The Lobos continue their Texas two-step road trip with their game Saturday afternoon at SMU in Dallas, Texas. The Lobos are coming off a tough road loss at UTEP, where the Miners shot 12-24 from three-point range in the game. That put the Lobos on a two game losing streak, which they hope to break against the 3-3 Mustangs. I bet Coach Sanchez and the coaching staff talked and preached to their team to limit the quality looks that they gave from three, as that has become a bit of an issue this season. A bright spot for the Lobos is that the Mustangs have struggled from three in the early part of this season, shooting below 30% at 29.5%. Still, the Lobos will have to defend well in this game to have a good shot of winning and they have to make sure not to foul, as the Mustangs are a great free throw shooting team at 84%.

There are things the Lobos need to focus on as a team to get on a long winning streak and enable them to become a very solid basketball team. One thing they need to focus on is getting their best offensive players a chance to make an impact on the game, Khadijah Shumpert has played great to start out the year, averaging 13.9 point, 7.3 rebounds per game, and shooting a very solid 51.5% from the floor. So, if Shumpert is having a great game, the Lobo players need to make a point to get her the ball and allow her to go to work in the paint. This also goes for any other player when they have things going. After all, to make the most of each position is a key in college basketball. One thing the Lobos need to focus on is taking good shots and taking good care of the basketball. So far this season, the Lobos are turning the ball over 16.58 times per game, which I think is too high. I would like to see that number below 12 in order to maximize each possession.

SMU:

The Mustangs are led by long-time Head Coach Rhonda Rompola, who has been the Head Coach at SMU since the 1991 season. SMU, once a fellow member of the WAC, is now in the American Athletic Conference and are coming off a down year where they finished the season 7-23. Their star player, Australian sophomore Alicia Froling, who is averaging a stout 14.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, leads the Mustangs. However, SMU does have three other players that are averaging double figure points in McKenzie Adams (13.7), Ashley Gibson (10.4), and Stephanie Collins (10.3). While the Mustangs don’t use as deep of a rotation as many teams the Lobos play, all of their rotation players have been very productive in their minutes. The Mustangs have had a tougher time taking care of the ball than the Lobos, as they are averaging 18.7 turnovers per game. In terms of overall scoring this season, the Mustangs are currently averaging 69 points per game while allowing 61 points.

Aussie Aussie Aussie:

Saturday’s game between the Lobos and Mustangs has some Australian flavor as the Lobos has Josie Greenwood (Hobart, Australia), and the Mustangs have three Australians from the Australian Institute of Sports in Stephanie Collins and twins Alicia and Keely Froling. Because Greenwood has only seen action in four games this season (in which the Lobos are 4-0) and Keely Froling has been out of action this season, it is likely that we only have two Australians that see a lot of action in the game, as both Collins and Alicia Froling are starters and average double figures in scoring. However, it would be cool to see Greenwood face a fellow Aussie.

Guard Shooting:

So far this season, the Lobo guards have struggled shooting the basketball, with freshman Emily Lines (62.5/85.7) as the only non-post player to shoot well in her limited action. The highest shooting percentage from a starting backcourt player is Bryce Owens at 38.8%, and from three is Jannon Otto (4/9, 44.4%). Cherise Beynon has shot the three point shot well at 35.5% and if she can improve her overall field goal percentage (34.2%) to 40%, the Lobos offensive attack will be much improved by likely giving them two 14+ points per game scorers. A key for the Lobos to become a great team is the production from the backup backcourt players. At some point, I expect Lines to get a shot at being one of the first guards off the bench. She has been productive shooting in her 37 minutes of action, but she has only played in four games this year. Backup point guard Laneah Bryan will be a key figure in determining the team that the Lobos become this year. If Bryan can become an effective shooter and force opposing team to take her as a scoring threat, it will open up the offence when she is in the game and raise the team’s overall ceiling. As the year goes on, I bet Coach Sanchez will figure what backcourt players give her the best chance to win, but that might not happen until closer to conference play.

Matchup to Watch:

The matchup to watch in this game will be between the best players for both teams: forwards Khadijah Shumpert and Alicia Froling. Both players lead their teams in both scoring and rebounding, so the winner of this matchup will give their teams a leg up in determining who will win the game. It is important for Shumpert to make sure that she doesn’t get into foul trouble and put Froling in situations where she can pick up fouls. Neither player has been particularly foul prone, with Froling averaging almost 3 fouls a game while Shumpert is just over 3 fouls a game. If Shumpert is able to give the Lobos 25+ great minutes, I like what Whitney Johnson and Jaisa Nunn can give off the bench for the remaining minutes. For SMU, Froling is averaging 31.8 minutes a game, which shows how much Coach Rompola depends on her best player.

Prediction:

The Lobos are on a tough stretch right now, losing their last two games, and having to face a good Mustangs team will make it tough for the Lobos to get back to its winning ways. That said, I trust Coach Sanchez and staff to have the players ready to win this game. The odds that I put on the Lobos winning this game are 60%, with the final score being 71-65. This should be a fun game to watch and see the Lobos get back into the win column, hopefully ending a great day for Lobo Basketball!

Game Info:

Who: New Mexico (4-3) AT SMU (3-3)

Where: Moody Coliseum, Dallas, TX

When: Saturday, December 5, 4 PM MT

Radio: 610 AM

Stream: Pony UP TV (Requires subscription)