July Madness as The Basketball Tournament takes over The Pit this week
Jul. 18—ALBUQUERQUE — We're still four months away from the first Lobos-Aggies men's basketball game in The Pit, but that doesn't mean fans can't get their Rio Grande Rivalry fix whetted Monday.
The Enchantment, a team made up mostly of former players from the University of New Mexico, will face The PanAmaniacs, a team primarily made up of ex-New Mexico State players, in the opening round of The Basketball Tournament in The Pit on Monday night.
It's the last of four games in what is called the New Mexico Regional, an eight-team event this week hosted by UNM and The Pit.
The Enchantment has been handed the No. 4 seed; The PanAmaniacs the No. 5. The winner heads to Tuesday's second round with the winner there surviving into the regional finals on Thursday, also in The Pit.
The Basketball Tournament — referred to as TBT since its inception — is a winner-take-all event that dates to 2014. The winning team collects a $1 million prize and this year's tournament includes cash payouts to each regional winner; payouts that are based on a percentage of ticket sales at each of the eight regional sites.
Monday's game will be broadcast nationally by ESPNU, giving UNM a chance to showcase an arena that has a rich tradition in college hoops. It's that tradition — and the Lobos' ties to the past — that makes life a little easier for people like Richard Pitino, UNM's current head coach.
"The good part, when you're a new coach in a new community, you don't know all the former players and this is a good way for me to meet them," he said. "We've had a lot of coaches here whether it's coaches leaving, coaches getting fired. You have a lot of different allegiances to a lot of different coaches and it's not easy for the new coach to get that rapport with those guys. It's always challenging."
The TBT has given Pitino a chance to delve into UNM's past while allowing the tournament to promote his program. Monday's national TV audience certainly helps.
"The beauty of this job is New Mexico has a brand," Pitino said. "The former players who have played here deserve that recognition because they built the foundation for why this is going to be a great program. But also just to show — I mean, because everybody's watching ESPN at night or watching games — to show that we have one of the best fan bases in all of college basketball."
The Enchantment is coached by Kenny Thomas, arguably one of the greatest Lobos of all time. His roster includes former fan favorites Roman Martinez, Anthony Mathis, J.R. Giddens, Drew Gordon, Joe Furstinger and Dairese Gary.
Its general manager is, interestingly enough, former New Mexico State star Brandon Mason. Mason also had a stint as a UNM assistant coach and remains a huge figure in youth basketball in the Albuquerque community.
The PanAmaniacs are coached by NMSU athletic director Mario Moccia and includes forward Johnny McCants, 3-point specialist Terrell Brown, guard Jahmar Young and 6-8 guard Zach Lofton.
NOTES
Sharpshooter: Mathis won Sunday night's 3-point shooting contest, clinching a spot in TBT's 3-point finals later this month in Dayton. He also won last year's first-round contest but never made it to the finals after signing a contract to play in the NBA's G-League.
He made 11 straight tries from the top of the key to nail down the top spot.
Click away: Tickets to Monday's four games can be purchased online for as little as $14 — excluding, of course, the convenience fee for going online. Chairbacks are selling for $24. Visit golobos.com for details.
There are two sessions Monday, each requiring separate tickets.
