After the last two regular season games with Nevada and UNLV, the New Mexico Lobos finished outright with an impressive 17-3 win/loss record. Colorado State was second with 16-4.

In the Nevada contest at Reno on March 04, 2025, point guard Donovan Dent scored 33 points, Nelly Junior Joseph got 9, and Nick Davidson 15 and proved to be the deciding factors in the victory, beating Nevada 71 to 67.

 In any event, the Lobos will go to the NCAA because of the Lobos’ win/loss record of 17-3, but the team's seeding in March Madness has been affected negatively because of its loss of MTN West Conference divisional title. The NCAA committee as given the LOBOS a 10 seed and will play number 7 seeded Marquette beginning in the second round. 

Because of point guard Dent’s incredible contribution of points and defensive skills, the Albuquerque Journal’s sports reporter, Geoff Grammer, has picked him to be the Mtn West Player of the Year. I agree. One of Dent’s principal achievements was the victory over the now number 4 UCLA Bruins with his 17 points and 8 assists before the beginning of the MTN West regular season. And what about the non-conference game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi: 25 points, 10 assists, and no turnovers that was played on a neutral court? Wow!

Dent has now been named to the Field of 68 All-American team. According to Grammer, “Dent is only the 14th player in NCAA history to have 600 points and 200 assists in a regular season. He also finished the regular season as the leading scorer of the Mountain West Conference, averaging 20.4 points per game. Dent finished second in assists with 6.5 per contest. Dent helped to lead New Mexico to [its] first regular season Mountain West title in 12 years.”

The Lobos skipped the First Round in the Mtn West conference tournament that was played on March 12, 2025. The winners of those contests will meet the higher-seeded big guns of the MTN West conference. The Lobos, being one of them, will take on the winner of the Wyoming/San Jose State game, which had been determined as of this writing. San Jose State had advanced by beating Wyoming, 66 to 61. The Lobos should win this contest with ease, which, in fact, it did, 63 to 52. Thereafter, it will be tough going; however, with the exceptional talent of the Lobos players and coach, Richard Pitino, my university should get it done.

Sadly, it didn’t. It lost to Boise State, 69 to 72. The Lobos were ahead by six points at the half, and it stayed that way until Boise went ahead by six points with a little more than five minutes remaining in the game. The Lobos fought back gallantly for a 66 tie. But Boise State sank a three-pointer which ended the contest. Boise State outrebounded the Lobos 38 to 31.

In any event, the Lobos will go to the NCAA because of the Lobos’ win/loss record of 17-3, but the seeding in March Madness will be reduced because of the team’s loss of the MTN West Conference divisional title.

The Lobos might reach the Sweet 16 for the first time ever and even advance further as long as the team is at the top of its game and doesn’t choke. That’s the biggest negativity that kills advancements of good basketball teams.

One final note: Coach Pitino will be smothered with lots of lucrative offers after the conclusion of the March Madness playoffs. He was offered one last year which was bigger than his raise, but he turned it down because of his love for the New Mexico Lobos basketball team, the massive fan support, the Pit, and Albuquerque. The offers will come from the powerhouse basketball teams from the big cities that had a 2024/2025 losing season with a mountain of money to spend.

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