Dec. 4, 2008

New Mexico (3-4) looks to get back on the winning track when it plays host to Southern Miss (4-2) Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is 4:05 p.m. Mountain Time from The Pit / Bob King Court in Albuquerque.

The game will be televised live on The mtn. Tim Neverett and Blaine Fowler will call the action. The mtn. is channel Ch. 276 on Comcast Cable in Albuquerque and channel 616 on DirecTV.

The Lobos will attempt to avoid their first three-game losing streak under second-year head coach Steve Alford.

Southern Miss is 4-2 after dropping a 76-73 overtime decision at home to South Alabama on Tuesday. The Golden Eagles' last three games have been decided by four points or less with two requiring overtime.

TICKET PROMOTIONS / GAME SPONSORS
All youth tickets are just $5 for ages 2 through 18. There is also a ticket promotion with Toys for Tots where fans can bring a toy to the ticket office at The Pit and purchase a ticket for only $5. Bernalillo County, 106.3 The Range and Wild 97.7 are the game sponsors.

NOTES TO KNOW BEFORE THE GAME
• New Mexico is 34-1 in its last 35 non-conference home games...Central Florida, a Conference USA member like Southern Miss, stunned the Lobos with a 72-71 loss on Nov. 22, putting an end to the Lobos' 33-game winning streak.

• New Mexico fell to 3-4 on the season following a 68-62 loss to Drake last Sunday at the Cancun Challenge.

• The Lobos are 3-4 for the first time since 2002-03, which is also the last time they started 3-5.

• Last year, UNM's 4th loss did not come until the 18th game of the season - a 14-4 start - on Jan. 15 at TCU.

• The last 3-4 start for a Steve Alford coached team came at Iowa in 2006-07...his worst start after 8 games in 13 previous seasons as a Div. I head coach is 3-5 at Missouri State in 1997-98.

• It certainly looks like four true scholarship freshmen will letter for UNM in 2008-09: Will Brown, Nate Garth, A.J. Hardeman and Phillip McDonald...that has happened only one other time in the history of Lobo basketball: 1983-84 when five Lobos - Paul Connery, Hunter Greene, Larry Markland, Kelvin Scarborough and Mike Winters - all saw time...freshmen became eligible to play with the varsity in 1973-74.

• The current freshmen quartet have combined for 30% (164 of 546) of the team's points, 33% (87 of 262) of the rebounds and 35% (486 of 1,400) of the minutes.

• Senior Chad Toppert continues to rank No. 1 all-time at UNM by making 45% of his career 3-point attempts...with 202 career 3s, he needs 6 more to pass Charles Smith (1994-97) for 4th place all-time at New Mexico.

• New Mexico is 1st in the MWC in 3-pointers (8.14 a game) and FG pct. defense (38.6%).

LOBOS / Steve Alford VS. SOUTHERN MISS
This is the second meeting for the Lobos and head coach Steve Alford against Southern Miss:

UNM vs. Southern Miss: The Lobos have a 1-0 lead, winning 53-51 on Dec. 23, 1950 in Albuquerque.

Steve Alford vs. Southern Miss: He has a 1-0 record against the Golden Eagles. His Iowa team won 65-63 in Iowa City on Dec. 7, 2002.

Steve Alford vs. Larry Eustachy: It's tied at 2-2 back when Alford was at Iowa and Eustachy was at Iowa State. The games were played between 1999-02

ALFORD INDUCTED INTO INDIANA BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME
University of New Mexico head coach Steve Alford has been inducted into the 2009 Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. If you are wondering what took so long for Alford's induction, there is a 26-year waiting period after high school graduation so he is a first ballot selection. In fact, Alford is just the eighth honoree to be selected in his first year of eligibility. Joining Alford in the 2009 class are NBA coaches Gregg Popovich (Merrillville) and Scott Skiles (Plymouth). Popovich coaches the San Antonio Spurs and Skiles the Milwaukee Bucks.

Alford is a 1983 graduate of New Castle Chrysler High School where he played for his father, Sam. Steve earned Indiana's Mr. Basketball Award as a senior when he averaged 37.7 points a game. Alford went on to become an All-American at Indiana University, leading the Hoosiers to the 1987 NCAA title.

"I'm deeply honored to be recognized," said Alford. "This is a very prestigious award considering the previous inductees."

UNM HEAD COACH Steve Alford
Steve Alford, 44, is in his second season in charge of Lobo hoops and his 18th year as a collegiate head coach. He was named UNM's 19th head coach on March 23, 2007. Alford, who has never been an assistant coach is his career, has a 335-196 (63%) career record in his 18th season as a head coach, 27-13 at New Mexico. His teams have qualified for postseason play 12 times, produced 14 winning seasons and reached 21 wins on nine occasions. Alford's maiden voyage at New Mexico was something to behold:

• A 24-9 record, tying the school mark for wins during the regular season and a 9-win improvement from the previous year.

• most wins by a New Mexico head coach in his rookie season.

• 8-6 on the road after an 8-43 mark in five seasons before Alford arrived at UNM

• a +7 in conference victories, the 2nd-greatest jump of all-time

Prior to New Mexico, Alford spent eight seasons at the University of Iowa where he compiled a 152-106 record, including a school-record seven consecutive winning seasons and six postseason appearances. The Hawkeyes won two Big Ten Conference tournament titles (2001 and `06).

Prior to Iowa, Alford posted a 78-29 record in four seasons (1992-95) at NCAA Division III Manchester (Ind.) College and a four-year (1996-99) record of 78-48 at Southwest Missouri State (now Missouri State). The Bears defeated Wisconsin and Tennessee to advance to the Sweet 16 of the 1999 NCAA Tournament before losing to top-ranked Duke in the regional semifinals. In 1997 Alford led the Bears to a 24-9 record (second in the Missouri Valley Conference) and a trip to the National Invitation Tournament.

Manchester advanced to the 1995 NCAA Division III championship game before suffering its first defeat in 32 games to place second in the nation. Alford was named Indiana Collegiate Conference coach of the year in 1993, 1994 and 1995 and his record was 74-13 over his final three seasons.

MORE ON SOUTHERN MISS
Southern Miss returns four starters from last year's team that finished 19-14 overall and 9-7 in Conference USA, tying for fourth place. At 4-2, the Golden Eagles' losses have come against Miami (Fla.) in the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and at home to South Alabama. High-scoring junior guard Jeremy Wise leads the team in scoring at 23.2 points a game. He also has a team-high 24 assists and 12 steals.

Head coach Larry Eustachy is 324-210 in his 18th season as a head coach, including previous stops at Idaho, Utah State and Iowa State. He is 64-65 in his fifth season at Southern Miss. Eustachy was an assistant coach at Utah from 1987-89.