It’s been a week since the Lobos headed down to Las Cruces, where they put out an uninspiring performance on way to an 84-71 loss. Based on what we’ve heard about their practices this week, that loss may have lit a fire under the Lobos, which could serve them well in the long run. They’ll need to bring the intensity tonight though, as they’re playing an Arkansas-Pine Bluff squad that’s hard to get excited about and with Arizona looming around the corner, this could be a classic trap game.
A Little About Arkansas-Pine Bluff
What they’ve done so far:
The Golden Lions have had what I’ll generously call a rough start to the season. They’re currently 1-10 on the year, with their lone win coming against Ecclesia College, which is an NCCAA school. One of those 10 losses was a 3OT loss at home to Blue Mountain College, which competes at the NAIA level. With three more road games remaining in their non-conference schedule, there’s a good chance that they won’t have a single D1 win until conference play begins. Their conference, the SWAC, isn’t particularly good, so they could still pick up some wins there, but it’s looking like a long season for the Golden Lions.
Coach:
George Ivory is in his 9th season at UAPB, where he’s compiled a 99-167 record. He has taken the Golden Lions to the NCAA Tournament once, back in 2010. In that season, his team started the season 0-11, so there’s still the hope that they can pull things together in time for the conference tournament.
Probable Starters:
#44 Ghiavonni Robinson (6’3” Guard, Senior): Robinson is the team’s second-leading scorer with 12.1 points per game. He takes most of his shots from behind the arc, where he makes about a third of his attempts. He’s also pretty decent at forcing steals, with 1.4 per game.
#13 JoeRandle Toliver (6’4” Guard, Junior): Toliver is another guy who takes a bunch of threes, but he hasn’t been as great at it. He’s taking about 5 threes a game and is making 29% of them. He is leading the team in assists, with 2.5 a game.
#10 Jaquan Lynch (6’3” Guard, Senior): Lynch is one of the Golden Lions more well-rounded players on UAPB, averaging 7.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. Because of that, he actually has the highest offensive rating on the team at 98.1. That’s still below average, which should tell you a lot about this team.
#15 Trent Steen (6’8” Forward, Junior): Steen is the best rebounder on the team, particularly on the defensive end. He does have a tendency of getting into foul trouble, which could be a problem for him trying to guard Tim Williams.
#35 Travon Harper (6’8” Forward, Junior): Harper is the team’s best offensive rebounder and, unlike Steen, will take the occasional shot from behind the arc. He isn’t shooting well from the field, only making a third of his shots overall.
Some Relevant Stats
UAPB has one of the worst-rated offenses in the country, with KenPom ranking them dead-last in offensive efficiency. They don’t shoot well and they turn the ball over a lot, which is rarely a winning combination. They also play at a slow pace, which tells me that they just have a hard time finding good shots. The Lobos will need to play good, disciplined defense to keep the Golden Lions uncomfortable.
They’re not much better on defense, particularly in allowing teams to get to the rim and in sending teams to the free throw line. They are pretty good at defending the three point line and forcing steals though. However, in general, this game looks like it is tailor-made for the Lobos to have a good outing.
Scattered Thoughts
- Coach Neal got a bunch of heat – again – for saying that he can’t coach effort. Now, a couple of things come to mind. First, one of the things that I appreciate about Noodles that I know can get under some people’s skin is how candid he is and how unpolished his responses can be. I try to watch just about every press conference he holds because I get to hear things that I don’t usually get to hear from coaches, in that he’s not giving just canned, clichéd lines. However, there is a reason that coaches tend to give those kind of responses, as there’s a decent chance that they’ll say something that will rub people the wrong way. I sort of prefer this current way, but the blowback he gets sometimes makes me wonder if it’s better for him personally to start giving boring, uncontroversial answers to everything.
Second, while he does need to change the way he’s communicating it to the press, the effort could be better. It’s been too common to see guys lose defensive assignments, to stand around on offense, and to not fight for rebounds. It should be telling that #Jomentum, who is legitimately the fifth big on the roster, has been having success this season simply by playing as hard as he can on both ends of the court and staying within both the offense and defense. If all of the guys play hard and stick to both the offense and defense, this team absolutely has the talent to win the conference.
Geoff Grammer wrote an article earlier this week about how the Lobos had one of their most intense practices in years, and that was great to see. There was also the mention of potential lineup changes, which be interesting in themselves. I hope that tonight they can play at full intensity against an overmatched team and just run them out of the court. The fans could use it, the coaches could use it, and I know the players could use it too.
Prediction
It’s easy to overlook UAPB, especially with a big game against Arizona next week and then conference play starting soon after, but with all that is going on right now, I like to think – and generally hope – that the Lobos will come out firing on all cylinders tonight. If they do, there’s no reason to think that a 25-point win is out of the question. I’ll pick the Lobos to win 82-57.
Game Info
Who: New Mexico Lobos (6-4) vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions (1-10)
When: Saturday, December 17, 2016 at 6pm MT
Where: Albuquerque, NM
Watch: At the Pit only. Blame the weather. UPDATE: Apparently this game can be streamed on the MW Network. Click here to watch.
Listen: 770 AM/94.5 FM KKOB