UNM’s defense to be tested
Auburn might try to exploit on perimeter
Six games in, and the Lobos’ high-risk/high reward defensive approach to defending the 3-point line — one that leaves fans pulling their hair out when it appears shooters are left open with regularity — is actually finding some statistical success.
But the playing-with-fire approach could be in for a real test Monday and Tuesday in Brooklyn, N.Y., in a Legends Classic field full of teams scorching the nets this season from beyond the arc, including Monday night’s game against No. 19 Auburn (5-0), which is averaging 10 made 3-pointers per game this season.
UNM coach Paul Weir insists the intent of the team’s defense is, obviously, not to leave opposing shooters wide open on the perimeter. But there is a reason it seems to be happening more than any fan would like to see.
The Lobo coaching staff this season made a concerted effort to emphasize keeping opposing teams from getting the ball into the paint with the type of regularity they did last season — either with dribble penetration or entry passes. Addressing that, coupled
with the NCAA moving the 3-point line back this season and the anticipated lower success rate of 3-point shooting that should come with that move, has led the Lobo defense to almost appear to be daring teams to settle for deeper, outside shots.
As much as fans might not like it, the numbers suggest it might be working.
First, Lobo big men Carlton Bragg and Corey Manigault haven’t really gotten in foul trouble yet this season. Manigault has yet to have a game with four fouls, and Bragg’s only game reaching four fouls was when he played a season-high 31 minutes at New Mexico State on Thursday.
Just counting games against Division I teams, four UNM opponents attempted a seasonhigh in 3-point shots in their game against the Lobos. And yet, only one — McNeese State at 44.8% — made a high enough percentage to actually put a scare into the Lobos.
“Obviously it’s hurt us a little bit at times, but it’s a numbers game that right now we’re playing a little bit of,” Weir said. “We’ll go through all those (3-point attempts) and see how many were contested and how many weren’t, and obviously we want to get better at contesting them. We’re far from a finished product. Our team has a long way to go in a lot of ways, like a lot of teams do right now.”
Last week at UTEP, the Miners took a season-high 28 3-pointers, hitting just seven (25.0%). They had averaged just 16.3 attempts in their three previous games.
Thursday in Las Cruces, NMSU attempted a season-high 33 3-pointers, making just seven (21.2%). The Aggies had been averaging 25.8 3-pointers in their previous four games.
“We’ll certainly nit-pick it and talk about shot selection, but the way they defend and their size in the paint, you’re going to have to shoot some 3s,” said NMSU coach Chris Jans.
Apparently so. UNM opponents are taking 44.6 percent of their shots from 3-point range (the national average is 37.5), but hitting only 30.8 percent of those.
The next couple of days in New York, however, will really put the Lobos’ scheme under the microscope.
Auburn, a team that is averaging a blistering 87.2 points per game, hits 37.6% of its 3-point tries. Last season, when the Tigers were a Final Four participant, they ranked No. 8 in the country (out of 353 Division I teams) in 3-point field goal rate as 49.6 percent of the shots they took all season were 3-pointers (1,204 3-point attempts overall).
And regardless of who the Lobos play Tuesday (it will be either Wisconsin or Richmond), the challenge could be more daunting.
Wisconsin (4-1) is shooting 37.0 percent from 3-point range this season, and 42.5 percent of the Badgers’ scoring comes from 3-pointers. Richmond (4-0) is No. 2 in the country in 3-point shooting at 46.1 percent and No. 10 in 3-point reliance, getting 43.0 percent of its scoring from beyond the arc.
IN THE ZONE: The Lobos used Weir’s high 2-3 zone (the wings play so high it almost appears to be a 4-1 at times) in the UTEP and NMSU games, both with long stretches of success.
“We went to it in El Paso,” Weir said. “It was really good for us in the first half. We went eight straight minutes at El Paso, and they never got the ball to the paint one time. It was really good for us. In the second half it wasn’t so great. (At NMSU), it was the flip flop. In the first half, we went to it a little bit and they hurt us. They really got the ball inside and scored. We made some adjustments at halftime, technically with it, and it really paid off in the second half.”