The Lobos are coming off of a tough four-game losing streak to Mountain West Conference foes and the road doesn’t get any easier when they host first-place San Diego State at WisePies Arena.
“Usually we are competing with them for championships but maybe we can play spoiler a little bit on the run to the championship,” head coach Craig Neal said. “It’s going to be a big game. They’re very talented. Coach (Steve) Fisher has done a great job, he’s had a great run this year.”
Neal held himself accountable for the team’s struggle as of late and credited his team for not giving up.
“One thing that I understand, being the coach here, it’s my responsibility and we haven’t gotten the wins we thought we would get,” Neal said. “At the same time I think my kids have played really, really hard. I think they’ve done everything I’ve asked them to do; we just haven’t been able to get over the hump.”
The Aztecs’ defense ranks among the best in the nation allowing only 53.7 points per game (third in nation). Neal said his team has to stay composed with their pressure and not turn the ball over.
“We’ve had some major battles with them over the years,” he said. “We’ve been able to control tempo. I think controlling tempo is going to be huge for us and not rushing shots. One thing they’re really good at is they get you in to playing faster and make you take bad shots.”
The Lobos and Aztecs (20-6, 10-3 Mountain West) met earlier this season in Viejas Arena in San Diego, where the Aztecs suffocated the Lobos offense in a 56-42 win on Jan. 6.
UNM senior Hugh Greenwood had a tough game against the Aztecs the last time out, scoring only five points in 32 minutes of play. Sophomore center Obij Aget led the Lobos with seven points.
The Lobos (14-11, 6-7 Mountain West) are 27-9 at home against the Aztecs since the teams first met in 1975. UNM has won six of the past nine meetings between the two programs and will look to continue this hot streak at home against SDSU.
The Aztecs are led by senior Aqeel Quinn and junior Winston Shepard who are averaging 11.0 and 10.8 points per game, respectively. The team is coming off of a tough two-game stint where it defeated the Wyoming Cowboys and the Colorado State Rams at Viejas Arena.
Goodman out for remainder of season
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UNM announced Monday that junior college transfer Jordan Goodman he will undergo season-ending surgery later this week to remove a bone spur on his right foot.
Goodman has been playing with a laundry list of injuries including multiple knee ailments, concussion-like symptoms, a quad strain and now a foot injury. Recovery for the surgery is roughly four months.
“It’s just been a daily grind. I come from something totally different than this (referring to change from junior college to Division 1),” Goodman said. “Coach put a lot of responsibility on me and I’ve always been willing to respect it. Everyday I come to practice and my foot hurts or my knee hurts; I’m not going to tell coach. It’s like a player mentality but I tried to come to practice everyday with my foot off the chart and I just tried to play through it.”
Goodman said the pain became unbearable and he could not play anymore.
“It came to a point where it was excruciating pain and I couldn’t play through it anymore,” he said. “Mentally it’s hard for me to just hang it up because my teammates, you build a brotherhood with your teammates.”
Goodman said he was frustrated with his performance this year because his mobility was limited due to the spur. He said he was used to running around the court, closing out on shooters, boxing out and jumping.
Neal made it a point that Goodman’s disappointing season was not due to any concerns off the court and it was strictly health issues.
“My disappointment with the whole situation is that I feel bad for him,” Neal said. “It bothered me because the poor kid has been hurt. It had nothing to do with what he’s done off the floor, how he’s been as a player, he’s been an exceptional teammate, he has no problems off the floor. He’s been incredible and he’ll tell you that he’s grown up more than he has in six months here than he has in his life and I’m proud of him.”
Goodman was averaging 6.3 points per game and 2.3 rebounds per game in 19 contests this year. The Lobos will look to freshman Joe Furstinger to relieve starter Devon Williams at the power forward position for the remainder of the season.
Kyle Tomasi is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @KyTo22.
