After dropping another home game to North Texas, the Lobos fell to 5-5 on the season and left plenty of questions and observations from my seat. This is the first of Zach’s Reacts, in which I will give his immediate post-game thoughts. Each paragraph will be a different topic and I hope that the order works. 

Slow starts are becoming a trend and tonight was no different, as the Mean Green of North Texas jumped out to a 12-3 lead in the first 6:02 of the game. If this was something that was only happening every so often, you wouldn’t be as concerned. However, they have had slow starts in all but two games this season. I’m not sure if it is the starting lineups are something larger, but you can’t start every game slow and expect to climb back in and win. The Lobos didn’t do any favors for themselves to start the second half either, as they scored 1 point in the first 5:25 of the half. 

Passing has been a concern for this team since the JaQuan Lyle injury and those concerns showed up in a big way tonight against North Texas, as they were simply unable to take advantage of their size. There were numerous times where they didn’t see an open post player or turned the ball over trying to get the ball into the post. While this team will never be a great or maybe even good passing team, they have to find ways to get the ball to the open player to get good looks. The Lobos ended the night with 21 turnovers, which is way too many if you want to have a chance to beat a good team. 

While Anthony Mathis has been a great free throw shooter in his career, he normally doesn’t get to the line (except for Technical Fouls and late game fouls). Last night, however, he was aggressively attacking the defense and got to the line a lot (11 times and was 11-11 ). Why is this important? They are pretty much FREE Points that you are getting and you’re racking up fouls on the defenders. The offense this year has been hit and miss, so anytime you can get Mathis to the line you will gladly accept it. 

Stopping the ball has become a huge concern early this season and it continued tonight. Whenever the Lobos looked like they were going to make a run, North Texas would either get the ball to the rim for a layup or would find a wide-open shooter for a three. This would allow North Texas to keep separation from the Lobos. I don’t know if it is because of the press that isn’t designed to create turnovers in the backcourt or the backline of the press not doing a good job of slowing down the ball. Whatever it is, it isn’t working right now. This is another trend that has appeared this season, very notably against Saint Mary’s, where their guards owned the paint. That’s not a sentence that I figured I’d have to write, given the size of this team.

After struggling as a team from the free throw line through the first nine games of the year, the Lobos shot very well from the line tonight, going 83.9% (26-31). Part of the reason the Lobos shot so well from the line? Mathis shot 11 of the 31 attempts. Beyond that, a couple of the bigs combined to go 6-6, with Carlton Bragg going 4-4 and Corey Manigault going 2-2. That helps you shoot a very high percentage. There is no reason the Lobos shouldn’t be a good free throw shooting team, so tonight at the line was one of the only bright spots. 

Things seem out of sync and it appears that team chemistry isn’t there right now. I’m not sure if this will be something that lasts the whole year (much like Neal’s last year) or if it is something that can be solved as they play more games together. One thing that is becoming clear to me is how much this team misses Mr. Joementum (Joe Furstinger). Joe was the heart and soul to the team last year and so far no one on the team has been able to fill that void. The Lobos will need to find a player or two that is the heartbeat to the team. If team chemistry is something that can be solved this team could still do some awesome things this season, if not it could be a long season.

As we saw last year with the 3-8 starts, that some seasons will start off very slow and end on a high note. The Lobos are 5-5 to start the season and haven’t lost to a bad team, but the games they have lost have been deflating (aside for the NMSU game at home). They have been blown out twice (NMSU and Saint Mary’s), blew a late lead to Colorado, and lost to North Texas tonight in a game that was never really in doubt. The Lobos have to get back to work and find the things that work and don’t work and find ways to show fight. There are a lot of things that the Lobos will have to work through. Who will step up and lead the Lobos out of this situation?

Dane Kuiper was in street clothes and it appears that he is having some issues with his knees. It would make sense for Kuiper and the coaching staff for him to rest Saturday against Penn and the following Saturday against the University of the Southwest in Hobbs. This should give Kuiper plenty of time to rest his knees and get him ready for MW play. The Lobos need a healthy version of him, and the perimeter defense he can bring, in a bad way.

Up next for the Lobos is a huge game against a very good Penn team, that has already beaten defending National Champion Villanova. Penn will give the Lobos a great test, and it could be a season-defining game. It is the type of game that could set up for a good MW season, or could put even more questions in your head.