UNM MEN'S BASKETBALL
Boise State enters the Pit ready to play the villain
Bronco's coach knows fans will welcome him with boos, but he has plenty of respect for the Pit
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On his last walk down the Pit ramp on Saturday night, Leon Rice will be wearing the black cowboy hat.
Maybe not literally — though he does have one — but figuratively.
The animated Boise State Broncos coach who has more Mountain West coaching victories than anyone in the league's 27-year history — five of them coming in the Pit — knows that he will be welcomed by a chorus of boos from the 14,000-plus fans expected for Saturday's late-night tip in what could be the final game played between the two programs with conference shifts coming in the offseason.
"It would be miserable if nobody cared, and it's way more fun when you have a villain," Rice said this week in Boise when media there asked him about his memories of coaching in the Pit — a place where he admittedly has a unique history.
"I guess I could be their villain once in a while. But, you know, there is an appreciation, I hope. There's appreciation for me for what those places bring and that atmosphere, and how unique it is, and how cool it is this day and age because you look all over the country, it's hard to get environments like that. ... There's a lot of places where fans don't show up, and that would be miserable."
Those Pit fans, and the team Rice's Boise State Broncos beat Dec. 30 in Idaho, will welcome their visiting guests to the Pit at 8 p.m. Saturday — one team coming off a thrilling overtime win, the other coming off a demoralizing drubbing that ended a 23-game home wins streak.
The Broncos (14-9, 6-6 Mountain West) present a unique quandary for the Lobos (18-5, 9-3).
UNM rode high after losing to Boise State earlier this season — winners of eight of nine — after the loss to put themselves in position to make a run at a league title. But Wednesday was a 20-point home loss in a place that doesn't see many of those for the home team.
How the Lobos respond, especially against a team that actually was better against the UNM offense on Dec. 30 than Utah State was on Wednesday, could reset the public opinion of those league title hopes in the first year under head coach Eric Olen.
The good news for the Lobos is two fold. One, dating back to last season when he took UC San Diego to the NCAA Tournament, Olen is 13-0 in rematch games. Two, the Pit remains the Pit. It's a place that doesn't forget — not things like past baseball team drama, not things like Max Rice hitting seven 3s in a win, not things like Derrick Marks going for 31 in a win.
"I hope that I provided enthusiasm for the game for them," Rice said. "... It's an iconic place. Going back to the N.C. State national title game there, it's just got such a history in basketball. Their fans are amazing and so knowledgeable about the game."
The first last
Saturday represents the first "last" regular season meeting for UNM with one of the departing schools leaving to start the new Pac-12 next season.
The five teams leaving are Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State.
The Lobos still have home games against Boise State (Saturday), SDSU (Feb. 20) and CSU (March 4). Their road rematches vs. the departing schools are at Fresno State (Feb. 21) and Utah State (March 7).
The Mountain West Tournament could, of course, present neutral court rematches, though that schedule won't be known for another month.
Series notes
The all-time series between the two teams is tied, 15-15. UNM holds a 9-4 record in the Pit, but has lost the past three in the series — last February in Boise, March in the Mountain West Tournament semifinals and the Dec. 30 game in Boise.
In that game, UNM shot a season-low 30.8% and a season worst 3-of-25 (12.0%) from 3-point range.
"We gotta look at the film and find the areas we can correct and play better," Olen said Wednesday night after the Utah State loss about Saturday's Boise State rematch. "We have to play better than that. Boise is playing well, beat us up there the first time. We struggled to score in that one as well, so we got to get some things corrected."
Reach Geoff Grammer at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.
