Tag: New Mexico

USC Rejoins Notre Dame & UCLA – Good For Them, I Guess

I’ll admit as a fan that I like that Notre Dame has never gone to the FCS level in order fill out a schedule and hope they never do.  At the same time I’m well aware that it really doesn’t matter when you’re scheduling a good amount of poor programs.

Three teams in college football history have never played an FCS foe.  By this time you’re probably aware that Notre Dame is one while the two Los Angeles schools, UCLA and USC are the other two.

It appeared that USC was going to come off of that list as they had a 2021 game scheduled against UC-Davis but plans have changed and that has been called off because USC announced Thursday they’re replacing UC-Davis with San Jose State and will remain the small group to never play an FCS opponent.

I get it before you even start to get your thoughts and remarks in.  San Jose State is not good.  They’re awful, in fact.  They’ve won an average of three games each of their last four seasons and don’t look like they’ll be turning a corner anytime soon.

I however also know to try and not throw stones while living in a glass house.  Notre Dame is on this list but has played traditional powerhouses like Massachusetts, Miami of Ohio, Bowling Green, New Mexico in recent years.

I’ll admit as a fan that I like that Notre Dame has never gone to the FCS level in order fill out a schedule and hope they never do.  At the same time I’m well aware that it really doesn’t matter when you’re scheduling a good amount of poor programs.

So good for USC, I guess.

Even if it really doesn’t matter.

Austin Trout puts away overmatched Rosbel Montoya in second round

Austin Trout, fighting at the lightest weight of his career, stopped Rosbel Montoya in two rounds Saturday.

Austin Trout made a strong impression in his first fight for his new team.

Trout, the headliner on the Impact Network’s first boxing show, hadn’t been in the ring since last May. He weighed in at 149¼ pounds – the lowest of his career – as part of a plan to move down to welterweight.

Still, he put Rosbel Montoya down three times and stopped him at 1:09 of the second round Saturday night at the Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort and Casino in Ruidoso, New Mexico, Trout’s home state.

The fact Montoya (17-10-1, 13 KOs) is a tier or two below the former junior middleweight titleholder obviously played a role in Trout’s dominance. The Mexican had lost seven of his previous eight fights and hadn’t fought at all in more than a year and a half, after all.

But Trout did what he came to do, gauge his effectiveness at the lower weight and win impressively. His previous low weight was 152½ in 2008.

“It was good,” Trout said afterward. “I won. I got the knockout. That’s an A+. It can always be better but this is my first time coming in at 149. I wanted to see how I felt. So far so good. Let’s try it again, let’s come back at 149 and see what we got next.”

Trout said he felt a difference in his power compared to his fights at 154 pounds.

“I feels good to move these people with my punches instead of having to finesse the whole fight,” he said.

Trout was asked who he wanted to fight next. His answer was predictable given his ambitions to win a title at 147 pounds.

“Where do I start?” he said. “Dany Garcia, Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter … who’s the boy? … Errol Spence, Terence “Bud” Crawford … Terence Crawford for sure.”

Trout, plagued by inactivity the past several years, said he plans to fight at least three times this year.

The victory was the first for him since he outpointed Juan De Angel in February 2018. After that, he lost a majority decision to Jermell Charlo and drew with Terrell Gausha.

Bulldogs Host Shorthanded Lobos at Save Mart Center

Mountain West basketball resumes this weekend, as Fresno State hosts conference rivals New Mexico at the Save Mart Center on Saturday.

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New Mexico at Fresno State: Game Preview, TV, Radio, Live Stream, Odds, More

Fresno State could inch closer to Lobos with a win

Contact/Follow @andrewdieckhoff & @MWCwire

Lobos desperate to stop the bleeding as suspensions, injuries take toll on Paul Weir’s roster

GAME DETAILS

WHO: New Mexico (16-7, 5-5 MWC) at Fresno State (7-14, 3-7 MWC)

WHEN: Saturday, February 1 — 2:00 P.M. PT / 3:00 P.M. MT

WHERE: Save Mart Center, Fresno, Calif.

WATCH: AT&T Sports Net/Mountain West Network

LISTEN: TuneIn

ALL-TIME: New Mexico leads the series, 17-14

ODDS: Fresno State -2, per KenPom

GAME PREVIEW

A short-handed New Mexico squad heads to the Save Mart Center on Saturday to face Fresno State, as the Lobos try to stop a skid that has seen them drop four of the past five games. The Bulldogs haven’t fared much better over the same stretch, but they did manage to score a tough road victory on Tuesday against Air Force. The game tips at 2:00 PM Pacific.

New Mexico will continue to play without Carlton Bragg, JaQuan Lyle, and JJ Caldwell. Bragg was dismissed from the team after multiple off-the-court incidents, while Lyle and Caldwell have been suspended for their own transgressions. Compounding those absences is the health of Vance Jackson, who will also likely sit with a knee injury that has kept the junior out since January 15.

While many have raised questions about the lack of foresight with respect to Paul Weir’s roster construction, not all of his decisions have backfired. Towson transfer Zane Martin is well-equipped to step into a starting role in the backcourt, and teammates Corey Manigault and Makuach Maluach have developed well in their latest season under Weir’s administration. Vante Hendrix has also provided a good bit of scoring after sitting out the first semester as part of his transfer from Utah.

Still, the New Mexico team that began the season 15-3 seems a distant memory.

The Lobos have tumbled down the Mountain West leaderboard in recent weeks. Considering the somewhat unexpected success of Colorado State and UNLV, the Lobos no longer project as a top-half finisher in the conference. The Mountain West Tournament grants first-round byes to the top five schools, but New Mexico will likely have to play an extra game in their pursuit of an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

One of their possible opponents in that first round could be Fresno State, a team that has limped out to a 3-7 start in league play.

The Bulldogs enter Saturday’s game in high spirits after escaping Clune Arena with a victory that pulled them even with the Falcons in the standings. Fresno State’s season has been a major drop-off from last year’s 23-win campaign, but the performance of freshmen such as Orlando Robinson and Jarred Hyder provide a glimmer of hope for Justin Hutson’s program. Young players such as Aguir Agau, Niven Hart, and Jordan Campbell could also develop into important building blocks for the future.

As for Fresno State’s more seasoned veterans, Nate Grimes has also delivered another stellar season for the Bulldogs, averaging nearly a double-double on his way to a probable All-Mountain West nod. Guards New Williams and Noah Blackwell have also improved on their early-season struggles. Unfortunately for this trio of seniors, their final season in Fresno will almost assuredly end without a postseason appearance, barring an improbable run through the Mountain West Tournament.

Securing this road victory would be an important turning of the tide for Weir at this crucial point in the season. If his team can find a way to embrace their new-look lineups, they may yet be able to stop the bleeding and could re-enter the conversation for one of those first-round byes.

On the other hand, if the home side prevails, the Lobos will drop below .500 in conference play, creating a clear division between the top and bottom halves of the Mountain West. The win would also bring Fresno State within one game of New Mexico in the league standings.

Andrew is a current USBWA member, covering college basketball for multiple outlets, including Mountain West Wire of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Busting Brackets of the FanSided Network. He also runs the Dieckhoff Power Index, a college basketball analytics system, and provides bracketology predictions throughout the season.

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New Mexico vs. #4 San Diego State: Aztecs Snap Lobos’ 15-0 Home Winning Streak With Ease, 85-57

The San Diego State Aztecs dopped the New Mexico Lobos at home to snap the Lobos’ 15 game home winning streak.

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New Mexico vs. #4 San Diego State: Aztecs Snap Lobos’ 15-0 Home Winning Streak With Ease, 85-57

The Aztecs keep on winning.

Contact/Follow @MWCwire

San Diego State was too much for the undermanned New Mexico roster.

The San Diego State Aztecs (22-0, 11-0 MW) showed once more why they are the top team in the Mountain West, continuing the trend of dominating opponents, whether on the road or at home.

New Mexico (16-7, 5-5 MW), a team that has been particularly successful at home on the year, was unable to keep pace with the conference leader, giving up 17 points in the first four minutes and thirteen seconds before getting on the scoreboard nearly five minutes into the game.

That would set the pace for the rest of the game, as the Aztecs continued to put steady and intense defensive pressure on a hobbling New Mexico team which was still without four of its five starters, which was never able to cut the lead to any less than 14 points, eventually losing 85-57.

The game saw plenty of bench players from both sides, but it was San Diego State’s bench that shone brighter, and appeared deeper than the oft touted Lobos’ bench, which was thought to be the deepest in the conference. The Aztecs’ bench outscored the Lobo bench 21-13, chipping in 3 of the Aztecs’ 15 three pointers.

Malachi Flynn (12 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal), who sat for much of the first half after being called for a second foul, still managed to have a high level of efficiency for San Diego State, which saw 5 players score in double figures.

Ball movement was key for the Aztecs.

Often seeing possessions with eight passes led to wide open shots, many of which were three pointers that were sunk despite a rowdy crowd of just over 13,000. In total, 23 of the team’s 32 field goals were made on assists.

The Aztecs are now 4 games ahead of the next best in the conference, and would have to drop at least three of their last seven games (if UNLV wins out) just to be tied for first in the Mountain West standings, making the team a virtual lock as the regular season conference champions.

New Mexico drops to 5-5 with the loss, and is now 7th in the conference standings. The team is falling fast behind some poor decision making from the team’s player leaders. While the rest of the team works to develop a new identity and chemistry, it could be a long remainder of the season for the New Mexico Lobos, which are now in jeopardy of finishing in the bottom third of the conference.

Up Next: 

San Diego State will host Utah State at Viejas arena. New Mexico will head to Fresno, California to play to Fresno State Bulldogs.

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Colorado State Lets It Fly In A 105-72 Rout of New Mexico

The CSU Rams tied the NCAA mark for three point makes this season with 19 in a 33 point rout of a shorthanded New Mexico Lobos team.

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Colorado State Lets It Fly In A 105-72 Rout of New Mexico

The Rams tied the NCAA season mark for three point makes with 19.

Contact/Follow @J0shFr3d & @MWCwire

The Rams broke out of their three point shooting slump.

The Colorado State Rams came into this game against the New Mexico Lobos shooting 32.9% from behind the three point line. After this game, the Rams are tied for the most three point makes in the NCAA this season, they set a new school record for three points makes, and came within one make of tying the Mountain West record for three point makes after going 19-28 (68.7%) from deep.

The Rams were on fire from three early. They made their first four and nine of their first 11 attempts from deep. The breakout from the early shooting slump came at a key for the Rams. They more than likely won’t shoot this well for the rest of the season, but if they can become more consistent from deep they can be a dangerous team come conference tournament time.

CSU came into this game with 66% of their season point total scored by the underclassman. Against the Lobos, they accounted for 78% of the Rams point total. Isaiah Stevens had a big night as the Rams leading scorer, finishing with 19 points and eight assists. He also went five for six from deep. David Roddy got out of his slump from deep finishing two of four and with 12 points.

The Lobos came into this game down two players after Carlton Bragg was suspended on Sunday (J.J. Caldwell had previously been suspended). Both players were big pieces of this Lobo team and they were sorely missed. New Mexico struggled early and really fell off after Vance Jackson went down with an ankle injury.

The lone bright spot for this New Mexico team was Zane Martin. The junior guard finished as the only Lobo in double figures with 17 points. Martin finished seven of eleven from the field, two of three from deep, and one of two from the line.

The Lobos road doesn’t get any easier as they now head to Las Vegas to face the Rebels. The Rams head down south to Air Force as they prepare for a tough Falcons team.

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The worst stat for Wisconsin vs. New Mexico was not 2-26 on 3s

Reaction to the Wisconsin Badgers’ 59-50 loss to the New Mexico Lobos.

When a team makes only 2 of 26 3-pointers, as the Wisconsin Badgers did against the New Mexico Lobos on Tuesday in a discouraging loss, it is easy to look at that fact and declare it to be the worst statistic in the box score. I will be clear here and tell you that if you think the 3-point shooting line is the worst stat from the New Mexico game, you’re being reasonable. You’re being perfectly logical and sensible.

I won’t try to be the “I AM VERY INTELLIGENT!” meme from the cartoon in “The Nib” by Matt Bors, and tell you that you’re overthinking it.

You’re not overthinking it. You are exercising good judgment. In many ways, the short article I wrote about the Richmond loss applied to the New Mexico loss as well. It is striking to notice the similarities in the box score between the two games.

The Richmond and New Mexico games both featured the following:

  • At least 20 missed 3s by Wisconsin
  • No more than 16 free throw attempts by the Badgers
  • No Wisconsin player had more than four free throw attempts
  • At least 14 turnovers

The 3-point shooting is problematic, to be sure. Again, you are not overthinking it if you cite that as a big concern. Nevertheless, it’s not the shooting in isolation which stands out the most. The biggest problem with this team in Brooklyn and overall (it was true in the loss to Saint Mary’s as well) is that when shots don’t fall, the Badgers don’t compensate in the other aspects of offensive play. The defense is fine. It’s at the offensive end where the lack of high-level recruiting by Greg Gard shows up. It is also the end of the floor where the inability of someone to rise above the chaos and the limitations of this roster is most apparent.

Someone has to be able to get to the foul line 10 times a game when the threes aren’t dropping. I said that after the Richmond game. Beyond that, however, if the Badgers are going to miss at least 20 threes (20 versus Richmond, 24 versus New Mexico), they should at least be able to limit turnovers to only five or six, and compensate by not giving away extra possessions. You don’t need high-end talent to do that. You need unselfish team basketball, which is supposed to be UW’s identity, and which definitely rose to the surface in the brilliant takedown of Marquette.

Let’s say something more about that notion of unselfish team play, while we’re on the subject, because it leads me to what I view as the most alarming statistic from the New Mexico game. Yes, 2 of 26 on 3-pointers is a legitimate No. 1 candidate as “most alarming,” but for me, I choose another stat: Wisconsin had only six assists in that game.

Six. Assists.

Maybe, in the Frank Kaminsky-Sam Dekker era, one could accept that one or both players would get into a zone a few times a season and go wild in one-on-one situations. Maybe, under a special set of circumstances, Wisconsin’s best basketball players this decade (and century) would create shots through individual skill and not require passes to put them in position to score in big numbers. Fine… but with THIS roster, this 2019-2020 group of Badgers, Wisconsin cannot have six assists per game. That is TOTALLY unacceptable and an unsustainable way of playing.

Sure, the missed threes limited the assist count. No one needs to explain that part of the equation. However, if the Badgers are going to commit 14 turnovers, they ought to finish a game with 20 assists. If the Badgers are going to fail to move the ball well enough to create more free throw opportunities, the system is still failing beyond the missed 3-pointers.

Six assists shows that the blended team game so apparent against Marquette in the Kohl Center has not been carried on the road and taken to places such as Sioux Falls or Brooklyn. Wisconsin players need to help each other out. They need to assist each other a little more. It’s the holidays, after all.