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Game at Saint Mary's wraps Lobo hoops' nonconference schedule

geoff grammer, albuquerque journal, n.m.
·3 min read

Jul. 13—Lobo basketball will get a double-dose of Gael this season.

And coach Richard Pitino had to go coast-to-coast to make it happen.

The UNM men's team on Tuesday announced the final two additions to its 2022-23 nonconference schedule — a 13-game slate (plus one home exhibition) that is highlighted by the annual home-and-home rivalry with New Mexico State and the return of the Lobo Classic, a three-game event the week of Thanksgiving in the Pit, and two other games of particular interest.

In April, the home-and-home series against the Iona Gaels was announced, which will pit the New York-based team coached by Pitino's dad, Rick Pitino, coming to the Pit to play on Dec. 18 (UNM will play at Iona in 2023).

Tuesday, UNM announced the final piece of the scheduling puzzle would be a Nov. 30 game in Moraga, California, against the Saint Mary's Gaels, who finished in the top 20 of all major polls and analytical rankings last season.

"For our program to be successful, we need the Pit to be one of the toughest arenas in the country for visitors," Richard Pitino said in a press release.

Unlike the Iona home-and-home series, the SMC game will be a one-off. The Lobos will receive $75,000 to play, per the contract, and Saint Mary's will not return the game. UNM is 2-1 vs. SMC all-time — an 85-60 loss in Los Angeles in 2018 and a pair of Lobo wins in the Pit in 2001 and 1968.

Pitino has a scheduled media scrum set for Wednesday, when he may answer more questions about the schedule.

The Lobos' home-heavy nonconference schedule (10 games in the Pit, three on the road) does have some notable bullet points, even if not heavy on high-profile names visiting the Pit. For instance:

—All three true road games are against teams that finished in the top 80 of both the KenPom.com ratings and the NCAA's NET rankings — NMSU 80/78; SMU 62/53; and Saint Mary's 17/19. UNM finished 161 in KenPom and 165 in the NET.

—Ten of the 13 nonconference games are against teams that won at least 20 games last season. UNM went 13-19.

—Nine games will be against teams that played in the 2022 postseason, with three in NCAA Tournament, two in the NIT and three in other tournaments. UNM's last postseason was in 2014.

—Seven games are against teams that won their conference's regular-season or tournament championships. UNM's last conference title was in 2014.

After a closed-door scrimmage the Lobos play Oct. 15 (the NCAA does not allow media or fan access to preseason scrimmages between teams), there will be an Oct. 29 exhibition game in the Pit against NCAA Division II Colorado State-Pueblo. The Lobos open the regular season Nov. 7 at home against Southern Utah.

The other news of Tuesday's nonconference schedule reveal was the announcement of the Dec. 6 home game against Division II Western New Mexico — officially the final addition of the schedule. The Lobos were waiting to add the one final road game against Saint Mary's before seeing what dates that left open to schedule one of the state's non-Division I programs.

UNM will pay WNMU $5,000 for the Mustangs' Dec. 6 visit to the Pit. The Lobos hosted WNMU last season and won 88-63.

The Mountain West on Tuesday told Journal it hopes to release the 2022-23 conference schedule the first week of August.

UNM basketball

Men's nonconference schedule

Home games in bold

* exhibition

Oct. 29 CSU Pueblo*

Nov. 7 Southern Utah

Nov. 11 South Alabama

Nov. 15 at SMU

Nov. 19 New Mexico State

Nov. 25-27 Lobo Classic (the Pit vs. Jacksonville State, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado)

Nov. 30 at Saint Mary's

Dec. 3 at New Mexico State

Dec. 6 Western New Mexico

Dec. 10 UTSA

Dec. 18 Iona

Dec. 21 Prairie View A&M