UNM students pumped up for March Madness game

Students at the University of New Mexico say school spirit is at an all-time high. The Lobo men’s basketball team is playing Friday in the NCAA March Madness tournament for the first time in a decade.

Third-year student Isabel Castaneda says that she’ll be joining a watch party at the Student Union Building on campus.

“My March Madness bracket has them winning it all,” Castaneda said. “I’m so excited for them.”

Freshman Jameson Torres says he’s been waiting for this moment a long time.

“I’ve been to every single game this year,” he said at an outdoor stand with his fraternity. “Now that I’m involved with UNM and our fraternity, showing support is nothing but fun.”

His fraternity brothers smiled as he excitedly described how he felt watching the Lobos make it onto the bracket after their Mountain West Conference tournament championship.

“I was starting to lose a little bit of hope, but watching what (head coach) Richard Pitino has been able to do for us, what (guard) Jaelen House and what (forward JT) Toppin’s going to do for us in the future, it’s given me a lot of hope,” Torres said.

He had some especially high praise for player Toppin. “It was awesome watching Toppin make those dunks, and he would just swat them out of the way,” Torres said.

Freshman Nevaeh Hinogosa says that even though she’ll be at work, she’ll be cheering the team on.

“I’ll watch from work, for sure,” she said.

Hinogosa is happy that the Lobos have made it onto the bracket after such a long time.

“I’m excited because it’s been a while since the team has made it to a March Madness and I feel like it’s a really big deal,” she said.

Senior student Ian Kahn says that he’ll be joining a group to watch the game as well.

“I’m probably gonna watch it with friends. I’m really excited because they’ve always been really fun to watch in the Pit,” said Kahn.

Gabriel Gurule, a third-year student and candidate for class president, said he drove to the Albuquerque International Sunport to personally congratulate the team after it flew in from the winning game that put them into the tournament.

“I’m always down in the student section for basketball and football, so it’s really good to have that community,” said Gurule, standing by his campaign table where he had been talking to classmates.

One way that UNM students are showing that sense of community is by buying more Lobo gear.

Gabriel Parra, a retail associate for the New Mexico Look souvenir and team apparel store, says that they’ve “had a huge uptick in sales” since the team made it to the tournament.

“The sales have been crazy,” he said. “One of our brand new ‘champions’ shirts has sold out a couple of times.”

Brenda de la Cruz, a cashier at the Lobo Den store, says they’ve also been seeing higher sales.

“Some of the items have been flying off the rack, like the March Madness shirts and the white basketball men’s T-shirts that have the players’ faces on them,” she said.

Crystal Nguyen says “student morale has definitely gone up.”

“We’re super-excited,” she said. “Some of my friends are actually skipping class to go.”

Longtime Lobo fan Bobby Aragon is organizing a bus trip to Memphis, Tennessee, where the Lobos will face the Clemson Tigers on Friday.

“I was tempted to go,” Gurule said. “If I didn’t have work, I definitely would have gone.”

“I won’t be able to go, but I know a couple of people who are going in,” Torres said. “I know it’s going to be an incredible experience for them.”

Nevertheless, Torres says he’s still excited to cheer on the team from home.

“This has made me really excited and really proud to be called a Lobo,” Torres said.