Ram tough: UNM aware of 'how well Colorado State is playing'

This past Saturday night in a game between the teams atop the Mountain West standings, the UNM Lobos overwhelmed the Utah State Aggies down the stretch, winning 82-63 in Logan, Utah, and taking over sole possession of first place in the league.

But was the hyped battle really a game between the Mountain West’s top two teams? Or might that actually be the game taking place Wednesday night when the Colorado State Rams visit the Pit to play the UNM Lobos?

“We know we’ve got another really difficult opponent coming up. Colorado State is playing extremely well, and our guys gotta be ready,” UNM coach Richard Pitino said on Tuesday. “... I think they’ve got really good momentum right now.”

The Rams and Lobos have already played once this season, a 76-68 UNM win Dec. 28 in Fort Collins.

Take a look at what’s happened since that day in the Mountain West:

Best MW records since Dec. 29:

• UNM 8-1
• Colorado State 7-1
• Utah State 7-2
• San Diego State 7-2
• Boise State 5-4

Best efficiency rating/national ranking since Dec. 29 (per BartTorvik.com, national rank in parentheses):

• UNM .9081 (31)
• Colorado State .8889 (36)
• Boise State .8819 (40)
• Utah State .8106 (60)
• San Diego State .7497 (75)

And it can be argued that the two best players in the league since that Dec. 28 game have been UNM point guard Donovan Dent, who on Monday was the only Mountain West player named to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s Oscar Robertson midseason Player of the Year watchlist, and CSU’s Nique Clifford, who is averaging 19.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.5 steals in the eight games since losing to the Lobos.

Will Pitino have any problems getting his team up for a game against a team they’ve already beaten, especially after Saturday’s big win?

“I think our guys understand right now, this time of year, how important all these games are,” Pitino said. “They see how well Colorado State is playing. So I would hope their focus is really good right now.”

LOBOS DEFENSE: Pitino noted that, even considering the Jan. 14 loss at San Jose State — a game he feels his team was prepared for and just lost — it was the Dec. 7 loss to New Mexico State in overtime in the Pit that seemed to be the turning point for his team taking their play to the next level.

The statistics show that’s certainly the case defensively.

Using the analytics site BartTorvik.com, which this season was added to the official “team sheets” used to analyze all Division I teams by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee — the Lobos’ defensive efficiency since Dec. 8 has been the fifth best in the nation.

Top 10 defensive efficiency ratings in the country since Dec. 8 (per BartTorvik.com):

1. Houston (Big 12)

2. St. John’s (Big East)

3. Tennessee (SEC)

4. Kansas (Big 12)

5. New Mexico (Mountain West)

6. Florida (SEC)

7. Auburn (SEC)

8. Duke (ACC)

9. Michigan State (Big Ten)

10. George Mason (Atlantic 10)

GET OUT AND RUN? The Lobos have the seventh-fastest tempo in the country and are fifth in the nation with 16.9 fast-break points per game.

But Saturday in Logan, Utah, the Lobos had zero fast break points — a first in the Pitino era. The last time UNM had zero fast break points in a game was in an 80-78 home in over Boise State on Dec. 4, 2019, when Paul Weir was coach. Still, the Lobos won with ease on Saturday. What was the reason for the anomaly?

“I try not to overthink it,” Pitino said. “If you’re scoring 52 points on the road in the second half, I don’t really care how we score.”