Lobos ready for battle with Grizzlies

SAN JOSE (KRQE) - At No. 3, the New Mexico Lobos are the highest seed in San Jose, and they hope to be the last team standing.

The national attention has been building over the course of the team's record-breaking season.

"It only gets better from here if you can advance, if you can be fortunate enough to continue to advance and hopefully we'll do that," Head Coach Steve Alford said.

The Lobos want show a national audience they belong in the NCAA tournament, starting with a Thursday game against Montana.

"The way we feel, we can go far and we can go the farthest of any team in our conference," junior guard Darington Hobson said. "We just have to represent right off the bat."

The Grizzlies are among those finding out about the Lobos.

When New Mexico was named as their first opponent, the Grizzlies' Anthony Johnson sounded disappointed because they were not playing a team from the East.

"It's just like a slap in the face," junior guard Dairese Gary said. "We have a good record; we've been proven all year."

"I mean, we were just kind of indifferent. It really didn't matter we knew we had to play a basketball game either way," Johnson said.

The Lobos success on a national level has fueled speculation on the future of Alford. Oregon is rumored to be interested in his services.

"Those things are flattering when your name is being mentioned for other open vacancies," Alford said. "When you've got it as good as we have and you know what we've got in Albuquerque and what we've got in the state of New Mexico...our focus and our mindset is more than 100 percent on what we're trying to do right now."

When the Cherry and Silver take the court Thursday, the Lobos said they will prepare as they do for every game.

For Hobson, that means unleashing his secret weapon.

"Before the game I have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich," Hobson said. "Once that gets in my tummy people have problems."

The Lobos and Grizzlies will tip-off Thursday at 7:40 p.m. You can see the matchup in its entirety on KRQE-TV.