Emptying the Notebook: Time for the Lobos to remember they're supposed to be the bullies now

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Here are some extra notes, quotes, stats, videos, trends and other odds & ends I managed to empty out of the old notebook after Tuesday's 73-65 UNM loss at San Diego State in Viejas Arena:

'We’re not going to get big-brothered at home'

The sky isn't falling.

The UNM Lobos walked out of Viejas Arena on Tuesday night tied for first place in the Mountain West conference standings, holding a tie breaker over the team they're tied with, holding the best KenPom ranking of any team in the league and sitting comfortably on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble on every bracket projection out there.

But...

Yes, there's always a but.

It isn't just that the Lobos have lost back-to-back games for the first time this season — an 86-78 road loss last Wednesday to Boise State and Tuesday's 73-65 road loss to San Diego State. The potential cause for concern after the past two losses is that they both ate away at what we thought — and what the Lobos thought — was their identity this season.

This Lobos team was supposed to be the bigger, badder defensive-minded version of last year's gritty team that scrapped its way to winning four games in four days in the Mountain West Tournament to earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

These Lobos showed earlier this season as they used a defense-first mindset to steamroll Boise State, SDSU, Utah State in Logan, Colorado State (twice) that they were now the bullies on the Mountain West block.

They were the ones that could take an opponent's best shot and still just impose their physicality and win anyway.

Now, for back-to-back games, they couldn't come up with a stop when it mattered most.

"New Mexico is one of the most physical defensive teams you’re going to play," San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said. "I told the guys, ‘We got big-brothered in Albuquerque and we’re not going to get big-brothered at home. We’re going to come out here and meet force with force.’

"That didn’t mean New Mexico backed down at all. It just means we did a better job responding to their physicality tonight."

The Aztecs know who they are. And even if this is a down year, they aren't going down without playing as who they are.

And Dutcher's right. The Lobos didn't back down on Tuesday night. But they didn't take the fight to their opponent like they had been doing earlier in the season, either.

In back-to-back games against very good opponents, the Lobos held their own, were in it late despite both games seeming very one sided.

That's admirable, but the Lobos are looking for a championship, not moral victories.

It's one thing to "not back down." It's another to take the fight to your opponent. That's what the Lobos were doing earlier this season, and may very well do again this season.

When they are the aggressor, they are very good.

When they merely "don't back down" and show they can take the punches and keep it close, they aren't as good.

As Pitino pointed out Tuesday night, his team is now the hunted. They need to learn how to handle that in these rematch games.

"When you're sitting in first place, and obviously have had the season we have, teams are starting to circle you a little bit on the schedule," UNM coach Richard Pitino said. "Boise needed (that) game. Obviously, San Diego State needed this game. ...

"I think the last two games, we've taken a step back defensively."

To that point, for one brief moment after the Feb. 8 win at Air Force, the UNM Lobos actually took over the No. 1 spot in defensive efficiency in the Mountain West — a spot almost always held by San Diego State.

On Feb. 5, UNM's defensive efficiency of 92.0 in league play was first in the Mountain West and SDSU's 92.1 was second.

But in the past five games, here's what the brief owners of that No. 1 spot have allowed other teams to do:

Feb. 12: Wyoming shot 53.8% in the Pit (UNM won by 4)

Feb. 16: Utah State shot 47.5%, hit 10 3-pointers and score 1.16 points per possession in the Pit (UNM won by 3)

Feb. 19: Boise State scored 86 points, shot 48.1%, hit 10 3-pointers, had two players score career highs and scored 1.16 points per possession (UNM lost by 8)

Tuesday: San Diego State shot 48.1%, has 16 assists on 25 made baskets, had eight players score and improved their point output from last month in the Pit by 25 points.

And as a result, here's where the KenPom.com rankings stand:

MW Defensive Efficency ratings:

(Through Tuesday's games)

1. San Diego State — 94.0

2. New Mexico — 95.5

The gamer...

Here is the gamer I filed late Tuesday from Viejas Arena:

• Stymied in San Diego: Aztecs put the clamps on Lobos

It'll have to wait, for now...

The Lobos will get three more tries at tying the record for the most Mountain West wins in program history, but better do it on Saturday against Air Force if they want to do it in the same about of games as the previous team did it.

Most Mountain West wins in UNM history:

15 — 2013-14 (15-3 — 18 league games)

**14 — 2024-25 (** — 20 league games)

14 — 2009-10 (14-2 — 16 league games)

13 — 2012-13 (13-3 — 16 league games)

12 — 2017-18 (12-6 — 18 league games)

12 — 2008-09 (12-4 — 16 league games)

* = three regular season MW games remaining.

Donnie does it, but in a loss...

Donovan Dent was again spectacular offensively for the Lobos on Tuesday night, scoring 26 points and dishing out seven assists and drawing praise from San Diego State head coach Brian Dutcher.

"He’s one of the best guards in the country," Dutcher said. "We just tried to switch his ball screens and keep a body in front of a body. Even with that, he goes in there and he’s an elite finisher. The thing he doesn’t do is shoot a lot of 3s. I think he’s played 90-some games, and in 80-some of them he’s made one 3 or fewer. Unfortunately, we were one tonight where he made two. He started going at the end. Thank God the time ran out when he was really starting to hit a rhythm."

Dent's sixth 25-point game of the season is the most since Jamal Mashburn had six of those in the 2021-22 season.

And his 26-point, seven assist game is something that has happened just three times by a Mountain West player this season.

26 points, 7 assists by MW player:

• Tuesday: Donovan Dent, UNM — 26 points, 7 assists (L, 73-65 at San Diego State)

• Dec. 14: Mason Falslev, Utah State — 27 points, 9 assists (W, 88-67 vs. South Florida)

• Nov. 28: Donovan Dent, UNM — 30 points, 7 assists (L, 85-82 vs. Arizona State)

Big game hunting...

Donovan Dent's 26 points moved him past Cameron Bairstow (1,239)for No. 24 all-time at UNM, now sitting at 1,240 points.

Take a look at the three big names in Lobo history that Donovan Dent is hunting down next in the record books in three key statistical categories:

POINTS:

• Dent — 1,240 (24th)

• Up next: Marvin Johnson — 1,246 (23th)

ASSISTS:

• Dent — 452 (8th)

• Up next: David Gibson — 460 (7th)

STEALS:

• Dent — 125 (17th)

• Up next: Royce Olney — 130 (16th)

Well, shoot...

The Lobos shot 34.4% from the field on Tuesday (22-of-64). That's the second worst shooting performance of the season for UNM.

UNM's worst shooting games this season:

• 33.3% (19-57) — at Wyoming, Jan. 7 (W, 61-53)

• 34.4% (22-64) — at San Diego State, Tuesday (L, 73-65)

• 35.7% (30-84) — vs NM State, Dec. 7 (L, 89-83 in overtime)

• 35.8% (24-67) — vs. San Diego State, Jan. 11 (W, 62-48)

• 38.1% (24-63) — vs. Arizona State, Nov. 28 (L, 85-82)

On the season, the Lobos are now shooting 46.0% from the field.

Jovan coming strong...

Freshman Jovan Milicevic was the only Lobo not named Donovan Dent who really showed up at all offensively on Tuesday.

Milicevic scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting (4-of-6 from the 3-point line) in 24:56 off the bench.

... and ...

... and another ...

Beat at their own game...

San Diego State outscored New Mexico 16-2 on fast break points, though as I noted during the game, UNM should really have had four fast break points as they didn't properly credit Donovan Dent for one bucket in the first half.

Nevertheless, SDSU got out and ran and the Lobos didn't.

That's not a good sign for the Lobos, who entered the game leading the nation (364 Division I teams) in fast break points with 17.26 per game and who out-scored the Aztecs 13-2 in fast break points in the Jan. 11 game in the Pit.

Here's one of the Aztecs' fast break buckets, an and-1 opportunity in the second half for Miles Byrd.

That Byrd dunk was also two of SDSU's 12 points off turnovers on Tuesday. The Aztecs outscored UNM 12-11 in points off turnovers on Tuesday, again a stark contrast to Jan. 17 when it was the Lobos winning that stat, 9-1.

"Really disruptive. Credit to them, terrific defensive team in this building when they're getting going like that," Pitino said. "They created some turnovers that led to dunks."

Welcome back Staph...

It started off so good for the return of Mustapha Amzil, who scored UNM's first points of Tuesday's game with a corner 3 from the 6-foot-9 starting forward.

But that would be about all she wrote offensively for Amzil.

He finished the game shooting just 1-of-8 (12.5%) and 1-of-6 (16.7%).

"I would assume it's rust," Pitino said. "When you don't play for two weeks ... He hasn't really practiced because rest is what really, really helps (the injury he has). So it's gonna take some time to get back into it a little bit."

The offensive boards...

When the two teams met Jan. 11 in the Pit, the Aztecs had just three offensive rebounds, and two of those were "team" offensive rebounds after missed free throws. Miles Byrd was the only Aztec who actually grabbed/recorded an offensive rebound in the Pit.

SDSU's .083 offensive rebound rate that game was the fourth-worst for the program since at least 1997, when KenPom.com's statistics started.

On Tuesday, the Lobos again got the better of the Aztecs on the offensive glass, 14-6 to be specific and had a 14-5 second chance point advantage.

Now No. 2...

The Lobos' 65 points, marking just the third time this season being held below 70 in a game, moved them down to No. 2 on the season in scoring average in the Mountain West.

Top MW scoring teams in 2024-25:

1. 82.5 — Utah State (2,309 points/28 games)

2. 82.3 — New Mexico (2,305 points/28 games)

3. 76.1 — Boise State (2,055 points/27 games)

Lobos held under 70 points:

61 — UNM 61, Wyoming 53 (Jan. 7 at Wyoming)

62 — UNM 62, San Diego State 48 (Jan. 11 in the Pit)

65 — SDSU 73, UNM 65 (Tuesday at SDSU)

NET gains...

Here are the Mountain West's NCAA NET rankings through Tuesday's games:

33 — Utah State

42 — New Mexico

47 — Boise State

49 — San Diego State

61 — Colorado State

71 — Nevada

102 — UNLV

179 — San Jose State

192 — Wyoming

278 — Fresno State

317 — Air Force

Attendance...

The announced attendance for Tuesday's UNM at SDSU game in Viejas Arena: 12,414

Blowouts...

The Mountain West had two more "blowouts" on Tuesday night, defined as games decided by 20 more more points.

• Colorado State 77, Air Force 55

• Nevada 84, Wyoming 61

With those, the Mountain West has now had 22 of 94 league games (23.4%) played result in a "blowout," according to KenPom.com. That is the second highest percentage in the country out of 31 conferences, trailing only the West Coast Conference, which has seen a third of its league games result in blowouts.

Top 3/bottom 3 leagues for blowout games:

1. West Coast Conference — 30/90 — 33.3%

2. Mountain West — 22/94 — 23.4%

3. America East — 14/60 — 23.3%

• • •

29. Big Sky — 6/76 — 7.9%

30. Summit League — 5/64 — 7.8%

31. Northeast Conference — 4/64 — 6.2%

Remember the old Villain of Viejas?

Jaelen House, the former Lobos and former "Villain of Viejas" is now in the G-League, playing in of all places, San Diego.

Monday, he scored a career-high 24 points for the San Diego Clippers.

Plus/minus...

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

NEW MEXICO

+7 Jovan Milicevic (24:56)

+4 C.J. Noland (26:06)

-2 Donovan Dent (38:06)

-3 Atiki Ally Atiki (2:42)

-4 Kayde Dotson (1:22)

-5 Nelly Junior Joseph (37:18)

-8 Tru Washington (31:47)

-14 Filip Borovicanin (22:40)

-15 Mustapha Amzil (15:04)

SAN DIEGO STATE

+18 Miles Byrd (30:45)

+13 B.J. Davis (27:20)

+13 Jared Coleman-Jones (31:42)

+10 Nick Boyd (34:13)

+3 Miles Heide (25:27)

+2 Pharoah Compton (18:43)

-2 Kimo Ferrari (00:40)

-7 Taj DeGourville (18:15)

-10 Wayne McKinney III (12:55)

Line 'em up...

The UNM Lobos played nine players and used 10 unique lineup combinations. The San Diego State Aztecs played nine players and used 17 unique lineup combinations.

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

STARTING LINEUP and WORST LINEUP

• WHO: Donovan Dent, Tru Washington, Filip Borovicanin, Mustapha Amzil, Nelly Junior Joseph

• POINT DIFFERENTIAL: -12 (10-22)

• TIME ON COURT: 10:32

• NOTE: It's great to have Mustapha Amzil back for the Lobos, but they haven't played together very often in a month since Amzil first started getting regular rest for his injured foot (plantar fasciitis). Tuesday when he returned, it looked liked a lineup that hadn't seen the court much lately, though that was mostly due to SDSU playing well.

BEST LINEUP

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

• POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +14 (29-15)

• TIME ON COURT: 11:58

• NOTE: This is a combination with TWO bench players and still, it was rather, dare I say, dominant? For 30% of the game, this lineup was on the court and winning the game by 14. For the other 28 minutes, SDSU won by 22 points. This combination also managed five of UNM's 10 total assists on a night ball movement was limited greatly by the Aztecs defense.

VIDEO: Postgame with Pitino...

Here's a link to the Journal's postgame interviews with UNM coach Richard Pitino and Jovan Milicevic:

VIDEO: Pregame from Viejas...

Here's a link to the pregame preview show I did in Viejas Arena on Tuesday night:

Meanwhile, in Reno...

Kobe Sanders scored 27 points and the Nevada Wolf Pack again looks tough to beat at home (just in time for the Lobos to go to Reno next week). Nevada beat Wyoming on Tuesday night, 84-61.

Around the Mountain...

There were four games around the Mountain (West) on Tuesday and one more big one coming on Wednesday. There is another full slate of five weekend games on the way:

TUESDAY

• Colorado State 77, Air Force 55

• UNLV 77, San Jose55 State 71

• Nevada 84, Wyoming 61

• San Diego State 73, New Mexico 65

WEDNESDAY

• Utah State at Boise State, 7:30 PST/8:30 MST, FS1

FRIDAY

• Nevada at UNLV, 8 p.m. PST/9 MST, FS1

SATURDAY

• Air Force at New Mexico, 11 a.m. PST/noon MST, TheMW

• Utah State at Colorado State, 1 p.m. PST/2 p.m. MST, FS1

• Boise State at Fresno State, 4 p.m. PST/5 p.m. MST, TheMW

• San Diego State at Wyoming, 5 p.m. PST/6 p.m. MST, CBS Sports Network

Mountain West standings...

Mountain West standings through Tuesday's game:

14-3 New Mexico

14-3 Utah State

13-4 Colorado State

12-5 San Diego State

11-5 Boise State

9-8 UNLV

8-9 Nevada

6-12 San Jose State

5-13 Wyoming

1-16 Fresno State

1-16 Air Force

Mountain West home/road standings...

Teams get +1 for a road win, -1 for a home loss:

+6 New Mexico

+5 Utah State

+5 Colorado State

+3 San Diego State

+3 Boise State

+1 UNLV

-1 Nevada

-3 San Jose State

-4 Wyoming

-7 Fresno State

-8 Air Force

Stats and stats...

Here is the postgame stat sheet I posted late Tuesday night: San Diego State 73, New Mexico 65

And if you prefer the digital version, here you go: San Diego State 73, New Mexico 65

Grammer's Guesses...

The Guesses went 2-2 on Tuesday. The big news, though is that the coin (my 15-year-old daughter's coin flip picks) went 0-for-4!!!!

Take that, coin!

Updated standings (16 games remaining):

• Team Coin: 48-46

• Grammer's Guesses: 43-51

Up next...

For New Mexico: The Lobos host Air Force at noon on Saturday in the Pit. The game will be streamed on TheMW.com.

For San Diego State: The Aztecs play at Wyoming on Saturday 5 p.m. PST/6 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

Until next time...

Until next time, Viejas Arena, on the campus of San Diego State University…

Lobo schedule/results...