Need someone with New Mexico ties to root for other than the Lobos? Here are plenty of options.

It didn’t take long on Thursday.

It was the first question Omaha head coach Chris Crutchfield received on Thursday in Providence, Rhode Island, the first time he sat in front of that familiar blue NCAA Tournament backdrop at a pregame press conference.

“What was your reaction when you see coaches in your pod — all the national championships and Final Fours they’re responsible for?”

Yes, Crutchfield, the third-year head coach of the No. 15 Omaha Mavericks and former New Mexico State University assistant coach under Lou Henson more than two decades ago, is the other guy in a foursome of teams with Hall of Fame coaches — No. 10 Arkansas coached by John Calipari, No. 7 Kansas coached by Bill Self and No. 2 St. John’s coached by Rick Pitino, the grandfather of UNM Lobo ball boy Jack Pitino.

“It’s definitely a who’s who of college coaching and I’m sure a lot of people are asking, who the hell is that other guy in the bracket?” Crutchfield joked.

Crutchfield spent four seasons (2001-05) in Las Cruces studying under another legendary coach in Henson. And he’s not alone among the myriad coaches and players in this year’s NCAA Tournament who have had a stop along their journey in New Mexico, be it high school or college.

In fact, he isn’t the only head coach in this year’s tournament who was a past assistant in New Mexico.

Alan Huss was a Lobos assistant under Craig Neal from 2014-2017 and is now one of the hottest names in this year’s coaching carousel after two record-setting, Summit League championship seasons at High Point.

Oregon head coach Dana Altman is an Eastern New Mexico graduate and faces former Lobos head coach Ritchie McKay.

And there are former players in the mix too, from this year’s Big 12 Player of the Year to a former Robertson High School student who, despite being injured, will be on the bench of his No. 8 seeded team playing Thursday.

Looking for a New Mexico tie to root for? Here’s a list:

New Mexico ties to the Big Dance

No. 13 High Point (plays No. 4 Purdue on Thursday): Head coach Alan Huss was a UNM Lobo assistant from 2014-17 and assistant Mike Nesbitt played for UNM in 2016.

No. 3 Texas Tech (plays No. 14 UNC Wilmington on Thursday): Sophomore J.T. Toppin is the Big 12 Player of the Year for the Red Raiders after leaving the Lobos following his outstanding freshman season.

No. 15 Omaha (plays No. 2 St. John’s on Thursday): Omaha head coach Chris Crutchfield was an assistant at NMSU from 2001-05.

No. 12 Liberty vs. No. 5 Oregon (Friday): Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay was UNM’s head coach from 2002-07. His sons, Luke (video coordinator) and Gabriel (player) are also on the team. Oregon head coach Dana Altman is an ENMU graduate and top assistant Tony Stubblefield is a former NMSU assistant and interim head coach.

No. 8 Louisville vs. No. 8 Creighton (Thursday): Former Lobo walk-on Logan Padgett is a graduate assistant for Louisville while former Robertson High School student Kasean Pryor (he moved to Chicago for his final two years of high school) was a starter before tearing his ACL in November. For Creighton, former UNM Lobo assistant Ryan Miller, who was named this week the new head coach at Murray State, is an assistant and former Lobo strength coach Jeremy Anderson is doing the same job for the Blue Jays.

No. 7 UCLA (plays No. 10 Utah State on Thursday): Longtime UCLA Associate Head Coach Darren Savino was a Lobo assistant coach under Fran Fraschilla.

No. 7 Kansas (plays No. 10 Arkansas on Thursday): Kansas assistant coach Joe Dooley was also a Fraschilla assistant at UNM.

No. 1 Houston (plays No. 16 SIUE on Thursday): Houston Athletic Director Eddie Nuñez and Deputy Athletic Director Dave Williams will be on hand to watch the Cougars’ run. Both held those positions at UNM just within the past year.

No. 8 Mississippi State (plays No. 9 Baylor on Friday): Former NMSU head coach Chris Jans now coaches at Mississippi State and assistants David Anwar (NMSU) and Scott Padgett (UNM) were assistants in New Mexico. Jordan Sperber was a stats guru at NMSU and now does the same for Mississippi State as senior director of basketball strategy.

Lobo odds & ends

ANOTHER FOR DENT: Dent on Wednesday earned another All-America Honorable Mention honor, this one from the United States Basketball Writers Association. He earned the same distinction from the Associated Press on Tuesday.

OPEN PRACTICE: The Lobos have media availability at Cleveland’s Rocket Arena at 1:20 p.m. local (11:20 a.m. MT) on Thursday and Ricard Pitino will have his presser at 1:35 p.m. The Lobos’ free, open-to-the-public practice is from 2 to 2:40 p.m. (ET) at Rocket Arena.

LOBOS IN CLEVELAND: The UNM Alumni Association is having a Lobo gathering Thursday at 5 p.m. local time (3 p.m. MT) at the Great Lakes Brewing Company in Cleveland.