The Lobos have had an impressive start to the season, highlighted by their road win against NMSU and Wednesday’s trouncing of Loyola Chicago. They look to keep their strong start going this weekend in Los Angeles against USC. Last season, the Trojans came into the Pit and beat the Lobos 66-54, so UNM will be looking to return the favor.
Game Preview
In his third year on the job, Andy Enfield might have the team that was promised when he was hired away from Dunk City aka FGCU. So far this season, the Trojans have been playing fast and scoring in bunches. In their two games, USC has scored an average of 92 points a game and are currently playing at the 16th fastest tempo in the country. In other words, the Lobos had better be ready to run.
The guy who is probably the Trojans’ best player is Jordan McLaughlin, a once-Lobo recruit. McLaughlin is a 6’1” PG who is a proficient scorer and a pest on defense. In his two games this season, McLaughlin has averaged 21 ppg, 6 rpg, 3.5 apg, and 2 spg. He’s a treat to score from all over the court, shooting about 65% from two, 40% from three, and 89% from the free throw line. He’s also been sure with the ball, only turning the ball over twice this season. He’s joined in the backcourt by Elijah Stewart and Julian Jacobs, who have both been excellent this season as well. Stewart is a 6’5” wing who can really shoot it and Jacobs is a 6’4” guard who does most of his damage by driving the ball and getting fouled. They both grade out as good defenders as well.
In the frontcourt, the Trojans are anchored by the 6’11” junior post Nikola Jovanovic. He is currently averaging a double-double with his 12 ppg and 10 rpg. He also tends to draw a good number of fouls, so it will be important for the UNM bigs to avoid getting into foul trouble because of him.They also start 6’10” freshman Bennie Boatwright, who plays more of a stretch role for the team, but he actually only averages 12 minutes per game, likely because he has a tendency of getting into foul trouble himself. So, USC tends to use more four guard lineups, particularly ones featuring former UNLV gunslinger Katin Reinhardt. Reinhardt still shoots a lot, but hasn’t really gotten going this season, but he has the track record to get hot at any point.
Scattered Thoughts
- Last season’s game against USC was the game that Hugh Greenwood went 0-11 from the field, including 0-9 from three, while collecting only one rebound for what had to have been his worst game as a Lobo. I think a large part of that can be attributed to the fact that he didn’t have much help on the team at that point and USC put in a scheme to shut him down. This year’s team has shown itself already to be much more balanced, so the Trojans won’t be able to focus on a single player to stop the Lobos. On top of that, both teams look to be much better than they were last year and are certainly more representative of each coach’s vision for his team, so I’m not sure that last year’s game gives us any sense of what this year’s will be like. There should be more points though.
- This is the first of what will be many games this season where Devon Williams will be sorely missed, which means that Joe Furstinger is going to have to grow up quick. Because of the type of team that USC is, Joe will need to show that he has the ability to run the floor and guard the perimeter for long stretches at a time. If he can’t, I’d expect to see Noodles play more four-guard lineups not only in this game, but in most of the games this season.
- Speaking of Devon, watching his press conference on Thursday where he talked about his condition and his future made me like him even more, so I’m excited to see how committed he still is to the program and how committed the program still is to him. There’s talk every year about how much they are like a family, but if we’re being honest, most teams make that claim. However, seeing him wanting to help out his teammates by basically serving as a graduate assistant and seeing Noodles promise that he’ll make sure that Devon will have his graduate degree tuition completely covered, even if Noodles has to pay for it himself, it’s obvious how true that family description is for this program.
Prediction
USC is a tough team and they bring a style of play that the Lobos don’t see often. To me, this feels like it is going to be a back-and-forth type of game, as both coaches want their teams to run a lot. I think that this game will come down to the wire with either team having a shot to win it in the last couple of minutes. So, with it being a toss-up and because I’m a homer, I’ll pick the Lobos to win 83-80.
Game Info
Who: New Mexico Lobos (3-0) vs. USC Trojans (2-0)
Where: Galen Center, Los Angeles
When: Saturday, November 21st at 8:30pm MT
Radio: 770 KOB
TV: PAC 12 Network