UNM LOBOS BASKETBALL
Lobos picked as one of four top seeds in NIT, host Wednesday game in the Pit
UNM to host Sam Houston at 7 p.m. Wednesday
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They want more.
The UNM Lobos, the 23-10 team that started the season by replacing its entire roster of players and coaches, will play again.
While they didn鈥檛 hit their top goal of playing in the NCAA Tournament after Friday鈥檚 semifinal loss in the Mountain West Tournament to San Diego State, the Lobos on Sunday night were chosen as one of four No. 1 seeds in the 32-team National Invitation Tournament field. As a No. 1 seed, they are also the host of one of the tournament鈥檚 four regionals 鈥� the Albuquerque Regional 鈥� where the Pit will actually be able to host just two of the potential three rounds of games before the final four of the NIT is played in Indianapolis April 2 and 5.
UNM will host Sam Houston, a 22-11 team that finished second in Conference USA this season, losing to the Lobos鈥� instate rival New Mexico State in the regular season but beating them last week in the CUSA Tournament, 69-61.
"I wanted to talk to some of the guys post (Mountain West) Tournament there just to kind of make sure we're going to approach it the right way and be ready to go," said Olen, who last week said he would absolutely like to continue playing, but after Friday night鈥檚 loss in the conference tournament stopped short of saying they would definitely play if given the chance.
The other three No. 1 seeds in the event are Auburn (17-16) of the SEC, Wake Forest (17-16) of the ACC and Tulsa (26-7) of the American Athletic Conference.
The overall field itself, which includes five Mountain West teams, Olen noted, is far stronger based on all computer metrics than it was a year ago when many top-conference teams chose not to play in the NIT.
鈥淓verybody's excited about playing at home,鈥� Olen said. 鈥淚 think the field is good. I thought I was excited about the field relative to maybe what last year's field looked like.鈥�
He also noted that the NIT games allow for more growth for his program.
鈥淚 think it has the potential to be really valuable for us 鈥� more games, more reps, win or go home situation, so the stakes are still there for us,鈥� Olen said. 鈥淲e we have some younger guys on the roster. We have plans to retain guys and build our program through retention. And so we think it's important for our guys to continue to get these reps.鈥�
Ticket sales for Wednesday鈥檚 game 鈥� all prices are set and regulated by the NCAA 鈥� are expected to start either late Sunday or early Monday, but as of 8 p.m. MT on Sunday had not yet been set.
The NCAA has set the ticket prices for the first two rounds as starting at $25 for adults, $15 for students, plus fees. There will be $30 chairback seating available and $35 Lobo Level/Club Seating availability.
UNM will purchase 300 student tickets as a thank you for the Lobo Howl Raisers section that came all season, with student tickets beyond that being at the regular $15 price point. Those will be available first come, first serve at a time announced by UNM.
Season ticket holders get first right of refusal on tickets and will have information on purchasing those and their parking passes in their regular account with UNM. They will have until 10 a.m. Wednesday to opt in to purchase those tickets.
The game will be streamed online on ESPN+ 鈥� the NIT holds all video broadcast rights. UNM鈥檚 usual radio partner, 770 AM/96.3 FM KKOB, will also broadcast the game.
The Lobos last played in the NIT on March 15, 2023, when the Richard Pitino-coached team of Jaelen House, Jamal Mashburn Jr., Morris Udeze, Donovan Dent and Josiah Allick lost to Utah Valley, 83-69, in front of an announced Pit crowd of 6,803.
The way the bracket plays out, coincidentally, would line UNM and Utah Valley up for a potential second-round matchup in the Pit, should both win their first-round games (UVU hosts George Washington on Wednesday).
At the bottom half of the Lobos鈥� quadrant of eight teams are Colorado State vs. Saint Joseph鈥檚 and California (coached by Mark Madsen, who was Utah Valley鈥檚 coach in the 2023 NIT game in the Pit) vs. the University of Illinois Chicago.
This is the 21st time UNM has played in the NIT, its best finish coming as runner-up in 1964. It also reached the semifinals in 1990 and the quarterfinals six times.
NIT dates
First round: Tuesday, Wednesday
Second round: March 21-22
Quarterfinals: March 24-25
Semifinals: April 2 (Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis)
Championship: April 5 (Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis)
Pit availability
As reported in the Journal last week, the Pit is available for NIT games in the first round (Tuesday and Wednesday this week) and the first day of the second round (March 21), but the New Mexico Activities Association's State Spirit Squad Championship already has the arena booked for March 22 and it is not available for the third round/quarterfinals on March 24-25 because of a prior contract with the PBR's Ty Murray Invitational bull riding event.
The NIT's semifinals (April 2) and championship (April 5) are at a neutral site.
Mountain West teams in the NIT
Joining the Lobos in the NIT field from the Mountain West are Colorado State, Nevada, UNLV and Wyoming.
The Mountain West鈥檚 final regular-season average NET ranking of 113 is the highest ever for a conference that got only one team into the NCAA Tournament. Several others had strong computer metrics, albeit ones outside the threshold of what the NCAA Selection Committee deemed Big Dance worthy.
Maybe one of the juicier storylines in the NIT is the Murray State at No. 2 Nevada matchup in the Auburn Region. That features first-year Murray State head coach Ryan Miller, a former UNM Lobos assistant under Nevada coaches Steve Alford and Craig Neal, as well Cullen Neal, the former Lobo and Craig Neal鈥檚 son, who is in his first season on the staff coaching with Miller.
Who opted out?
Several teams hit this point of the season with a variety of reasons they feel make it unwise for them to continue playing if it isn't in the NCAA Tournament 鈥� an event that crowns the sport's top prize, pays money to the teams and leagues participating and has the highest level of exposure for players and teams.
Other events don't carry those same credentials, and some schools 鈥� Mountain West regular-season and tournament runner-up San Diego State, for instance 鈥� decide they don't want to play.
"With where we are today physically, I don't feel that playing in another postseason event would benefit us," said SDSU coach Brian Dutcher in announcing that the program is not interested in the NIT, though an added nugget there is that with the NCAA Tournament being played in Viejas Arena this week, the Aztecs鈥� only option would have been to play road games in the NIT, which could have played into the decision.
But SDSU was not alone in such announcements on Sunday. Virginia Tech and Florida State of the ACC, Seton Hall of the Big East, Indiana of the Big Ten and Belmont of the Missouri Valley (announcing before Sunday) all made similar decisions.
Some specifically said no to the NIT, not the Crown, and others stated they were deciding to end their season altogether.
Reach Geoff Grammer at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) .
