Haupt, Lobos see NIT as opportunity after heartbreak in Las Vegas

Luke Haupt couldn't watch Saturday's Mountain West Tournament championship game. Neither could Eric Olen.

They weren't alone, either. They just happened to be the two Lobos at a press conference Tuesday talking about the roller coaster of emotions for an overachieving team that saw its NCAA Tournament hopes burst in a heart-breaking, two-point loss Friday night in Las Vegas in the Mountain West Tournament semifinals to rival San Diego State.

"No, couldn't do it," said Haupt, a basketball junkie who grew up in the gym and proudly proclaimed he watched all of Monday night's Division II NCAA Tournament third round game between Cal State East Bay and his former Point Loma Nazarene University squad.

"I had the chance (to watch) and just decided not to. I think I was still hurting a little bit from that last one, being so close and not knowing what would have happened if we did win that game."

Eric Olen, used to being more blunt and concise with reporters, added, "I just had no interest in watching that game."

So, then, how did the team come to the decision to play in the NIT, where the 23-10 Lobos will host Conference USA's Sam Houston (22-11) at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Pit?

Haupt admitted it's been hard to get over not achieving his boyhood dream of playing in the Division I NCAA Tournament in the only season he played at the Division I level. But he also knows his college playing career ends the next time he and his teammates walk off the court with a loss.

For him, playing in the NIT was a no-brainer. But making sure the rest of this year's Lobos were of the same mindset — something naturally questioned in hindsight of the 2023 Lobos who got thumped in the Pit by Utah Valley after a heartbreaking finish in the Mountain West Tournament — took a little more time.

While fans might dismissively assume it a selfish mindset to not want to continue playing, Olen said the decision isn't as simple as some make it out to be for a team of players who spent the past month living on the cusp of a league regular season title, conference tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance, only to come oh, so painfully close to all three.

"Everybody's on board to play," Olen said. "But I think that the timing of the decision can be challenging because of the level of disappointment, right? I think that if you aren't in the locker room, if you haven't invested what those guys invest, it's hard to really describe the disappointment that comes at the end of seasons when you come up short of some of your goals.

"And so there was real disappointment in our locker room for not accomplishing some things we wanted to accomplish. And then you got to turn right around and think about other things."

Last year, Lobo assistant coach Michael Wilder and the UC Irvine Anteaters, where he was an assistant coach, made a run to the NIT Final Four out of the Big West. Lobo assistant Mike Roberts — who was in the tournament as a player with Indiana — has been on staffs that have coached in three NITs. Both, Haupt said, talked to the team Sunday about the opportunity and the upside of participating in the NIT if approached with the right mindset.

As for Olen, he said playing in the NIT comes down to something pretty simple.

"I really enjoy being around this group," Olen said. "I enjoy coaching this team. And so ultimately, it's about this group staying together a little longer and now trying to fight to extend that, one opportunity at a time."

'Tis the coaching carousel season

This is the fourth-consecutive season the Lobos have been playing in the postseason. It's no coincidence, then, that this is the fourth-consecutive March that there have been more than just casual rumblings about schools talking with the Lobos head coach (it happened after each of Richard Pitino's final three seasons and now is happening again with Eric Olen, who the Lobos landed a year ago when he was considered one of the sport’s top rising stars.)

There are published reports of Olen interviewing for the open Boston College job, not to mention consistent mentions of Olen in speculative articles covering the openings at Arizona State and Providence.

The Journal asked Olen about these reports in a text message exchange inquiring if he has interviewed with Boston College or any other school.

"It’s a privilege to be the HC at UNM," Olen responded via text. "I believe in our leadership and I’m excited about what we can build here. My focus is on preparing our team to play on Wednesday night. I’m not going to comment on any other jobs."

No media asked Olen about other jobs at Tuesday's press conference.

NABC Awards

Lobo freshmen Jake Hall (first team) and Tomislav Buljan (second team) were voted to the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-Mountain District team on Tuesday.

The country's 365 Division I teams are split into 10 geographical regions with the Mountain Region covering New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming.

Hall was joined on first team by Jaden Bradley, Brayden Burries and Koa Peat of Arizona, AJ Dybantsa and Richie Saunders of BYU, Mason Falslev and MJ Collins of Utah State, Isaiah Johnson of Colorado and Anthony Roy of Oklahoma State.

Two teams, two paths

Since Feb. 1, the two teams have had very different results, but also very different competition.

The Lobos are 5-6 overall and went 1-1 in the Mountain West Tournament. The Bearkats went 7-4 overall since Feb. 1 and also went 10-1 in their conference tournament.

vs. Quad 1, 2, 3, 4 since Feb. 1

• Quad 1: UNM 1-4 (.200); SH no games

• Quad 2: UNM 1-1 (.500); SH 0-1 (.000)

• Quad 3: UNM 1-1 (.500); SH 2-2 (.500)

• Quad 4: UNM 2-0 (1.000); SH 5-1 (.857)

Home, road, neutral court breakdown

• Home: UNM 2-3 (.400); SH 5-0 (1.000)

• Road: UNM 2-2 (.500); SH 1-3 (.250)

• Neutral: UNM 1-1 (.500); SH 1-1 (.500)

Series history

The Lobos lead the all-time series with the Bearkats, 2-0. Both wins were in the Pit — one under former coach Dave Bliss and one under Fran Fraschilla in the first season of the Mountain West's existence.

• Dec. 21, 1996 — No. 15 UNM 76, Sam Houston 55: Lobos forward Kenny Thomas had 18 points and 10 rebounds (and five turnovers) and the Lobos used a 14-0 run midway through the second half to close the door on Sam Houston, who hit 11 3-pointers in the game, but was out-shot at the free throw line 25-6 (made FTs) by the Lobos.

• Nov. 26, 1999 — New Mexico 71, Sam Houston 61: In the first game of the Furr's Supermarket Lobo Classic, the Lobos held the Bearkats to 28.6% shooting and Lamont Long led UNM with 21 points and Damion Walker had nine points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots.

In the NIT

Sam Houston is in the NIT for the third time and are 1-2 in the event. In 2019, the Bearkats lost their first round game at TCU. In 2023, the Bearkats beat Santa Clara in California in the opening round before losing to eventual NIT champion North Texas on the road in the second round.

UNM is in the NIT for the 21st time with an NIT record of 18-21 record. The Lobos were runners up in 1964 and have also been to the semifinals in 1990.

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