NCAA Basketball: Top 25 early winners from 2023 offseason moves
By Joey Loose
13. New Mexico
You might not remember but New Mexico was the final undefeated team in the nation last season, not losing their first game until early January. Mountain West play was unkind to the Lobos and Richard Pitino’s squad fell short of making the NCAA Tournament. The Lobos finished 6th in the conference but could have their sights set on more significant success moving forward.
For starters, Pitino gets star guards Jamal Mashburn Jr. and Jaelen House back, both of whom were vital on offense, averaging at least 16 points apiece last season. More importantly, Pitino has done excellent work in the Transfer Portal, highlighted by Nelly Junior Joseph, who averaged nearly 15 points a game for his father Rick at Iona last year. Talented big man Mustapha Amzil comes aboard from Dayton and the Lobos also landed Jemarl Baker from Fresno State and a pair of 4-star freshman recruits in Tru Washington and Jadyn Toppin.
The talent will be there in Albuquerque, but will Pitino and this squad have significant success? Things looked rosy early last season before the Lobos fell apart down the stretch. Missing the NCAA Tournament with all of this talent would be unacceptable and you can expect the Lobos to compete in the Mountain West again this season. There’s a lot of scoring and talent here and watching these pieces coming together will be one of the stories of this league.