The Lobos get their first road test of the season as the team takes part in the Wooden Legacy basketball tournament in Fullerton, California.
The 12-game bracketed tournament begins Thursday, will feature eight teams: CSUN, Dayton, Nebraska, New Mexico, Portland, Texas A&M, UCLA and Virginia Tech.
New Mexico (3-0) begins the tournament with Virginia Tech in the first round on Thanksgiving at 2:30 p.m. The winner will advance to face the winner of the Texas A&M and Cal State Northridge matchup on Friday. The teams that lose will also play against each other.
The championship and other consolation games are scheduled for Sunday. The Wooden Legacy Classic will be available on various ESPN channels.
The Lobos have already played five games, including exhibitions, at WisePies Arena. They’ve won all five, but head coach Craig Neal says his team is ready to be tested on the road.
“It will be a great mental test to see how mature our guys have become,” he said. “It will be interesting to see how our five newcomers handle it. That’s the responsibility of our leaders. Our leaders have to explain how it’s going to work, how we prepare, how we pack. We have it all orchestrated.”
Last year, the Lobos finished with a 17-15 overall record. At home they were 12-4, but on the road the team was 5-11 (5-7 away, 0-4 neutral).
However, Neal said the Lobos have the ability to be successful wherever they play.
“Steve (Alford) won 27 games on the road and I’ve won 24 games on the road,” he said. “Whatever we’ve been doing, it’s been working. We are just trying to keep our guys going in that direction and that they are mentally prepared for it.”
New Mexico and Virginia Tech have met only once before. The lone meeting was played in 1973, when the Hokies defeated the Lobos 65-63.
Both teams enter the contest with a perfect 3-0 record on the season.
The Lobos are coming off a 72-59 victory over the New Mexico State Aggies. Forward Tim Williams led the Lobos in scoring for the third straight game with 20 points, guard Elijah Brown followed with 19 points.
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Williams has played a total of 99 minutes this season and is averaging 23.0 points per game.
He achieved a career high of 31 points the previous game, helping his team take a 95-79 win over Houston Baptist.
The performances garnered Williams his first Mountain West Player of the Week honor.
“That’s really good for the program,” Neal said. “He definitely deserves it. I thought he had a great week. It was a good win against New Mexico State and now we are trying to move forward.”
The Hokies are coming off an 88-72 victory over the Virginia Military Institute. Forward Zach LeDay led the team with 23 points and is averaging 18.3 points per game.
“It will be a tough contest,” Neal said. “Buzz Williams is an excellent coach. I’ve only coached against him one time when he was at Marquette. They are really guard-oriented. They play four guards.”
If the Lobos win against Virginia Tech, it will be the first time the program has started the season 4-0 since the 2012-13 season.
Isabel Gonzalez is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She mainly covers men’s soccer and basketball. She can be reached at sports @dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cisabelg.
