UNM Men’s Basketball Looks to Experiment with Lineups in First Exhibition Against Oklahoma State
““I feel like we have a lot of competition in terms of trying to get some clarity on roles, and so we want to make sure we give guys a chance to compete. ”
The Mountain West men’s basketball preseason favorites are about to get their first taste of game action.
After months of drills and practicing only against each other, UNM men’s basketball heads to Stillwater, Okla., on Sunday, Oct. 11, to face Oklahoma State in the first of three pre-season exhibition contests.
The game will be broadcast at 1 p.m. MST on 96.3 KKOB radio, the Cowboy Radio Network and the Varsity Network app. Live stats will be available via okstate.statbroadcast.com.
With UNM picked to finish atop the Mountain West and guard Jake Hall named the conference’s preseason Player of the Year, coach Eric Olen and his staff will use Sunday’s exhibition against OSU to continue evaluating lineup combinations and defining player roles ahead of the regular season. Similar to UNM’s two exhibition games last season, Olen plans to experiment with a number of different lineup combinations in the hopes of establishing a permanent rotation when the Lobos begin the season on Nov. 2.
“Yeah, definitely want to get a look at a lot of different guys,” Olen told the Pit Press after the Lobo Howl. “I feel like we have a lot of competition in terms of trying to get some clarity on roles, and so we want to make sure we give guys a chance to compete. But at the same time, we want to put what we think are potential realistic lineups out there and also be competitive…”
Sunday will be the first time Lobo fans get to listen in on a new roster with 10 newcomers and only three returners from last season. Olen expects UNM’s game planning and preparation for exhibition opponents to ramp up over the course of the next three games, with rotations becoming more finalized as the team approaches the end of the exhibition schedule and UNM’s season opener against Utah Tech.
“Yeah, I think it’s a progression,” Olen said. “The amount of time we spend on the preparation will increase. Some of the guys’ minutes will increase as we figure things out over the week, so each one will be closer and closer to what the regular season will look like.”
Fresh off dethroning Uriah Tenette in the Lobo Howl slam-dunk contest, Lobo guard Hudson Mayes is excited about the opportunity to compete against an actual opponent after months of offseason workouts.
“It’s super exciting,” Mayes said. “We’ve worked the last however many months for this since we’ve been here in June. So just coming out and being able to, like, put what we’ve worked for against someone else finally is a great feeling. Competition is always great. I love to compete, and I know the rest of my teammates do, so we’re going to go out there and treat it like any other game and, you know, put on a show.”
Oklahoma State Preview
Oklahoma State finished 20-15 last year, placing 10th in the Big 12 Conference.
In his third year, head coach Steve Lutz has used the transfer portal to rebuild the roster and appears to have assembled a competitive group with high expectations
The Cowboys feature a new roster with 10 newcomers and what On3 has tabbed as the Big 12’s top-ranked transfer portal class. The exciting newcomers for Oklahoma State include UCF transfer forward Jordan Burks, who averaged 13.3 points last season. Lobo fans may remember Sam Houston transfer guards Kashie Natt and Jacob Walker, whom the Lobos faced in the opening round of the NIT last season.
Natt was the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year while averaging 10.8 points and an impressive 8.2 rebounds per game, despite being listed at only 6-foot-3. Natt scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds in UNM’s 102-87 win over Sam Houston in the NIT opening round, though he was largely a nonfactor after getting into foul trouble in the first half.
UNM still plans to game-plan and treat Sunday’s exhibition like a regular-season game, though the Lobos will take a modified approach, with their focus still on themselves and building the foundation for Olen’s systems on both sides of the ball.
“It’s the same thing, but we’re not spending quite as much time on it because we are still focused on ourselves so much at this stage, so we are going through some of the things. We’re talking to their staff about, ‘What are you going to run?’ We’re sharing a little bit of information so that we can compare, but we’re not as prepared as we would be for a regular-season contest.”
The New Mexico men’s basketball team opened exhibition play with a 99-89 win over Oklahoma State, led by Jake Hall’s game-high 31 points. Hall scored UNM’s first 14 points and finished the first half without missing a shot. Freshman Fynn Lastring added 16 points, while Hudson Mayes contributed 13. Despite the offensive performance, the Lobos struggled against Oklahoma State’s size, allowing 22 offensive rebounds and 27 second-chance points as coach Eric Olen continues evaluating his new-look roster.