Tag: New Mexico Lobos

UCLA basketball loses to New Mexico in Nevada

A tough loss for UCLA.

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team began the year with a blowout victory over Rider in Westwood. On Friday night, the Bruins had a tough test against the New Mexico Lobos in Henderson, Nevada.

Unfortunately, New Mexico came out on top against UCLA. The Lobos had a 41-30 lead at halftime and UCLA couldn’t muster up enough in the second half. New Mexico ended up winning the game, 72-64.

It was a poor effort from UCLA, with the exception of Oregon State transfer Tyler Bilodeau, who led the way again. This time, he had 23 points with 15 rebounds and a pair of steals as he was the only UCLA player to register double figures in points.

Donovan Dent and Nelly Junio Joseph, two returning players for New Mexico, combined for 33 points in a strong effort.

It’s a tough loss for UCLA, although not a bad loss by any means with New Mexico expected to be a strong team. The Bruins next play against Boston University at home on Monday night.

UCLA-New Mexico a game to watch in opening weekend

UCLA-New Mexico should be a good one.

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team had no issues in the opening night win over Rider at home.

However, Friday’s game against the New Mexico Lobos in Henderson could be a tough test.

College basketball insider Jon Rothstein picked five games to watch for the weekend, and one of them was UCLA taking on New Mexico in Las Vegas.

“How much better are the Bruins than last season’s team that finished 16-17? We’ll have a pretty good idea after this neutral site clash in Las Vegas. Keep a close eye on how UCLA’s depth affects New Mexico point guard Donovan Dent over the course of 40 minutes. Tip off for this game is at 11 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.”

The others on his list were North Carolina-Kansas, Tennessee-Louisville, Arkansas-Baylor, and Auburn-Houston. However, all eyes will be focused on Mick Cronin’s team as they face the Lobos in a tough game.

Sooners add defensive lineman, Oklahoma City native to roster for 2024

Oklahoma Sooners make late addition to the 2024 roster.

The Oklahoma Sooners official roster for the 2024 season is out and there’s another piece to the puzzle joining the team this fall. The Sooners added a late transfer in former New Mexico defensive lineman David Rowaiye.

Rowaiye, a native of Oklahoma City, spent the last two seasons with the Lobos after signing in the 2022 recruiting class. He was a three-star prospect that also had offers from Baylor and Eastern Michigan.

New Mexico redshirted him in 2022, but Rowaiye didn’t earn any playing time in 2023.

The Sooners have good depth along the defensive line heading into the 2024 season, which will make it tough to see the field. But under the direction of Todd Bates, Miguel Chavis, Zac Alley, and Brent Venables, the Sooners could have a player in the making.

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Montana State rallies past New Mexico buoyed by 93-yard run

Montana State rallies to down New Mexico

Montana State wasn’t about to join Florida State as a double-digit favorite to lose on Saturday, the first day of the college football season.

The FCS Bobcats were heavy favorites despite being on the road against New Mexico and rallied from a 17-0 deficit for a 35-31 victory.

The winning points came on a TD run with 10 seconds left.

Earlier in the fourth quarter,Adam Jones took a handoff and went 93 yards for a score.

The Bobcats were down 31-14 in the fourth quarter but closed with three touchdowns to come away with the victory. Jones had 17 carries for 167 yards rushing in the win.

Report: Louisville considering Richard Pitino as next basketball coach

The Louisville Cardinals are considering Rick Pitino’s son Richard as their next head coach after a successful season at New Mexico.

The Louisville Cardinals have an opportunity to bring a very familiar face back to campus in Richard Pitino, the current New Mexico head coach and son of former Cardinals and current St. John’s coach Rick Pitino.

Reports indicate Pitino is the top candidate to become the head coach at Louisville, and that athletic director Josh Heird has been in contact with Richard “several times over the past few days.”

Pitino led the Lobos to a 26-10 record and their first Mountain West tournament championship and NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014 this past season, his third at New Mexico.

Pitino served as an assistant coach at Louisville from 2007-2009 under his father Rick, before serving as an assistant at Florida under Billy Donovan.

He was back at Louisville in 2011-12 during the team’s Final Four run, and then spent one year as the head coach at Florida International before taking over at Minnesota in 2013 and leading the Golden Gophers to the NIT championship in his first year and two NCAA Tournament appearances before departing in 2021.

Hiring the son of the coach who led you to a national title may sound good on paper, but the elder Pitino’s transgressions at Louisville are well documented and bringing the family back into the mix is certainly a unique situation.

However, Louisville struck out on top targets Scott Drew and Dusty May, and Pitino is a reasonable candidate based on his head coaching experience, recent success, and familiarity with the program.

Andy Katz says Oregon is a dark horse to make the Final Four

CBS Sports college basketball analyst Andy Katz says Oregon is one of four possible dark horses in the NCAA tournament.

When it comes to the NCAA tournament, 11 and 12 seeds are popular upset picks and a lot of the times, those seeds tend to come through for some reason.

Oregon finds itself as an 11-seed in this year’s tourney as they are matched up with 6-seed South Carolina today at 1 pm PST in Pittsburgh.

According to CBS Sports college basketball analyst Andy Katz, the Ducks are one of four dark horses to keep an eye on as March Madness proceeds over the next three weeks.

Other than Oregon, Katz said teams such as New Mexico, San Diego State and Wisconsin are all possible schools that could play the role of Cinderella.

New Mexico is an 11-seed, like Oregon, in the West Region and the Lobos open with Clemson. San Diego State is a 5-seed in the East Region that opens with UAB. The Badgers, soon to be a Big Ten foe for Oregon, is a 5-seed in the South Region and they begin competition with James Madison.

It’s funny how things can change on a dime in college basketball. Just two weeks ago, the Ducks were getting thumped by Arizona and now they are a possible favorite to advance to the Sweet 16 thanks to their Pac-12 tournament run in Las Vegas.

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New Mexico made the top hire per Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY Sports

One analyst believes the best hire happened in the Mountain West.

The 2023-24 coaching carousel seems to be never-ending with the Boston College Eagles joining the fray on Wednesday. Jeff Hafely opted to leave his post as a sitting head coach to take a coordinator role with the Green Bay Packers.

The move comes after Sherrone Moore was named the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines. The promotion of Moore came just days after Jim Harbaugh notified the university that he would be leaving for the NFL despite winning the CFP national championship a few weeks ago.

With so much movement going on at the FBS level, Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY Sports ranked 25 hires this past cycle. It begins with a familiar face rejoining the coaching ranks.

No. 1: Bronco Mendenhall, New Mexico Lobos

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Mendenhall stepped down from his post as the Virginia Cavaliers head coach prior to the 2022 season. He was replaced by former Clemson Tigers offensive coordinator Tony Elliott. Mendenhall, the long-time BYU head coach is returning to his former stomping grounds in the Mountain West. Mendenhall replaces Danny Gonzales, who was fired after three failed seasons with the Lobos.

What Myerberg says…

He’s a winner, pure and simple. Mendenhall has been very successful at two stops, Brigham Young and Virginia, reaching bowl eligibility in every non-COVID-19 year of his coaching career outside of his debut season with the Cavaliers. Mendenhall is also a former New Mexico assistant under Rocky Long and brings deep familiarity with the program and the broader region. As one of the surest bets in coaching and a terrific ambassador for the program and athletics department, he’s an absolute coup for the Lobos.

Mendenhall edged out new Houston Cougars head coach Willie Fritz, who checks in at No. 2. New Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer was the No. 3 head coach according to Myerberg. Former Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo and former Troy head coach Jon Sumrall round out the top five.

Multiple school records broken at NIT, U.S. Am runner-up gets first college win among things you missed from start of college golf’s spring season

Here’s what you missed from the last week of college golf.ย 

The spring season is officially here.

College golf kicked back into swing this week with the first few tournaments of the spring slate. February is the month when the schedule really picks up, however, though some teams didn’t take long to stand out and make a statement after the winter break.

There were numerous school records broken at the National Invitational Tournament, including one by the host team. The 2023 U.S. Amateur runner-up also got a win and helped his team to victory, and the defending national champs had a stellar showing as well.

Here’s what you missed from the last week of college golf.

MORE: College golf practice facilities

New Mexico vs. #13 Colorado State: Keys to a Rams Win, How to Watch, Odds, Prediction

The CSU Rams welcome the New Mexico Lobos to Moby Arena to open conference play. Here’s how the Rams can get MW play started with a win.

New Mexico vs. #13 Colorado State: Keys to a Rams Win, How to Watch, Odds, Prediction

The Rams host their in-state foe

Contact/Follow @J0shFr3d & @MWCwire

Can the Rams open conference play strong?

WHO: New Mexico Lobos (12-1) vs. #13 Colorado State Rams (12-1)

WHEN: Tuesday, January 2nd โ€” 8:30 p.m. MST / 7:30 p.m. PST

WHERE: Moby Arena; Fort Collins, CO (8,083)

TV:ย Fox Sports 1 (Stream FS1 on Fubo and click the link hereย for a free trial)

SERIES RECORD: This will be the 132nd all time matchup between the two schools. New Mexico leads the all-time series 79-52

LAST MEETING: Colorado State won 92-84 in Fort Collins last season.

ODDS: Colorado State -2.5

A big matchup to open Mountain West play on Tuesday for both Colorado State and New Mexico. The Rams are looking to keep the pressure on everyone else and the Lobos are looking for the road upset in Fort Collins.

Both teams are 12-1 coming into this matchup, however they’ve both gotten there in very different ways. New Mexico is 35th in both KenPom and NET, their SOS is ranked 198th by KenPom and their best win by NET rankings is a 13 point road win over UC Irvine. Colorado State is 30th in KenPom and 15th in NET, their SOS is ranked 52nd by KenPom and their best win by NET rankings is a 21 point neutral site win over, then 8th ranked, Creighton.

Players to Watch

F Jaelen House – New Mexico

Only the third leading scorer for the Lobos, House makes his impact all over the court. House is a hound on defense and will be all over his assignment in Fort Collins. He plays a pressure game on both ends of the floor and is a key reason why the Lobos force as many turnovers as they do.

G Isaiah Stevens – Colorado State

The Rams leader on and off the court. And now the all time leading scorer for Colorado State. As Stevens goes, the Rams go. Yes, the Rams have more depth this year. But Stevens still puts everything into motion. He finds those little spaces and leaves everything on the court.

Keys to the Game

Offensively

Take care of the basketball. The Rams have the 2nd ranked assist to turnover ratio in the country at 2.1. New Mexico is 15th in the nation in steals with 10 per game and and 16th in the nation with 16.31 turnovers forced per game. The Rams need to take care of the basketball in this one.

Keep moving the ball around. This along with taking care of the basketball will be the main keys for the Rams offense. CSU throws too many skip passes and it can cost them against New Mexico. The Rams need to keep moving the ball, but they can’t be careless with their passes.

Defensively

New Mexico is ranked 26th in the nation in Free Throw attempts per game at 24.5. However, they don’t convert those FTs as much as they should; ranking just 282nd in the nation at 67.08% from the line. The Rams need to play controlled defense and keep their hands up.

The Lobos like to drive the ball as evidenced by their large amount of FTs per game. They don’t shoot many three point shots and they only make them just over a third of the time. The Rams will need to use their length to stay in front of the Lobos, clog the passing lanes, and force New Mexico to shoot from the outside.

Predictions

This is going to be a close one. CSU shoots at a 53.2% clip and the Lobos only allow teams to make shots at a 39.8% clip. The Rams won’t have a full complient of players and that will be the biggest challenge for them. This will be a back and forth battle, but the home court advantage that a loud Moby Arena provides will be the difference maker in the end for the Rams.

Final Score: Colorado State 84, New Mexico 80

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2023-2024 College Football Coaching Carousel

Texas A&M hires Duke’s Mike Elko as the coaching carousel continues to spin.

The end of the college football season is here and the coaching carousel is once again getting fired up. This season saw two early head coaching changes within the Big Ten to get an early jump on things, but more coaching changes are popping up as we close in on the end of another regular season around the nation.

We’ll keep track of all of the head coaching changes in our updated coaching carousel tracker to see what head coaches are out and who is replacing them. This will be updated daily as needed with the latest head coaching changes as jobs open up and are filled. As is so often the case in college football, one coaching vacancy being filled will lead to another opening popping up as a result.

As of Thursday, Dec. 8 there are 2 head coaching vacancies in college football, including 1 power conference job to fill. A total of 19 head coaching changes have been made this year.

Below is the updated chart for this year’s edition of the head coaching carousel in college football. After that is a bit more detail on each job opening, listed in alphabetical order.