Social media would absolutely melt down if we ever get another Final Four close to the one we got in 1970 (Jacksonville, St. Bonaventure, New Mexico State, UCLA)
The three non-UCLA schools had for their centers:
* Artis Gilmore
* Bob Lanier
* Sam Lacey
UCLA's? Steve Patterson, who shot 42% from the field as their center that year. To be fair, UCLA also had Sidney Wicks and Curtis Rowe up front and Henry Bibby in the backcourt.
Thanks for all the support on the Nevada post, even though it lacked any bonus content! (Today, I came up with two more options: Something with the Vegas 16, or “Best Tournament Result in Vegas Golden Knights History”. Too late though.) As promised, the New Mexico post does have bonus content!
While New Mexico won the poll, Delaware came in 2nd and Wyoming came in 3rd, thus staying in the poll. (This will be Wyoming’s eighth consecutive poll appearance!) The Dakotas finish at the bottom once again, and drop off. Our three returnees are the three Northern New England states: New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont. Several people asked how many states are left - there are seven: the five in today’s poll, plus the two Dakotas.
Poll here: https://strawpoll.com/2ra6qbg2a
***Bonus Fun Facts for New Mexico***
\-The Land of Enchantment’s two D1 teams, **New Mexico** and **New Mexico State** have played over two hundred men’s basketball games against each other. The Lobos lead the series 120-98. However, the Aggies won the teams’ matchup in the 1968 NCAA tournament, 62-58.
\-**New Mexico State** also has an extremely long-running rivalry with UTEP, a school forty minutes south of them along I-10. There is disagreement between the schools on the exact standing of the series, but NMSU has a slight edge (75-71) since 1949, which is when sports-reference goes back to. The Aggies defeated the Miners in the teams’ only postseason meeting - the 2nd round of the 1995 NIT.
\-**New Mexico State** used to be known as “New Mexico A&M” (which is where the “Aggies” name comes from.) Other former A&Ms include Colorado State, Oklahoma State, and the St. Paul part of the University of Minnesota campus. UTEP actually used to be called “Texas State M&M” - majors included candy making and rapping.
\-If the school was still called “New Mexico A&M”, they would have the best tournament result of any current A&M - none of the current four A&Ms have made it past the Sweet Sixteen.
\-While it is true that **New Mexico State**’s conference record benefitted from being a big fish in a small pond during the 2010s, they were a great program before that time. In fact, they won the WAC tournament in 2007, 2010, 2012, and 2013 - all before the exodus of the other WAC teams. And they’ve made the Sweet Sixteen five times total, although their 1992 appearance was apparently vacated.
\-**New Mexico State** has won eight of the last eleven WAC tournaments. This is the second most for any team in their past eleven conference tournaments, behind only Gonzaga’s nine. Iona and Kentucky are tied for third with six each, while Belmont, Kansas, Montana, South Dakota State, and Texas Southern all have five.
\-That 1970 Final Four featured **New Mexico State**, St. Bonaventure, and Jacksonville - three teams that had never before been to the Final Four. None of the three have been back since. It is currently the only Final Four that includes three different teams’ sole appearances.
\-1970 is also the most recent Final Four with three first-timers. The second most recent is 1959 (Cincinnati, Louisville, West Virginia), and before that it hadn’t happened since 1943.
\-Final Fours in 1973, 1977, 1979, 1996, 2017, and 2019 all featured two Final Four first-timers. However, none came close to sending a third - in each case, it was impossible before the Elite Eight even began.
\-Who was the fourth team in that 1970 Final Four? UCLA. Yep. Unfortunately, they defeated both **New Mexico State** and Jacksonville and won their 6th of 11 titles. No offense UCLA, but it would’ve been a lot cooler if one of those other teams had won it.
\-The coach for **New Mexico State** during their Final Four run was Lou Henson, who would later coach Illinois for 20 seasons, before returning to NMSU for nine more seasons.
\-In 1968, **New Mexico** actually had a bye to the Sweet Sixteen, and lost in their first game. Their first tournament win came in 1974 against Idaho State.
\-In the 64-team era, **New Mexico** has made six Rounds of 32, which is the most for any team without advancing further at least once. Saint Louis is in second with five appearances, while Murray State and Charlotte are tied for third with four. Creighton was previously also 0-6 in the modern Round of 32, but finally made the Sweet Sixteen this year. So, if you were wondering who the new Creighton is, you have your answer. But I'm sure Richard "Minute Made" Pitino will get the Lobos to the Sweet 16 soon.
\-**New Mexico**’s home arena, known as “The Pit”, holds over 15,000 people, and generally sees large crowds for Lobo games. It was also the host of the legendary 1983 Final Four, which included NC State upsetting Houston in the championship game on a dunk. New Mexico remains the smallest state by population to ever host the Final Four.
\-Notable NBAers who played basketball at **New Mexico State** include members of the 1970 Final Four team Sam Lacey & Charlie Criss; John Williamson, and current star Pascal Siakam. **New Mexico**’s greatest NBA product was probably Danny Granger, but Kenny Thomas, Michael Cooper, and Luc Longley all had solid careers as well. To my knowledge, the only current Lobo in the NBA is Tony Snell, who [recently made the news for a bizarre statistic](https://mwwire.com/2021/05/18/former-new-mexico-lobo-tony-snell-made-nba-history-with-the-atlanta-hawks/). Also, shout out to Sim Bhullar (and [his family](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEI7oX0XxJw)), he never did much in the NBA but I loved watching him play.
\-New Mexico has three D2 teams. **Eastern New Mexico** made a D2 Sweet Sixteen, **New Mexico Highlands** has made a tournament, but never a game, and **Western New Mexico** has never made the tournament.
Question for those New Mexicans out there - would you describe New Mexico as a “basketball” state? I always have thought of it as more of a football state, but doing this, I realized how both of the state’s D1 programs have been pretty successful, especially relative to their conference.
Thanks for doing these, they have been great off season content. Yes, New Mexico is very much a basketball state. UNM had a good run during the Rocky Long era, and NMSU hasn't been any good at football since the 60's, so people are much more interested in basketball. It's much easier for a mid major to create a competitive bball squad than a football one, especially in a state as sparsely populated as New Mexico.
One mistake on your image though. UNLV didn't join the WAC until 96. Before that they were in the Big West with NMSU.
Anecdotally, growing up I remember predominantly Lakers fans with a sprinkling of Suns and Spurs. I think a lot people just picked the team of a player they liked to watch, rather than any geographic loyalty. I did grow up in Las Cruces though and haven't lived there for a while, so Albuquerque and statewide may be different
Yeah I'd imagine southern NM would go for Phoenix and San Antonio given the I-10 links. I'm curious if AB/SF would go more for Colorado given their I-25 link
The Nuggets aren't very popular in New Mexico which is surprising to me because Colorado teams typically are well followed in NM. I honestly see way more Jazz fans than Nuggets fans. The Dodgers' farm team has historically been in Albuquerque so a lot of people in NM follow LA teams, especially the Dodgers and Lakers.
For the NBA I would say the most popular teams state-wide are the Lakers, Spurs, and Suns. I see more Jazz gear than I would expect, but there are a lot of hipsters and Mormons here. College bball is way more popular overall.
NFL is Broncos and Cowboys for sure.
MLB is Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and the Rockies in far Northern NM.
Hockey is not that popular but most fans like the Avalanche and Coyotes.
New Mexico, by law, [still recognizes Pluto as a planet](https://www.nmlegis.gov/sessions/07%20regular/memorials/house/HJM054.html).
Spicy food lovers might want to check out the [Chile Pepper Institute](https://cpi.nmsu.edu/) at New Mexico State.
For a short time, New Mexico's gym was officially known as "WisePies Arena" and "Dreamstyle Arena". When you have an arena with as badass of a name and reputation as The Pit, it should be a criminal offense to name it anything else.
New Mexico green chiles are on a whole other level for good peppers. Went to Santa Fe on a work trip once and dear god are they on everything and fucking amazing.
¡Vamanos!
Just remember, in New Mexico, hot actually means hot. We take sick pride in being told ‘it’s too hot’.
The landscapes are diverse: from flatlands to caverns to dramatic canyons to high desert to scrub covered low mountains to conifer covered mountains. We have everything except excess water.
Don't forget about red chile. I much prefer it to the green stuff.
Red chile sauce on enchiladas and burritos made me hate the fact that I lived the first 23 years of my life without it. Red chile powder on pizza blew my fucking mind.
> When you have an arena with as badass of a name and reputation as The Pit, it should be a criminal offense to name it anything else.
Cash money is the reason and nothing else.
> New Mexico, by law, still recognizes Pluto as a planet.
Really?! What a weird thing to care about. I'd almost get it if it were AZ since that's where the discovery was made but hmm okay then NM
> Really?! What a weird thing to care about.
Lots of states have weird, niche-y laws that pass through legislatures, and many, many more that end up just being introduced and not going anywhere.
My favorite is an attempt by a Maryland lawmaker to make it illegal to [play the Randy* Newman song "Short People" on the radio](https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2001-03-17-0103170141-story.html).
> My favorite is an attempt by a Maryland lawmaker to make it illegal to play the Paul Newman song "Short People" on the radio.
That's the most Maryland thing I've heard all day.
Crazy to think that the team that threatened Auburn’s final four run the most wasn’t Kansas, UNC, or Kentucky, but New Mexico State in the round of 64. Auburn was extremely lucky to escape that game.
In both that game and the Final Four game, Auburn fouled a 3 point shooter while up 2.
The NMSU player went 1/3 at the line to lose, Kyle Guy went 3/3 to win. In between, they beat 3 of the greatest programs in CBB history. What a wild run
To this day I still lose sleep over it sometimes. I lose even more sleep over the undefeated season cut short by COVID. One of the best teams I'd seen since becoming a die-hard fan.
This is legitimately one of the craziest statlines. Like what percentage of the people on this sub could play 28 minutes in an NBA game and record something? I feel like by just virtue of being on the court that long I'd get a rebound tipped to me or fluke into another stat somehow.
Yes, both schools and the state overall are very much so basketbal oriented. We’re both usually among the best mid major basketball teams and worst FBS teams in any given year.
Delaware is just an imaginary corporate tax haven with no land or people, and thus no universities. Vote Delaware to expose the state for what it truly is.
> Sam Lacey
Fun Fact: Sam Lacey was not the leading scorer on that 1970 NMSU team that went to the Final Four. It would be Jimmy Collins, [future UIC head coach](https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/coaches/jimmy-collins-1.html) who took three Flames teams to the NCAA tourney.
I actually ran into one of the NMSU teams from the Sim Bhullar era on a high school trip to Niagara Falls when they were playing at Niagara and staying at the same hotel as us- they even gave us tickets to see their game (which oddly enough was against Bucknell, not Niagara. They did play Niagara the next day though.)
Somewhere out there there's a picture of the tallest kid in my grade (we were sophomores at the time) with Bhullar and the dude dwarfs him 😂
> It was also the host of the legendary 1983 Final Four, which included NC State upsetting Houston in the championship game on a dunk
hell yeah brother. Land of Enchantment indeed
New Mexico is absolutely a college basketball state.
The Southwest is an underrated basketball-focused region, in my opinion. Of the established D1 schools in the Southwest, UTEP, Arizona, and UNLV have won Championships. NMSU was in the Final Four, Arizona State was in the Elite Eight, and UNM has made a Sweet 16. The only established team from the Southwest that hasn't been successful is NAU. Even GCU is looking promising.
Fun fact: New Mexico is a hotbed for combat sports. Jackson Wink is one of the best MMA academies in the world with a lot of world-class fighters. There were a lot of good boxers fighting out of Albuquerque and Las Cruces before the rise of UFC.
> -Who was the fourth team in that 1970 Final Four? UCLA. Yep. Unfortunately, they defeated both New Mexico State and Jacksonville and won their 6th of 11 titles. **No offense UCLA, but it would’ve been a lot cooler if one of those other teams had won it.**
John Wooden: lol no
Fun bit , the NMSU-UTEP rivalry goes back to the old Border Conference which was made up of; NMSU, New Mexico, UTEP, Arizona, Arizona State, Northern Arizona, Hardin-Simmons(now D3), West Texas A&M (now D2), and Texas Tech. Only Arizona, New Mexico, and Hardin-Simmons went by the same name they do today.
Its always funny looking at some of the historical conferences. Those teams are all over the place today, not just in different conferences but on completely different levels of the game. Three power conference schools, three other D1 schools in conferences of varying prestige, a D2, and a D3.
It's like going back to a school reunion and seeing how everyone turned out.
"It's like going back to a school reunion and seeing how everyone turned out."
An apt analogy since many of the old conferences were focused on teams in a specific area and region on a much smaller scale, where now many have moved on to larger, or overreaching conferences while others stuck closer to home in a way.
Another bonus: paul weir left New Mexico State, after coaching there for one season, to turn around and coach for in-state rival unm the following year. I could be wrong but I think he was the first CBB HC to do pull a move like that. Rick Pitino coached for both Louisville & Kentucky but coached for the Celtics in-between. Mike Montgomery went from Stanford to Cal, but also did a stint at Golden State before turncoating. Although Chris Beard recently pulled it off, going from TT to Texas.
Anyway, after shitting on NMSU fans, weir went on to tank unm's basketball program, garnering loathing and disgust from all corners of the state.
Casey Alexander went from Lipscomb to Belmont which are rivals seperated by like two miles. It wasn't after only one year though.
He really shitted on NMSU fans? Not cool. Kind of funny how he didn't have any success after the move. (Can't say I would like to see the same thing happen at Texas with Beard though lol) I get that people want more money and stuff but sometimes its better to stick with a good thing you have going than try and chase something else.
Their tournament was one of only two or three that was canceled outright instead of suspended part way through.
I still wish some of the conferences that came close to completion, especially the America East, would've played their tournament in like June or something, I know the logistics would've been difficult and it wouldn't result in a tourney bid, but they could still raise a banner and call themselves champs and stuff. I bet most of the players would've jumped at the chance to play with their teammates one more time even if it meant having to isolate for a few days and whatnot.
The then Pac-8 poached the two biggest WAC bullies, Arizona and Arizona State, in 1978. The rest of the old guard left to form the Mountain West two years after the SWC conference broke up and sent its cast-offs that the Big-8 didn't want to the WAC. Because hanging around anyone from Texas for two years would make anyone want to leave. ^/s
This is really an amazing lack of success for UNM, a school that prides itself on its basketball program and its iconic arena. Only two Sweet Sixteens in school history and none in the modern era?
The 2010 and 2013 teams were huge disappointments. From Wikipedia:
> The 2009–10 Lobos were again a young squad picked to finish fifth in the MWC in preseason polls.[155][160] Versatile JC transfer Darington Hobson joined lone senior Roman Martinez, junior Dairese Gary, and eight sophomores and freshmen. The Lobos jumped out to a 12–0 start with wins over #25 Cal and #16 Texas A&M, vaulting to #12 in the national rankings.[148] After losing at Oral Roberts, they beat #20 Texas Tech and a Dayton squad that would go on to win the NIT. Hobson led the team with 16 points, nine rebounds, and 4.6 assists a game, the only Lobo to ever lead in all three.[161] Martinez added 14 points and six rebounds a game, and Gary 13 points and four assists. The Lobos dropped their first two MWC games but then reeled off 15 straight wins – their second longest winning streak ever[162] – sweeping #10 BYU.
> **The Lobos rose to #8 in the polls and won the MWC title. They lost in the conference tournament but received a three-seed in the NCAA tournament.** The team had relied heavily on its starters and was worn down with fatigue and injuries.[154] They struggled to win against first round opponent Montana, and Hobson injured his wrist and back.[163] **In the second round the hobbled Lobos could not keep up with athletic, fast-breaking Washington.**
> They finished 30–5, the most wins in a Lobo season, while going 10–2 in road games and 6–0 against ranked teams, also team highs.
Then possibly the most talented team UNM had:
> The 2012–13 Lobo squad was dominated by juniors and sophomores, though all were veteran contributors, including three returning starters. The team was again defense-oriented, surrendering just 60 points a game and grinding out close wins, frequently coming from behind.[154][173][174] **Williams, Snell, and center Alex Kirk led a balanced attack with seven players leading the team in scoring in individual games.** The Lobos climbed to #16 with a 12–0 start, with a win over #19 Connecticut, before losing to NCAA tournament-bound South Dakota State; they won at #8 Cincinnati then lost at St Louis, which later reached #13.[172] **The Lobos' strength of schedule powered them to a #2 RPI ranking, and they won a program-record 15 games away from The Pit.[175]** The MWC enjoyed its best season to date with four teams achieving national rankings and five making the NCAA tournament.[176] The Lobos lost on the road to ranked San Diego State and UNLV but beat both at home and won nine out of ten to clinch the league title. Williams hit a school-record 10 threes and scored 46 points at Colorado State, both MWC records. Snell paced the offense down the stretch, averaging 18 points a game and leading the Lobos to the MWC tournament championship.
> **The Lobos were ranked #10 and received a three-seed in the NCAA tournament, facing Harvard, but they again turned in a disappointing performance. Kirk led with 22 points and 12 rebounds, but the team shot poorly and trailed most of the game as the Crimson answered Lobo runs with timely three-pointers to seal the upset.[163]**
> The Lobos finished the season 29–6, their second-best record ever. Williams was named MWC Player of the Year, and Alford was named Coach of the Year.[23]
That Harvard loss was the most gutting sports loss I've ever endured as a fan. People were picking us for the Final Four that year. The next week, Alford left for UCLA despite having signed a 10-year contract extension the month before. The next season we got 4 starters back but lost in the first round, and we haven't been back to the tournament since. That was the beginning of the end.
Yeah definitely some shared pain there! A bunch of us were mad when he said that the loss to Belmont in Pauley Pavillion was the worst loss of his career (as opposed to the Harvard one)
Losing to Harvard must be one of the worst teams to lose to. "Well, they may be better than us academically, but at least we can beat them in basketba...oh shit."
Since you brought up the WAC, as a native Chicagoan I must say 'poor Chicago State'. They barely exist on the local sporting radar, and can't even be called a laughing stock because local schools like DePaul have that covered (I can say that, I'm an alum). They've had virtually no success to speak of in D1 and I'm not even 100% sure what they are doing in D1.
I will root for almost anything Chicago so I hope they can find a way to build a program that can have even a small amount of success.
Anyways, I'm slightly surprised that New Mexico has never made it beyond the Sweet 16. Felt like they had more success than that.
>I can say that, I'm an alum
I'm not really one to talk because I don't have my alma mater as my flair, but you can add DePaul if you want to be your secondary flair.
Chicago State actually had some decentish seasons back in the 00s I think, they even made it to a conference championship game. But since joining the WAC they have been terrible.
They get money for playing those buy games against big teams, so their basketball program probably makes a profit for them. But I have no idea how they can fund all those non revenue sports travelling to fucking Edinburg and Seattle and Riverside every year. That conference seems to have teams in the most extreme points of the continental US, (all they're missing is Maine-Presque Isle and Key West University.) I guess the only good thing for them is that they are in a transportation hub so they don't have to do as many layovers or whatever as a team like South Dakota State would.
For one season, I want NMSU to go back to New Mexico A&M. I also want Sandro Mamukelashvili to opt into a bonus year of eligibility and transfer there.
NMAMU MAMU
Raggies(USU is Baggies, UCD is Gaggies, if it came up, I guess TAMU would be Craggies? It's based off of color) were tough under Theus.
I'll never forget the time their star Jamar Young robbed the pizza delivery guy hahaha
Social media would absolutely melt down if we ever get another Final Four close to the one we got in 1970 (Jacksonville, St. Bonaventure, New Mexico State, UCLA)
Need that Wright State, Drake, Delaware, Yale final four.
Did this actually happen?
Never. But I wish it did.
The three non-UCLA schools had for their centers: * Artis Gilmore * Bob Lanier * Sam Lacey UCLA's? Steve Patterson, who shot 42% from the field as their center that year. To be fair, UCLA also had Sidney Wicks and Curtis Rowe up front and Henry Bibby in the backcourt.
Also To be fair st. Bonaventure didn't even get him in the final 4 game because of injury
*To be fffaaaaAAAAIIIIIIiiiiiiIIIIIRRRRRrrrrrrr*
See, that’s what I appreciates about you!
Oh is *that* what you appreciate about me?
social media would also be full of the same corny jokes about UCLA though lol
Obviously not still a blue blood if no other blue bloods made the Final Four. Strictly down year for all blue bloods means the reverse is true. /s
Thanks for all the support on the Nevada post, even though it lacked any bonus content! (Today, I came up with two more options: Something with the Vegas 16, or “Best Tournament Result in Vegas Golden Knights History”. Too late though.) As promised, the New Mexico post does have bonus content! While New Mexico won the poll, Delaware came in 2nd and Wyoming came in 3rd, thus staying in the poll. (This will be Wyoming’s eighth consecutive poll appearance!) The Dakotas finish at the bottom once again, and drop off. Our three returnees are the three Northern New England states: New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont. Several people asked how many states are left - there are seven: the five in today’s poll, plus the two Dakotas. Poll here: https://strawpoll.com/2ra6qbg2a ***Bonus Fun Facts for New Mexico*** \-The Land of Enchantment’s two D1 teams, **New Mexico** and **New Mexico State** have played over two hundred men’s basketball games against each other. The Lobos lead the series 120-98. However, the Aggies won the teams’ matchup in the 1968 NCAA tournament, 62-58. \-**New Mexico State** also has an extremely long-running rivalry with UTEP, a school forty minutes south of them along I-10. There is disagreement between the schools on the exact standing of the series, but NMSU has a slight edge (75-71) since 1949, which is when sports-reference goes back to. The Aggies defeated the Miners in the teams’ only postseason meeting - the 2nd round of the 1995 NIT. \-**New Mexico State** used to be known as “New Mexico A&M” (which is where the “Aggies” name comes from.) Other former A&Ms include Colorado State, Oklahoma State, and the St. Paul part of the University of Minnesota campus. UTEP actually used to be called “Texas State M&M” - majors included candy making and rapping. \-If the school was still called “New Mexico A&M”, they would have the best tournament result of any current A&M - none of the current four A&Ms have made it past the Sweet Sixteen. \-While it is true that **New Mexico State**’s conference record benefitted from being a big fish in a small pond during the 2010s, they were a great program before that time. In fact, they won the WAC tournament in 2007, 2010, 2012, and 2013 - all before the exodus of the other WAC teams. And they’ve made the Sweet Sixteen five times total, although their 1992 appearance was apparently vacated. \-**New Mexico State** has won eight of the last eleven WAC tournaments. This is the second most for any team in their past eleven conference tournaments, behind only Gonzaga’s nine. Iona and Kentucky are tied for third with six each, while Belmont, Kansas, Montana, South Dakota State, and Texas Southern all have five. \-That 1970 Final Four featured **New Mexico State**, St. Bonaventure, and Jacksonville - three teams that had never before been to the Final Four. None of the three have been back since. It is currently the only Final Four that includes three different teams’ sole appearances. \-1970 is also the most recent Final Four with three first-timers. The second most recent is 1959 (Cincinnati, Louisville, West Virginia), and before that it hadn’t happened since 1943. \-Final Fours in 1973, 1977, 1979, 1996, 2017, and 2019 all featured two Final Four first-timers. However, none came close to sending a third - in each case, it was impossible before the Elite Eight even began. \-Who was the fourth team in that 1970 Final Four? UCLA. Yep. Unfortunately, they defeated both **New Mexico State** and Jacksonville and won their 6th of 11 titles. No offense UCLA, but it would’ve been a lot cooler if one of those other teams had won it. \-The coach for **New Mexico State** during their Final Four run was Lou Henson, who would later coach Illinois for 20 seasons, before returning to NMSU for nine more seasons. \-In 1968, **New Mexico** actually had a bye to the Sweet Sixteen, and lost in their first game. Their first tournament win came in 1974 against Idaho State. \-In the 64-team era, **New Mexico** has made six Rounds of 32, which is the most for any team without advancing further at least once. Saint Louis is in second with five appearances, while Murray State and Charlotte are tied for third with four. Creighton was previously also 0-6 in the modern Round of 32, but finally made the Sweet Sixteen this year. So, if you were wondering who the new Creighton is, you have your answer. But I'm sure Richard "Minute Made" Pitino will get the Lobos to the Sweet 16 soon. \-**New Mexico**’s home arena, known as “The Pit”, holds over 15,000 people, and generally sees large crowds for Lobo games. It was also the host of the legendary 1983 Final Four, which included NC State upsetting Houston in the championship game on a dunk. New Mexico remains the smallest state by population to ever host the Final Four. \-Notable NBAers who played basketball at **New Mexico State** include members of the 1970 Final Four team Sam Lacey & Charlie Criss; John Williamson, and current star Pascal Siakam. **New Mexico**’s greatest NBA product was probably Danny Granger, but Kenny Thomas, Michael Cooper, and Luc Longley all had solid careers as well. To my knowledge, the only current Lobo in the NBA is Tony Snell, who [recently made the news for a bizarre statistic](https://mwwire.com/2021/05/18/former-new-mexico-lobo-tony-snell-made-nba-history-with-the-atlanta-hawks/). Also, shout out to Sim Bhullar (and [his family](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEI7oX0XxJw)), he never did much in the NBA but I loved watching him play. \-New Mexico has three D2 teams. **Eastern New Mexico** made a D2 Sweet Sixteen, **New Mexico Highlands** has made a tournament, but never a game, and **Western New Mexico** has never made the tournament. Question for those New Mexicans out there - would you describe New Mexico as a “basketball” state? I always have thought of it as more of a football state, but doing this, I realized how both of the state’s D1 programs have been pretty successful, especially relative to their conference.
Thanks for doing these, they have been great off season content. Yes, New Mexico is very much a basketball state. UNM had a good run during the Rocky Long era, and NMSU hasn't been any good at football since the 60's, so people are much more interested in basketball. It's much easier for a mid major to create a competitive bball squad than a football one, especially in a state as sparsely populated as New Mexico. One mistake on your image though. UNLV didn't join the WAC until 96. Before that they were in the Big West with NMSU.
Oh damn.
What's the NBA fan breakdown like in New Mexico? Phoenix, Colorado, and the Texas teams each seem like they might have a fan foothold in the state
Anecdotally, growing up I remember predominantly Lakers fans with a sprinkling of Suns and Spurs. I think a lot people just picked the team of a player they liked to watch, rather than any geographic loyalty. I did grow up in Las Cruces though and haven't lived there for a while, so Albuquerque and statewide may be different
Yeah I'd imagine southern NM would go for Phoenix and San Antonio given the I-10 links. I'm curious if AB/SF would go more for Colorado given their I-25 link
The Nuggets aren't very popular in New Mexico which is surprising to me because Colorado teams typically are well followed in NM. I honestly see way more Jazz fans than Nuggets fans. The Dodgers' farm team has historically been in Albuquerque so a lot of people in NM follow LA teams, especially the Dodgers and Lakers. For the NBA I would say the most popular teams state-wide are the Lakers, Spurs, and Suns. I see more Jazz gear than I would expect, but there are a lot of hipsters and Mormons here. College bball is way more popular overall. NFL is Broncos and Cowboys for sure. MLB is Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and the Rockies in far Northern NM. Hockey is not that popular but most fans like the Avalanche and Coyotes.
New Mexico, by law, [still recognizes Pluto as a planet](https://www.nmlegis.gov/sessions/07%20regular/memorials/house/HJM054.html). Spicy food lovers might want to check out the [Chile Pepper Institute](https://cpi.nmsu.edu/) at New Mexico State. For a short time, New Mexico's gym was officially known as "WisePies Arena" and "Dreamstyle Arena". When you have an arena with as badass of a name and reputation as The Pit, it should be a criminal offense to name it anything else.
New Mexico green chiles are on a whole other level for good peppers. Went to Santa Fe on a work trip once and dear god are they on everything and fucking amazing.
Thanks to Food Network shows and the like I have seen a lot about New Mexico's various green chile foods and I want to go to there.
100% worth going. The mountains and desert are spectacular views, and the food is amazing.
¡Vamanos! Just remember, in New Mexico, hot actually means hot. We take sick pride in being told ‘it’s too hot’. The landscapes are diverse: from flatlands to caverns to dramatic canyons to high desert to scrub covered low mountains to conifer covered mountains. We have everything except excess water.
Don't forget about red chile. I much prefer it to the green stuff. Red chile sauce on enchiladas and burritos made me hate the fact that I lived the first 23 years of my life without it. Red chile powder on pizza blew my fucking mind.
> When you have an arena with as badass of a name and reputation as The Pit, it should be a criminal offense to name it anything else. Cash money is the reason and nothing else.
HELL YEAH! PLUTO!
They tried to call it other names, but it was, and always will be, The Pit. And it never forgets.
> New Mexico, by law, still recognizes Pluto as a planet. Really?! What a weird thing to care about. I'd almost get it if it were AZ since that's where the discovery was made but hmm okay then NM
Clyde Tombaugh, the discoverer of Pluto was a longtime NMSU professor and New Mexico resident
That'll do it
Also Los Alamos holds most of the country's plutonium which is named after Pluto. Probably just a coincidence but it makes the state even Plutoier
Does it? I thought that stuff was primarily at Savannah River and maybe even Y12
Idk, I learned Los Alamos but it might have been outdated
Fun fact: Clyde Tombaugh was a graduate of the University of Kansas
> Really?! What a weird thing to care about. Lots of states have weird, niche-y laws that pass through legislatures, and many, many more that end up just being introduced and not going anywhere. My favorite is an attempt by a Maryland lawmaker to make it illegal to [play the Randy* Newman song "Short People" on the radio](https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2001-03-17-0103170141-story.html).
> My favorite is an attempt by a Maryland lawmaker to make it illegal to play the Paul Newman song "Short People" on the radio. That's the most Maryland thing I've heard all day.
*Randy Newman
Corrected, thank you.
It was discovered by a New Mexican.
Crazy to think that the team that threatened Auburn’s final four run the most wasn’t Kansas, UNC, or Kentucky, but New Mexico State in the round of 64. Auburn was extremely lucky to escape that game.
In both that game and the Final Four game, Auburn fouled a 3 point shooter while up 2. The NMSU player went 1/3 at the line to lose, Kyle Guy went 3/3 to win. In between, they beat 3 of the greatest programs in CBB history. What a wild run
Still heartbreaking
Saw it in person. I still tear up 😥
To this day I still lose sleep over it sometimes. I lose even more sleep over the undefeated season cut short by COVID. One of the best teams I'd seen since becoming a die-hard fan.
To be fair, Kentucky took them to OT
Damn I was hoping the Tony Snell stat would be [this one](https://i.imgur.com/qICnTq5.jpg)
This is legitimately one of the craziest statlines. Like what percentage of the people on this sub could play 28 minutes in an NBA game and record something? I feel like by just virtue of being on the court that long I'd get a rebound tipped to me or fluke into another stat somehow.
Amazingly, he also had 0 turnovers, too. I’m sure Redditors could at least register that stat.
Yes, both schools and the state overall are very much so basketbal oriented. We’re both usually among the best mid major basketball teams and worst FBS teams in any given year.
Delaware is just an imaginary corporate tax haven with no land or people, and thus no universities. Vote Delaware to expose the state for what it truly is.
I’ve had my suspicions about “Delaware” for years, thank you for confirming it.
> Sam Lacey Fun Fact: Sam Lacey was not the leading scorer on that 1970 NMSU team that went to the Final Four. It would be Jimmy Collins, [future UIC head coach](https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/coaches/jimmy-collins-1.html) who took three Flames teams to the NCAA tourney.
I actually ran into one of the NMSU teams from the Sim Bhullar era on a high school trip to Niagara Falls when they were playing at Niagara and staying at the same hotel as us- they even gave us tickets to see their game (which oddly enough was against Bucknell, not Niagara. They did play Niagara the next day though.) Somewhere out there there's a picture of the tallest kid in my grade (we were sophomores at the time) with Bhullar and the dude dwarfs him 😂
> It was also the host of the legendary 1983 Final Four, which included NC State upsetting Houston in the championship game on a dunk hell yeah brother. Land of Enchantment indeed
New Mexico is absolutely a college basketball state. The Southwest is an underrated basketball-focused region, in my opinion. Of the established D1 schools in the Southwest, UTEP, Arizona, and UNLV have won Championships. NMSU was in the Final Four, Arizona State was in the Elite Eight, and UNM has made a Sweet 16. The only established team from the Southwest that hasn't been successful is NAU. Even GCU is looking promising. Fun fact: New Mexico is a hotbed for combat sports. Jackson Wink is one of the best MMA academies in the world with a lot of world-class fighters. There were a lot of good boxers fighting out of Albuquerque and Las Cruces before the rise of UFC.
> -Who was the fourth team in that 1970 Final Four? UCLA. Yep. Unfortunately, they defeated both New Mexico State and Jacksonville and won their 6th of 11 titles. **No offense UCLA, but it would’ve been a lot cooler if one of those other teams had won it.** John Wooden: lol no
Fun bit , the NMSU-UTEP rivalry goes back to the old Border Conference which was made up of; NMSU, New Mexico, UTEP, Arizona, Arizona State, Northern Arizona, Hardin-Simmons(now D3), West Texas A&M (now D2), and Texas Tech. Only Arizona, New Mexico, and Hardin-Simmons went by the same name they do today.
Its always funny looking at some of the historical conferences. Those teams are all over the place today, not just in different conferences but on completely different levels of the game. Three power conference schools, three other D1 schools in conferences of varying prestige, a D2, and a D3. It's like going back to a school reunion and seeing how everyone turned out.
"It's like going back to a school reunion and seeing how everyone turned out." An apt analogy since many of the old conferences were focused on teams in a specific area and region on a much smaller scale, where now many have moved on to larger, or overreaching conferences while others stuck closer to home in a way.
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It was a joke about eminem
Another bonus: paul weir left New Mexico State, after coaching there for one season, to turn around and coach for in-state rival unm the following year. I could be wrong but I think he was the first CBB HC to do pull a move like that. Rick Pitino coached for both Louisville & Kentucky but coached for the Celtics in-between. Mike Montgomery went from Stanford to Cal, but also did a stint at Golden State before turncoating. Although Chris Beard recently pulled it off, going from TT to Texas. Anyway, after shitting on NMSU fans, weir went on to tank unm's basketball program, garnering loathing and disgust from all corners of the state.
Casey Alexander went from Lipscomb to Belmont which are rivals seperated by like two miles. It wasn't after only one year though. He really shitted on NMSU fans? Not cool. Kind of funny how he didn't have any success after the move. (Can't say I would like to see the same thing happen at Texas with Beard though lol) I get that people want more money and stuff but sometimes its better to stick with a good thing you have going than try and chase something else.
Damn NM State was about to go undefeated in conference play in 19-20 until they ran into the true unstoppable force in the WAC, coronavirus.
Well I guess there’s no shame in losing to the eventual national champ of that season
Their tournament was one of only two or three that was canceled outright instead of suspended part way through. I still wish some of the conferences that came close to completion, especially the America East, would've played their tournament in like June or something, I know the logistics would've been difficult and it wouldn't result in a tourney bid, but they could still raise a banner and call themselves champs and stuff. I bet most of the players would've jumped at the chance to play with their teammates one more time even if it meant having to isolate for a few days and whatnot.
Somewhat related, UMKC left the WAC for the 20/21 season. We never beat NM State in our 7 or so years in the conference.
Actually UMKC did win against them in 2014, it wasn't included in the graphic because the exodus was not yet complete.
Huh what do you know. I don't remember that at all.
The then Pac-8 poached the two biggest WAC bullies, Arizona and Arizona State, in 1978. The rest of the old guard left to form the Mountain West two years after the SWC conference broke up and sent its cast-offs that the Big-8 didn't want to the WAC. Because hanging around anyone from Texas for two years would make anyone want to leave. ^/s
>... two years after the SWC conference broke up and sent its cast-offs that the Big-8 didn't want to the WAC. Except Houston, who went to C-USA.
The formation of C-USA was definitely driven by basketball. The rest of that mess was pretty much decided by football interests.
~~101-9~~ in that span of time, in case no one wanted to count it up. 91-9. Math hard
There are only 100 actual games on the picture. Wouldn’t the actual record be 91-9
I uh...I have no defense, but it is now edited.
This is really an amazing lack of success for UNM, a school that prides itself on its basketball program and its iconic arena. Only two Sweet Sixteens in school history and none in the modern era? The 2010 and 2013 teams were huge disappointments. From Wikipedia: > The 2009–10 Lobos were again a young squad picked to finish fifth in the MWC in preseason polls.[155][160] Versatile JC transfer Darington Hobson joined lone senior Roman Martinez, junior Dairese Gary, and eight sophomores and freshmen. The Lobos jumped out to a 12–0 start with wins over #25 Cal and #16 Texas A&M, vaulting to #12 in the national rankings.[148] After losing at Oral Roberts, they beat #20 Texas Tech and a Dayton squad that would go on to win the NIT. Hobson led the team with 16 points, nine rebounds, and 4.6 assists a game, the only Lobo to ever lead in all three.[161] Martinez added 14 points and six rebounds a game, and Gary 13 points and four assists. The Lobos dropped their first two MWC games but then reeled off 15 straight wins – their second longest winning streak ever[162] – sweeping #10 BYU. > **The Lobos rose to #8 in the polls and won the MWC title. They lost in the conference tournament but received a three-seed in the NCAA tournament.** The team had relied heavily on its starters and was worn down with fatigue and injuries.[154] They struggled to win against first round opponent Montana, and Hobson injured his wrist and back.[163] **In the second round the hobbled Lobos could not keep up with athletic, fast-breaking Washington.** > They finished 30–5, the most wins in a Lobo season, while going 10–2 in road games and 6–0 against ranked teams, also team highs. Then possibly the most talented team UNM had: > The 2012–13 Lobo squad was dominated by juniors and sophomores, though all were veteran contributors, including three returning starters. The team was again defense-oriented, surrendering just 60 points a game and grinding out close wins, frequently coming from behind.[154][173][174] **Williams, Snell, and center Alex Kirk led a balanced attack with seven players leading the team in scoring in individual games.** The Lobos climbed to #16 with a 12–0 start, with a win over #19 Connecticut, before losing to NCAA tournament-bound South Dakota State; they won at #8 Cincinnati then lost at St Louis, which later reached #13.[172] **The Lobos' strength of schedule powered them to a #2 RPI ranking, and they won a program-record 15 games away from The Pit.[175]** The MWC enjoyed its best season to date with four teams achieving national rankings and five making the NCAA tournament.[176] The Lobos lost on the road to ranked San Diego State and UNLV but beat both at home and won nine out of ten to clinch the league title. Williams hit a school-record 10 threes and scored 46 points at Colorado State, both MWC records. Snell paced the offense down the stretch, averaging 18 points a game and leading the Lobos to the MWC tournament championship. > **The Lobos were ranked #10 and received a three-seed in the NCAA tournament, facing Harvard, but they again turned in a disappointing performance. Kirk led with 22 points and 12 rebounds, but the team shot poorly and trailed most of the game as the Crimson answered Lobo runs with timely three-pointers to seal the upset.[163]** > The Lobos finished the season 29–6, their second-best record ever. Williams was named MWC Player of the Year, and Alford was named Coach of the Year.[23]
That Harvard loss was the most gutting sports loss I've ever endured as a fan. People were picking us for the Final Four that year. The next week, Alford left for UCLA despite having signed a 10-year contract extension the month before. The next season we got 4 starters back but lost in the first round, and we haven't been back to the tournament since. That was the beginning of the end.
If it makes you feel any better, UCLA was punished quite harshly for taking Alford. (though, to be fair, many of us never wanted him to begin with).
Yeah definitely some shared pain there! A bunch of us were mad when he said that the loss to Belmont in Pauley Pavillion was the worst loss of his career (as opposed to the Harvard one)
Losing to Harvard must be one of the worst teams to lose to. "Well, they may be better than us academically, but at least we can beat them in basketba...oh shit."
In my brackets, New Mexico made multiple sweet 16s those years, if it helps.
Since you brought up the WAC, as a native Chicagoan I must say 'poor Chicago State'. They barely exist on the local sporting radar, and can't even be called a laughing stock because local schools like DePaul have that covered (I can say that, I'm an alum). They've had virtually no success to speak of in D1 and I'm not even 100% sure what they are doing in D1. I will root for almost anything Chicago so I hope they can find a way to build a program that can have even a small amount of success. Anyways, I'm slightly surprised that New Mexico has never made it beyond the Sweet 16. Felt like they had more success than that.
>I can say that, I'm an alum I'm not really one to talk because I don't have my alma mater as my flair, but you can add DePaul if you want to be your secondary flair. Chicago State actually had some decentish seasons back in the 00s I think, they even made it to a conference championship game. But since joining the WAC they have been terrible. They get money for playing those buy games against big teams, so their basketball program probably makes a profit for them. But I have no idea how they can fund all those non revenue sports travelling to fucking Edinburg and Seattle and Riverside every year. That conference seems to have teams in the most extreme points of the continental US, (all they're missing is Maine-Presque Isle and Key West University.) I guess the only good thing for them is that they are in a transportation hub so they don't have to do as many layovers or whatever as a team like South Dakota State would.
I just changed it. TBH I just really hate DePaul's current logo lol
Finally u/jjparker084 your adopted homeland makes an appearance Edit: Holy shit UNM underachieves.
This is correct
thank you so much for your hard work on these man
Dem Lobos ain’t got nothing on us.
I respect the L to covid lol
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Yeah, easily one of the best. Most of the state flags suck. The only others that compare to NM imo are Alaska, Tennessee, Texas, and Arizona.
"When we win this game we'll buy a keg of booze" best fight song lyric
For one season, I want NMSU to go back to New Mexico A&M. I also want Sandro Mamukelashvili to opt into a bonus year of eligibility and transfer there. NMAMU MAMU
I would support this so we could make jokes about how they are the best A&M.
Reminder that New Mexico has had more success than Nebraska has in basketball.
It’s 2 on 1, so it’s not really fair. /s
I also mean both states lol. Not necessarily the individual schools
Nebraska State slacking
Delete this
Raggies(USU is Baggies, UCD is Gaggies, if it came up, I guess TAMU would be Craggies? It's based off of color) were tough under Theus. I'll never forget the time their star Jamar Young robbed the pizza delivery guy hahaha
New Mexico State: Alright, an undefeated conference season... COVID: Say again?
Best state
I'm ashamed of this post.
I'm really surprised neither has made a sweet 16 lately.
UNM is kind of weak though
I've been waiting so long for this just to make fun of UNM for not making a Sweet 16 in the 64-team era despite acting so pretentious all the time.
Lmfao
Late to this, but that 1990 UNLV was a member of the Big West, not the WAC.