The University of New Mexico men's basketball team earned their first Mountain West Championship since 2014. Over Spring Break, the Lobos won four games in four days to secure a spot in March Madness. The championship run was the result of a balanced effort from the team but was fueled by Tournament MVP Jaelen House.
Three Lobos were named to the All-Tournament Team: House, Jamal Mashburn Jr. and JT Toppin.
Going into the NCAA tournament, the Lobos have a 26-9 overall record and were ranked No. 11. The team also finished with many Regular-Season honors. Toppin and Donovan Dent were named to the All-Conference Second Team and House made the Third Team and All-Defensive Team. Mustapha Amzil shared the Sixth Man of the Year Award with Utah State’s Josh Uduje and Toppin shared Freshman of the Year with UNLV’s Dedan Thomas Jr.
The Lobos won the conference tournament 68-61 against San Diego State. The Aztecs were the Lobos’ greatest challenge of the tournament. After a hot start and holding Conference Player of The Year, Jaedon LeDee, to seven points in the first half. The Lobos led 36-30 going into halftime.
The Aztecs took the lead 44-43 with 12:12 left in the game. After four lead changes, LeDee grabbed a pair of free throws for the Aztecs to bring them up to 59-57 with 5:35 remaining, and they would not score again until there were 23 seconds on the clock.
The Lobos’ played stifling defense and, thanks to clutch free throws from House, Nelly Junior Joseph and Toppin, the Lobos pulled away for the win.
UNM had three players in double-digit scoring. House led the team with 28 points and Mashburn Jr. had his best game of the tournament, scoring 21 points including three three-pointers. Toppin had another double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
In the first game of the tournament, the Lobos avenged their regular season loss to the Air Force Academy. The 82-56 victory had a balanced offense from UNM with four players in double-digit scoring. They were led by Toppin who had a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds. Dent had a near double double with eight points and nine assists. House finished with 16 points.
The second game was much closer but the Lobos beat Boise State, 76-66, for the first time this season. House and Dent were the only Lobos in double-digit scoring and dominated, scoring 29 and 22 points respectively.
In the third game, the Lobos defeated Colorado State 74-61. The balanced offense returned in this game; House had 19 points, eight assists, five rebounds and 0 turnovers. Toppin nearly finished with another double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds. The game started at 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time and the Lobos had another quick turnaround having to play the Championship Game at 4:00 p.m. the next day.
Through the first three games, UNM had been in control. They played their swarming defense and were able to play with a high pace and get into their transition offense. Once the Lobos earned a lead, they had refused to give it up and only trailed 42 seconds throughout this point of the tournament.
On the court, House was interviewed on the CBS broadcast and made a simple claim on how the team was able to win the conference.
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“We want it more. We (are) playing for something more, that's what happened,” House said.
The Lobos’ No. 11, will play against No. 6 the Clemson University Tigers at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN on Friday, March 22.
This will be House’s first NCAA tournament and Richard Pitino’s first as a Lobo and since the 2018-19 season with Minnesota. This will also be the first March Madness for nearly a generation of Lobo fans.
Thomas Bulger is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @thomasbulger10
Thomas Bulger is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @thomasbulger10
