UNM: Lobos “playing meaningful games in February” as team faces UNLV today.
Win today against UNLV would lift UNM’s record above .500
ALBUQUERQUE — It’s all about finding that happy place.
For Chris McNeal, it’s rediscovering the love he has for the game by just playing with a smile and having fun.
For Anthony Mathis, it’s about finding a mentor who believes in him and projects positivity.
And for head coach Paul Weir, it’s all about chaos. The crazier, the better. He likes mismatches and mania.
Those three men have found their happy place and, so too, has the rest of The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team. The Lobos (14-14 overall and 9-6 in league play) have won two straight and risen into fourth place of the Mountain West Conference entering Sunday’s midday matinee in The Pit against UNLV.
A win would put UNM over .500 for the first time since midNovember.
“We’re playing meaningful games in February,” Weir said. “And that’s exciting.”
The math on what lies ahead is simple. If the Lobos win each of their final three games they will clinch the league’s No. 3 seed and earn a coveted bye in the MWC Tournament. That means getting an extra day of rest to face a team team that must play its way out of the opening round the day before.
Assuming Nevada closes out and wins the league’s regular season title, UNM would own the tiebreaker against Fresno State if both should finish 12-6 and in a deadlock for third. Fresno was swept in a pair of games against Nevada while the Lobos lost their only meeting with the Wolf Pack, giving them the edge.
Weir isn’t above the idea that this all seems surreal. His team was picked ninth in the preseason MWC poll and virtually every team it faces has a more established roster and arguably better talent.
The key to shocking the world is, well, living in his happy place.
“If we can turn it into one of these [uptempo games] and it’s going to be 4-on-2 and 5-on-3 and 4-on-3, 5-on-4, back and forth and we can bring our depth in and we can bring our conditioning in and we can practice that style every day, then maybe that team isn’t that much better than we are anymore,” he said. “Now maybe we’re just as good and maybe better than other teams.”
The Lobos have compensated for the lack of a low post threat and true rim protector by running a full court press that’s designed to wear opponents down. It’s wave after wave of substitutes, giving everyone on the active roster a shot at healthy minutes.
For Mathis, that’s music to his ears. A benchwarmer for his first two years as a Lobo, he is now the team’s second-leading scorer and one of the nation’s top 3-point shooters.
“It’s just so unique because we have players who can score 20 to 25 a night,” he said. “If it’s your night, it’s your night, but if it’s not then, oh well. Just sit there and be happy for the person whose night it is and I really just try to embrace that. If it’s not me, I’m just going to stand up and do my best to cheer everybody on as best I can and be vocal in that way.”
McNeal has had his moments in the sun. The junior guard, who has ceded some of his minutes at the point to senior Antino Jackson, said it took him a while to remember how to have fun on the court. Years of playing with a fear of missing shots made him tentative to the point of not enjoying himself.
“You never want to think about shots going in,” he said. “You just want to play the game. That’s what I started doing; just playing the game the right way.”
New Mexico’s backcourt has been the backbone of the team with McNeal, Jackson and Mathis all averaging double figures. A huge boost has come lately in the form of depth with the re-emergence of forward Sam Logwood and swing man Troy Simons. The pair combined for 48 points in a win at Wyoming last week.
Virtually every player on the 10-man roster has had his moment in the sun, be it Joe Furstinger’s string of doubledoubles to explosive nights from freshman Makuach Maluach and Dane Kuiper, the team’s depth has made a difference. Right there enjoying all of it is McNeal.
“I always have fun, but at the same time you get down on yourself a lot when you’re not playing to your potential, so I just got back to having fun and just doing what I love to do,” he said.
Nothing beats the happy place.