Lobos

This weekend, UNLV travels to the leaders of the Mountain West, the New Mexico Lobos. The Lobos are 11 through today in KenPom and have a solid RPI of 29. They've split with San Diego State, both winning on the road and lost at UNLV. Their best non-con win is a home win over St. Louis. They have on bad loss on a neutral court to a dreadful Santa Clara team.

New Mexico is solid on both ends. They're 11th in AdjD and 36th in AdjO. They're 9th in the nation in scoring defense and 9th in effective d fg%. They have a defensive turnover % of 22.5, above the national average of 20.5. They also do a good job keeping the other team off the line. Their defesive FTA/FGA% is 30.2%, bettering the national average of 36.4. They do a good job keeping the opposition off the offensive glass and are 12th in the nation in rebound margin.

On the offensive end, they have one bugaboo and that's turnovers. They average 14.5 per game, 215th in the nation. They're 211th in the nation in turnover % as well. But they make up for it by having a healthy offensive rebound % of 36.2%. They also get open looks. 64.6 of made shots have an assist (A/FGM). That's 6th best in the land. Overall, they average 16.8 assists per game. They have an effective fg% of 53.5, 33rd in the nation. They're a litte sketchy on the line, 69.7%. That's hardly terrible but average at best.

The players to know include SOPH. G Kendall Williams who runs the show and leads the team in scoring. He was electric in their win over SDSU on Saturday, going 5-6 from beyond the arc. Sr. F, Drew Gordon is averaging a double-double. The otehr guy to know is SOPH G, Tony Snell who scores 12 a game. His shooting has improved dramatically since last year.

Say this about the Mountain West, it's been another fun year in hoops. With UNLV, SDSU & New Mexico all tourney bound and Colorado State making a case, it's showing the Pac-12 how it's done.