Air Force vs New Mexico

[IE]

from AFAFalcons.com


New Mexico comes in at 17-4 (11-2 MWC with losses to both ranked SDSU and UNLV). After being picked top of the MWC they have stumbled or these two teams have risen to the top of the pack. We all know NM's pedigree this season. They bring back all but one player and have a good recruiting class to include some international flavor. Three are averaging double figures with Snell (6'7'/195# G/F) 13ppg Gordon (6'9'/245#/UCLA) 12ppg Williams (6'3'/18#) 12ppg. Gordon has been up and down this season but his strength inside will be a challenge for Taylor Broekhuis and the Falcons. You can see the experience on the NM team as Coach Alford has 10 players averaging double minutes playing time during confernece play for the Lobos (put this here as it's been discussed about AF and our games this season).

Big plus for AF going into this game is style of play and prep time. It hurts our team with the very shot turnaround from Saturday to Tuesday especially after overtime extra minutes. I hope the fatigue doesn't factor in. But AF is playing a physical Lobo team that is very similar to UNLV, very similar to TCU, etc, etc. Lobo's also have the shrot turnaround but must also travel to AF while preparing for a completely different offense and defense than they have played to date. I find this a giant plus for our team.

Bottom line(s) for this game. AF must get points off the bench. If guys come in and play defense and score off the bench then they will stay on the court thus giving starters the time they need to rest for the last 5 minutess of the game. This is the number one factor in the rest of each games this season. Did I say yet: We must get points off the bench. In addition, we must continue to play the interior defense tough and not let them get established in the paint. They do shoot well outside at 39% so we must match that with intensity and will!

 

[IE]

Air Force Has UNM?s Attention


Air Force, Boise State Have Misleading MWC Records


On paper, it looks to be an easy two-game road swing for the New Mexico men?s basketball team.

Tonight, the Lobos (17-4, 3-2) visit Air Force, and on Saturday they play at Boise State ? two teams with a combined 1-9 record in Mountain West Conference play, with the only win coming when they faced each other. But this Air Force-Boise State road swing could be a little more difficult than it might seem.

Just ask UNLV.


Last week, the Rebels (20-3, 4-1) ? ranked 11th in this week?s AP Top 25 ? had all they could handle at AFA (11-8, 1-4) and Boise State (10-10, 0-5). They needed overtime in both games before escaping with wins.

?Its a big week on the road,? UNM coach Steve Alford said. ?We have been a good road team and we are looking forward to our first challenge at Air Force. Air Force has played everyone very tough.?

The Falcons, indeed, have played better than their MWC record indicates. Besides the 65-63 overtime loss against UNLV on Saturday, they lost 59-56 at TCU last week and held their own most of the game until falling 57-44 at San Diego State (18-3, 4-1) a week earlier. AFA has also lost in overtime to Colorado and by two against Drake in nonconference games.

Air Force has suffered numerous injuries this season, including an ankle sprain that kept all-league junior guard Michael Lyons sidelined for six games.

Lyons, the team?s leading scorer (14.7 points, 4.7 rebounds per game) has worked his way back into the lineup and has played the past four games.

?Mike?s closer to being healthier than he has been since his injury,? Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds said on Monday. ?He?s been forced to play more minutes than we would like because of other injuries on team.

?That?s not to say other teams aren?t having injuries themselves, but he?s getting better.?

Air Force is also getting strong play from 6-foot-10 junior post Taylor Broekhuis (9.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and 6-6 junior forward Mike Fitzgerald (11.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg).

The Falcons have caused opponents fits for years with their patient, Princeton-style offense and assortment of tough defenses. That will give the Lobos a very different look from what they saw against teams like TCU, San Diego State and UNLV the past couple of weeks.

?That?s why this league is doing well as one of the top in the country right now,? UNM senior point guard Phillip McDonald says of the MWC, which is ranked as the fifth best conference in the country by at least one site that replicates the NCAA?s Ratings Percentage Index.

?We have a good mix of athletic teams that can run,? McDonald said. ?We have a good mix of teams that are very disciplined. We have teams that just know how to play basketball in this conference. This will teach us a lot of things going into postseason, if we get to the NCAA Tournament or NIT ? those teams are all different.?

Still, despite the Falcons? ability to wear teams down mentally, they haven?t had any success against the Lobos during Alford?s tenure. UNM is 9-0 against AFA under Alford and has blown the Falcons out of Clune Arena by the scores of 68-51, 76-66, 73-50 and 75-61 in the past four years. The Lobos are expected to do the same again tonight, coming in as an 8 1/2-point favorite.

RPI BOOSTER SHOT: The Lobos? 85-52 home rout of Colorado State last week was a big one for UNM as far as NCAA RPI numbers. While margin of victory doesn?t matter, beating a team with a high RPI does ? especially if that team then beats another high RPI team in the week.

After the loss at UNM, Colorado State surprised San Diego State. Despite its split during the week, CSU (13-6, 3-2) actually moved up three spots to No. 18 in the RPI on Monday while the Lobos flew up 13 positions to No. 44.

The Rams? lofty RPI is a result of their strength of schedule, which is No. 3 in the country.


? This article appeared on page D1 of the Albuquerque Journal