First Round Recap – Syracuse Region
The desirable quality of Jay Wright’s team this season is defense. So when New Mexico was held to just 11 first-half points, the Villanova head coach was a happy camper. Punctuated by a three-pointer from Mike Nardi, the Wildcats headed into the locker room with a 23-point lead and were the eventual winners of a 55-47 contest.
The Lobos did manage a second half run, but the game had far back been put out of reach. After four missed free throws by Villanova, Lobo guard Mark Walters penetrated the lane converting on a lay-up with 29.2 seconds left, bringing New Mexico within five, 52-47.
The Lobos, who won the Mountain West Conference Tournament and would have probably received an at-large bid anyway, end a 9-game win streak and finish the season 26-7.
Villanova, meanwhile improves to 23-7 and will next play in what appears to be a sensational matchup against Florida. The well-hyped junior class of Allan Ray, Curtis Sumpter and Jason Fraser combined to score 8 points. Nardi finished with 15 points and backcourt mate Randy Foye added 14 in the low-scoring affair. The Villanova defense, which mirrors the physically-oriented Big East conference, held the Lobos to 16.7 percent (4-24) shooting from three-point range.
Senior forward Danny Granger led UNM with 15 points and 12 rebounds. In January Granger underwent arthroscopic surgery and his team was 0-3 without him. Granger’s importance to this team was instrumental. Dating all the way back to December, the Lobos went 16-1 with Granger in the lineup. Walters also got into the mix, scoring 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, and the Lobos received just two points from their bench.
The 26 wins New Mexico finishes with are the second-most in school history. This was the Lobos’ first loss of the season when holding an opponent to less than 60 points.
