OLEN THE DICE
New coach, Lobos announce non-conference schedule to help boost a third-straight NCAA appearance
UNM athletic director Fernando Lovo introduces Eric Olen as the new UNM head men’s basketball coach on April 1, 2025. Olen has compiled his non-conference schedule for the 2025-26 season. Photo courtesy of UNM Athletics
Save the dates.
The UNM men’s basketball team announced the completion of its non-conference schedule for the 2025-26 season on Tuesday.
“We’ll see some varied styles through the non-conference that prepares us for the conference season,” UNM head coach Eric Olen said in July before the non-conference schedule was complete. "(We’ll) try to create a resume that gives us an opportunity to give us an at-large bid.”
UNM may have taken a step back from the strength of its non-conference schedule last season. The Lobos traveled coast to coast to play two Quad 1 games at UCLA and St. John’s. UNM also played in the Acrizure Classic in Palm Springs, Calif., where it picked up two more Quad 2 games against Arizona State and USC.
This season, the Lobos will play seven home games (eight including the exhibition) at The Pit.
UNM will have two potential Quad 1 opportunities at the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City against Nebraska and either Kansas State or Mississippi State.
Two more possible Quad 1/Quad 2 games could be against Santa Clara at home on Dec. 1 and on the road against VCU on Dec. 10.
“Getting it when we did and the timing, and putting the schedule together, I don’t know that we were able to (be aggressive) to the degree we’ll be able to in the future,” Olen told Andy Katz in July.
After starting the season with an exhibition game against Northern Arizona, the Lobos will have a three-game homestand against East Texas A&M, UT Arlington and UC Riverside.
Fans recall former Lobo star Donovan Dent’s game-winner against UT Arlington two seasons ago on Nov. 16, 2023.
Dent has since transferred to UCLA, but UNM hopes to avoid needing last-second heroics this season against a likely Quad 3/Quad 4 opponent at home.
Neither UNM nor UTA will have any players returning from the 2023-24 campaigns.
UC Riverside is a program familiar to Olen from last year's Big West Conference.
The Hilltoppers were the last Big West team to beat Olen’s UC San Diego squad last season on Jan. 18, before the Tritons won 15 games in a row going into the NCAA tournament.
UC Riverside has a new head coach in Gus Argenal. Argenal coached at NCAA Division II Cal State Bernardino for the last two seasons and led the Coyotes to a D-II Final Four Appearance in 2023.
The Rio Grande Rivalry will be played in Las Cruces, N.M., this season earlier than usual. The Aggies will host UNM on Saturday, Nov. 15.
The Aggies won the only meeting last season 89-83 in overtime after shooting 45% from behind the arc.
New Mexico State lost two of its leading scorers including Robert Carpenter who scored 31 points against UNM on 6-12 shooting from the 3-point line.
The Lobos will travel to Kansas City, Mo. on Nov. 20 to take on Nebraska in the first game of the Hall of Fame Classic. The Cornhuskers finished No. 59 in the NET last season but missed out on the NCAA Tournament.
Notably, Nebraska did win the postseason College Basketball Crown tournament in Las Vegas, defeating Arizona State, Boise State, Georgetown and UCF in the championship game. They return a top-leading scorer, Connor Essegian (Sr.), who scored 10.7 points per game and shot 37% from 3. Top rebounder 6’10 junior Berke Büyüktuncel also returns for the Cornhuskers.
UNM could face off against Mississippi State the following day.
Former NMSU head man Chris Jans coaches the Bulldogs. Jans had an overall 5-3 record vs. UNM in his 4 seasons as head coach of the Aggies, including sweeps of UNM in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
He’s led Mississippi State to three straight NCAA tournament appearances since taking over in 2023, but has yet to win an NCAA tournament game.
The Lobos will return home for another three-game home stand in early December against Alabama State, New Mexico Highlands and Santa Clara.
Alabama State was the SWAC Tournament champion last year and made some noise in the NCAA tournament, defeating Saint Francis in the First Four Game on a layup with 0.7 seconds remaining.
Santa Clara finished last season 21-13 and had a nice Quad 1 win on the road against Gonzaga. The Broncos lost 4 of their 5 starters from last season, but will return senior Elijah Mahi.
Mahi averaged 10 points per game last year and shot 43% from the 3-point line.
UNM will have at least one trip to the East Coast when it travels to Richmond, Va., to take on VCU on Dec. 10.
VCU has a new head coach in Phil Martelli Jr after Ryan Odom took the Virginia job during the offseason.
Martelli coached Bryant to a 15-seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
The Bulldogs trailed Michigan State by 5 at halftime before the Spartans opened up a big lead in the second half.
The Lobos end non-conference play at home on Dec. 14 against Florida Gulf Coast. FGCU finished 19-15 last season.
The Eagles were No. 173 in the NET and lost in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
