Lobo Pack: Air Force Preview

What:

New Mexico Lobos vs. Air Force Falcons

When:

Saturday, February 5th, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. Mountain Time

Where:

Clune Arena in Colorado Springs, CO

Coverage:

The game will be broadcasted on CBS Sports Network. On the radio waves it will be carried on the UNM Sports Radio Network. Flagship station is 770 AM/96.3 FM in Albuquerque.

Series:

This is the 88th time that these two have played on the hardwood. New Mexico has the edge with a 62-25 record all-time.

The teams split in last season’s contests, both played in Clune. Lobos won the first 73-65, while Air Force won the second 62-55.

Breakdown:

The New Mexico Lobos will be looking to get back into the win column, and also score their first win out of the state of New Mexico, when they visit the Air Force Falcons Saturday night in Clune Arena.

New Mexico is coming off a 72-47 loss to San Diego State on Monday night in San Diego. A loss that dropped UNM to 8-14 overall and 1-8 in the Mountain West Conference.

The Air Force Falcons are looking to end a two-game losing streak, and trying to get their first home win since January 20th.

Air Force is coming off a 73-46 loss to Utah State on Tuesday night out in Logan. The loss dropped the Falcons to 10-10 on the season and 3-6 in the Mountain West Conference.

What to expect from Air Force:

The Falcons boast only one player that averages in double-figures in points this season, and that is AJ Walker.

Walker, the 6-foot-2 guard, is averaging 15.4 points per game on the season. At home Walker is averaging 18.8 points per game.

Last season Walker had 26 points in the Air Force loss to UNM, while he then went for 16 points in their victory over the Lobos.

Freshman guard Ethan Taylor is averaging 9.8 points per game this season. His output has diminished a bit of late, but that doesn’t mean the Lobos should be sleeping on him.

What to expect from the Lobos:

Inconsistency on offense has been the name of the game so far this season for the Lobos.

In the game on Monday versus San Diego State, the Lobos had just two players in double-figures, Jamal Mashburn Jr. had 10 points and KJ Jenkins had 16 points. Jaelen House had just 3 points, as did Javonte Johnson and Jay Allen-Tovar.

Certainly the Aztecs defense had a lot to do with the low scoring output, but UNM did not help themselves by shooting 16-of-52 from the floor. A repeat of that will doom the Lobos.

With so much inconsistency on offense, it will be hard to tell how UNM will attack Air Force this evening.

Final Thoughts and Prediction:

I have a feeling that the Lobos can get it done on the road tonight. House and Mashburn will no doubt be frustrated after what happened on Monday night, and will be looking to take out some frustration tonight.

If the Lobos can get off to a quick start, as they did against San Jose State, then they should be fine. The longer they allow Air Force to hang around, the more the Falcons will pressure UNM into mistakes and take advantage.

I like the Lobos in this one, though. I’ll take Lobos-66 Air Force-59.