Dec. 6—ALBUQUERQUE — Consider it a fun-sized version of the Rio Grande Rivalry.
What used to be a celebrated, if not outdated, home-and-home series between in-state rivals New Mexico State and New Mexico is now a one-hit wonder every calendar year.
It may be scaled down but it’s certainly not scaled back. A near-capacity crowd is expected for Saturday night’s 229th meeting between the Lobos and Aggies.
“Nothing’s been diminished as you can tell that we’ve already sold 15,000 tickets in a nonconference game,” UNM coach Richard Pitino said Friday. “In all of college basketball, all you gotta do is turn on your TV. and there’s a lot of empty gyms, you know, so we certainly know how important it is.”
The Aggies enter the game still in rebuilding mode under second-year coach Jason Hooten. Beaten at home by Abilene Christian on Wednesday, they have seven new players on this year’s roster, three of whom stand 6-10 or taller.
As interested as he is to immerse himself into the in-state rivalry, one of UNM’s newcomers is even more interested to see The Pit filled to the brim.
“Yeah, I don’t think it’s the first time it comes to life; I think it was pretty good before,” said Lobos swing man Filip Borovicanin.
A starter for the first four games, the 6-9 Serbian saw his minutes drastically reduced when he was replaced by CJ Noland in the starting five. Appearing nervous and hesitant with the ball in his hands, he appears to have broken the mold by playing well in three of the last four games.
He had a season-high 11 points in limited minutes off the bench against Texas Southern, then played a career-high 31 minutes in Wednesday’s win over San Jose State. His nine points came with seven rebounds and three assists. He even showed an assertive side when he pump-faked a 3-point try and dribbled in for a dunk.
“There was just a timidness, offensively, that I think we saw,” Pitino said. “Maybe it was nerves, maybe it was new surroundings. I don’t really know, but he belonged last game. I think the UCLA game he had seven rebounds, as well. That’s why we brought him here. We needed a big guard who can be tough and attack.”
The Lobos certainly needed it against San Jose State. They trailed most of the night and didn’t look overly sharp until the final seven-plus minutes when they held the Spartans to one made shot.
“I told our team [Thursday] before film, I said are you ever texting and driving, and then all off a sudden you almost get in a crash, then you put your phone down and you go, ‘Alright I’m going to stop doing that,’ ” Pitino said. “That’s what we did, really. We were not ready to go.”
Mastering that quick start has been elusive for the Lobos all season. Aside from the UCLA game, many outings have seen a better version of them finally emerge in the second half of most games.
NOTES
Filling the seats: Saturday’s crowd will easily be the biggest of the season, so far. The largest crowd (11,286) came out to see Texas Southern.
Including the preseason exhibition against UTEP, the six home dates have drawn an average of 10,882 people.
Infirmary report: Pitino said Noland’s hand injury from the USC game during a Thanksgiving tournament appearance has improved to the point where he could be back in the lineup against the Aggies.
The 6-4 guard is averaging 9.5 points and 3.8 rebounds. His numbers have gone up since becoming a starter.
Center Atiki Ally Atiki is another subject. The 6-10 (3.6 points, 3.3 rebounds) dislocated the thumb on his nonshooting left hand during the first half of the win over San Jose State. He did not return to the game.
Pitino said it was too early to tell if Atiki would be be able to play. If not, it would mean shuffling the rotation behind starter Nelly Junior Joseph. Since Atiki is the only true backup center, it could mean 6-10 true freshman Jovan Milicevic (1.4, 0.6) or Ibrahima Sacko (1.6, 1.3) could slide into the reserve role.
