Mountain West Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2022-23 season
By Joey Loose
3. New Mexico
After success nearly a decade ago, things have gotten rough for New Mexico, but a new page has turned and Richard Pitino in his second year turning things around. Last year’s 13-19 record doesn’t look great, but it’s a marked step forward. This season could produce an even bigger step in the right direction.
Star scorers Jamal Mashburn Jr. (18.2 ppg last year) and Jaelen House (16.9 ppg, 4.5 apg) are both back, as are the top 5 leading scorers from last year’s squad. The Lobos get forward Jay Allen-Tovar back for his senior year and add former Wichita State center Morris Udeze. They’ll also work Kansas City big man Josiah Allick into the lineup, giving them a couple of solid new faces in the frontcourt.
The expectation is that those top returning scorers will have good seasons again, giving the Lobos the type of boost they haven’t had in several seasons. The pairing of Mashburn and House is one of the best guard duos in the conference, while a slew of freshman recruits will help the Lobos next year and in the future. Pitino has things trending in the right direction, we’ll just have to see if the talent on this roster can live up to the hype and get this team back in contention.