Lobos beat the Aztecs ahead of a packed house
That’s what the Lobo men’s basketball team did on Saturday at The Pit in front of a record-setting crowd. #19 San Diego State lost to #8 New Mexico, 88–70. This was a huge victory for New Mexico.
A record 15,437 people came to The Pit on Saturday afternoon for Lobo basketball. It was the busiest game they’ve had since 2009. “I can’t wait to come see them play; I don’t get the chance to come out very often.”
“I’m from up north, but I’m glad to be here and cheer for the Lobos,” said basketball fan Miguel Herera.
On Saturday, the UNM Lobos hope that people watching across the country will get a good dose of red, white, and you.
The school said Thursday that the game against No. 19 San Diego State is sold out, along with an optimistic red and white “stripe out” inside the Pit.
The game, which is scheduled to be shown on CBS at noon, is anticipated to be the second sold-out game of the season.
The game on December 2 against New Mexico State, which is in the same state, drew 15,435 people. New Mexico State lost 106–62.
The 14-2, 3-0 Mountain West Aztecs, who played in April’s national title game, bring All-America candidate ahead Jaedon LeDee and guard LaMont Butler to town.
Butler broke Lobo fans’ hearts with a buzzer-beating shot in February, five weeks before making another game-winning shot with seconds left against Florida Atlantic in the Final Four.
It was a disappointing loss on the road for the Lobos on Tuesday night at UNLV. They want to get back on track and protect their home court, which they have won 8 times this season.
In 2012–13, Steve Alford’s final campaign as head coach, six UNM games were sold out. Cherry is the Lobos’ official color, but fans won’t be checked at the door to make sure they’re wearing the right amount of red.
But there will be long lines to get through security, and UNM is telling fans to get there early.
In those 15 years, there have been 24 Mountain West games and seven non-conference games that were sold out.
The Pit was sold out for the first time in almost eight years (March 7, 2015, to January 2, 2023), during the game against UNLV on January 7, 2018.
During that time, the only team that has played with more sold-out crowds in the Pit has been the Lobos’ friends, San Diego State. Not even their rivals at New Mexico State University have more.
The Lobos won 30 games or the conference title in 2009–10. There were nine sold-out games that year.
The next best year for UNM was 2013–14, which was their last time in the NCAA Tournament. They had seven sellouts, which brought the total back to 15,411.
To get as many people as possible to the Nevada Wolf Pack’s game against Boise State on Friday night, the Lawlor Events Center in Reno was packed.
Former Lobo coaches Alford and Craig Neal, along with others, even posted a video on social media on Thursday of themselves shoveling snow outside the arena to show fans that they’d be ready.
The San Diego State Aztecs (14-2, 3-0 MWC) will play the New Mexico Lobos (13-3, 1-2 MWC) at 2:00 PM ET on Saturday, January 13, 2024, at The Pit. The Aztecs are looking to extend their winning run to seven games.
As of now, the Aztecs (14-2, 3-0 MWC) have won seven straight games. But they know that the Lobos (13-3, 1-2) are a tough home team that needs a good Quad 1 win.
The Saturday game will be shown across the country on CBS during prime time, and both the Lobos and the Aztecs are expected to play well.
It will be exciting to see these two foes play in the PIT within Albuquerque as well as Viejas Arena within San Diego. It will be like watching two prize fighters trading blows.
UNM Athletics said that their match against No. 19 San Diego State was sold out. To make the event even more exciting, a red and white “stripe out” was planned inside the Pit.
These Lobos are without a question one of the best Lobo teams the author has seen within a few years. They wear cherry and silver outfits.
Even though they look like a real top FBS team, they have had some problems, mostly with a lack of energy or slow starts in the second half of games.