New Mexico and Boise State faced each other at The Pit with second place at stake.
As usual, The Pit was rocking and the Lobos defense was ready to go but unfortunately for New Mexico, so was the Boise State offense.
In the 86-78, New Mexico’s (18-4, 6-3) vaunted defense was muted by a Broncos offense that refused to be rattled.
Boise State (15-6, 6-2) only turned the ball over 11 times. The Broncos had 11 offensive rebounds that produced 17 points.
Then there was Max Rice who was certifiably in the zone. Rice would 12-20 from the floor including 7-14 from three as he finished with 35 points.
What was even more impressive was Rice’s performance came in a game that stayed in the balance until the end. With the Lobos turning up the pressure in the second half, Rice shot 8-12 and scored 24 points in the final 20 minutes.
Rice did hit some tough shots but most of his opportunities came with ample space to get his shot off even when he was a point of emphasis for the Lobos’ defense. That’s a red flag.
It’s a performance that should give New Mexico a bullet point to address. How to win games against quality opponents when the defense doesn’t provide short possessions?
The Mustangs were able to beat New Mexico with ball movement that provided opportunities to attack. That broke down the Lobos help side defense leading to a high offensive rebounds/second chance count.
That hasn’t been the case for New Mexico.
The Lobos are top 30 in the nation in four different KenPom defensive categories including Block% and Steal%.
New Mexico has visions of making it to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament. That means, at least one game, if not two will be against quality opponents.
That’s why it’s imperative for Richard Pitino to find a Plan B when the defense isn’t leading the way.
