The day before the NCAA tournament began, UNM announced a 10-year contract extension with Alford; 10 days later, he resigned to take the head coaching position at UCLA. [103] The Lobos returned to the NIT, where they beat Louisiana Tech and Washington State before losing at Virginia, finishing the season 2013. [74] The Lobos heated up in the MWC tournament, reaching the final but losing on a missed shot at the end of the game. Scarborough (at 3rd) and Greene (tied for 4th) also remain among the all-time leaders for minutes played in a season. [59] In July 1981, however, he was convicted by a state District Court on 21 of 22 counts of fraud and submitting false public vouchers. They lost in the first round to #14 Oklahoma State to finish 2010. [138][142] His father played at UNM for Bob King, but McKay had only coached for brief stints at Portland State, Colorado State, and Oregon State, with an 8389 career record. Alford was again named MWC Coach of the Year, and Gary was All-MWC. His cause of death has not been revealed but Scarborough . The Lobos became frequent participants in the NCAA tournament during the 1990s and have made 15 appearances overall, as well as 19 NIT appearances. Giddens led the MWC in rebounding and was among the league leaders in numerous other categories. Road struggles kept the team from gaining momentum, a chronic problem as the Lobos went 843 in away games under McKay. Bairstow led with 24 points and eight rebounds, but the team shot poorly and their comeback fell short. SF-Mike Winters. Richard Pitino has been hired as the next head coach of the New Mexico men's basketball program less than 24 hours after Minnesota announced his firing, the program announced on Tuesday. Lobo, who played at UConn from 1991-95, was at a pre-draft camp for WNBA players and she didn't have childcare for her six-month-old daughter. The Lobos again relied on three-point shooting, attempting the most threes in school history while making nearly ten a game, leading the WAC. Shields again led with 19 points. [193] UNM would lose in the quarterfinals to Utah State in the Mountain West Championship. The NCAA investigation into the scandal found 34 violations of recruiting rules, and the Lobo program was placed on probation and banned from post-season appearances for three years. [74] The Lobos were 101 when they lost to #5 Wake Forest, and 142 when Granger suffered an injury and missed three games, all losses. Mitchell was named to the Albuquerque Sports Hall of Fame in 1991 and to the UNM Alumni Lettermen's Hall of . Thomas had his best NCAA performance with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks, while Long added 17 points and 12 rebounds and made the game-winning basket in the closing seconds. The strong finish earned the Lobos an NIT bid, where they lost to Texas A&M, finishing the season 1910. The team began the season 83 but struggled away from The Pit, losing its first seven road games. Virginia scored the last eight points of the game to take the lead, and the Lobos missed three shots at tying the game in the last 12 seconds, finishing the season at 238. [116] They later lost at #5 Arizona but beat undefeated, #3 Utah as Olney hit two three-pointers in the final moments, including the game winner at the buzzer. Starting center Greg "Stretch" Howard was ineligible due to an NCAA rule disallowing transfers to play in postseason games; without his 14 points and 10 rebounds a game, the Lobos' balanced attack withered, and Nelson was their only consistent offense. New Mexico joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) as a founding member before King's first season. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) - Former Lobo women's basketball player Miranda Sanchez died Monday. [72] Top ten-ranked UTEP foiled the Lobos, however, sweeping their regular season match-ups and knocking them out of the WAC tournament. As a part of Team USA during the 1996 Summer Olympics, Lobo won gold on one of the greatest basketball teams ever assembled. They beat Iowa and USC on the way to another showdown with #9 UNLV, losing a high-scoring game, then losing to #10 Arizona. [168] They beat #3 BYU in Provo to sweep the regular season series but lost to the Cougars in the conference tournament. Against four-seed Louisville, the Lobos took an early lead, fell behind by 15, then battled back to within two late in the game. PG- Greg Brown. Gibson later taught in the Albuquerque Public School system for more than three decades, gaining recognition as a mentor and role model, and he was named to the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. Page also holds the Lobo record for career points per game (26.2), the top career scoring average in WAC history. Media Guide 201314, pp.66,90. They lost in the conference tournament but received a three-seed in the NCAA tournament. [23] He finished with career averages of 19.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, and his 23 double-doubles in 196970 still stands as the Lobo season record. Western Athletic Conference Season Summary. They went to the NIT and beat Bliss-led Baylor and Pepperdine in The Pit before losing at Memphis to finish 2113. Brown compiled career averages of 19.9 points and 6.9 rebounds a game. Thomas tallied 1,931 points and 1,032 rebounds in his career, the first player in WAC history with over 1,800 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 200 blocked shots. [205][206] Sports Illustrated listed The Pit among its Top 20 Sporting Venues of the 20th Century. [74] The Lobos beat a good Arizona team before losing a close game to #1 Georgetown, led by Patrick Ewing, the first time the Lobos had faced a top-ranked opponent. [48] "Coop" later became a mainstay of the "Showtime" Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s, winning five NBA championships over a 12-year career. They nevertheless reached the NIT, losing to Texas and finishing 1714. One former Lobo teammate from the 2017-18 season Troy Simons and another former Lobo who will be a teammate of Furstinger's this summer when the two are both playing for "The. Robbins led the nation in free throw shooting, making 93.5% of his attempts, including 52 in a row at one point, both school records. Former New Mexico Lobo men's basketball standout Rob Robbins, left, and his daughter, Hannah, a rising star on the Arizona prep scene, are shown. The tournament upset and departures were disheartening blows for Lobo fans. The Lobos beat Syracuse in the first round before losing to Rutgers, finishing the season 198 and ranked #18 in the UPI. [44] The Lobos earned their second trip to the NCAA tournament and tallied their first tournament victory, downing Idaho State before losing to San Francisco in the second round. [10] They went 17589 (.663) in ten seasons with King as head coach, winning two conference titles and making four appearances in post-season tournaments. [26] New Mexico State hired Lou Henson as head coach in 1966, and like the Lobos under King, in his second season the Aggies began achieving national rankings and post-season tournament appearances. [106], The 199394 Lobos were picked in preseason polls to finish fifth in the WAC after losing their three leading players to graduation. They compiled a 10230 (.772) record while making the NCAA tournament and winning in the first round all four years. He also holds the team record for assists in a game (21). [37][64] He then became the lead assistant for Bobby Knight at Indiana for ten seasons, from 1990 to 2000,[34] and later coached in the NBA and WNBA. [93] The Lobos got off to a slow start in 198889, including losses to #11 Arizona and #6 Oklahoma. Williams was named conference tournament MVP; he and Jaxon were both named All-WAC. Elliott had an opportunity to put Arizona in the lead with a three-pointer with seconds remaining, but Greene blocked the shot to seal the win, the only time the Lobos have beaten a #1-ranked opponent. [155][160] Versatile JC transfer Darington Hobson joined lone senior Roman Martinez, junior Dairese Gary, and eight sophomores and freshmen. [164] Martinez was honored as an Academic All-American and received the NCAA Chip Hilton Player of the Year Award for outstanding character, leadership, integrity, and talent.[165][166]. [133] He had left St. John's under murky circumstances, however, and worked as a broadcaster and scout during the preceding season. [102] Banks was named All-WAC and finished as Lobo career leader (now second) in three-point percentage. Colson said the popularity and continued presence of Ellenberger during his early years were unnerving and that he sometimes felt in competition with the former coach. One stand-out was Kenny Page, a transfer from Ohio State. In December 2014, Albuquerque-based restaurant chain WisePies Pizza & Salad purchased the naming rights for the arena, whose official name became "WisePies Arena (aka The Pit)". Phil Abney and Russell Saunders were JC additions; Abney initially backed up Howard but later moved into the starting line-up. The Lobos stood at 7-2 after losing to #10 Syracuse, then rattled off 14 straight wins, including a home-and-away sweep of #9 UNLV, pushing them into the national rankings and eventually into the top ten. Colson had also clashed with Koenig in a contract dispute and had gone over his head to resolve the issue. [12][17] In the 196566 season, Daniels averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds a game, and the Lobos raced out to an 111 record after beating #7BYU. Four-year starting PG Phil Smith led those early teams, averaging 14 points, six assists, and two steals per game over his career, setting then-records for highest scoring freshman, most steals in a season, and most career assists. [23] He was selected as the ninth pick overall in the 1967 NBA draft by the Cincinnati Royals, but he chose to play in the fledgling American Basketball Association (ABA), becoming one of its greatest all-time players. Hobson led the team with 16 points, nine rebounds, and 4.6 assists a game, the only Lobo to ever lead in all three. North Carolina State upset heavily favored Houston in the memorable championship, sealing the victory with a last second basket. Funeral arrangements have not been announced yet. King transformed a moribund program into a consistent winner and produced future ABA MVP Mel Daniels. The Lobos won the Border Conference in 1944 and 1945, and they appeared in the NAIA post-season tournament in 1947, losing to Hamline University in the first round. The Lobos jumped out to a 259 lead before the Wildcats chiseled away at the lead, cutting it to two late in the game. [14] Harge averaged 18.8 points and 11.8 rebounds a game during his two seasons at UNM and was selected in the second round of the 1964 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. The Lobos have appeared in 19 National Invitation Tournaments with a combined record of 1820. In the 2018-2019 season, Weir was reliant on four transfers from both Division 1 programs or junior college transfers, as well as returning senior Anthony Mathis. [99] Robbins finished his career with the Lobo record for best career free throw percentage, third best three-point shooting percentage, and second most minutes played, having started all 133 games of his career. King had an immediate impact on the program. 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