Lobo Basketball MW Conference Tournament Game 1 Preview

BY AUSTIN DENTON

The regular season has concluded, and now, the New Mexico Lobos enter the Mountain West Conference Tournament. Design by Author

The rematch begins the madness.

It’s crunch time now for the New Mexico Lobos basketball team, as they enter the Mountain West Conference tournament beginning on Wednesday. The Lobos will participate in the play-in game to determine if they will move on to the next round, or be sent home packing right from the get-go. And to kick it all off, they’ll rematch with the Wyoming Cowboys, who they lost to not too long ago this past Saturday. Here’s what you can expect come Wednesday.

#7 New Mexico Lobos vs. #10 Wyoming Cowboys: Wednesday, March 13th, 2:30 pm MST, Mountain West Network (Online Streaming Service), 94.5 FM and 770 AM KKOB

Last Meeting: March 9th, 2019, a 88-81 win for Wyoming / Winner Faces: #2 Utah State

New Mexico:

Record: 13-17 Overall, 7-11 in the Mountain West

Last Game: Loss vs. Wyoming, 88-81

Head Coach: Paul Weir (Second season, 32-32 with the Lobos)

Key Players: Carlton Bragg (22 points, 20 rebound double-double in last game)/Makuach Maluach (18 points, 3-4 from three-point range in last game)/Vance Jackson (13 points, 11 rebound double-double in last game)

Injury Report: JaQuan Lyle (ankle) is out for the season after injuring his ankle during a practice in the preseason

What To Expect:

A loss may not have changed their seeding and fate in the conference tournament, but a loss is a loss regardless, and the New Mexico Lobos felt that exact feeling on Saturday when they dropped their final contest of the regular season to the Wyoming Cowboys by a final score of 88-81.

Despite Carlton Bragg showing out with a big performance, 22 points and 20 rebounds to be exact, the Lobos defense allowed the Cowboys to shoot 60% from the field in the second half of the contest, which allowed Wyoming to slip back in and secure the win.

“It’s real disappointing because we spent so much time going into it about guarding him (Justin James) and the things we’re going to do,” Lobos head coach Paul Weir said after the contest. “I thought that first jumper we gave him, I don’t even want to talk about it, but we gave him a nice, early jumper on a complete breakdown. From there, it was a little bit of scramble mode.”

Entering this ever-so-important win or go home matchup, the Lobos will need to have one of the greatest senses of urgency they’ve ever had all season long, because if they don’t find their way to put together a great performance, especially against a team they lost to just three days ago, then the season will be over for the Lobos.

Wyoming:

Record: 8-23 Overall, 4-14 in the Mountain West

Last Game: Win vs. New Mexico, 88-81

Head Coach: Allen Edwards (Third season, 51-51 with the Cowboys)

Key Players: Justin James (28 points, 12 rebound double-double in last game)/AJ Banks (20 points, 5-7 from field-goal range in last game)/Hunter Thompson (14 points, 3-4 from field-goal range in last game)

Injury Report: Hunter Maldonado (back) is out for the season with this injury/Tariq Johnson (heart condition) is out for the season/Austin Mueller (knee) is out for the season with this injury

What To Expect:

Winning momentum may be the key to a run in the conference tournament, but the Wyoming Cowboys will need to have a similar performance to what they had on Saturday when they rematch with the New Mexico Lobos.

After maintaining a close first half statistically with New Mexico, with Wyoming shooting 46% opposite the Lobos 45%, the Cowboys broke open the floodgates offensively in the second half, powering through the Lobos defense, and finishing with an overall field goal percentage of 60%. New Mexico was limited to 31% field goal shooting in the second half, which greatly contributed to why the Cowboys got their lead. Justin James, one of the Cowboys seniors honored that day, also finished with a great performance of 28 points.

“I thought everybody who got in the game tonight did a good job, especially with the physicality that New Mexico brings to the court,” said Wyoming head coach Allen Edwards. “We would have rather not given up the 16 offensive rebounds to the Lobos, but I admired the fight of our guys tonight.”

All year long, the Cowboys have found themselves stuck in a rut because of multiple injuries throughout the year to their squad, but now, they have their chance to take down New Mexico once again for a chance at the next round of the Mountain West Conference tournament.

 

To watch this matchup when it goes live, click the link below.

https://themw.com/sports/2017/8/31/watch-live.aspx