New Mexico Suffers Worst Offensive Output in Shot Clock Era

Earlier in the week, New Mexico head coach Steve Alford voiced his opinion on the recent setback that the Mountain West Conference had suffered in the rankings.

The Lobos were the only team from the league to be ranked this past week and Alford appeared worried by that simple fact. Well, he probably has a little more to worry about rather than the rankings after New Mexico’s performance on Saturday against San Diego State.

The Lobos shot just 25 percent from the field (11-of-44) in the  loss to the Aztecs, mustering only 34 points as a team. That scoring total not only marked a season-low for New Mexico, but it was the program’s lowest production on the offensive end in the shot clock era.

Despite the defeat, the game was played on the road and overall it was only the Lobos’ first conference loss after a 4-0 start. In fact, even after dropping the game this past weekend, New Mexico still currently holds the top spot in the conference standings. SDSU is a 1/2 game behind the Lobos at 4-2.

Although New Mexico fans may have a sour taste in their mouth for the time being, the poor play on the offensive end shouldn’t be much to worry about. The Lobos usually score within the 60s and had scored 65+ points in each of their previous four conference games. A poor day shooting ultimately cost New Mexico the game, but not many teams are going to win a contest in which they score 34 total points. So basically, New Mexico should just forget it and move forward.

Taking it all in stride, UNM will likely dip from No. 15 in the country when the poll is re-released on Monday afternoon, but there is no time to fret with a trip to Wyoming on the docket next.

 

Follow Paul Seaver on Twitter: @PaulSeaverRS