Emptying the Notebook: Shorthanded Lobos once again bring their best when their best is needed

Here are a few extra notes, quotes, stats, trends and other odds & ends I emptied out of the old notebook after Sunday's 82-79 UNM Lobos win over Utah State in the Pit:

Rising to the occasion...

There are a lot of college basketball analytics sites out there with a lot of computer algorithms telling us different things based on the game data we put into them.

And, of course, we also know what our eyes tell us.

When it comes to this season's UNM basketball team, the computers and our eyes seem to be drawing the same conclusions: These Lobos look pretty darn good against teams that are pretty darn good.

It's those other games that sometimes cause fans some frustration and anxiety.

On Sunday in the Pit, the Lobos, who played the entire game without one starter (Mustapha Amzil) and most of the game without their sixth man (C.J. Noland), which is pretty significant for a team that only gives significant minutes to six players, beat Utah State 82-79.

The win was 15 days after roughing up the Aggies on the road 82-63 in Logan.

Not a bad season sweep of a team that is No. 2 in the league standings, also has a 22-4 overall record now (two losses being to UNM) and is rated as one of the best offensive teams all of college basketball — checking in at No. 18 (out of 364 Division I teams) in offensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com.

But Sunday's dramatic win was five days after the Lobos, also in dramatic fashion, beat Wyoming 71-67 in the Pit. The Cowboys are ranked 229th in offensive efficiency.

There's a good chance that if you watched both games, or even just warmups for both games, you probably didn't really need an analytics site to tell you Utah State looks like a team that knocks down shots and Wyoming, not as much.

Both continue to solidify an interesting trend about this Lobo basketball team: They play up to their good opponents (especially the ones who are really good on offense) and tend to play down to the lesser opponents (especially ones with bad offensive rankings).

UNM vs. teams w/ winning Mountain West records (teams 2-5 in standings):

• 6-0 record

• Avg. margin of victory: 14.2 points

• Avg. national rank in offense: 57.7

• NOTE: UNM led by at least 19 points in five of the six games and only one (Sunday's 3-point win vs. Utah State) did the Lobos not have a double-digit lead in the final minute of the game.

UNM vs. teams w/ losing Mountain West records (teams 6-9 in standings):

• 5-1 record

• Avg. margin of victory: 3.7 points

• Avg. national rank in offense: 157.7

• NOTE: UNM lost to San Jose State once and rallied from down 13 vs. them in another game; UNM had one-possession wins over Nevada (82-81 in overtime) and over UNLV (75-73); and twice had to rally from double-digit halftime deficits vs. Wyoming.

Here's some more data pulled from three college basketball analytics sites to further nail home the point:

According to KenPom.com:.

• UNM is 8-0 overall (not just Mountain West games) this season vs. teams ranked in the Top 70 (out of 364) in offensive efficiency

• Avg. margin of victory vs. Top 70 offensive teams: 14.0

Here's a look at the UNM opponents with Top 70 offensive efficiencies and the results of the games:

• No. 18 Utah State (2-0, including 19 point road win)

• No. 42 UCLA (1-0, never trailed in neutral court win)

• No. 52 USC (1-0, won by 10, was up 20 in final five minutes)

• No. 53 Boise State (1-0, beat by 19)

• No. 58 VCU (1-0, held Rams to under 1.0 points per possession)

• No. 65 Colorado State (2-0, led by 20 or more in each game)

According to HaslamMetrics.com:

At Haslametrics, game box scores generate readable, narrative form conclusions based on the stats and trends.

Of the Lobos, the site states:

"New Mexico is typically better vs. teams that are typically efficient on offense. Against foes that have an offensive efficiency rating vs. (an average opponent) greater than 115.55, New Mexico performs above their norm 88% of the time. Against the remaining opposition, the team performs above average 24% of the time."

According to EvanMiya.com:

The site has a statistic called "Opponent Adjust", which Evan defines as "how well each team performs above or below expectation based on if they are playing an above average opponent on their schedule or a below average opponent."

UNM ranks 6th nationally in the "opponent adjust" statistic and the site seems to sum up this entire section I'm writing with the following:

"New Mexico plays much better against good team than bad teams. They compete at a higher level against tough opposition but struggle against weaker opponents."

So, there you go.

A stat I've been hammering home on social media all season spelled out a little more, and backed by data-driven websites, here in Emptying the Notebook.

Good news for the Lobos if they make the NCAA Tournament is that they'll likely only be facing good teams.

Bad news for the Lobos if they hold on to the No. 1 seed for the Mountain West Tournament is they'll have to play the Day 1 winner of the No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed. Currently, that's Wyoming vs. San Jose State — two teams the Lobos have played four of their statistically worst games against this season.

The gamer...

Here is the gamer I filed Sunday from the Pit:

• Tru grit: New Mexico hangs on to beat Utah State in a nail-biter

Two men down and a disappearing bench...

While there's a belief among many Lobo fans and some in the media that this is an extremely deep team, the reality is the coaching staff hasn't exactly shown much confidence in the bench this season beyond what has been a six-man primary minutes lineup (six Lobos average 21 or more minutes and next on the list is down at 11).

Lately, you could argue it's become a seven-man primary minutes rotation with forward Jovan Milicevic's role increasing to combine with C.J. Noland's starter-esque minutes off the bench as UNM's 6th man.

Well, on Sunday, with Milicevic having to start and Noland going down early with a possible concussion, the result wasn't Pitino going deep into his bench, it was actually a more worrisome decision — just play five guys.

Usual starter Mustapha Amzil (foot injury, plantar fasciitis), was on the Lobo bench in protective walking boot for Sunday's game. That meant Milicevic's career-high 37 minutes was actually as a starter.

And let's give him credit for his big game in his second career start, scoring 5 points and grabbing seven rebounds.

Noland's injury after playing fewer than 7 minutes when an inadvertent blow to his head by Utah State center Aubin Gateretse led to a possible concussion, forcing Noland up the ramp to get evaluated, never to return during Sunday's game.

"C.J. got a concussion, or has concussion like symptoms," Pitino said. "I don't know exactly what it was, but Grant (Smith), our trainer does a great job, and wanted to hold him out, and I was all good with that."

The status for either to play in Wednesday's road game at Boise State is unknown.

While it was impressive that the Lobos won with a combined 20.9 points per game and two senior leaders and co-captains gone, not to mention two guys who combined to score 27 points in Logan the first time these two teams played, it was a little concerning not to see more than 15 total minutes from other players.

As a result, look at these minutes played:

• 40:00 — Donovan Dent

• 36:33 — Jovan Milicevic

• 35:43 — Tru Washington

• 34:15 — Filip Borovicanin

• 31:13 — Nelly Junior Joseph

• 8:02 — Atiki Ally Atiki

• 6:54 — C.J. Noland

• 6:35 — Braden Appelhans

• 00:45 — Ibrahima Sacko

Instead of going to the bench, Pitino instead opted to pretty much just stick with a five-man rotation much of Sunday's game.

Minus 7 minutes played by Noland before the injury, UNM's bench played 15 combined minutes on Sunday with 0 made FGs and 3 points, all on FTs.

Bench scoring...

Entering Sunday's game, Utah State led the Mountain West, and ranked 25th nationally, in bench scoring.

Average bench points per game:

Entering Sunday's game.

• Utah State: 29.4 (1st MW/25th Division I)

• New Mexico: 21.6 (5th MW/150th Division I)

USU/UNM bench scoring Game 1 (Feb. 1):

• USU: 28 points, 92 minutes, 10-28 FGs, 11 rebounds, 9 assists

• UNM: 24 points, 54 minutes, 8-18 FGs, 12 rebounds, 2 assists

USU/UNM bench scoring Game 2 (Sunday):

• USU: 24 points, 75 minutes, 8-21 FGs, 8 rebounds, 11 assists

• UNM: 3 points, *22 minutes*, 0-2 FGs, 5 rebounds, 0 assists

* = 7 of 22 minutes were from C.J. Noland before injury.

Tru's best game...

The main game story (linked above) was Tru Washington heavy, the postgame press conference video (posted below) features Tru Washington, and I have a feeling I'll be writing much more about Tru Washington for Tuesday's Journal (maybe even as the Mountain West Player of the Week?).

So this ETN isn't going to ignore him, but isn't going to write much more about him, either.

But, as his tenacious on defense was probably even more vital to the Lobo win that his career-high 25 points, I wanted to share his postgame quote on guarding Utah State guard Drake Allen.

"I feel like first half, I kind of like, let the point guard get what he want," Washington said of Utah State's Drake Allen. "You know, second half, I had to cut off his water and play my brand of defense."

For now, enjoy these Tru Washington offensive highlight reel clips from Sunday's game:

The game winner:

An earlier 3:

A floater in the lane:

They're still streaking!

The Lobos are now on an eight-game win streak, which is tied for the nation's fifth longest win streak in Division I basketball

Longest active win streaks in Division I:

1. 13 — Akron (MAC)

2. 12 — Towson (CAA)

3. 11 — George Mason (A10)

4. 10 — Yale (Ivy)

t5. 8 — New Mexico (Mountain West)

t5. 8 — High Point (Big South)

t5. 8 — Central Connecticut (NEC)

t5. 8 — Montana (Big Sky

Of the eight teams listed above, the KenPom.com game predictor has four expected to win their next game and four expected to lose, including the Lobos at Boise State on Wednesday (77-74).

Eight is great...

In well over a century of UNM basketball, the Lobos have had 32 eight-game win streaks (Sunday's win gave UNM No. 32).

Most 8-game (or better) win streaks at UNM:

5 — Steve Alford (6 season)

4 — Dave Bliss (11 seasons)

4 — Roy Johnson (18 seasons)

3 — Richard Pitino (in 4th season)

3 — Gary Colson (8 seasons)

3 — Norm Ellenberger (7 seasons)

2 — Fran Fraschilla (3 seasons)

1 — Paul Weir (4 seasons)

1 — Ritchie McKay (5 season)

3 — Bob King (10 seasons)

1 — Woody Clements (10 seasons)

1 — Tom Churchill (2 seasons)

1 — Ralph Hutchinson (7 seasons)

Broken record time: Dent is good...

Donovan Dent on Sunday had a stellar game — one punctuated by a game-clinching block at midcourt of an Ian Martinez 3-point try as time expired.

Another look...

Here was Dent's statline on Sunday:

• 23 points

• 3 assists

• 5 turnovers

• 2 steals

• 3 blocks

• 40 minutes

• 8-12 2FGs

• 2-3 3FGs

• 5-6 FTs

Look what Dent has done vs. the teams with winning records in the Mountain West this season — the area where he really separates himself from the MW pack in the Player of the Year race.

Dent vs. the Top 5 in MW standings:

• Record: 6-0

• Scoring: 17.0 ppg

• FG: 41-85 (48.2%)

• FTs: 19-23 (82.6%)

• Assists: 5.2

• Blocks: 1.2

• Steals: 1.7

Some Mountain West rankings:

• Scoring: 1st

• Highest scoring games: Dent's 40 vs. VCU and his 34 vs. UNLV are at the top of the list

• Games w/ at least 1 steal and 1 block: 1st (16)

• Assists: 2nd

• Steals: 6th

• Blocks 10th

• FG%: 6th

• FT%: 9th

• Minutes: 5th

Some other updates for Dent...

UNM's all-time scoring list:

24. 1,239 — Cameron Bairstow, 2011-14 (134 games)

25. 1,200 — Mark Walters, 2003-06 (116 games)

26. 1,198 — Donovan Dent, 2023 - current (95 games)

27. 1,169 — Roman Martinez, 2007-19 (133 games)

28. 1,168 — Charlie Thomas, 1988-89 (69 games)

UNM career assists

1. Darrell McGee, 1987-90 — 684 (137 games)

—

7. David Gibson, 1995-98 — 460

8. Donovan Dent, 2023-present — 434 (95 games)

9. Willie Banks, 1089-92 — 419 (126 games)

10. Jaelen House, 2022-24 — 395 (94 games)

What was accomplished on Sunday?

Richard Pitino would be quick to tell you the movie isn't over, so quit asking for a review.

In fact, he sort of went there when I asked him about keeping focused with such a strong stranglehold on the league title race after Sunday's win.

"Pretty sure we're going at Boise and at San Diego State, so if we think that's going to be easy, we'd be crazy," Pitino said. "I mean, Boise is always a tough place to play. It's human nature, right? To look at it, look at it, look at it. But the race is not over. I keep preaching it over and over again, you know? Obviously that was a great win. I'm not trying to devalue it in any way, but we got to enjoy it, and we got to move on. And that's not hard for our program, because that's the mentality every single day, good or bad. That's the mentality."

OK, coach. We get it. Nothing yet accomplished. No looking ahead.

That may work for passing Coach Speak 101, but not for Emptying the Notebook.

Here are some of the highlights of what Saturday's win means, even if none of it really matters just yet:

• 22-4 overall record

> Best 26-game start since 2012-13 season

> Tied for second best 26-game start in Mountain West era (2010 team was 23-3 through 26 games while 2012 and 2013 seasons were also 22-4)

• 14-1 conference record

> UNM's second most Mountain West wins ever (2013-14 team went 15-3 in an 18-game schedule)

> UNM's best 15-game start in Mountain West play

> UNM is just the third team to start 14-1 or better in Mountain West era: San Diego State 15-0 in 2019-20; San Diego State 14-1 in 2015-16.

• The win...

> Clinches for UNM a first-round bye in the Mountain West Tournament (top five seeds get a bye to the quarterfinal round, which starts on Day 2 of the men's tournament... UNM has not had a first-day bye since 2018).

> Gives UNM a two-game lead on 2nd place team in standings (Utah State) with 5 games to play

> UNM has the tie breaker against Utah State, essentially giving them a three-game lead over them in the race for the No. 1 seed.

Those jerseys, though!

Sunday was a throwback game that had fans going crazy over the look of the retro jerseys set to honor the 1977-78 season in particular.

In case you missed the Sunday preview article, here is a copy & paste of what I wrote in that article about the jerseys:

• • •

The Lobos will be playing in 1970s-inspired retro jerseys that had social media buzzing earlier in the week.

And a lot went into making it happen.

The process started last spring when former Senior Associate Athletic Director Ryan Berryman was still at UNM (he now works at the Big Ten's University of Washington).

With former Lobo Michael Cooper being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last year, Berryman wanted to find a way to honor him. Among the ideas was creating a replica jersey from Cooper's 1977-78 season in which he, Marvin "Automatic" Johnson and head coach Norm Ellenberger spearheaded what some consider to be the best Lobo basketball team ever.

Berryman, Assistant AD for Equipment Jacque May and Lobo hoops sports information director Steve Kirkland sifted through as many old media guides and photos as they could find to digitally recreate the jerseys in a design concept Nike could replicate. The graphic design work was handled by Director of Creative Services Jonathan Tibbetts.

The Zia Pueblo signed off on UNM replicating the turquoise and cherry Zia symbol with a basketball in the middle and "Lobos" over the basketball.

Rick is Wright!

We had the pleasure of the great Rick Wright being in the Pit on Sunday penning another great column:

• Wright: Lobos out-spunk the Aggies, but barely

Wait. Rick Pitino and Richard Pitino are related?!

Lots of Rick and Richard Pitino love lately, and especially on Sunday. Both Pitinos led their teams to big conference wins, sole possession of first place in their respective conferences and matching 22-4 overall records.

ESPN had them on together on SportsCenter. They were playing nice — lots of love (imagine that, they're father and son!). Not much of Richard Pitino's usual sarcasm.

One text I received during the segment asked if Rick Pitino ever DOESN'T wear a suit and does Richard Pitino own a suit.

The answer to both is yes. But it's hard to know for sure.

Here's SportsCenter's video of the interview:

About that free throw defense...

I'll take the blame here.

I've been hyping up UNM's free trow defense way too much lately and Utah State comes into the Pit and hits 13-of-16 free throws (81.2%).

It was almost as if the Lobos weren't even trying to defend the free throws.

UNM fell from No. 1 in the nation in free throw defense to No. 2 (out of 364 teams), now allowing their DI opponents to hit 65.0% from the charity stripe this season.

For some UNM historical context (including that just last season UNM ranked 307th in opponent free throw percentage), here's a look at the lowest opponent free throw percentages in UNM history:

Worst five opponent FT% seasons vs. UNM

• 62.7% — 1959

• 64.6% — 1994

• 64.6% — 1969

• 64.7% — 1982

* 65.0% — 2025 (Pitino-coached team)

• 65.2% — 2001

* = current stat, will change by end of season.

Best five opponent FT% seasons vs. UNM

• 73.5% — 1966

• 73.4% — 2006

• 73.3% — 2022 (Pitino-coached team)

• 73.2% — 2003

• 73.1% — 2024 (Pitino-coached team)

Future Lobos get a taste...

Not a bad game in the Pit for Class of 2025 Lobo commits Issac Williamson and Jaylen Petty to be attending.

Petty, front row, second from left in red zip up, and Williamson, front row center with the Bill Russell shirt on.

Time to start watching these stats...

Not that you haven't been watching these stats, but the record watch is now on with just five regular season games left.

UNM steals in a season record:

312 — 2024

294 — 1987

267 — 2020

258 — 1992

254 — 1978

252 — 2005

251 — 2018

245 — 1988

237 — 2012

*234 — 2025 (at least six more games to play).

UNM blocks in a season record:

178 — 2024

172 — 2014

159 — 1992

146 — 1990

145 — 2000

*141 — 2025 (at least six more games to play).

The rules are the rules...

Utah State on Saturday night posted on social media that it had "conquered" the Pit ramp challenge — one that for decades has been done by Lobo players and visiting teams in which they try to roll a ball, bowling style, all the way up the ramp from the court.

It's harder than it sounds.

But not as hard as it should be if you don't know the rules, which Utah State and at least one other visiting team that also posted on social media about conquering the ramp clearly didn't.

They didn't know you aren't allowed to cross the line, just like a foot fault in bowling, when heaving the ball up the ramp.

This led to UNM Sports Information Director Frank Mercogliano calling out the "achievement" and posting the rules on the Pit ramp Sunday morning, with the addition that in his time as SID, he knows of just three people who have actually made it happen:

• Kawhi Leonard, San Diego State

• Drew Gordon, UNM

• Josh Adams, Wyoming

Sweeps season...

UNM added another sweep to its season total on Sunday.

Teams UNM has swept the regular season series with 2024-25:

• Colorado State

• Fresno State

• Utah State

• Wyoming

Attendance...

Sunday's announced attendance in the Pit for Utah State at New Mexico: 15,411

The Pit was ready from tip to buzzer on Sunday.

Highest attended games in the Pit this season:

• 15,428 — Jan. 11 vs. San Diego State

• 15,411 — Sunday vs Utah State

• 15,411 — Dec. 7 vs. New Mexico State

• 14,622 — Jan. 3 vs. Nevada

• 14,519 — Jan. 17 vs. Boise State

• 13,436 — Feb. 5 vs. Colorado State

• 13,111 — Jan. 20 vs. Fresno State

Mountain West attendance leaders (conference games):

1. 13,630 — New Mexico (The Pit)

2. 12,414 — San Diego State (Viejas Arena)

3. 10,643 — Boise State (Extra Mile Arena)

4. 9,569 — Utah State (Dee Glen Smith Spectrum)

5. 7,138 — Nevada (Lawlor Events Center)

6. 5,365 — Colorado State (Moby Arena)

7. 5,194 — UNLV (Thomas & Mack Center)

8. 5,099 — Fresno State (Save Mart Center)

9. 3,907 — Wyoming (Arena Auditorium)

10. 2,313 — San Jose State (Provident Credit Union Event Center)

11. 2,006 — Air Force (Clune Arena)

Plus/minus...

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

NEW MEXICO

+10 Filip Borovicanin (34:15)

+8 Nelly Junior Joseph (31:13)

+4 Braden Appelhans (6:35)

+3 Donovan Dent (40:00)

+2 Tru Washington (35:43)

0 Ibrahima Sacko (0:45)

-2 Jovan Milicevic (36:33)

-5 C.J. Noland (6:54)

-5 Atiki Ally Atiki (8:02)

UTAH STATE

+8 Aubin Gateretse (7:06)

+8 Tucker Anderson (14:17)

+6 Isaac Davis (4:21)

+4 Drake Allen (28:12)

-4 Ian Martinez (36:07)

-6 Mason Falslev (37:10)

-6 Deyton Albury (14:12)

-8 Dexter Akano (30:02)

-8 Isaac Johnson (11:09)

-9 Karson Templen (17:24)

Line 'em up...

The UNM Lobos played nine players and used 11 unique lineup combinations on Sunday. The Utah State Aggies played 10 players and used 16 unique lineup combinations.

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

STARTING LINEUP and BEST LINEUP

• WHO: Donovan Dent, Tru Washington, Filip Borovicanin, Jovan Milicevic, Nelly Junior Joseph

• POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +6 (50-44)

• TIME ON COURT: 21:39

• NOTE: More than half the game with the starting five — in a game without usual starter Mustapha Amzil and mostly without top reserve C.J. Noland, who played few than 7 minutes before leaving the game with a possible concussion. Gritty performance for all the Lobos, but especially this group, including freshman forward Jovan Milicevic, getting his second start in Amzil's absence. The starters had eight of UNM's 10 assists, but also eight of the team's 14 turnovers.

WORST LINEUP

• WHO: Donovan Dent, Tru Washington, C.J. Noland, Jovan Milicevic, Nelly Junior Joseph

• POINT DIFFERENTIAL: -4 (5-9)

• TIME ON COURT: 2:59

• NOTE: Not a bad "worst" lineup of the night considering all the injuries. Before Noland left, his being in the lineup over Filip Borovicanin led to a minus-4 stretch. Again, not a bad "worst" in a game against the league's top challenger to UNM winning a Mountain West championship.

VIDEO: Postgame with Pitino and Washington...

Here is the postgame presser video with Richard Pitino and Tru Washington...

VIDEO: Pregame from the Pit...

Here is the pregame preview webcast I had on X and YouTube live Sunday before the game:

Around the Mountain...

Sunday's lone Mountain West game wrapped up a five-game weekend slate. Here are the weekend scores and the upcoming mid-week slate of games around the Mountain, which has now completed 80 of its 110 regular season games:

FRIDAY

• Nevada 73, San Jose State 58

SATURDAY

• Colorado State 88, Wyoming 53

• UNLV 52, Fresno State 51

• San Diego State 64, Boise State 47

SUNDAY

• New Mexico 82, Utah State 79

TUESDAY

• Air Force at Wyoming, 5:30 PST/6:30 MST (TheMW)

• Nevada at Colorado State, 6 PST/7 MST (TheMW)

• Fresno State at San Diego State, 8 p.m. PST/9 p.m. MST (CBS Sports Network)

WEDNESDAY

• San Jose State at Utah State, 6:30 PST/7:30 MST (TheMW)

• New Mexico at Boise State, 7 p.m. PST/8 p.m. MST (CBS Sports Network)

Mountain West standings...

Here are the Mountain West standings through Sunday with 30 regular season games(three weeks) remaining:

14-1 New Mexico

12-3 Utah State

10-4 San Diego State

10-4 Colorado State

9-5 Boise State

8-7 UNLV

7-7 Nevada

5-10 San Jose State

4-11 Wyoming

1-14 Fresno State

0-14 Air Force

Mountain West home/road standings...

Plus-1 for a road win, minus-1 for a home loss:

+6 New Mexico

+5 Utah State

+3 San Diego State

+3 Colorado State

+2 Boise State

+1 UNLV

0 Nevada

-3 Wyoming

-3 San Jose State

-7 Fresno State

-7 Air Force

Stats and stats...

First off, a note. The final stats as initially sent out and as posted on national websites covering college basketball had a few errors. The links/posts below are the official, corrected stats.

Here is the postgame stat sheet I posted Sunday after the game: New Mexico 82, Utah State 79

And if you prefer the digital version, here you go: New Mexico 82, Utah State 79

Grammer's Guesses...

Welp, both the Guesses (that's me) and Team Coin (my daughter's coin flip picks, each picked the Lobos on Sunday.

And while they won, they didn't cover the -4.5 point spread, so we both got losses.

Standings through 80 games:

• My daughter's coin: 43-37

• Grammer's Guesses: 37-43

Up next...

For New Mexico: The Lobos play at Boise State at 8 p.m. MST on Wednesday. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

For Utah State: The Aggies host San Jose State at 7:30 p.m. MST on Wednesday. The game will be available online at TheMW.com.

Lobo schedule/results...