By Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Basketball Beat Reporter
Photo via Titus Wilkinson of The Spear
That was, uh, what’s the appropriate term for what New Mexico did to San Jose last night?
Worrisome. That was worrisome.
The Lobos came into the Spartans’ barracks and bludgeoned SJSU so badly, they time traveled backwards.
“They were the same old San Jose,” said SJSU head coach Tim Miles following the 96-68 loss.
The Spartans allowed the Lobos’ Morris Udeze to go for a 31-point and 12-rebound double-double, Mountain West-leading scorer Jamal Mashburn to rack up 27 points and the Lobos to shoot 7-for-11 (64%) from three.
Now the question becomes how worrisome was SJSU’s showing on Friday night?
The Spartans are fresh off a week of infamy, clinching its first winning season in over a decade against UNLV on Tuesday – third of the 21st century – and topped Utah State last Saturday for the first bonafide Mountain West upset of the Tim Miles era.
As a way to provide balance, a three-tier hierarchy of what Spartan fans should and shouldn’t be worried about. Also, this is by no means a cry for help.
Shall we begin?
Most worried about: Three-point shooting
Some might think, ‘The Spartans just gave up their second-most points all year and most since allowing 99 to Arkansas way back in December. Who cares about three-point shooting?’
That will be discussed, but at the top of your list should be SJSU’s 3-pointers.
The Spartans 6-for-27 mark from beyond the arc prevented them from counterattacking the Lobos’ high-octane scoring spree.
This matter is especially pressing because SJSU has consistently struggled from deep and its 33.4% clip as a team is the second-worst in the conference.
Some might also call me a hypocrite as I recently wrote about SJSU wing Trey Anderson breaking out of his shell and lauded Tibet Gorener’s shooting recently.
Although Anderson made his only attempt from three, he went 1-for-5 from the field while Gorener went 0-for-6 from three tonight and 0-for-9 from the field.
I have no further comment and I’d like my right to an attorney before answering any further questions.
What I will say, is that the duo’s 1-for-14 combined mark speaks volumes to their necessity to winning when teams force Omari Moore away from the rim and force him to kick out to the perimeter.
SJSU’s second-year head coach Tim Miles said he’s “always” worried about SJSU’s three-point shooting, but also mentioned, “I’m a coach I worry about everything. It’s my job.”
To reel it back in, SJSU has shown they can without it, just like when they went 4-for-18 in the Utah State, but it’s a cause for a concern if a shootout were to arise.
Medium worry: Identity
The immediate question becomes who is SJSU? Well, at least for me anyways.
Is SJSU who they were Friday night – defensively despondent and offensively inept – or are they the squad from the prior seven day stretch?
The contrast between their play against UNM and Utah State and UNLV last week was the personification of stark.
Which is why the next two games at Nevada (20-6, 10-3 MW) on Tuesday – No. 31 in the NET – and at home against Boise State (20-6, 10-3 MW) – No. 24 in the NET – are essential to revealing who exactly SJSU is. Both teams have previously beat the Spartans and are playing for conference championships and favorable seeding in the NCAA Tournament.
Miles has shown SJSU can rewrite prior apocalyptic narratives, but the story would feel incomplete if it ends with a limp to the finish line.
But if the Spartans rise from Friday night’s ashes and run the table it’ll make this season ever more cinematic than its already been.
Lowest category: Defense
As I previously promised, SJSU’s defense will be addressed.
What happened tonight was an abomination to all things holy.
There was too much of this:
And far too much of that:
Time to put it into perspective.
Jaelen House’s presence back in the Lobos starting lineup after missing four prior games gave UNM enough electricity to light up Time Square. UNM had lost all four of those contests.
Coincidence? Happenstance? Miles and I think not, too.
“They are a different team with and without him,” said Miles. “You watched them without him and there’s very little transition … and with him he just creates so many problems on both ends of the floor. He’s a dynamic player.”
House shot just 3-of-10 for seven points, but his five steals gave the Lobos undeterred momentum.
Moreover, the 96 points allowed was a complete anomaly for SJSU’s defense which entered Friday night fourth in the Mountain West in points allowed per game (66.2).
Prior to Friday, their previous high was 75 against Utah State on Jan. 21.
Bonus tier: Don’t worry about everything
The Spartans hauled down 29 offensive rebounds, its most in a single game this season and out-rebounded the Lobos 48-34.
Robert Vaihola led with eight, his most in a game this season and now leads the Mountain West with 2.8 offensive boards per game, Sage Tolbert and Ibrahima Diallo each had five, J.T. Elder had three and Moore, Trey Anderson and Garrett Anderson each had one.
Not all smiles for Miles though who said, “You’re missing a lot of shots when you have 29 offensive rebounds.”
