NCAA basketball podcast with Michelle Richardson: Kentucky continues to roll blasts Vols; Zags stay perfect dump San Diego St; plus more

Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari shows his involvement against the Tennessee Vols on Sat Feb 20, 2021 in Knoxville Tenn (AP News photo)

On the NCAA basketball podcast with Michelle:

#1 No.8 Kentucky made it no contest with a 70-55 win over the No.19 Tennessee Vols. Four Kentucky players in double figures Isaiah Jackson led with 16 points and Davion Mintz followed up with 15 in the not even close contest.

#2 San Diego (3-8) didn’t have a chance they got landslided by Gonzaga (22-0) 106-69. The Zags Drew Timme led with 21 points and Jalen Suggs with 17.  Gonzaga remains undefeated.

#3 Michigan (16-1) and Ohio State (18-5), 92-87 Wolverines win it, Michigan high scorers Hunter Dickinson 22 and Eli Brooks 17 and Chaundee Brown had 15.

Michelle’s Final Thoughts

Join Michelle Sundays for the NCAA basketball podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NCAA podcast with Michelle Richardson Sun Feb 21, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

San Jose State unable to get first conference win after 67-51 loss to New Mexico

Photo credit: @SanJoseStateMBB

By Ana Kieu

The San Jose State men’s basketball team looked to avoid a five-game losing streak with a win over the New Mexico Lobos at Burns Arena, the home of the Dixie State Trailblazers, on Thursday. Neither team had a conference win prior to tipoff, but things changed at the buzzer — just not in favor of the Spartans. The Spartans lost to the Lobos 67-51 in St. George, Utah.

The Spartans’ starting lineup stayed the same. Omari Moore, Richard Washington, Jalen Dalcourt, Nate Lacewell and Ralph Agee took the court to play the sport they love. As of January 20, Washington is ranked the nation’s No. 1 top scoring small forward in the NCAA.

The Lobos opened the scoring in the first half. Kurt Wegscheider made a jumper to make it a 2-0 game at 18:32. Just 27 seconds later, the Spartans tied the game 2-2 when Richard Washington made a layup.
But New Mexico piled on the points and went on a 10-4 for a 9-point lead, 21-19, with 7:04 left.

As if things weren’t bad enough, New Mexico took advantage of seven Spartan turnovers for a 10-point lead, 27-17, with 3:49 left. As a result, Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau called a timeout to give his team time to regroup. While the Spartans showed some glimpses of hope in Sebastian Mendoza’s layup and Caleb Simmons’ free throws, the Lobos kept a 10-point lead, 31-21, at the end of the first half.

The Spartans shot just 8 of 23 from the field in the first half, and to add insult to injury, Richard Washington didn’t return for the second half. Washington took an apparent shot to the face during the first half.

It took Valdir Manuel just 20 seconds into the second half to score against the Spartans. Manuel gave the Lobos a 33-21 lead with a jumper. Jalen Dalcourt responded with a fast-break layup to cut the deficit to 10, 33-23, at 19:14.

At one point, New Mexico didn’t score for three minutes. Ralph Agee made a layup to pull the Spartans within nine, 50-41, with 8:08 left. The Spartans had a chance to correct their mistakes and bounce back, but the Lobo offense was on fire. Makuach Maluach finished with 25 points and six rebounds for the Lobos.

The Spartans wrapped up the second half scoring, but it was too little, too late. Jalen Dalcourt made a fast-break 3-pointer to pull within 16, 67-51, with 1:02 left in regulation. Makuach Maluach made a steal, the Lobos dribbled out the clock, and the Spartans lost 67-51. San Jose State fell to 2-11, 0-9 Mountain West. Ralph Agee led the Spartans with 14 points.

Meanwhile, the Lobos picked up their first conference win of the season. New Mexico improved to 5-8, 1-8 Mountain West.

The Spartans and Lobos face off again on Saturday, January 23 at 12 pm PT.

NCAAB podcast with Michelle Richardson: Sooners clear winner over OSU; Indiana’s Wesson scoring helps Hoosiers to win; plus more

photo from yahoo.sports.com: Oklahoma forward Kristian Doolittle (21) pushes past Oklahoma St guard Avery Anderson III (0) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020.

On the NCAAB podcast with Michelle:

#1 The Oklahoma Sooners (14-7) took it to Oklahoma State (10-11) 82-69 in Norman Oklahoma on Saturday The Sooners outscored the Cowboys in the first half but in the second half both teams were pretty even 39-39 it wasn’t enough for Oklahoma State in the loss.

#2 The Ohio State Buckeyes (14-7) defeated the Indiana Hoosiers (15-7) 68-59. The Hoosiers Kaleb Wesson led the team with 15 points total but couldn’t get back in the game.

#3  The New Mexico Lobos (16-8) got handed a tough loss on Saturday from the Fresno Bulldogs (8-14) in Mountain West action 82-77. For New Mexico Zaine Martin and Keith McGee finished with 18 points a piece to lead the Lobos and for Fresno Orlando Robinson led the Bulldogs with 20 points.

Michelle does the NCAAB podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NCAAF podcast with Michelle Richardson: New Mexico just couldn’t get over SJSU’s 20-point second quarter rally; Michigan won, but struggled; LSU coasts to big win

photo from albuquerquejournal.com: New Mexico’s Jordan Kress (9) catches a TD pass from Sheriron Jones on Friday night against host San Jose State. RON FRIED/SAN JOSE STATE ATHLETICS.

On the NCAAF podcast with Michelle:

#1 Michelle, we wanted to lead off asking you about your old alumnus, University of New Mexico, Lobos (2-3) struggled in the second quarter of their game against the San Jose State Spartans (3-2) the Lobos defense couldn’t stop the Spartans run and San Jose ended up getting 20 points, which gave the Lobos too much of a deficit to come back from.

#2 The Michigan Wolverines (4-1) are ranked #19 and they played Iowa (4-1), who are ranked #14 and hung on to win 10-3. Despite their rank, Michigan should be a higher ranked team and were expected to come out of the shoot to start the season.

#3 LSU (5-0) left very little doubt with their 42-6 against Utah State (3-2) and LSU quarterback Joe Burrow left very little doubt that LSU would dominate this one with five touchdowns, 27-38 and 344 yards.

Michelle does the NCAAF podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

San Jose State defeats New Mexico 32-21 for first conference win of the season

Photo credit: @SanJoseStateFB

By Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — This Friday night looked very similar to last Friday night. San Jose State was looking for their first conference win of the season. The only difference? They defeated conference foe New Mexico at CEFCU Stadium.

The Spartans, who were battle ready, had the ball to start the game versus the Lobos.

The Spartans opened the scoring, thanks to Nick Nash. Nash ran for a 9-yard rushing touchdown — his third of the season — to put San Jose State up 6-0 with 6:50 left in the first quarter. Matt Mercurio attempted the extra point, but it was blocked by De’John Rogers.

The Spartans led 6-0 at the end of the first quarter. San Jose State football was greeted by the San Jose State men’s basketball team, who made a brief appearance on the home field.

Let’s Go @SanJoseStateFB Beat the Lobos! #SpartanUp pic.twitter.com/0Yet2vv3gV

— San Jose State Men’s Basketball (@SanJoseStateMBB) October 5, 2019

The Spartans took a 13-0 lead when Josh Love threw a pass to Billy Humphreys for the 5-yard passing touchdown at 12:56 of the second quarter. Mercurio kicked in the extra point.

Love threw another pass to Bailey Gaither for the 80-yard passing touchdown with 8:42 left in the second quarter. Mercurio kicked in the extra point. The Spartans took a 20-0 lead.

Mercurio kicked in a 24-yard field goal to extend the Spartans’ lead to 23-0 with 6:57 left in the second quarter.

Mercurio continued to shine with back-to-back field goals of 24 yards and 33 yards, respectively, in a span of 2:35 late in the fourth quarter. But Mercurio’s field goals were overshadowed by the Lobos’ first touchdown of the game. Sheriron Jones threw a pass to Jordan Kress for the 34-yard passing touchdown and Andrew Shelley kicked in the extra point to help New Mexico pull within 19 with 1:12 left in the second quarter.

The Spartans brought a 26-7 lead to the locker room at the halftime break.

The Spartan defense forced a red zone fumble to stop a Lobos drive and that was a notable third quarter play. However, New Mexico cut the Spartans’ lead to 26-14 with 3:11 left in the third quarter. Jones ran for a 4-yard rushing touchdown and Shelley kicked in the extra point.

The Spartans continued to lead 26-14 after the third quarter.

Mercurio kicked a 49-yard field goal to extend the Spartans’ lead to 29-14 at 12:47 of the fourth quarter. The field goal was Mercurio’s longest career field goal.

Mercurio added a 24-yard field goal to make it 32-14 Spartans with 6:16 left in the fourth quarter. With the field goal, Mercurio tied the single-game school record as the fourth player in Spartan history to do so.

But the Lobos made it an 11-point game with 4:52 left in the fourth quarter. Jones threw a pass to Cedric Patterson III for the 38-yard passing touchdown and Shelley kicked in the extra point.

The Spartans defeated the Lobos by a final score of 32-21. With the win, San Jose State picked up its first conference win of the season.

The Spartans (3-2, 1-1 Mountain West) take on the Nevada Wolf Pack (3-2, 0-1 Mountain West) on Saturday, October 12 at 1:00 p.m. Game will be broadcasted on ATSN.

San Jose State hosts New Mexico Friday night

Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By Ana Kieu

San Jose State stunned the masses with a win over Arkansas, but was unable to finish the brief, two-game road trip with a win at Air Force. The Spartans recently returned home, where they’ll host New Mexico on Friday night.

Here are the much-needed details, folks. Mark your calendars.

Game #5
San Jose State vs. New Mexico
Friday, October 4, 2019,
CEFCU Stadium, San Jose, Calif.
7:02 p.m. PT, CBS Sports Network

SJSU record
2-2, 0-1 Mountain West. Most recently, the Spartans lost their conference opener at Air Force, 41-24, on September 27.

New Mexico record
2-2, 0-0 Mountain West. The Lobos lost a non-conference game at Liberty, 17-10, on September 28.

Series history
San Jose State leads the series, 12-5-1. The teams are beginning their second two-season cycle of Mountain West home-and-home conference games this weekend.

The Lobos won the most recent meeting between these schools, 48-41, in Albuquerque, on October 11, 2016.

San Jose State’s last win in the series was a 31-21 victory at home on October 24, 2015. The Spartans have won the last four times these teams played in San Jose dating back to 1975. The last time New Mexico won in San Jose was a 27-24 decision on November 1, 1969. The 1971 game between these teams ended in a 21-21 tie.

San Jose State also has a bowl win over New Mexico winning the inaugural 2006 New Mexico Bowl, 20-12. San Jose State currently has a four-game postseason bowl winning streak dating back to 1990.

Play-by-play radio coverage
KKSF (910 AM, Oakland), RealTalk 910, is the new flagship radio station for San Jose State University football. Justin Allegri calls the play-by-play. Kevin Richardson provides commentary. The New Mexico broadcast begins at 6:30 p.m. (PT) before game time with a pregame show.

Network affiliates are KION (1460 AM/101.1 FM, Salinas), KFIV (1360 AM, Modesto), KWSX (1280 AM, Stockton).

The San Jose State vs. New Mexico broadcast with Justin Allegri and Kevin Richardson calling the action also will be carried on http://www.siriusxm.com Channel 965.

KSJS (90.5 FM, San Jose) also will broadcast the San Jose State-New Mexico game starting at 6:45 p.m. PT.

Television
The CBS Sports Network will provide broadcast coverage beginning at 7:00 p.m. PT. Jason Horowitz calls the play-by-play. Malik Zaire provides commentary. The CBS Sports Network is available Comcast Channel 643, DirecTV Channel 221, and DISH Network Channel 158.

Tickets

• sjsuspartans.com/tickets

• ticketmaster.com

Athletics Ticket Office, 1393 S. 7th Street, San José, CA 95112, weekdays, 9:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m.

Ticket prices range from $10.00 for a general admission seat to $58.00 for a reserved seat.

Tickers for home games at CEFCU Stadium

• Modern family plan

• Group ticket pricing starting at $12.00 per ticket

• Three-game “mini plans” starting at $59.00

Game promotions

• Brew & Vine — Greatest Tailgate Party You’ve Never Been To — $35.00/per person beginning at 5:00 p.m. includes tasting for two hours, meal voucher & game ticket • Parent & Family Weekend

A 2-2 record at the end of September: For the first time since the 2015 season, San Jose State enters an October with a 2-2 overall win-loss record. The 2019 Spartans had an opportunity to finish September with at least 3-1 overall mark for the first time since 2012, but lost at Air Force, 41-24.

Back-to-back Friday games
For the first time since 1950, San Jose State is playing football games on consecutive Fridays. This week’s game vs. New Mexico follows the Friday, September 27 conference contest at Air Force.

In 1950, San Jose State hosted Loyola (Calif.), now LMU, on Friday, October 13, losing 14-7, and traveled to the University of San Francisco on Friday, October 20, suffering a 27-0 shutout loss. After losing to USF, the Spartans, coached by first-year head coach Bob Bronzan, went 4-0-1 to finish the season with a 6-3-1 win-loss record, the program’s fifth consecutive winning season in the post World War II period.

Emphasis on a positive turnover margin paying off
A point of emphasis for this year’s San Jose State team is finishing in the top-25 in turnover margin.

After the first month of the season, San Jose State ranks tied for sixth nationally in turnover margin at +6 or 1.5 per game. The Spartans have seven interceptions, which is tied for fourth nationally, and came up with their first two fumble recoveries of the season in the Air Force contest.

For their first four games, San Jose State lost the ball only three times on two fumbles and one pass interception. Through games of September 28, the Spartans are tied for eighth nationally in fewest times losing the ball.

A year ago, San Jose State finished at +1, a significant improvement from the 2017 season when the team had a minus-26 turnover margin figure.

First blocked kick of the season
San Jose State notched its first blocked kick of the season when linebacker Hadari Darden was credited with deflecting an Air Force extra-point attempt following a Falcons’ third-quarter touchdown.

The Spartans are one of 59 FBS schools to block a punt or a kick-scoring try in games played through September 28.

A San Jose State first since 2007
In the Air Force game, freshman Nick Nash became the first San Jose State quarterback since Adam Tafralis in 2007 to have rushing and passing attempts and catch a pass thrown by a teammate in the same game.

Nash was San Jose State’s leading rusher against Air Force with 62 yards on 11 carries and had the Spartans’ longest run of the game at 19 yards. He completed 5-of-7 passes without an interception for 82 yards and two touchdowns. In the first quarter, he caught a Josh Love pass for 4 yards.

Nash joins former San Jose State quarterbacks Tafralis, Scott Rislov in a 2002 win over UTEP and current University of Oregon offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo in a 2001 NCAA record-setting victory against Nevada as Spartan signal callers to display their offensive versatility rushing, passing and receiving in the same game since the 1976 season.

Since 1976, the feat now has been accomplished 16 times. Former San Jose State running back and current Arizona Cardinals running backs coach James Saxon did it four times, three times in 1987 and once in 1986.

Sharing the wealth
Twice this season in the Northern Colorado and Air Force games, at least 10 Spartans caught had a pass reception. In the Northern Colorado victory, 10 Spartans had a pass reception. At Air Force, 11 San Jose State players were credited with a catch.

SJSU earns first conference win of the season

Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State men’s basketball resumed their hunt for their first conference win of the 2019 season Tuesday evening. SJSU hosted the New Mexico Lobos inside the Event Center. There was a healthy mix of both Spartans and Lobos fans in attendance, which was a highlight considering the fact that the Spartans haven’t really sold out in recent years.

Prior to the tipoff, SJSU announced a starting lineup featuring Noah Baumann, Seneca Knight, Ashtin Chastain, Michael Steadman and Zach Chappell. That was a solid lineup. It was just a matter of fact of whether or not the Spartans were able to hold on to secure a win.

UNM got on the board first as Carlton Bragg made a layup to open the scoring. SJSU then snatched a 3-2 lead on Baumann’s 3-pointer just 15 seconds later. Baumann extended his school record to 25 consecutive games with a 3. Steadman followed up with a layup and Chappell hit a 3 to make it a 8-2 game at the 18-minute mark.

The game turned into a back and forth affair. UNM knocked back to back jumpers by Corey Manigault and Makuach Maluach, and SJSU was within four after Chastain made a layup.

SJSU got ahead 14-7 on back-to-back jumpers by Steadman and Chastain. Sure, Keith McGee helped keep the score close for UNM with a 3 and fastbreak layup, but Steadman continued to dominate on the hardwood with a layup, jumper in the paint and vice versa. Christian Anigwe also dominated with a pair of free throws to make it a 20-14 game at the 12:27 mark.

The game remained in a back and forth affair. The Lobos’ offense heated up, but the Spartans refused to back down, making it a 1-point game, thanks to Chappell’s 3 with 7:14 left.

Chappell helped the Spartans grab a 31-30 lead with 6:24 left, but it was short-lived as the Lobos got ahead 32-31 on Manigault’s jumper in the paint 15 seconds later.

Baumann came to the rescue with two 3s in less than a minute to give the Spartans a 37-34 lead with 4:36 left. But the Lobos persisted on Manigault’s jumper and McGee’s 3 for a 39-37 lead with 3:59 left.

Steadman made a game-tying layup and Rodriguez-Flores knocked down a jumper to put the Spartans ahead 41-39 with 2:48 left. But the lead was short-lived as Bragg made a layup to tie the game and Anthony Mathis hit a 3 before drawing a foul that allowed Chappell to make two free throws. Chappell made one free throw to bring SJSU within two. Steadman added a game-tying jumper to tie the score 24 seconds later.

UNM regained the lead 46-44 on Manigault’s layup, but Baumann hit a 3, and as a result, SJSU salvaged a 47-46 lead to end the first. The Spartans had their best shooting this season — 19 of 31 or 69% — in the first.

SJSU opened the second half with a dramatic flair as Steadman made a fastbreak free throw, Chastain knocked down a jumper in the paint and Knight hit a 3 — all in 28 seconds.

But like the first half, the game was in a back and forth affair that saw multiple ties and leads. UNM pulled within three on Mathis’ pair of free throws and Malauch’s layup in just three seconds. SJSU went ahead 60-52, thanks to Chastain’s pair of free throws along with Baumann’s 3, by the 15:34 mark. Chappell gave the Spartans a 10-point lead 62-52 with a fastbreak layup at the 14:33 mark. Baumann hit a 3 to make it a 65-52 game 24 seconds later.

SJSU went on a 9-0 run that lasted a little over two minutes. Chastain made a pair of free throws, Baumann hit two 3s and Chappell made a fastbreak layup. Bragg made a layup at the 13:12 mark to end the Spartans’ run.

Steadman knocked down a jumper to help the Spartans to a 70-62 lead with 8:38 left. The Lobos pulled within five on Manigault’s layup and free throw. Baumann, however, hit back to back 3s to make it a 76-65 game with 7:35 left.

SJSU went cold and was unable to score for a little over six minutes. Brae Ivey’s layup extended the Spartans’ lead to 78-71 with 1:22 left, but the Lobos pulled within seven on McGee’s layup just eight seconds later.

The game went down to the wire. Chappell made two pairs of fastbreak free throws. McGee made a layup. McGee hit a 3. Ivey made a pair of fastbreak free throws. Baumann made a pair of fastbreak free throws. Anigwe threw down a dunk in the paint. Anigwe made a free throw and missed the other. Malauch hit a 3. SJSU held on for a 89-82 win for their first conference win of the season and snapped their 17-game losing skid in the process.

SJSU heads to SDSU for a conference matchup on Saturday, March 2nd at 7:00 pm PT.

San Jose State to host New Mexico in TV game on Tuesday

Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State men’s basketball will host the New Mexico Lobos inside the Event Center on Tuesday for a 7:00 p.m. Mountain West clash that will be televised on AT&T SportsNet. Drew Goodman (play-by-play) and Dave Bollwinkel (analyst) will have the call. Spartan fans can still hear Justin Allegri’s call on the TuneIn app.

Game No. 27
New Mexico (11-15, 5-9) San Jose State (3-23, 0-14)
Tuesday, Feb. 26, 7:00 pm PT
Event Center (5,000)
San Jose, Calif.

Live Stats
Fans can view live stats of all SJSU men’s basketball games, home and away, by accessing the “Live Stats” feature at www.sjsuspartans.com. Click on the link on the men’s basketball schedule page to follow the action.

TuneIn
Check out the video below for a quick tutorial on how to access the Spartans’ radio call on the TuneIn app.

What Would a Win Mean?
Breaking a 17-game losing skid for the Spartans’ first conference win of 2019. It would also be SJSU’s second-ever against the Lobos.

Recap of Game One vs. New Mexico
SJSU started well against the Lobos in Albuquerque, taking a 30-27 lead with five minutes to play in the first half, however, they went cold and allowed a 35-6 run that bridged the half. New Mexico went on to win 92-60.

Noah Baumann had a team-high 10 points. Ashtin Chastain pulled down 11 rebounds and had seven points. Seneca Knight finished with nine points.

Newcomers on the Rise
The Spartans have played nine first-year players this season, including regular starters Michael Steadman, Zach Chappell, Craig LeCesne and Brae Ivey. The newcomers are accounting for 70.3% of the Spartans’ offense (1,188-1,689).

Steadman alone is accounting for 20% of the Spartan offense with 341 points (20.1%).

The Zach Chappell Show
Freshman Zach Chappell has come on strong as of late, starting the last three games and averaging 7.4 points in the last five games. Against UNLV, he finished with 11 points, a career-high six rebounds and nine assists — tied for the most by a Spartan this season. He had 10 points vs. Colorado State.

Baumann the Boss
Sophomore Noah Baumann is shooting lights out from beyond the arc this season, so good in fact that he ranks second in the MW in 3-point percentage at 44.7%. He also ranks in the top-10 in the MW in 3-pointers per game (2.3).

Baumann set a new school record of 22 consecutive games with a 3-point bucket made against UNLV on February 16, breaking a tie with Robert Owens, who closed out the 2009-10 season on a 21-game streak, for the new record. His streak is currently at 24.

In the loss to Utah State, Baumann had one of the most impressive performances of his career as he scored a career-high 29 points and tied the school record with seven 3-pointers (7-of-10). He also set career highs in 3-point attempts and field goal attempts.

Baumann holds the first and third highest-scoring performances by a Spartan this season with 29 vs. USU and 23 vs. Northern Arizona. He’s averaging 9.6 points in conference play, second-most on the team (Steadman).

Last season as a freshman, Baumann finished the year 40-for-87 (.460) from the 3-point range. He has already eclipsed those numbers with five regular season games to go (59-132, .447).

Chastain in Charge
Junior Ashtin Chastain has been tasked to fill in the gap in the starting lineup as senior Oumar Barry has been sidelined with an injury. Chastain has started the last nine games in his stead.

Ch-Ch-Changes
Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau made some changes to his staff in the offseason as he brought in former NC State All-American Julius Hodge as an assistant coach and promoted director of operations Ryan Cooper to assistant coach.

Hidden Gem
Despite losing 90-71 to Colorado State, SJSU might’ve found a hidden gem in the form of junior walk on Brian Rodriguez-Flores, who played 17 minutes and scored a season-high 13 points. He followed that with a season-best 33 minutes at Air Force where he was the first player off the bench and finished with 12 points.

Starry Knight
Freshman guard Seneca Knight has upped his game recently as well. In the last five games, he’s averaging 9.2 points. In his last outing against Colorado State, he led the team with a 14 point performance. He followed with 12 points at Air Force.

Steady Steadman
JUCO transfer Michael Steadman has made a big impact this season as a leader on and off the court. The 6’10” forward is averaging a team-high 13.1 points per game and ranks sixth in the MW with 8.3 rebounds per game. He has eight double-doubles on the season, ranking fifth in the conference and has scored in double figures in 19-of-26 games. He also has 11 games with double-digit rebounds.

Steadman leads the team with four games with at least 20 points, including back-to-back efforts vs. Air Force and USU. He put up a career-high 24 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the loss to Air Force. He then followed up with 20 points at USU and had 16 in his last game out at Boise State.

In his last outing at Air Force, Steadman pulled down a career-best 17 points to go with 21 points.

Change It Up
Prioleau has used 10 different lineups throughout the season with no one player starting each time out. Barry had started the first 17 games before an injury kept him out of the lineup the last four games. Seven newcomers have made starts, including Knight, Chappell, Trey Smith and Christian Anigwe.

On the Board(s)
SJSU ranks second in the MW in offensive boards with 11.1 per game. They rank sixth in defensive boards with 26.0.

Series History vs. New Mexico
New Mexico holds a 14-1 record in the all-time series and has won the last three since SJSU took down the Lobos 78-68 inside the Pit on February 4, 2017.

The Lobos check in to Tuesday’s game 11-15 and will look to break a two-game losing skid. UNM, led by second-year head coach Paul Weir, are exceptional at taking the ball away. They lead the MW with 6.9 steals per game.

San Jose State drops 14th straight game to New Mexico 92-60 at the Pit

Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

It was a tale of two halves as San Jose State men’s basketball fell to the New Mexico Lobos, 92-60, at the Pit Wednesday evening. The Lobos shot 50% from the field while the Spartans were held to a 35.3 clip.

Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau chose a starting lineup featuring the talented likes of Zach Chappell, Noah Baumann, Seneca Knight, Michael Steadman and Ashtin Chastain.

Both teams came out with a strong offensive showing to start the game. SJSU (3-20, 0-11 MW) did most of their damage in the paint with 16 points while New Mexico (11-13, 5-7 MW) relied on the deep ball, making eight from the 3-point range. The Lobos would go on to finish with 14 threes (14-of-27).

Knight, making his fifth-straight start, drained a corner trey to give the Spartans a 14-11 advantage at the 11:56 mark and Baumann drained his second three of the half to give SJSU a 30-27 lead with 5:01 remaining in the, however that would be the Spartans final field goal of the half.

New Mexico took advantage and went on 15-2 run over the final 5:01 to close out the half and take a 42-32 lead into the locker room. The Spartans shot 41% from the field prior to the run, but finished with a 37% clip for the half.

The run carried over to the second half as the Lobos opened with three quick treys and took advantage of the Spartans’ scoring woes. New Mexico extended the run to 35-6 that spanned a total of 12:41 and was able to close out the game comfortably. New Mexico finished the half shooting 54%, while SJSU shot just 33.3%.

Turnovers, which have been an Achilles heel for the Spartans all season, were a non-factor as they finished with just 11 and didn’t commit their first until the 9:36 mark in the opening half. New Mexico, however, did take advantage of those few committed with 14 points scored off. The Lobos also dominated on fast-break opportunities as they outscored the Spartans 35-2.

Baumann led the Spartans with 10 points. With his two made 3s, the Phoenix, Arizona native, extended his consecutive games with a 3-pointer streak to 21 games, tying the school record set in 2009-10 by Robert Owens. Chastain had a team-best 11 rebounds to go with seven points, while Knight finished with nine points.

Keith McGee led the Lobos with 20 points while Corey Manigault added 17 of his own. The Lobos scored 18 points at the charity stripe (18-of-27), while the Spartans were 8-of-15. New Mexico won the rebound battle 44-39.

The Spartans return to the Event Center Saturday as they host UNLV. Tip-off set for 2:00 pm PT on AT&T SportsNet and TuneIn.

San Jose State looks to rebound with win over New Mexico Wednesday

Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State men’s basketball will wrap up their two-game road trip with a trip to Albuquerque, N.M. as they look to rebound with a win over the New Mexico Lobos Wednesday night. Tipoff set for 6:00 pm PT on the Mountain West Network. Justin Allegri has the Spartans play-by-play call on TuneIn.

In case you missed it, you can check out Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau’s first mic-d up segment of the season.

Back to the upcoming game, San Jose State (3-19, 0-0 Mountain West) will face off against New Mexico (10-13, 4-7 Mountain West) in a conference matchup. SJSU had lost 13 in a row with their most recent loss occurring at Boise State in a 105-57 rout on Saturday. Meanwhile, UNM–like SJSU–suffered a blowout of their own 91-62 at the hands of No. 7 Nevada on Saturday.

The Spartans recently shared a fun fact about sophomore guard Noah Baumann. Baumann extended his three-point field goals made record to 20 games on Saturday. He’s only one shy of tying the record of 21 consecutive made, which was set by former guard Robert Owens during the 2009-10 season. Owens was part of the Spartans roster in 2009-10 and watched his college basketball team wrap up the season with a 14-17, 6-10 Western Athletic Conference record, but ultimately lost to New Mexico State 90-69 at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nev. in the quarterfinals of the 2010 WAC Men’s Basketball Tournament. SJSU was coached by fifth-year head coach George Nessman. Nessman currently serves as an Athletic Director at Justin-Siena High School in Napa, Calif.

At the moment, SJSU is most definitely honored to host a Coaching for Literacy Fight for Literary Game to support the nationwide #Fight4Literary movement. Why’s that? Literacy among children is very crucial. Did you know that 69 percent of fourth graders in California are not reading at the grade-level? Probably not. Well, now you know!