Marquette men’s basketball is going dancing for the fourth straight year.
The Golden Eagles earned a 7-seed and will face the 10th-seeded New Mexico Lobos (26-7) — who will appear in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in two years — Friday at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Here is an overview of MU’s opponent, New Mexico:
How the Lobos have played recently
New Mexico were the Mountain West regular season champions for the first time since 2013. They finished with a 17-3 conference record and a 26-7 overall record to secure the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in its conference tournament.
In the quarterfinals, the Lobos defeated the eighth-seeded San Jose State Spartans 63-52 on Thursday in Las Vegas, Nevada. They scored 38 of their points in the paint, while earning 24 points off 18 forced turnovers in the win.
The following day, New Mexico fell to fifth-seeded Boise State 72-69 in the quarterfinals, ending their run in the tournament. The Broncos scored five straight points in the last minute of the game to hold on for the victory.
“That was quite a battle,” UNM head coach Richard Pitino said after the game per UNM Athletics. “You are disappointed when you don’t win a championship, especially when you have such a great crowd that made it feel like a home game. We squandered the opportunity, but a lot of that was due to Boise making big plays…
“I told the team, ‘Yes, it’s disappointing to not win another championship, but we are 26-7 and we are going to the NCAA Tournament. Now, we can take a little rest and get ready for Selection Sunday.’”
Players to watch
The Lobos are led by 6-foot-2 junior guard Donovan Dent, who senior guard Stevie Mitchell called “one of the best guards in the country.”
The Riverside, California native averages 20.6 points and 6.5 assists per game, which ranks eighth and 12th in the nation, respectively. He is also shooting 41.5 percent on 3-pointers and netted a career-high 40 points against VCU in December.
The Mountain West Player of the Year also became the first player in conference history to have six consecutive games of 20 points and five assists after recording 23 points and five assists in Friday’s loss to Boise State.
New Mexico’s roster also boasts a 6-foot-10, 240-pound center named Nelly Junior Joseph. The senior is averaging 14 points per contest and ranks third in the nation in rebounds per game, grabbing 11.2.
Dent and Joseph were both named to the Mountain West All-Tournament Team.
Connections to MU
Pitino will be able to ask his father — St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino — for a scouting report on Marquette, but he has also kept an eye on the Golden Eagles himself.
“I’ve watched Marquette three times because of St. John’s, so I’ve got a high level of respect for them,” Pitino said in a media availability on Sunday. “They’re always a contender in the Big East.”
There is also a connection between Pitino and Marquette head coach Shaka Smart.
“Before that, he replaced me as an assistant coach at Florida after I left to go to VCU,” Smart said. “Awesome guy, awesome coach. Has done a great job there. Heckuva league, the Mountain West, and they finished first and won the league. We’ll obviously dive into the particulars of who they are offensively and defensively.”
Tip-off between the Golden Eagles and the Lobos is scheduled for 6:25 p.m. CST on TBS.
This article was written by Kaylynn Wright. She can be reached at kaylynn.wright@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @KaylynnWrightMU.
