The New Mexico Lobos stay home for a third straight game, hosting the Green Bay Phoenix at Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit in Albuquerque.
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New Mexico vs. Green Bay: Game Preview, TV, Radio Schedule, Livestream, Odds, More
The Lobos play the Phoenix for the first time
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Can New Mexico hold off a spoiler from an experienced Green Bay squad?
WHO: New Mexico Lobos (2-0) vs. Green Bay (1-1)
WHEN: Wednesday, November 13 — 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT
WHERE: Dreamstlye Arena – The Pit, Albuquerque, NM (15,411)
TV: None
STREAM: Mountain West Network / Stadium
RADIO: TuneIn
SERIES RECORD: This is the first meeting between the University of New Mexico and the University of Green Bay.
ODDS: New Mexico -12, per KenPom
PREVIEW: The New Mexico Lobos stay home for a third straight game in a four-game home stand to start the season, hosting the Green Bay Phoenix in non-conference play on Wednesday, November 13 at Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit in Albuquerque.
New Mexico has gone 2-0 to open the season while Green Bay is 1-1 on the season. Most recently, the Lobos had a solid outing against Cal State Northridge, beating the Matadors 97-70 behind a steady offense and stretches of a strong defense. Green Bay last played Wisconsin-Stout, a 115-64 rout against the Division III University.
Through their 2-0 start, New Mexico has been led by Carlton Bragg (15.0 points, 5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks per game) and Corey Manigault (15.0 points 1.5 blocks per game), though six Lobos have averaged double figures in scoring through the small sample size of contests. JaQuan Lyle has demonstrated his passing prowess as advertised, leading the way with 8.0 assists per game through the first two games.
So far the offense has been clicking for New Mexico, averaging a scorching NCAA-leading 60.0% field goal percentage and 22 assists through its two wins (yes the strength of schedule isn’t great and its a very small sample, but still something for the Cherry and Silver to be encouraged about).
So far for Green Bay, scoring has been very evenly distributed through the roster with Kameron Hankerson (12.5 points per game) and Freshman Amari Davis (12.5 points, 1.5 steals per game) leading the Phoenix.
Prior to Green Bay’s blowout win over Wisconsin-Stout, the Phoenix struggled against a good Purdue team to open the season, a 79-57 loss, making it hard to say where this team sits in the fabric of college basketball. Being among the top 30 or so teams in returning minutes should help Green Bay to be competitive in most games, including against New Mexico.
New Mexico’s oft employed start-to-finish full-court press that Weir stuck to in his first two years with the program has not been seen much in New Mexico’s first two games. Instead, he has made a point to help his team improve its half-court defense.
So will this be the first game we’ll see the full-court press?
Noting that the first two teams have been quicker teams, and that his team has struggled against quicker opponents, Paul Weir noted, “Right now, to me, we’ve got to, as a team – whether we’re matchups or no matchups – we would be playing this way (emphasizing half court defense) regardless of anybody because we need to learn to get stops in the half court and as we expand it going forward, we may or may not . . .”
For New Mexico, this is looking like one of those quadrant 4 type games against a team with enough pieces coming back to cause a little bit of trouble if the defense isn’t there. Like I said in a previous article predicting New Mexico’s postseason chances, this is just the kind of game New Mexico can’t lose to look good to the selection committee because of its relatively limited supply of quadrant 1 and 2 games.
As expected, seniors JaQuan Lyle and Carlton Bragg have been key components to New Mexico’s early wins and should continue to produce at a high level. Corey Manigault has shown a high degree of offensive efficiency. His 15.0 points per game have been accomplished in just 18.0 minutes per game with a field goal percentage of 70.6%.
If New Mexico’s excellent inside-out game and ability to move the ball become the story of this game, even an off-night defensively might keep Green Bay in check.
But it’s probably better to be safe and just continue working the half-court defense.
Injuries/Roster Updates:
- New Mexico: 6’0″ point guard Drue Drinnon has entered the transfer portal to be closer to family. No injuries reported.
- Green Bay: No injuries reported.
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