House's availability uncertain for Lobo men's basketball Tuesday game vs. Wyoming

Feb. 13—The Lobos took one on the chin Friday night at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

There's not much dancing around that reality.

There's no real way to know exactly how much having star senior point guard Jaelen House in the lineup that night instead of on the bench with a hamstring injury could have changed the Lobos' lackluster performance, but it was clear the team needs him in the lineup as its NCAA Tournament hopes are dwindling.

The problem as UNM (19-6, 6-6 Mountain West and loser of three in a row) prepares to host Wyoming in the Pit on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. is that the 6-foot All-Conference candidate's availability remains in question.

"I'm not an excuse guy by any means, but I believe it was a factor," UNM coach Richard Pitino said Monday when asked about how the Lobos, particularly on defense, performed in the Air Force loss. "I think the game would have been a little bit different if Jaelen did play, but I also think our defense, probably since the Boise State game (Jan. 20), has not gotten better."

House was held out of the team's practice on Sunday and it remains unclear if his hamstring, first injured late in last Tuesday's last-second lost to Nevada in the Pit, will be ready to go by Tuesday night.

"We'll try to rev them up a little bit today, see how it looks" Pitino said Monday before the team's afternoon practice. "But he's in a decent amount of pain, so I think it'll be a game time decision."

With or without House in the lineup, the Lobos need to figure some things out on defense if they want to stay on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble they still find themselves on most NCAA Tournament bracket projections — regularly listed among the "last four in," powered primarily by the strength of true road wins at Saint Mary's and San Diego State.

Wyoming (7-17, 2-10 Mountain West) is a team with a depleted roster without preseason Mountain West Player of the Year Graham Ike and leading scorer Noah Reynolds. (Ike didn't play this season with a foot injury and concussion issues just last week led to Reynolds being shut down for the season.)

Also, three top rotation players who all transferred in together in the offseason from Pac-12 programs — Max Agbonkpolo, Ethan Anderson and Jake Hyman — were recently dismissed from the program for unspecified reasons.

Nevertheless, the Lobos are in no position to overlook anyone — a message Pitino says he hopes his veteran locker room understands.

"(Tuesday is) the opportunity because it's right in front of us," Pitino said.

Senior guard K.J. Jenkins is optimistic the team is up for the challenge and eager to get back on track.

"I think the biggest thing is that we have to have a big gut check — not to give in to the losing mentality and fatigue and all that and understand that we just need to stay positive," Jenkins said. "And we need to stay together as a team, most importantly, right now."

HUNTER MALDONADO: Wyoming sixth-year senior guard Hunter Maldonado has scored 1,099 points just in Mountain West Conference games (he has 2,018 points overall in his college career).

"They have a player in Maldonado who has been terrific," Pitino said. "So he's a six-year guy who has been phenomenal. And when he's on the court, they've got a chance."

VALENTINE'S DAY: Love may be in the air Tuesday night in the Pit, but Pitino may have some explaining to do if his wife, Jill, watches his Monday press conference with local media.

Asked about the holiday, Pitino didn't exactly hit it out of the ball park in the romance department.

"I didn't even know tomorrow was Valentine's Day, so I've got to get on that," Pitino said.

Asked if coaches get a pass on remembering holidays during the season, he didn't help himself any more.

"I've been married for ... I don't even know how long I've been married," Pitino said. "I'm married, so Valentine's Day doesn't count if you're married. Fourteen, 15 years, whatever it is. I don't know. I drove the kids to school today. She can't be mad at me."

Jenkins at least covered one important base when asked if he had any Valentine's Day plans.

"Valentine's Day isn't really that much. I might send my momma some flowers or something like that," he said.

AT THE GAME: UNM said Monday afternoon that about 10,500 tickets were out for Tuesday's game, including all that 40 suites are sold for the game and almost all 1,000 student tickets have been claimed.

The game includes a Teddy Bear toss donation promotion and there will be a section of seats for "singles" and one for "couples" on Valentine's Day.

POLL POSITION: San Diego State checked in at No. 21 in Monday's AP Top 25 poll, the lone Mountain West team to be ranked this week.

Nevada (36 points and five spots out of the poll) and Boise State (1 points, 12 spots out) were in the "others receiving votes" section of the poll.

Meanwhile, the UNLV women, unbeaten in Mountain West play and riding a 15-game win streak, are ranked — 23rd — for the first time since 1994.

It's the first time a Mountain West women's team has been ranked since 2016, when Colorado State finished the season at No. 22.

Tuesday

Wyoming at New Mexico, 8 p.m. CBS Sports Network, 770 AM/ 96.3 FM