Olen Faces a Familiar Foe as UC Riverside Visits the Lobos in The Pit
UNM men’s basketball coach Eric Olen coaches his team from the sideline during preseason practice. Graphic: Erik Moulton/The Pit Press
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO — Eric Olen’s last regular-season loss as a head coach was to the UC Riverside Highlanders, the team the Lobos face on Tuesday in the Pit at 7 p.m.
The loss to UCR was on January 18, when Olen’s then UC San Diego Triton squad fell 85-81 in a Big West Conference matchup.
Olen, now 2-0 in his first season as UNM’s head coach, welcomes his old conference foe into what will be a Quad 4 game for UNM and a Quad 2 game for UCR. Like UNM, UC Riverside features 13 new players and a new coaching staff.
The Highlanders boast a 2-0 record on the year after knocking off La Sierra (NAIA) 90-49 last Monday, and then beating North Dakota on the road 74-70 last Thursday.
UCR is led by junior guard Marqui Worthy Jr. (6'4) who was named Big West Player of the week after averaging 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game last week.
“Worthy is a good player for them, who had a big game against North Dakota,” Olen said. “He puts a ton of pressure on the rim. He’s a big, physical guard… We want to show him bodies and not (give) him straight lines to the rim because he’s a good finisher."
Junior forward Osiris Grady (6’9) is also a key contributor, averaging 18 points and 7 rebounds across two games.
UCR has something UNM has not seen so far in the regular season—lots of traditional size and depth at both the post and guard positions.
The other starters for Riverside through two games have been guard Andrew Henderson (6’5), forward Jailen Daniel-Dalton (6’6) and center BJ Kolly (6’10). Its two other rotation players are De’Undrae Perteetee (6’5) and Dylan Godfrey (6’8).
By comparison, neither East Texas A&M nor UT Arlington started a player over 6-foot-8. UTA and ETA&M both had guards in the starting lineup that were under 6-foot-2.
Despite UNM holding an overall size advantage in their first two games, the Lobos gave up a combined 25 offensive rebounds against UT Arlington and East Texas A&M. Several are shown in the clip below.
The Lobos also gave up 52 combined points in the paint.
“We’re allowing pretty efficient rim finishing at the moment,” Olen said. “Our two-point percentage defense, percentage wise, is not quite where we want it...”
UNM was fortunate that both ETA&M and UT Arlington often turned their offensive rebounds into missed three-point field goal attempts. Both teams shot a combined 13% (8-59) from deep against UNM in two games.
UC Riverside may not take the same bait. The Highlanders only shot 14 3-point field goals against North Dakota and did their damage from shots close to the basket and at the free throw line. UCR scored 40 of its 74 points in the paint and went 22-of-27 from the charity stripe.
Turnover Battle
Before the season, UC Riverside’s new head coach, Gus Argenal, said the goal for his team was to turn the ball over less than 10 times per game.
The Highlanders will have that goal tested on Tuesday, as UNM has forced 44 combined turnovers thus far through two games.
The Lobos’ steals and fastbreak dunks are starting to translate into roars from The Pit crowd.
“That feeling reminds me of when I came here last year (playing for) Utah State," said Lobo transfer guard Deyton Albury after the UT Arlington game. “Crazy, could feel all the vibrations going. Makes you want to get another one, make another shot, get another block, get another steal. You know that’s just what the Pit brings and its such a blessing to play in it.”
UNM’s turnover rate and defensive efficiency died off in the second half of the last two games. Against UT Arlington on Saturday, the Mavericks hit 11-of-13 from shots inside the arc and went 12-of-16 from the free line in the second half.
Last Wednesday, ETA&M was 11-of-17 on two-point field goals and only turned it over six times in the second half.
The big first half leads UNM built were too much to overcome. The Lobos have not really been tested since their first exhibition vs. Washington State.
“I think we’re capable of winning a close game,” Olen said. “We have to do some things defensively if we’re not creating turnovers. We need to be able to finish on the glass and make people miss and those kinds of things. I think we’re equipped to win a close game.”
