The Lobos return home from their trip to the Wooden Legacy to celebrate the Pit’s 50th anniversary tonight. They’ll do so by hosting Abilene Christian, who they played in the Pit’s first game, which is pretty cool. Hopefully the Lobos will be able to celebrate in style.
A Little About Abilene Christian
What they’ve done so far:
The Wildcats, out of the Southland conference, are 3-2 on the season, with two of those wins coming against non-D1 opponents. Their one D1 win was actually pretty decent for them, as they went on the road to upset a decent New Hampshire team. ACU also played well on the road against Oklahoma, even leading the Sooners at the half before falling 72-64. They don’t rate out as a particularly good team, but they’ve shown that they can catch a team off guard.
Coach:
Joe Golding is in his sixth season coaching his alma mater, four of which have been at the D1 level. In those four seasons, he’s compiled a 37-61 record, which isn’t surprising for a team making the jump to a higher level of competition. They made some strides last year to go 8-10 in conference play, which they’re hoping will lead to an even better year this season.
Probable Starters:
#5 Payten Ricks (6’2” Guard, Freshman): Ricks is starting in place of Jaylen Franklin, who injured his knee in the Oklahoma game. He hasn’t played a ton yet this season, but has showed a good ability to take care of the ball and to take the ball away from his opponents.
#11 Drake Green (6’3” Guard, Junior): After not playing much his first two seasons, Green has worked his way into the starting lineup this year. He doesn’t shoot very often, and only from three-point range, and has a shockingly high turnover rate right now. It wouldn’t surprise me if someone else starts in this spot instead.
#4 Jovan Crnic (6’5” Forward, Senior): Crnic is the lone senior on the team and is their biggest threat on the perimeter. He’s shooting 39.3% from deep while taking 5.6 threes per game, leading the team in both categories.
#1 Jaren Lewis (6’6” Forward, Sophomore): Lewis has been the Wildcats’ leading scorer and rebounder this season, averaging 13.2 points and 7.8 boards per game. He’ll also shoot the occasional three, but hasn’t been particularly good from there this season.
#23 Hayden Howell (6’7” Forward, Sophomore): One of two Haydens on the team, Howell is a little miscast as a center, as he doesn’t have much size. That has likely led to his high foul rate, which in turn has limited his playing time. He’s been reasonably efficient from the field when he’s been on the court and has a decent block percentage, though. Expect to see a fair amount of 6’9” freshman Jalone Friday in this spot when either Howell or Lewis is on the bench.
Some Relevant Stats
ACU’s adjusted tempo is roughly average, but that’s really misleading. They have one of the slowest, most deliberate offenses this year, but have been allowing teams to attack them at one of the fastest paces in the country. So, when you combine those two things, it ends up being fairly average. Their offensive efficiency is currently ranked 312th, mostly due to their poor three-point shooting, their high turnover percentage, and their low free throw percentage. They’re a little better on defense, ranking 253rd. They allow a really low shooting percentage, particularly from three, but give up too many offensive rebounds and foul too often.
Scattered Thoughts
- Coach Neal has been hinting towards a change in the rotation and potentially the starting lineup, so it will be interesting to see what he’s planning on doing. One thing that I would expect to see is more of Damien Jefferson, as he’s starting to look like he’s figuring things out, which is great to see. However, that means that we’d have to see less of either EB or Sam, unless Noodles is thinking of going to a four-guard lineup more often.
- With the Wooden Legacy behind us, the Lobos only really have three more opportunities to pick up decent wins in non-conference play, all on the road. As I see it, Illinois St. would be a good win, NMSU would be an okay win, and Arizona would be a great win. All the other games would lead to wins that won’t impress anyone or lead to losses that would look embarrassing on the resume. It all really makes me wish they had been able to pull out that Dayton game…
Prediction
The Lobos absolutely should win this game and, if they play well, should win it easily. I think they come out with an 82-65 victory to help celebrate the Pit’s 50th anniversary.
Game Info
Who: New Mexico Lobos (4-2) vs. Abilene Christian (3-2)
When: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 at 7pm MT
Where: Albuquerque, NM
Watch: Root Sports
Listen: 770 KKOB