There is nothing like the confines of home after a lethargic road trip.
Just ask the Lobos.
"It's good to be home," sophomore guard Lenny Miles said. "Everybody on the team loves to play at The Pit. We come out firing here, and we need that fire back in our eyes."
Over the past weekend, the confident UNM men's basketball team took to the road vying for a victory. Except the hand they played ultimately came up barren, dropping two tough games to UNLV and San Diego State.
Those losses were Nos. 21 and 22 consecutively in the Lobo's ongoing road saga.
UNM can erase the memories of its recent road swing and copious losing streak with a win Saturday coupled with a win against Wyoming on Monday.
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The Lobos (11-8, 2-4) play host to Colorado State (11-8, 3-3) Saturday in a battle to stay within earshot of the conference crown. While UNM seems hopeless on the road, its only chance at staying in contention is to win at home - something the team has been quite prolific at, posting an 11-3 home record.
The conference season is heating up with one game left before the second half starts. The standings are packed together, with each team trying to craft its way to the top.
The Lobos are tied with Wyoming and Brigham Young for last place with 2-4 conference records, and only two games separate them from catching second-place Utah.
Consequently, each conference showdown from this point forward, must be played with a sense of urgency.
"First we have to end our dreadful road streak," Miles said. "But foremost, we have to win here at home. We have a few games left here at The Pit, and as long as we can win those, we will find ourselves back in the race."
The Lobos seem to have the right recipe at home. They have shown they can sustain 40 minutes of intensity in beating Utah and Brigham Young.
But the road is a whole different ballgame.
The Colorado State Rams invade The Pit on a run of their own. The Rams come in with three-straight home victories, all in overtime, to UNLV, Wyoming and SDSU. Before their winning streak, they had fallen to Air Force, Utah and BYU, with the latter two losses coming on the road. The Rams have yet to win a conference game on the opponent's home floor.
The Rams' leading scorer and rebounder is 7-foot-1 center Matt Nelson who is questionable for the game after spraining his knee on Jan. 27. But Nelson's sidekicks have picked up the slack, winning three games without him.
They are led by Matt Williams, a 6-foot-6 junior forward, whose numbers have combusted in conference play. After averaging 11.7 points and 6.2 during non-conference play, he has averaged 14.5 points and 7.2 rebounds in the conference.
His court affiliates are senior guard Ronnie Clark and sophomore Michael Morris. Clark is a 6-foot-5 guard averaging 9.8 points per game, while Morris, a 6-foot-4 guard is averaging 13 points in conference play.
In the Lobos' recent loss to SDSU, UNM played without its starting center David Chiotti and senior guard Ryan Ashcraft, who were injured in practice the day before the game.
Chiotti sprained an ankle, but is expected to play Saturday, while Ashcraft was diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder. He will miss Saturday's action.
Tip-off is set for 7:06 p.m. on Bob King Court. The game can be seen on KRQE Channel 13 or heard live on 770 KOB AM.
