Emptying the Notebook: A win's a win, but Lobos offensive gem overshadowed by defensive dud

SAN JOSE, California — Here are some notes, quotes, stats, trends and other odds & ends I emptied out of the old notebook after Saturday's 90-80 UNM Lobos win over San Jose State in the Provident Credit Union Event Center:

How offensive

When he talked with the Journal after Saturday's 90-80 win over San Jose State, UNM coach Eric Olen was reluctant to get overly critical of his team's defense on Saturday before he watched film.

That's not to say he was happy with the defense. He wasn't.

He just didn't seem to know how upset he should be immediately after the game — a win, after all, on the road in league play.

"I just thought their offense played better than our defense," Olen said. "They only had five turnovers. We gave up some second-chance points. So there's always going to be some things we don't like about it. ... It did feel more like they played well, more than we were just bad."

The Spartans did, after all, just put forth their most efficient scoring game of the season at 1.27 points per possession against the team that entered the game ranked No. 1 in defensive efficiency in league play (that is no more, as the Lobos have now slipped behind San Diego State into second on defense).

Lobo freshman guard Jake Hall, who scored 27 points and knows a thing or two about offensive efficiency, was a little quicker to put the blame on his team's lack of defensive execution, although not without crediting some really solid shot-making by the Spartans, in particular Colby Garland, who scored 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting.

"Credit to them. They did a great job tonight. Hit tough shots. Garland's a really tough shot-maker. He's a good player," Hall said. "But our disruption definitely, I don't think it was there tonight.

"But we're going to come back to our process and be ready to go for Utah State (on Wednesday)."

San Jose State's offensive efficiency of 125.5, per KenPom.com, is the best any team has had against the Lobos this season (and worse than only one game Olen coached all of last season at UC San Diego, too).

Ironically, four of the worst defensive games the Lobos have played this season came in wins. What's less surprising is that before Saturday, the four other worst games were in the first 10 games of the season, not a shock considering it was an entirely new roster getting to know each other and learn Olen's defense.

UNM's worst five defensive efficiency games

• 125.5 — by San Jose State (Saturday)
• 119.5 — by Alabama State (Nov. 26)
• 115.7 — by New Mexico State (Nov. 15)
• 111.6 — by VCU (Dec. 10)
• 107.5 — by Mississippi State (Nov. 21)

Saturday, the Spartans hit 18-of-30 (60.0%) of their 2-point shots. Five of those 18 shots were midrange, out of the paint 2s that the Lobos don't in general mind opponents taking. Garland and company just hit some tough shots.

But allowing the Spartans to hit 13 shots in the paint isn't something that Olen, no matter what he sees on that game film, is going to be too happy about.

On the other hand

But they won.

All that talk about SJSU having a real good offensive game overshadows the fact that the Lobos scored an insanely efficient 1.475 point per possession, by far the best of the season for UNM.

"I thought we were really good offensively," Olen said. "We were sharp. We took care of the ball. We had great shot selection.

In fact, UNM's offensive efficiency of 141.1, per KenPom.com, was the fourth highest the Lobos have ever posted in a Mountain West game.

UNM's top offensive efficiency in MW play

• 143.6 — 91-51 win vs. Colorado State (Feb. 5, 2008)
• 143.1 — 96-68 win at San Jose State (Feb. 17, 2023)
• 142.1 — 100-55 win vs. Wyoming (Feb. 9, 2008)
• 141.1 — 90-80 win at San Jose State (Saturday)

The gamer

Here's the gamer I filed from the Event Center in San Jose on Saturday night:

• Freshman lead charge, Lobos in first place tie

January to remember

San Jose State coach Tim Miles joked in his postgame press conference on Saturday night, "I can't wait for January to be over."

The Lobos, on the other hand, might not be as happy about the calendar flipping over to February.

UNM's 8-1 record last month is the program's best January in nearly a half century and the program's best in the Mountain West era, passing the 7-1 mark of the 2013-14 Lobos.

Lobos' best Januarys in MW era

• 2025-26: 8-1 (.889)
• 2013-14: 7-1 (.874)
• 2024-25: 6-1 (.857)
• 2012-13: 5-1 (.833)

NOTE: All other January records in the MW era had two or more losses.

UNM's top five January records all-time

(minimum three games vs. college teams)

• 1977-78: 8-0 (1.000)
• 1967-68: 6-0 (1.000)
• 1932-33: 6-0 (1.000)
• 2025-26: 8-1 (.889)
• 1944-45: 8-1 (.889)

*NOTE: I'm not counting Januarys from a century ago when, in some cases, there was only one game played and in many others the January wins were against the likes of Menaul High School, Albuquerque Indian School, Albuquerque Bankers and even one season a series of games vs. a team called Albuquerque Kids.

Jake and Bake by the Bay

I've had it pointed out by more than one reader who, while not complaining about the Jake Hall coverage, feel there has been a little too much of it in comparison to other Lobo players.

I'm going to be mindful of that. I promise.

But I also can't ignore what the kid just had maybe his best offensive game, yet. It was certainly a career high in points at 27.

And while it wasn't all just 3-pointers ...

... and this ...

It was certainly a whole lot of 3-pointers (seven, to be exact).

Hall on Saturday at San Jose State

• Points: 27
• 2-point FGs: 3-5 (60.0%)
• 3-point FGs: 7-9 (77.8%)

Hall has worked his way into the Top 10 in scoring in the Mountain West and his 68 made 3-pointers — already a UNM freshman record — leads the Mountain West by 11 over second place Brandon Rechsteiner of Colorado State at 57.

Which brings us to our ...

Steve Kirkland Stat of the Night

Hall's seven made 3-pointers, which ties the freshman record for made 3-pointers in a game that he has now done twice this season and was also done once in 1997 by Kevin Henry, is the second most 3-pointers ever made in a Mountain West game (the record is nine by Colorado State's Sean Morris at UNLV in 2005).

And maybe Hall's prettiest 3 of the night was this one late in the game with barely a sliver of space given from the defender.

He's not the only one

Of course Jake Hall's seven made 3s is a big part of the equation, but the Lobos continue hitting 3s at a high rate in league play.

UNM hit double-digit 3-pointers in two of 10 nonconference games vs. Division I opponents.

In 11 Mountain West games, they've hit 10 or more 3-pointers eight times, including now five consecutive games.

He said it: Tim Miles

Here's the quote from San Jose State coach Tim Miles that I made sure to get into the game story on Saturday night, in case you missed it:

"When I look at their guard play, their ability to guard, they're very good defensively, they've got an anchor in (Tomislav) Buljan, they've got enough perimeter shooting with (Antonio) Chol and those other guys, and then those two crafty guards (Jake Hall and Uriah Tenette) — and then (Deyton) Albury is super athletic and downhill puts a lot of pressure on you.

"That's a good team, the most complete team. I think there are maybe a little bit better offensive teams in the league and a little bit better defensive teams in the league, but to me, when you put it all together, I think New Mexico is probably the most complete team."

Double-double X5

Tomislav Buljan didn't play in the first meeting with San Jose State back in December.

He made up for it Saturday with a 17 points, 10 rebound double-double, his fifth-consecutive double-double (a UNM freshman record) and Mountain West-leading 11th of the season.

Bigger than basketball

My annual trip to San Jose means an annual stroll across the way from the Event Center to check out "Victory Salute", the monument of SJSU alumni Tommie Smith and John Carlos doing their historic Black power salute/silent protest during the medal ceremony in the 1968 Olympics.

Back to back blah bench showings

Entering the past week, UNM was 7-0 in Mountain West games when its bench outscored the opponent's bench and 0-2 when the opponent's bench outscored UNM's reserves.

Well, UNM was 2-0 this past week with two road conference wins. Hard to find much to gripe about there, but that's what I'm for. I found something to nit pick.

UNM's bench was outscored in both Tuesday's win at UNLV and in Saturday's win at San Jose State.

TUESDAY AT UNLV

• UNM bench points: 32
• UNLV bench points: 37

SATURDAY AT SAN JOSE STATE

• UNM bench points: 21
• SJSU bench points: 31

The UNLV differential wasn't a lot and had some factors that are worth noting, primarily in that UNLV lost a starter 1:34 into the game and the bench got some extra run because of it. And scoring 32 from the bench is a good total.

But Saturday at San Jose State, scoring just 21 points from your bench, and 14 of those coming from one player (Uriah Tenette, who scored all 14 of those points in the second half) isn't a great look.

They won both games, so no big deal. But if this is a trend, it could become an issue down the stretch of the season.

Better late than never

Uriah Tenette had himself a week.

The 5-10 freshman guard averaged 14.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in wins at UNLV and at San Jose State and drew 10 fouls (four at UNLV, six on Saturday at SJSU).

Saturday, he was scoreless in the first half before scoring all 14 of his game points in the final 20 minutes. And some of those points were spectacular. 

The highlight of the night was this ankle-breaker step-back 3.

Not much turnover

SJSU's five turnovers was a season low for a Lobos opponent.

Fewest turnovers by a UNM opponent

• 5 — San Jose State (Saturday)
• 7 — Mississippi State (Nov. 21)
• 8 — New Mexico State (Nov. 15)
• 9 — Boise State (Dec. 30)
• 9 — Grand Canyon (Jan. 13)

This guy

I've been doing this long enough that even the mascots know me now.

Why is it these mascots never seem to age but I have more gray hair on my beard now than Santa Claus?

Second bite of the apple

Saturday was the first second of the season for the Lobos — the first time they played an opponent a second time.

Eric Olen's UC San Diego team was 12-0 in rematches in Big West play last season, in both the regular season and conference tournament. Now, his Lobos are 1-0 this season in rematch games.

Regular season series completed:

San Jose State (2-0)

• UNM 88, SJSU 65 (Dec. 20)
• UNM 90, SJSU 80 (Saturday)

UNLV (1-0)

• UNM 89, UNLV 61 (Tuesday)

NOTE: There is no game 2 this season

Wyoming (1-0)

• UNM 78, Wyoming 58 (Jan. 3)

NOTE: There is no  game 2 this season

• • •

Regular season series still to complete:

Air Force (1-0)

• UNM 91, AFA 49 (Jan. 10)
• Rematch: Feb. 17 in the Pit

Boise State (0-1)

• Boise State 62, UNM 53 (Dec. 30)
• Rematch: Saturday, Feb. 7, in the Pit

Colorado State (1-0)

• UNM 80, Colorado State 70
• Rematch: March 4 in the Pit

Fresno State (1-0)

• UNM 83, Fresno State 74
• Rematch: Feb. 21 in Fresno, California

Grand Canyon (1-0)

• UNM 87, GCU 64 (Jan. 13)
• Rematch: Feb. 11 in Phoenix

Nevada (1-0)

• UNM 80, Nevada 73 (Jan. 24)
• Rematch: Feb. 24 in Reno, Nevada

San Diego State (0-1)

• SDSU 83, UNM 79 (Jan. 17)
• Rematch: Feb. 28 in the Pit

Utah State (0-0)

• Game 1: Wednesday in the Pit
• Game 2: March 7 in Logan, Utah

Familiar face

Back in Albuquerque on Saturday, Lobo legend Cam Bairstow made a Pit stop for the UNM women's game and had time to pose with his good friend and former teammate Ryan Berryman — Cam a player, of course, Ryan was a manager.

Attendance

The announced attendance for Saturday's New Mexico game at San Jose State game in the Event Center: 4,189

For those who don't know what it often looks like there, this was actually a remarkable showing of fans — even bigger than the home crowds the Spartans had for nearby Stanford earlier this season and for their San Diego State home game.

Kudos, genuinely, to SJSU for this crowd, which was in part due to a Kids Day promotion where two general admission tickets could get fans two kids tickets for free.

UNM's true road games 2025-26:

• 12,414 — Jan. 17 at San Diego State
• 9,980 — Dec. 30 at Boise State
• 8,106 — Nov. 15 at New Mexico State
• 7,637 — Dec. 10 at VCU
• 5,642 — Tuesday at UNLV
• 4,189 — Saturday at San Jose State
• 3,640 — Jan. 6 at Colorado State
• 2,017 — Jan. 10 at Air Force

Series notes

The Lobos lead the all-time series 25-6 and are 7-4 in the Provident Credit Union Event Center.

UNM held a 2-1 edge last season, winning in the Pit and in the Mountain West Tournament, but being upset in the final seconds by a Spartans jumper in San Jose, 71-70.

Plus/minus

Here are the plus/minus numbers for Saturday's game with minutes in parenthesis:

NEW MEXICO

• +11 Deyton Albury (25:49)
• +11 Luke Haupt (35:33)
• +9 Uriah Tenette (25:15)
• +7 Jake Hall (33:40)
• +6 Tomislav Buljan (29:06)
• +4 JT Rock (10:54)
• +2 Antonio Chol (26:39)
• 0 Tajavis Miller (13:04)

SAN JOSE STATE

• -2 Douglas Langford (2:40)
• -2 Marcus Overstreet (28:00)
• -2 Jermaine Washington (30:23)
• -4 Sadraque NgaNga (33:15)
• -8 Melvin Bell Jr. (32:21)
• -9 Colby Garland (35:26)
• -11 Adrian Myers (14:47)
• -12 Pasha Goodarzi (23:08)

Line 'em up

The UNM Lobos played eight players and used 13 unique lineup combinations on Saturday. The Spartans played eight players and used nine unique lineup combinations.

Here's a look at some of the Lobos lineup combinations, starting with the starters.

STARTING LINEUP

• WHO: Deyton Albury, Jake Hall, Luke Haupt, Antonio Chol, Tomislav Buljan
• POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +4 (31-27)
• TIME ON COURT: 13:47
• NOTE: This is a pretty remarkable lineup analysis for this ETN in that not one lineup for the Lobos was better than +4 and not one was worst than -3. The starters giving up 27 points in just under 14 minutes is not good. On the other hand, the starters scoring 31 points in just under 14 minutes is pretty good. So... half the job was done here, I suppose.

BEST LINEUP

• WHO: Uriah Tenette, Deyton Albury, Jake Hall, Luke Haupt, Tomislav Buljan
• POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +4 (11-7)
• TIME ON COURT: 3:56
• NOTE: At 2.1 points per possession, like the starters and like the game in general, this lineup proved that UNM's offense was just fine on Saturday.

WORST LINEUP

• WHO: Uriah Tenette, Deyton Albury, Tajavis Miller, Antonio Chol, Tomislav Buljan
• POINT DIFFERENTIAL: -2 (6-8)
• TIME ON COURT: 2:55
• NOTE: If the "worst" lineup of the night is -2, then we're really picking things apart here more than is probably necessary, but the reason I picked this one as the "worst" is those 8 points in fewer than 3 minutes on the court. That's more than 100 points allowed in a game had you extrapolated that out to 40 minutes.

VIDEO: Eric Olen and Jake Hall

Here's my postgame video with UNM coach Eric Olen and Jake Hall after Saturday's game at San Jose State:

Pregame in San Jose

Here's a look back at the pregame show, for those interested in watching/hearing how wrong I probably was about everything that was about to happen in the game.

Meanwhile, in Logan

Setting up a the logjam at the top of the Mountain West standings was Saturday's nationally televised (as in it was on big boy CBS!) was Utah State's less-than-picturesque, but effective nonetheless 71-66 win over the San Diego State Aztecs in Logan, Utah.

San Diego State was without two starters — Elzie Harrington and Magoon Gwath — but as the team that boasts about its depth more than any other, it's hard not to still think they had every opportunity to win this game with the players they did have on the court and they way the Aztecs played for 30 to 35 minutes or so of that game, minus closing out the first half (Utah State closed ona. 9-0 run to tie it at the break) and to close out the game.

Said Utah State coach Jerrod Calhoun after the game: "Obviously, they had two really good players out with Magoon and Harrington, both of those kids are really good. I really want to shout out our players, to win this game as ugly as we played offensively, I don’t know if I’ve ever been a part of that. Our two best players went 6-21, we had 18 turnovers, but the difference was that we were the tougher team the last seven minutes of the game. To outrebound a Brian Dutcher team by 15 is the ultimate test of character, and our kids have that. We have an unbelievable belief in each other, and it’s we over me. A lot of kids really rebounded the ball tonight."

Around the Mountain

There were four games around the Mountain West on Saturday. Here's a look at recent scores since the last Lobos game and some upcoming games around the league:

FRIDAY

• Grand Canyon 86, Boise State 69
• Nevada 89, UNLV 76

SATURDAY

• Utah State 71, San Diego State 66
• Fresno State 79, Air Force 62
• Wyoming 68, Colorado State 57
• New Mexico 90, San Jose State 80

TUESDAY

• Nevada at Boise State, 7 p.m. MT (TheMW)
• Air Force at Grand Canyon, 7 p.m. MT (TheMW)
• UNLV at Fresno State, 9 p.m. MT (FS1)
• Wyoming at San Diego State, 9 p.m. MT (CBS Sports Network)

WEDNESDAY

• Utah State at New Mexico, 9 p.m. MT (FS1)

Mountain West standings

Here are the conference standings through Saturday's games:

(listed alphabetically where records are same)

• 9-2 New Mexico
• 9-2 San Diego State
• 9-2 Utah State
• 8-3 Nevada
• 7-3 Grand Canyon
• 5-5 UNLV
• 5-6 Boise State
• 4-6 Fresno State
• 4-7 Wyoming
• 3-8 Colorado State
• 1-10 San Jose State
• 0-10 Air Force

• • •

Here are the home/road standings through Saturday's games with road wins counting as a +1 and home losses as a -1:

(listed alphabetically where records are same)

• +4 San Diego State
• +4 New Mexico
• +3 Utah State
• +2 Grand Canyon
• +2 Nevada
• 0 Boise State
• 0 UNLV
• -1 Fresno State
• -2 Colorado State
• -2 Wyoming
• -5 Air Force
• -5 San Jose State

Stats and stats

Here is the postgame stat sheet I posted after Saturday's game: New Mexico 90, San Jose State 80

And if you prefer the digital version, here you go: New Mexico 90, San Jose State 80

Grammer's Guesses

I'm bad at this again.

The Guesses go 1-3 on the day and my daughter's coin goes 2-2, meaning, like the Lobos, Aztecs and Aggies, we are tied for first place!

Of course, there are only two of us, and by that I mean really it's just me and a damn coin competing.

And we're tied.

SEASON STANDINGS:

• My daughter's coin: 34-30
• Grammer's Guesses: 34-30

Up next

• For New Mexico: The Lobos host Utah state on Wednesday at 9 p.m. in the Pit. The game will be broadcast on FS1.
• For San Jose State: The Spartans play at Colorado State at 6 p.m. next Saturday in Fort Collins. The game will be streamed on TheMW.com.

Until next time

Until next time, Provident Credit Union Event Center, on the campus of San Jose State University (preparing for a Sunday gymnastics event) ...

Reach Geoff Grammer at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.