After a dominating performance Tuesday in their 83-43 win against Nicholls State, the Lobos return to action for their Thanksgiving Tournament. First up for the Lobos is Southern Utah, who they will play this afternoon. Today’s other game in the four team tournament is Duquesne vs. North Carolina A&T. New Mexico and Duquesne are both heavy favorites in their opening game and should square off on Saturday for the Championship Game. But, first things first; both teams need to win today.
Author: Zach
Women’s Basketball VS Nicholls State Game Preview
The Lobos improved to 2-1 on the season after their 84-71 win against Sacramento State on Saturday. The Lobos were able to play to their strengths against Sacramento State and will look to continue to do that tonight and during the rest of this season. The Lobos will return to action Tuesday night against Nicholls State, from the Southland Conference, who are 1-1 on the young season. This will be the second of four straight home games for the Lobos this week, as they host the Thanksgiving Tournament this Friday and Saturday. The Lobos still haven’t lost in the PIT since the name changed to WisePies Arena and the streak should continue tonight.
Men’s Basketball AT USC Game Recap
Saturday night’s game was a tale of two halves for the Lobo Basketball team, as they found themselves in a huge hole at halftime but found enough of a spark to make it a game in the second half. Ultimately, they ended up losing to USC 90-82, but the fight the Lobos showed in the second half after the lackluster first half performance showed the potential the team can have this season. This game against USC was going to be a tough one to win, so we shouldn’t be extremely disappointed with the loss. This game is also a reminder that this season will be a process, but the talent is there to be a very good team.
Women’s Basketball vs. Sacramento State Preview
The Lobos return to The Pit today, where they haven’t lost since the name change to WisePies Arena last year. After Tuesday’s 78-59 road loss to instate rival NMSU, the Lobos are hoping to bounce back and fix what went wrong down south. The Saturday afternoon game against Sacramento State (1-1) is an interesting matchup since both teams are coming off of loses to NMSU, with Sacramento State losing their game 80-77. While Sacramento State’s score was closer against NMSU, it doesn’t really give an idea of how this game will play out. Look for the Lobos to come out and show that their game on Tuesday is not the team they are and more of a fluke. I expect that we will see some changes in the rotation after Tuesday’s game, but nothing dramatic. It should be a good game on a day filled with Lobo sporting events.
Women’s Basketball: NMSU Game Preview
After a game against Houston Baptist, where they played well defensively but had some struggles offensively in their 65-57 win, the Lobos look to get their offense going against instate rival NMSU. After playing just NMSU once last year, the Lobos and Aggies return to playing twice against each other this season. The Aggies won the lone meeting last year in Las Cruces 70-59, in a game where Sasha Weber scored 23 points for the Aggies. It will be important for the Lobos to get their offense going in the first quarter and keep the starters out of foul trouble. If the Lobos are able to control the pace of play and control the impact of Weber, the Lobos will have a decent chance to win this game.
Women’s Basketball: Houston Baptist Game Preview
The basketball season tips off for the Lobo Women’s Basketball Program tonight in the second game of a Lobo doubleheader. After dominating two instate DII schools in exhibition games, the Lobos open the season against Southland Conference’s Houston Baptist. The Lobos are coming off a season where they went 21-13 and Houston Baptist finished their season 15-18. This should be a good first test for the Lobos as they get their legs under them this season. The Lobos non-conference schedule isn’t as tough as last year’s, but that doesn’t mean they’re playing terrible teams.
Lobo Women’s Basketball Season Preview
The Lobo Women’s Basketball Program looks to build off of last year’s very encouraging season that saw the Lobos finish the season 21-13 overall and 14-4 in Mountain West Play. The Lobos ended up making the Mountain West Tournament Final and making the second round of the Women’s Basketball Invitational. With such a great turnaround, Coach Sanchez was awarded a contract extension as she tries to get the program back to where it was in the early 2000’s. This program is on the rise with a talented roster and recruiting keeps on getting better, I am excited for this season and do think this team has good shot to win the Mountain West.
Men’s Soccer vs. South Carolina Recap (CUSA Tourney)
The Lobos played a good match against South Carolina, but were unable to find the net on their dangerous chances. That ultimately gave South Carolina a chance to stay in the match and they found the game-winning goal late in the second half, likely ending the Lobos’ season in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament. The season didn’t go as many Lobo fans had hoped, but there is hope for the future and the youth on this year’s team will get better with more experience. The South Carolina game summed up the Lobos’ season very well, as they were unable to score in the first half, unable to find ways to score from more than one person, and unable to prevent giving up late goals off of broken plays. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the Men’s Soccer program, so this feels more like a temporary misstep than the start of a downward trend. This is still a very good college soccer team and program.
CUSA Conference Tourney First Round: UNM vs. South Carolina
After a strong finish in their last couple of games, the Lobos enter the seven-team Conference USA Tournament as the #6 seed. This tournament will take place Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, when the Championship Match will determine who will get the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The field is a very solid one, as it has the potential for five or six of its teams to make the NCAA Tournament this year. With Charlotte being the host, they will be considered one of the two favorites along with #1 Seed Kentucky.
Men’s Basketball: Rogers State Game Thoughts
The Lobos played their last exhibition game of the season Friday night against Rogers State, and while it is hard to get a feel of rotations and how improved players are over last year, here are some of my observations from the Rogers State game.