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Lobos Host Kansas State Tuesday Night
Nov. 17, 2006
Complete Release in PDF Format
After three games in five days to open the season, New Mexico gets to catch its breath before the next game Tuesday against Kansas State. It will be the second of three successive games on Tuesday for the Lobos. Tipoff against the Wildcats is 6:05 p.m., from the The Pit/Bob King Court in Albuquerque. The game will be televised live by The mtn., which is Channel 276 on Comcast in Albuquerque and Channel 329 on Cable ONE in Rio Rancho. Live audio is also available at www.golobos.com. Tuesday's game sponsors include 104.7 The Edge and 100.3 The Peak. New Mexico is 3-0 after big wins over Abilene Christian, Sacramento State and Colorado. The Lobos' last 4-0 start was in 2004-05. UNM's victory margin is 38 points following a resounding 106-65 triumph over Colorado. New Mexico is 36-3 at home since the 2004-05 season. Picked to finish 5th in the Big 12, Kansas State is 2-0 heading into Saturday's home game against Tennessee Tech. The Wildcats upended William & Mary 70-60 and got a 55-41 road win Wednesday at Rutgers. K-State held the Scarlet Knights to an improbable 19% (9-47) shooting from the floor, including 15% (3-20) from beyond the arc. This is the first of a possible two meetings between the Lobos and Wildcats before Christmas. Both schools are in the Las Vegas Holiday Classic and could face each other Dec. 23 in Las Vegas. UNM also faces another Big 12 opponent - Texas Tech - in Lubbock on Jan. 1.
OFFENSE VS. DEFENSE
LOBO OFFENSE FIRING HOT The current streak of three straight 90+ scoring games is a first for Ritchie McKay in his head coaching career.
3s FALLING New Mexico opened the season by canning 16 of 39 3s in a 91-54 victory over Abilene Christian. The 16 treys tie for 5th-most in school history. It's the most 3s since 16 against Penn State on Dec. 29, 2004. Current Lobo Aaron Johnson was a member of that PSU team. The 39 attempts are the most ever by a Lobo team in a non-overtime game. UNM threw up 42 in a 112-104 double overtime loss to New Mexico State on Dec. 11, 1993.
MORE SHOTS SO FAR
AND 11 IN A ROW VS. THE BUFFS
LOBO HEAD COACH Ritchie McKay He has a career record of 153-141, 70-52 in his fifth season at New Mexico, The Lobos are 46-20 since the start of the 2004-05 season and 60-34 since 2003-04. McKay is 60-14 in Albuquerque, 43-21 in all non-conference games, 39-7 in non-league games at The Pit and 5-14 in road/neutral games. He is 27-31 in the MWC, 22-7 at home, 5-24 on the road. The 26-7 record in 2004-05 is the best season of McKay's career, surpassing a 19-11 ledger at Colorado State in 1998-99. The Lobos won the MWC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999, while posting the second-highest win total in school history. It was McKay's first trip to the Big Dance. McKay had previous two-year stops at Portland State (1996-98), Colorado State (1998-2000) and Oregon State (2000-02).
UNM / Ritchie McKay vs. KANSAS STATE / BIG 12 K-State won 81-64 in Albuquerque on Dec. 12, 1960, and 94-52 in Manhattan on Dec. 2, 1961. Ritchie McKay is facing Kansas State for the second time in his head coaching career. He is 4-6 versus Big 12 teams in his career, 1-2 while at New Mexico. New Mexico is 61-56 all-time against current members of the Big 12. Most of those games - 80 of the 117 in fact - have come against Texas Tech. UNM is 40-40 against the Red Raiders, plus 2-0 vs. Baylor, 5-6 vs. Colorado, 2-1 vs. Iowa State, 1-1 vs. Kansas, 1-0 vs. Missouri, 0-2 vs. Oklahoma, 2-1 vs. Oklahoma State, 2-1 vs. Texas and 5-1 vs. Texas A&M.
MORE ON THE WILDCATS Public and student season ticket allocations accounted for approximately 13,000 of the 13,340 capacity of Bramlage Coliseum. K-State makes available 300 tickets on an individual-game basis. KSU was given its highest-ever ranking in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll, as the Wildcats were chosen fifth. Boosted by the return of four starters and eight lettermen, the Wildcats received their highest ranking in nine preseason polls dating back to the 1997-98 season. The previous high came in 1998-99 when the team was selected sixth. Huggins, 52, has a 569-199 (.740) career record in his 25th season as a head coach, which includes stints at Walsh College (1980-83), Akron (1984-89) and Cincinnati (1989-2005). He began the season ranked eighth in winning percentage and total victories among active Division I head coaches. Huggins' teams have participated in postseason play in 21 of his 24 seasons, including 15 NCAA Tournament appearances. His current string of 14 consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament ranks as the third-longest streak among active coaches in the nation. Huggins' teams have won 20 or more games in all but four of his 24 campaigns, including 30 or more twice, and he has averaged 23.5 victories a season. Huggins is facing Ritchie McKay and a New Mexico team for the first time in his coaching career. It's also his first game in The Pit as a head coach. The top returning starters are senior forward Cartier Martin (18 ppg and 6.6 rpg in 2005-06) and junior swingman David Hoskins. Hoskins was named to the All-Newcomer team by the Big 12 media last season after averaging 13.1 points on a team-best 50.8 percent shooting
LAST YEAR IN MANHATTAN New Mexico, which hit 56 percent of its shots in the first half and was 6-of-10 from beyond the 3-point arc, struggled from the field over the final 20 minutes. The Lobos missed all 11 of their second-half 3-point attempts as Kansas State turned up the defensive pressure. Trailing 49-46 with 10:47 to go, Dramane Diarra scored inside and Martin added a basket a few minutes later to give Kansas State a 50-49 lead, its first since the game's opening minute. After David Chiotti scored to briefly regain the lead for New Mexico, Hoskins scored on four of the next five possessions to give the Kansas State the lead for good. Mark Walters hit four 3-pointers and scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half for the Lobos. Chiotti also finished with 16. Kansas State got off only three shots in its first nine possessions as New Mexico raced to a 13-1 lead in the game's opening minutes. Fueled by three consecutive 3-pointers from Walters, New Mexico opened a 30-14 lead with 4:30 to go in first half. But Martin scored six quick points and Akeem Wright scored at the horn to bring Kansas State to within nine. The Wildcats made their first seven shots in the second half, while New Mexico suddenly went cold, including a nearly five-minute stretch without a basket.
UNM THE ONLY ONE
COLORADO RECAP New Mexico (3-0) took its first lead at 15-14 on a pair of free throws by Jeffrey Henfield with 11:46 left in the first half. New Mexico's reserves, who scored 25 points in the first half, and some solid free throw shooting, carried the Lobos' offense until Giddens found his stroke. The Lobos hit their first 13 free throws and reserves Daniel Faris, Chad Toppert and Ryan Kersten provided much of the offense in the first 20 minutes. Toppert hit a trio of 3-pointers in the first half, Faris scored 8 points and Kersten 6. Toppert's back-to-back 3s gave the Lobos a 36-25 lead with 5:02 left in the first half. Faris, the sophomore backup center, finished with career highs of 14 points and 8 rebounds. New Mexico led 47-34 at halftime and broke it open from there as the Lobos shot 67 percent in the second half. Giddens was the catalyst. He scored on a jumper in the lane, then came up with a steal and dunk that pushed the lead to 62-39 with 12:55 left. Giddens hit 11 of 19 shots and along with Faris and Aaron Johnson led the Lobos to a 51-35 edge in rebounding. Giddens had 9 rebounds and Johnson 11.
POSTGAME NOTES FROM COLORADO GAME
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