Lobo hoops notebook: MW coaches want respect; NIT ticket info; Hooten's scout on Sam Houston State

Mountain West coaches certainly have their thoughts on the league's snub from the Big Dance.

Utah State, the regular season and tournament champion of the conference that had averaged 4.5 teams in the NCAA Tournament the previous four seasons, was the only team who heard its name called during Sunday's Selection Show.

Five MW teams, including UNM, have been invited to play in the NIT, and two others (departing San Diego State and Boise State) turned down invitations to the 32-team event.

Needless to say, the perceived lack of respect from the committee that selects and seeds the NCAA Tournament didn't sit well with the league's coaches, who have for years been screaming about power conference programs unwilling to schedule games with them, which affects a team’s strength of schedule and ability to pick up big wins.

"I thought the league was good," said UNM coach Eric Olen, who completed his first run through the Mountain West with a third-place finish and a 13-7 league mark (the Lobos are 23-10 overall). "I think we had nine teams in the top 105 (in the NCAA NET rankings) …. So, a lot of depth in the league. Maybe we didn't have the top end to create a few more Quad 1 opportunities or things like that, but I thought the league was good."

Mountain West Coach of the Year Jerrod Calhoun was blunt in his comments about his team's No. 9 seed in NCAA Tournament.

"I think the seed is absolutely atrocious," Calhoun said, saying he thought the Aggies deserved a NO. 6 or 7 seed based on computer rankings and also added that he thought San Diego State and New Mexico should have been NCAA Tournament teams.

The numbers for SDSU and UNM put each team in the NCAA Tournament bubble, so it may be hard to get too worked up over any individual team's snub. But that's not the case if you look at the league as a whole.

This season, the Mountain West had an average NET ranking of 113. That is the best average net ranking for a one-bid league, ever. And this is the first season since 2017 that the MW hasn't had multiple teams in the tournament.

"Mountain West was undervalued this year," San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said. "Seven teams with 20-plus wins, so the parity — I've said it all year, the parity has hurt our league this year. That's what every league wants is parity. So if you're in a Power Four, the parity is fantastic. Get 18, 19 teams in. But in the Mountain West, parity is not a good thing. There wasn't enough separation between the top."

"... When people say, well, it's a soft bubble and we don't need to expand the field, we don't need to expand the field if we're taking mediocre Power Four teams. There are good mid-major teams that would play well in March that would love to go."

NIT tickets are now on sale

The UNM Lobos are hosting Sam Houston State on Wednesday night in the Pit in the first round of the NIT.

UNM on Monday afternoon opened ticket sales on its website with prices set by the NCAA, not the school.

Season ticket holders should have access through their online accounts to purchase tickets to their usual seats until 10 a.m. Wednesday, when those seats will be released for general sales.

Parking for the game will be free, UNM announced on Monday, though lots reserved for season ticket holders will remain reserved for them with a pass. But parking in all other lots is free and available to all.

Tickets start at $25 plus fees and $15 for UNM students, who got their first 300 tickets for free with tickets purchased by the university. The contract between the NIT and UNM stipulates there are no complimentary tickets provided to the school.

In 2023, the Lobos hosted Utah Valley in the Pit in the NIT — breaking a nine-year postseason drought. Attendance for that game was announced as 6,803.

Who better than Hooten?

Sam Houston State greats Marcus Williams — the Rio Rancho graduate — and Michael Holyfield — the Manzano High graduate — aren't walking through those Pit doors on Wednesday night (at least not to help the Bearkats on the court).

So it's hard to imagine a better local (in-state, anyway) tie to the visiting Bearkats than NM State head coach Jason Hooten, who was the Bearkats' head coach for 13 years before taking over the massive program rebuild in Las Cruces.

In fact, the very first hire Hooten made as head coach at Sam Houston — we're talking Day 1 that he landed the job — was Chris Mudge, his top assistant. Both were part of the success of Williams and Holyfield in their college playing days.

When Hooten took the job at New Mexico State, Mudge got the bump to Sam Houston State head coach, and the two teams now square off at least twice a season in Conference USA action.

So, the Journal thought it only fitting to text Hooten for a scouting report on Mudge and what fans in the Pit are about to see on Wednesday night.

"Really smart guy. Has done a great job of picking up where we left off," Hooten said in a text exchange. "Recruiting hasn’t dropped off, puts guys in places offensively to succeed. Has really gotten to where he has them guarding well and playing very hard defensively.”

The Beijing baller

Former Lobo Jaelen House signed with the Beijing Royal Fighters of the Chinese Basketball Association on March 10 after a successful season and a half with the G-League's San Diego Clippers.

When the Clippers failed to sign him to the NBA roster, ever after House poured in a franchise-record 45 points, he took his talents to China — where the CBA traditionally pays very well relative to most overseas leagues short of the top European clubs.

In his first game with the Royal Fighters, a 106-92 loss to the Shanghai Sharks on March 11, House went for 21 points, six rebounds, six assists and five steals. In his second game, a 106-98 win over the Tianjin Pioneers this past Friday, House had eight points and nine assists in 24 minutes.

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