Lobos won't get many second chances against the Broncos

Possession, they say, is 9/10 of the law.

And possession — as in stealing as many extra ones as possible to give your team more shots and keeping your opponent to as few of them as possible — is a basic cornerstone principle of Eric Olen's approach to coaching.

It's not all that difficult of a concept to understand. It's not a concept based on speed or pace of play, just basic math: The team that gets more opportunities to score often finds a way to win the game.

The problem, as Olen's Lobos (10-2, 1-0 Mountain West) hit the road Tuesday night to resume Mountain West conference play, is their opponent. The Boise State Broncos (8-4, 0-1 MW) have not just been the best team in the Mountain West at limiting opponent possessions, but also one of the best in the nation under the 16-year tenure of head coach Leon Rice.

"The consistency of our program has been rebounding," Rice told the Journal in October at Mountain West Media Day. "If you look at what we've done, probably my whole career at Boise, we've been top 20 every year in defensive rebounding. That's not negotiable."

Boise State ranks fourth in the nation (out of 365 Division I teams) in defensive rebound rate, allowing opponents to grab just 23.0% of their available missed shots. In the past nine years, the Broncos have never fallen out of the Top 25 and have been ranked in the top five in four of those years.

Simply put, don't expect to get many second chances against the Broncos.

"No question. They're top two, three, certainly top five on the defensive glass," Olen said. "Super physical. 'Tough' is a good word. If you've seen their teams over the years, this is another version of it, with the physicality and the toughness and the discipline they play with."

For the Lobos, who rank 11th in offensive rebound rate, getting second chances on the boards isn't their go-to tactic at getting extra possessions, anyway. The Lobos are more about forcing turnovers — ranking No. 3 in the MW in defensive turnover rate (14.8%).

In their 15-point loss last week to Nevada, Boise State seemed to have a hard time handling the ball pressure on offense and dribble penetration on defense of smaller Nevada guards (6-foot-1 Tayshawn Comer scored 24 points and was 13-of-14 at the free throw line).

Tuesday, UNM's path to success at ExtraMile Arena may come from their two smallest players, 6-3 Deyton Albury and 5-11 Uriah Tenette, who both put plenty of pressure on ball handlers (both average 1.6 steals per game) as well as both being gifted penetrators on offense.

"There's those matchups both ways, right?" We'll have some advantages. We'll have some disadvantages," Olen said. "They're really physical. So when you do drive the basketball, they do as good a job as anybody showing their hands, and being physical with their body, and kind of winning that bump when there's conflict or contact."

The important stuff

UNM men's hoops sports information director Steve Kirkland has two rather notable updates to the Boise State media game notes that came out Monday.

First, and it was something initially making the rounds last March when Olen was first hired but bears repeating:

"(Tuesday's) game is believed to be the first ever Division I matchup between coaches whose names are anagrams (Eric Olen and Leon Rice)."

I mean, that's good stuff right there.

And second, under UNM's "Quick facts" section about the school and athletic department, next to Athletic Director, it reads "vacant".

Broadcast crew

The FS1 national television broadcast of the late-starting game will be handled by Trent Rush on the play-by-play and analyst Miles Simon, the former University of Arizona star who was teammates with Albuquerque's own A.J. Bramlett on the Wildcats' 1997 National Championship team.

Series history

UNM leads the all-time series 15-14 and is just 4-9 in Extra Mile Arena.

Last season, Boise State got the best of the Lobos in two of their three games.

2024-25 season:

• UNM 84, Boise State 65 (Jan. 17, the Pit): Filip Borovicanin had nine points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals in the win for the Lobos.

• Boise State 86, UNM 78 (Feb. 19, ExtraMile Arena): Tyson Degenhart scored 32 points and Peanut Carmichael, in his first college start, scored 21 for the Broncos in the win.

• Boise State 72, New Mexico 69 (March 14, Thomas & Mack Center at UNLV): In the Mountain West Tournament semifinals, Alvaro Cardenas has 12 assists, R.J. Keene had 10 rebounds off the bench and Degenhart had 22 points in the nail-biter Broncos victory.