive conference that has seen a lot of surprises early in the season. UNM is tied with No. 25 Wyoming (15-3, 4-1 MW) and Fresno State (9-9, 4-1 MW) for the top spot in the MW.
“If you told me we’d be sitting 4-1 right now with what we’ve been through this year, I wouldn’t know that would be the case,” Neal said. “But I think our guys are really giving great effort; I think they’re learning every game and I think they’re trying to get better.”
BSU (11-6, 1-3 MW) was projected to finish second in the Mountain West prior to the start of the season. They are currently sitting in eighth place along with UNLV (10-7, 1-3 MW).
“They do a good job and we’ve had trouble with them, but, you know, they’re coming to our place,” Neal said.
The Lobos have yet to lose at home against the Broncos in the three years BSU has been a part of the MW.
BSU is among the top offensive teams in the Mountain West, averaging 71.4 points per game, only behind Colorado State, which is averaging 73.4 points per game. The Lobos are at 63.8 points per game — seventh in the conference.
The Broncos are coming off of an 82-73 overtime thriller against a UNLV Runnin’ Rebels squad that gave them their first conference win of the season. The Broncos were led by senior Derrick Marks, who scored 28 points, none more crucial than his turnaround jump shot in the lane to force overtime.
Boise State will be without its second leading scorer, Anthony Drmic (15.0 points per game) after an ankle injury has been hampering him since last season. According to Drmic’s Twitter account, he underwent surgery yesterday and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Drmic will seek a medical hardship much as UNM sophomore guard Cullen Neal is. The team will wait to hear from the NCAA on whether or not he will be granted a fifth season of eligibility.
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Kyle Tomasi is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @KyTo22.
