New Mexico Lobos
Record: 27-6
Head coach: Craig Neal (1st season)
Season summary: After an upset loss in the first round of last year’s NCAA tournament, the Lobos will look to redeem their reputation in this year’s tournament. New Mexico lost the Mountain West Conference regular season championship for the first time in four years and entered the Mountain West Conference tournament as the second seed. The Lobos are coming off of a three-game win streak after claiming the Mountain West Conference tournament title for the third straight year. New Mexico beat then-No.8 San Diego State—the Lobos' second win against the Aztecs this season—in the finals of the conference tournament after losing to them just a week prior. The loss to San Diego State in early March put the team under scrutiny, as the Aztecs came back from a 16-point deficit in the last 12 minutes of the game. The Lobos leaders are seniors Cameron Bairstow and Kendall Williams. Williams leads the conference in assists with 4.9 a game. Bairstow, the conference MVP, leads the conference in scoring with 20.3 points per game, knocking down 55.6 percent of his field goal attempts. Bairstow has 21 games with 20 points or more this season.
How they make a run: Bairstow leads the Lobos offensive attack, as new Mexico uses last year's disappointment as motivation to make a deep tournament run this year.
How they falter: In his first year at the helm, Neal fails to keep his squad composed, and New Mexico fails to redeem itself of last year's early exit.
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