Emptying the Notebook: I like Ike! Looking at the Lobo run that led to Friday's blowout over ENMU

Here are some extra notes, quotes, stats, trends and whatever else I could find in the old notebook after Friday night's 87-54 UNM Lobos win over Eastern New Mexico University in the Pit:

'He’s like a plus/minus king'

The UNM Lobos just finished nonconference play 12-1, one of only 10 teams in program history to win a dozen games over the first 13 played.

But I don't want to lead this Emptying the Notebook column with that. (you will see more on that below)

The Lobos continue to fly up the NCAA rankings in steals per game with 13 more of them on Friday night against Eastern New Mexico, but we'll get to that later.

Oh yeah. And the guy who is the team's leader in scoring for the third consecutive season returned from a seven-game injury absence on Friday, but the sophomore guard who has been the team's best player this season was out hurt on Friday.

But, no. None of that is getting top billing here.

Instead, I'm going to open this column highlighting the guy who scored a grand total of 1 of UNM's 87 points on Friday night.

Why?

Because, once again, when the Lobos were at their best in a game — in the case of Friday, when they closed the first half on a 23-4 run to break open what had been a close, and sloppy, start — it was Isaac Mushila who was right in the middle of it all.

Just like, as I've written before, he always seems to be.

The Lobos started Friday's game shooting just 2-of-15 from the floor, trailing their Division II guests in the Pit 13-6.

It actually got to 3-of-18 (16.7%) before the Lobos started to hit some shots and turn things around.

More specifically, let's take a look at what happened when Mushila checked in at the 7:40 mark of the first half with UNM leading 20-17 over the scrappy, game ENMU Greyhounds who to that point hadn't flinched against the Lobos in the Pit.

• 7:40 1H: Mushila checks in for first time in the game — UNM 20, ENMU 17 (+3)

• 5:54 1H: Mushila defensive rebound

• 5:05 1H: Mushila offensive rebound

• 5:00 1H: Mushila offensive rebound

• 5:00 1H: Mushila draws foul

• 5:00 1H: Mushila goes 1-2 at FT line — UNM 26, ENMU 21 (+5)

• 3:01 1H: Mushila steal

• 2:56 1H: Jaelen House layup off Mushila outlet pass assist — UNM 34, ENMU 21 (+13)

• 1:45 1H: Mushila defensive rebound, leads to Jaelen House 3-pointer in transition — UNM 39, ENMU 21 (+18)

• 1:13 1H: Mushila steal, passes to Jaelen House

• 1:08 1H: Jaelen House assists Nelly Junior Joseph on a dunk — UNM 41, ENMU 21 (+20)

• HALFTIME: New Mexico 43, Eastern New Mexico 23 (+20)

Recap:

• 7:40 on on court

• Score: went from UNM +3 (20-17) to UNM +20 (43-23) at halftime

• Mushila stats: 1 point, 4 rebounds (2 def., 2 off), 2 steals, 1 assist

• Mushila +/- at halftime: +17

“It’s just amazing. He does that. He’s like a plus/minus king,” Pitino said. “... That stretch there, he always seems to be in there when we’re going on runs. At New Mexico State was another one. So I don’t know what it is that he does, but he’s always around a loose ball. He’s always around an extra possession.”

Included in that strong close to the first half was a 20-0 scoring run. It was UNM's first 20-0 run since a Nov. 22, 2021, win over Western New Mexico.

As for Mushila, it's still hard to know for sure from game to game where his minutes will come from.

Does the 6-foot-5 forward transfer from Texas A&M Corpus Christi play the 3, 4 or 5 spot?

The answer seems to be yes.

Obviously it's not as simple as Pitino will just wait game to game to see where the gaps are that need to be filled and send Mushila out there, but it sure seems to be an option.

It seems, at least so far this season, that if the Lobos are struggling, putting Mushila in somewhere leads to good things happening for the Lobos.

The gamer ...

Here's a link to the game story I filed from the Pit media room after Friday night's games...

Mashburn returns, Dent sits as Lobos rout Greyhounds

Woah, Nelly!

UNM's Nelly Junior Joseph had himself a very good game on Friday, and he could have stopped playing at halftime and he's still have had himself a very good game.

The 6-foot-10 Lobos center finished with 13 points, 16 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 blocked shots and drew seven fouls in 22:51 of play.

At halftime, he already had 11 points, 15 rebounds, 4 steals and had drawn six of those fouls, and with the Lobos up big he was able to rest most of the home stretch.

His first half double-double was the first time a Lobo posted a first half double-double since Carlton Bragg did so March 9, 2019 at Wyoming.

Considering Junior Joseph went a dreadful 3-of-10 at the free throw line, he actually could have had a far better looking stat line than he did.

"Now he looks like Shaquille O'Neal at the foul line," Pitino joked after the game. "He's got to get better there.

"I thought he played great except for the free throws. He did miss some rebounds. I told him be selfish with rebounds. We need that — what we had with Mo (Morris Udeze last season) where we can kind of calm the game down, throw it in there a little bit, draw fouls. We have to have that, and I thought he was really, really comfortable down there."

5-0! 5-0!

Jemarl Baker Jr. had 5 assists and zero turnovers on Friday, his most assists without a turnover of the season.

Jaelen House, meanwhile, also had a 5-assist, zero-turnover game, but for House, it was his second consecutive such game, having also done so in the Dec. 20 win over UC Irvine.

Four House, who has now played 122 games in college basketball, this marks the third time he's had 5 assists without a turnover in a game. All three of those have come in the past 12 games he's played, dating back to last season:

• FRIDAY: vs. D-II Eastern New Mexico — 22 points, 5 assists, 0 turnovers

• DEC. 20: vs. UC Irvine — 20 points, 5 assists, 0 turnovers

• March 3: at Colorado State — 11 points, 5 assists, 0 turnovers

Also, take a look at the names passed on the Lobos' career assists list over the past two games with those 10 dimes...

UNM CAREER ASSISTS

14. Rob Robbins — 350

15. Jaelen House — 320

16. Luc Longley — 317

17. Royce Olney — 312

Injury report

Two players back, two players out for the Lobos on Friday night.

Sophomore guard Donovan Dent missed Friday's game with a thigh bruise that, frankly, it sounds like he could have played with had this been a league game with a little more on the line. He was active on the team's bench throughout the game.

Freshman guard Tru Washington was sick and kept off the team bench so as not to get other sick on Friday night. Like Dent, it sounds very likely he will be available for the Tuesday league-opener at Colorado State.

For each, it was their first missed games of the season.

As for the returnees: Jamal Mashburn Jr. (7 games, thumb) and Isaac Mushila (1 game, ankle) were back and both were big-time contributors on Friday.

Stealing the show ...

UNM had 13 steals on Friday night, forcing 15 turnovers and scoring 17 points off those turnovers. (ENMU had only 2 points off just 6 UNM turnovers)

The rate at which the Lobos are stealing the ball lately is getting to be somewhat absurd.

UNM has moved up No. 15 in the country (out of 362 Division I teams) in steals per game with 10.0 (130 steals/13 games), but wasn't doing it at this pace all season.

UNM STEALS:

• First 7 games: 53 steals (7.8/game)

• Last 6 games: 77 steals (12.8/game)

Friday's 13 steals were without the team's No. 2 and No. 3 steal men (Donovan Dent and Tru Washington, respectively) in the game. In their place, seven — SEVEN! — Lobos had at least one steal, led by Junior Joseph's four steals.

Now it gets real, but first ...

Yes, the Lobos 2023-24 season is going to be far more about what happens in Mountain West play and beyond than anything that has happened so far.

That doesn't mean there isn't a window here to admire the nonconference record (12-1) this year and in all three seasons, really, under Pitino:

2021-22: 8-6

2022-23: 13-0

2023-24: 12-1

TOTAL: 33-7 (0.825)

That 25-1 nonconference regular season record over the past two seasons is second best nationally.

Lucky 13 ...

With the Lobos now sitting at 12-1 to close out nonconference play puts them in the top 10 in the 120-year program history of best starts over 13 games. This season's team is one of eight to start 12-1 in the first 13 games and just two ever starter 13-0, including last season's Lobos club.

12 (or more) wins through 13 games in UNM history

With final season record in parenthesis

• 2023-24: 12-1 (TBD)

• 2022-23: 13-0 (22-12)

• 2012-13: 12-1 (29-6)

• 2009-10: 12-1 (30-5)

• 1998-99: 12-1 (25-9)

• 1995-96: 12-1 (28-5)

• 1973-74: 12-1 (22-7)

• 1967-68: 13-0 (19-8)

• 1964-65: 12-1 (19-8)

• 1924-25: 12-1 (12-1)

Give me an A!

Both Braden Appelhans (career-high 14 points) and Mustapha Amzil (tied his UNM high 11 points) gave the Lobos good minutes off the bench on Friday night. Those big second half minutes allowed for UNM's starters to rest much of the second half.

BRADEN APPELHANS

• 14 points (career high)

• 11 points in second half

• 4-6 3-pointers (career high)

• 3 assists (career high)

• One very nice dunk in the lane ...

Enjoy the rare Appelhans dunk here, but then rewatch it and watch how soon Jamal Mashburn Jr. at the end of the bench sees what's about to happen and starts standing up to celebrate for his teammate (pretty much before Appelhans even caught the pass at the top of the key) ...

MUSTAPHA AMZIL

• 11 points (ties UNM high)

• 9 in second half

• Second consecutive game hitting his UNM/season high 11 points

• First 11 games: 1-21 3FG (4.8%)

• Past 2 games: 2-6 3FG (33.3%)

It was good to see in the Lobos Dec. 20 win over UC Irving that Amzil hit a second half 3-pointer. His season-long struggles from beyond the arc have been a surprise to see for a guy who came to UNM with intentions of being a floor-stretching 4 who would hit the 3. But that shot vs. UC Irvine, even if a relief for him, did hit front iron, then backboard, then iron again before dropping. A shooter in a slump will certainly take it, no matter how ugly it was.

Friday, Amzil's top of the key 3-pointer with 11:05 left to play was a thing of beauty. Catch, shoot, great form and nothing but net. Maybe that get's the 6-9 forward from Finland rolling as league play starts.

Another note on Dent ...

Since Dent didn't play on Friday, his averages going into Mountain West play will stay at 16.8 points per game and 6.2 assists.

Up I-25 in Fort Collins, Preseason Mountain West Player of the Year and increasingly trendy pick for possible All-America accolades Isaiah Stevens, the sensational fifth-year Colorado State point guard, scored 13 points and dished out 7 assists in the Rams' win over Adams State. So, it's Stevens at 17.3 points and 7.3 assists per game heading into league play and Dent's 16.8/6.2.

That's it. That's the list in all of Division I basketball right now of players averaging 16 points and 6 assists per game.

Should Dent continue to carry such numbers throughout the season, as Steve Kirkland, UNM hoops sports information director noted in his game notes packet, he would become just the second Lobo in program history to average 16 and 6, joining Kelvin Scarborough who averaged 18.9 points and 6.1 assists per game in the 1986-87 season.

Out of the Blue ...

We interrupt this ETN column to bring you some news from Boise.

Max Rice and Tyson Degenhart on Friday night in a Broncos win over Utah Valley each scored their 1,000 career collegiate point — a pretty cool accomplishment for two friends and two teammates to do in the same game.

I mean, who could have ever predicted that?

Well, Max Rice could.

Here is his dad/coach, Leon Rice, back in October at the Mountain West media conference in Las Vegas telling me and Utah State coach Danny Sprinkle about Max wanting the duo to accomplish the 1,000-point milestone in the same game. (when I saw they did it on Friday night, I tracked down my recording and posted it late Friday).

A number to know: 20

Friday night was the Lobos' 20th-consecutive win in the regular season against non-Division I opponents.

Why isn't that streak even longer you might ask?

Well, the last time the UNM Lobos lost to a non-Division I opponent was on Dec. 2, 1991, when the Dave Bliss-coached Lobos fell to the ENMU Greyhounds, 81-75, in the Pit.

As written in this week's ENMU game notes:

“An Earl Diddle led program took care of business and beat the Lobos, 81-76. The loss to ENMU remains New Mexico’s most recent loss to a Division II foe. Jeff Cooper carried the team with 23 points on 6-of-9 shooting from behind the arc. Three other starters scored in double figures — Shonteau Joshua (18), Jason Gay (15), and Anthony Sullen (10). The Hounds hit 11 three-pointers compared to just six for the Lobos. The announced attendance was 15,135.”

Another number to know: $5,000

As has been customary in recent years anytime a non-Division I team comes to play in the Pit, UNM paid ENMU for Friday's game $5,000.

That's a bargain compared to the going rate for Division I opponents that are often in the $80,000 range this season.

Attendance ...

The announced attendance at Friday's Eastern New Mexico at UNM game in the Pit: 11,962

That is the largest announced attendance for a non-Division I opponent in the Pit — preseason or regular season — since the 2014-15 season.

Speaking of attendance ...

Here is the average home attendance for each Mountain West team so far this season as nonconference play winds down (Nevada has one more home game vs. a non-Division I opponent and UNLV has two non-DI home games remaining):

12,305 San Diego State

11,579 New Mexico

9,608 Boise State

7,200 Nevada

6,596 Utah State

6,107 Colorado State

3,845 UNLV

3,499 Wyoming

3,275 Fresno State

1,702 San Jose State

1,536 Air Force

Video: Pitino and Mashburn postgame ...

Here is video of Richard Pitino and Jamal Mashburn Jr. talking to media after Friday's game...

Don't compare scores ...

Don't do it.

Seriously, just don't.

No matter how much you want to, no matter how much you think it might shed some light on comparing two teams when they play a like opponent, it won't.

DON'T. COMPARE. SCORES!

Ok, so now that we've got that out of the way, let's compare some scores ...

UNM and Colorado State, who open Mountain West play against each other on Tuesday in Fort Collins, each played Division II opponents on Friday nights — ENMU for the Lobos, Adams State for the Rams. In both cases, the hope was clearly to shake some Christmas break rust off before league play.

So, what can we glean from each game — a 33-point blowout win for the Lobos (87-54) and a 45-point blowout for the Rams (106-61)?

Well, ENMU and Adams State have played each other and ENMU did beat Adams State by 10 points (92-82) on Nov. 17 in Durango.

So, clearly, if CSU is 45-points better than Adams State at home, and ENMU was 10 points better than Adams State on a neutral court, and UNM is 33 points better than ENMU in the Pit, I think it's safe to say Tuesday night's UNM/CSU game in Fort Collins will end in a tie.

Plus/minus ...

Here are the plus/minus numbers for both UNM And ENMU with minutes played in parenthesis:

NEW MEXICO

+29 Nelly Junior Joseph (22:51)

+28 Jaelen House (27:16)

+23 Jamal Mashburn Jr. (26:50)

+22 Jemarl Baker Jr. (29:32)

+22 Braden Appelhans (19:32)

+16 Isaac Mushila (17:29)

+15 Mustapha Amzil (13:49)

+5 Sebastian Forsling (8:54)

+4 Quinton Webb (16:50)

+1 JT Toppin (16:57)

EASTERN NEW MEXICO

+1 Jason Holman (3:29)

+1 Niko Bossinakis (3:29)

-9 Mario Whitley (22:44)

-10 Conrad Luczynski (14:48)

-15 Jose Murillo (24:46)

-19 Jaxon Koroll (11:16)

-25 Jahcoree Ealy (31:16)

-27 Tre'Von Love (28:23)

-30 Lyron Bennett (35:05)

-32 Junior Hodnett (24:44)

Line 'em up ...

The UNM Lobos used 10 players and had 17 unique lineup combinations in Friday's game. Eastern New Mexico used 10 players and had 12 lineup combinations.

Here is a look at how a few of those Lobo lineup combinations worked out, starting with the starters...

STARTING LINEUP

WHO: Jaelen House, Jamal Mashburn Jr., Jemarl Baker Jr., JT Toppin, Nelly Junior Joseph

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +6 (22-16)

TIME ON COURT: 12:15

NOTE: No Donovan Dent, no problem, right? Well, there was some problems, especially early. While this unit recovered enough throughout the game to get a +6 here, let's not forget it also started the game 0-for-7 from the field with a turnover and ENMU was up as many as seven at one point in the first half (not all starters vs. starters this whole time, but mostly). Not sure Dent being out there would have solved much of what was ailing the Lobos early on Friday night, but the defense remained stellar.

BEST LINEUP, PART 1

WHO: Jaelen House, Jamal Mashburn Jr., Jemarl Baker Jr., Isaac Mushila, Nelly Junior Joseph

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +9 (9-0)

TIME ON COURT: 2:06

BEST LINEUP, PART 2

WHO: Jaelen House, Jamal Mashburn Jr., Braden Appelhans, Isaac Mushila, Nelly Junior Joseph

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +9 (11-2)

TIME ON COURT: 3:39

NOTE: Usually, I stick with one lineup here for the "best" but I'm pointing out both +9 lineups tonight. They had just one difference between the two (one had Braden Appelhans, one had Jemarl Baker Jr., but the other four were the same on both). As noted above, Isaac Mushila is just a "plus/minus king" according to Pitino. Now, he was on the floor for a 6-0 ENMU run midway through the second half that pulled his +/- for the game down, but his role in the late first half run that decided the game — pretty much the bulk of the two "best lineups" of this ETN — can't be understated. The Lobos often, not always, but often play a lot better for some reason when he's on the floor. Now, on Friday, that meant him in place of JT Toppin. That can't, and won't, happen often in league play, but the point is Pitino knows whoever it might be that needs a break, Mushila can fill in and the Lobos are often just fine.

WORST LINEUP

WHO: Jamal Mashburn Jr., Braden Appelhans, Quinton Webb, Isaac Mushila, Mustapha Amzil.

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: -5 (2-7)

TIME ON COURT: 1:44

NOTE: Did I mention that one second half stretch where ENMU went on a 6-0 run? Well, here you go. That run was in this stretch and, even with Isaac Mushila on the court, the Greyhounds gained some ground in the plus/minus department. This is also the first stretch I recall Pitino trying to steal some minutes at the 5 with Mustapha Amzil.

Meanwhile, in Spokane ...

OK, just when you were about to feel comfortable putting Colorado State or even the New Mexico Lobos atop your Mountain West power rankings heading into league play, the San Diego State Aztecs go and do San Diego Aztecs things in Spokane on Friday night.

SDSU beat No. 13 Gonzaga in a true road game, probably the best win of the nonconference for any Mountain West team (yes, CSU and UNLV both beat Creighton, but CSU did so on a neutral court and UNLV did so on a semi-neutral court 10 minutes away from campus in Henderson, Nev.).

The Aztecs, they wrap up non-league play at 11-2 with some underwhelming performances and this fantastic one.

Around the Mountain ...

There were four games around the Mountain West on Friday night. There are four nonconference games left around the league -- two Saturday, one Sunday, one Tuesday:

FRIDAY

• No. 15 Colorado State 106, Adams State 61

• San Diego State 84, No. 13 Gonzaga 74

• New Mexico 87, Eastern New Mexico 54

• Fresno State 71, San Diego 67

• Boise State 85, Utah Valley 63

SATURDAY

• Wyoming at No. 14 BYU, 4 p.m.

• D-II Fresno Pacific at Nevada, 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT

SUNDAY

• D-II Carroll (Montana) at UNLV, noon PT/1 p.m. MT

TUESDAY

nonconference

• Bethesda at UNLV, 1 p.m. PT/2 p.m. MT

Mountain West games

• Utah State at Air Force, 2 p.m. MT

• San Jose State at Wyoming, 6:30 p.m. MT

• New Mexico at No. 15 Colorado State, 8:30 p.m. MT

Mountain West standings ...

"Standings" don't actually mean anything in a conference except during actual conference play. There are no tiebreakers or anything like that based on your nonconference games. Nevertheless, here is a list of Mountain West teams sorted by their records in nonconference play through Friday's games:

12-1 Colorado State

12-1 Nevada

12-1 New Mexico

12-1 Utah State

11-2 San Diego State

9-4 Boise State

7-5 Air Force

7-5 Wyoming

7-6 San Jose State

7-6 Fresno State

5-5 UNLV

Looking ahead ...

So with records like that, and solid NET rankings for several teams and plenty of really good KenPom rankings, things are looking pretty good for the Mountain West right now to get multiple (as in 3-5) teams into the NCAA Tournament.

But first, everybody's got to navigate through league play.

And here is what is being predicted by the old KenPom.com computers for Mountain West play, with a highlight of the beautiful chaos, as I like to call it, that could be ins store for the top six teams:

Stats and stats ...

Here is the postgame stat sheet I posted on X: New Mexico 87, Eastern New Mexico 54

And for those interested in the digital version, here you go: New Mexico 87, Eastern New Mexico 54

Up next ...

And so it begins...

Mountain West play starts Tuesday and for the UNM Lobos that means a road trip to Fort Collins to play No. 15 Colorado State in Moby Arena. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. for the game that will be broadcast on FS1.

Photos: UNM Lobos defeat Eastern New Mexico University 87-54

Schedule/results ...