Enough with the hype and the preseason chatter, it's showtime for the UNM men's basketball team.
With two exhibition victories in their pocket, the Lobos will square off against the University of California-Berkley at The Pit, in both teams' first regular season games of the year.
Head coach Ritchie McKay's regular season debut has been much anticipated by alumni, fans and players alike.
"We read the scouting report last week," freshman guard Mark Walters said. "We know their personnel and their plays. Coach McKay coached in the Pac-10 last year, so he knows what they're like."
The Bears are coming off of a fantastic season. They finished last year tied for second in the brutal Pac-10 Conference and went to the second round of the "Big Dance," before being ousted by Pittsburgh University 63-50. They were 22-8 overall and 12-6 in the conference. Cal returns seven letterman, including two starters. Senior big man Joe Shipp averaged 14.8 points and 4.7 rebounds a game last year and possesses the potential to dominate the interior.
"We are going to do different things on Shipp," Walters said. "We got the scouting report on him and we know he is a good outside shooter, so we'll try to take that away. We're going to try to bounce him into our help defense. It's not going to be just one guy trying to stop him, it's going to be a team effort."
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The other returning senior for the Bears is swingman Brian Wethers. He averaged 10.3 points and 4.2 boards a game last season.
This is the fourth meeting for the two schools with Cal leading the series 2-1. Last year the Lobos lost on the road to Cal 71-62. UNM's last victory over the Bears came back in 1970 at The Pit.
For McKay, Cal has been a thorn in his side. He has yet to beat the Bears in six attempts. He and his players will look to avenge the previous defeats this Saturday.
"We'd like to win the game," senior guard Senque Carey said. "It's a whole different team from last year and they have all new ideas. We have a whole new mentality."
For the Lobos, this is the night they have been waiting for since they laced up their shoes for the first day of drills.
"The team is really excited," Carey said. "Everybody is anxious, we've put our two exhibition games behind us. Now it's time to make this one count."
The Lobo entourage is lead by Mountain West All-Conference guard Ruben Douglas. He averaged 23 points a game in the two exhibition contests. The team will look to Javin Tindall, Carey, Jamaal Williams and Walters to carry the scoring load. Those four players each averaged double-digits in points in the first two exhibition games.
For the Lobos to succeed, post players David Chiotti, Chad Bell, Williams and Mikal Monette will need to pound the boards, play strong defense in the paint and contain Cal's star, Shipp.
The Lobos will rely on their transition game and motion offense to make up for their suspect interior defense. They will need to knock down 3-pointers as well. If they can run and gun up and down the floor, scoring could come easily and the Lobos could grab an early-upset victory.
"We always expect to win," Walters said. "We're going to go out there and play hard and we're not just going to let them win."
Tip-off is set for 8:07 p.m., at The Pit. KRQE-TV Ch. 13 will televise the game on a delayed basis with airtime at 10:30 p.m. The game can also be heard on KKOB 770.
