# 2008–09 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team

The 2008–09 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team represented the University of New Mexico as a member of the Mountain West Conference. The Lobos were coached by second-year head coach Steve Alford and played their home games at the University Arena, also known as "The Pit", in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The Lobos finished the season 22–12, 12–4 in Mountain West play. They were Co–Champions of the Mountain West Conference with Utah and BYU. They were defeated by Wyoming in the semifinals of the 2009 Mountain West Conference men's basketball tournament. They invited of the 2009 National Invitation Tournament. They defeated Nebraska before losing to Notre Dame in the second round.

## Roster

2008–09 Roster :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | High School/Last College |
| A.J. Hardeman | 00 | F | 6' 8" | 225 | Freshman | Del Valle, Texas | Del Valle HS |
| Jonathan Willis | 2 | G | 6' 6" | 185 | Sophomore | Carson, California | Mayfield HS |
| Dion Williams | 4 | G | 5' 11" | 165 | Freshman | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Willow Canyon HS |
| Dairese Gary | 5 | G | 6' 1" | 205 | Sophomore | Elkhart, Indiana | Concord HS |
| Nate Garth | 11 | G | 6' 2" | 180 | Freshman | Sacramento, California | Hamilton HS |
| Will Brown | 15 | F | 6' 9" | 225 | Freshman | Dallas, Texas | Woodrow Wilson HS |
| Phillip McDonald | 23 | G | 6' 5" | 200 | Freshman | Cypress, Texas | Cypress Springs HS |
| Román Martínez | 30 | F | 6' 6" | 185 | Sophomore | El Paso, Texas | Montwood HS |
| Tony Danridge | 32 | G/F | 6' 5" | 215 | Senior | San Bernardino, California | Cajon HS |
| Chad Toppert | 33 | G | 6' 7" | 215 | Senior | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Academy HS |
| Chris Johansen | 40 | G | 6' 4" | 190 | Freshman | Albuquerque, New Mexico | St. Pius X HS |
| Kem Nweke | 42 | C | 6' 10" | 265 | Freshman | Missouri City, Texas | Thurgood Marshall HS |
| Daniel Faris | 53 | F | 6' 9" | 245 | Senior | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Eldorado HS |

## Rankings

Ranking Movement Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Final |
| AP | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | | | | | | | | | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | RV | |
| Coaches | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | | | | | | | | | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | |

## 2008–2009 Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/08/2008* 3:00 pm, KASY | Western New Mexico | W 88–59 | – | University Arena (11,658) Albuquerque, NM |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/14/2008* 7:00 pm | Southeast Missouri State | W 102–59 | 1–0 | University Arena (13,031) Albuquerque, NM |
| 11/16/2008* 1:00 pm | at Creighton | L 75–82 | 1–1 | Qwest Center Omaha (16,107) Omaha, NE |
| 11/20/2008* 7:00 pm, KASY | Grambling State Cancún Challenge | W 96–50 | 2–1 | University Arena (12,066) Albuquerque, NM |
| 11/22/2008* 7:00 pm, KASY | UCF Cancún Challenge | L 71–72 | 2–2 | University Arena (12,707) Albuquerque, NM |
| 11/24/2008* 7:00 pm | Cal State Northridge | W 85–74 | 3–2 | University Arena (12,101) Albuquerque, NM |
| 11/29/2008* 9:00 pm, CBSCS | vs. VCU Cancún Challenge Semifinals | L 55–67 | 3–3 | Aventura Spa Palace (213) Cancún, MX |
| 11/30/2008* 6:15 pm, CBSCS | vs. Drake Cancún Challenge 3rd place game | L 62–68 | 3–4 | Aventura Spa Palace (201) Cancún, MX |
| 12/06/2008* 4:00 pm, The Mtn. | Southern Miss | W 60–58 | 4–4 | University Arena (12,465) Albuquerque, NM |
| 12/10/2008* 8:00 pm, KASY | at San Diego | W 57–54 | 5–4 | Jenny Craig Pavilion (2,034) San Diego, CA |
| 12/13/2008* 2:00 pm, Versus | Ole Miss | W 103–70 | 6–4 | University Arena (13,341) Albuquerque, NM |
| 12/17/2008* 6:30 pm, The Mtn. | Oral Roberts | W 66–63 | 7–4 | University Arena (13,358) Albuquerque, NM |
| 12/20/2008* 11:00 am, KASY | at Texas Tech | L 78–86 | 7–5 | United Spirit Arena (8,425) Lubbock, TX |
| 12/23/2008* 6:30 pm, The Mtn. | New Mexico State Rio Grande Rivalry | W 76–62 | 8–5 | University Arena (17,197) Albuquerque, NM |
| 12/30/2008* 7:00 pm, AggieVision | at New Mexico State Rio Grande Rivalry | W 68–66 | 9–5 | Pan American Center (10,285) Las Cruces, NM |
| 01/03/2009 8:30 pm, The Mtn. | at UNLV | L 58–60 | 9–6 (0–1) | Thomas & Mack Center (14,189) Paradise, NV |
| 01/06/2009* 7:00 pm | UTEP | L 60–73 | 9–7 | University Arena (13,713) Albuquerque, NM |
| 01/10/2009 7:30 pm, The Mtn. | Air Force | W 78–53 | 10–7 (1–1) | University Arena (15,212) Albuquerque, NM |
| 01/17/2009 2:00 pm, Versus | BYU | W 81–62 | 11–7 (2–1) | University Arena (15,277) Albuquerque, NM |
| 01/21/2009 8:30 pm, The Mtn. | at San Diego State | L 76–81 | 11–8 (2–2) | Cox Arena (8,001) San Diego, CA |
| 01/24/2009 6:00 pm | at TCU | W 69–52 | 12–8 (3–2) | Daniel–Meyer Coliseum (5,590) Fort Worth, TX |
| 01/28/2009 7:30 pm, The Mtn. | Colorado State | W 68–50 | 13–8 (4–2) | University Arena (13,157) Albuquerque, NM |
| 01/31/2009 1:30 pm, The Mtn. | at Utah | L 68–69 | 13–9 (4–3) | Jon M. Huntsman Center (9,676) Salt Lake City, UT |
| 02/03/2009 8:00 pm, CBSCS | Wyoming | W 86–57 | 14–9 (5–3) | University Arena (13,081) Albuquerque, NM |
| 02/07/2009 6:00 pm, CBSCS | UNLV | W 73–69 $^{OT}$ | 15–9 (6–3) | University Arena (17,407) Albuquerque, NM |
| 02/11/2009 8:00 pm, CBSCS | at Air Force | W 76–66 | 16–9 (7–3) | Clune Arena (1,874) Colorado Springs, CO |
| 02/17/2009 8:00 pm, The Mtn. | at BYU | L 62–73 | 16–10 (7–4) | Marriott Center (12,911) Provo, UT |
| 02/21/2009 1:00 pm, Versus | San Diego State | W 75–49 | 17–10 (8–4) | University Arena (16,801) Albuquerque, NM |
| 02/24/2009 6:30 pm, The Mtn. | TCU | W 76–62 | 18–10 (9–4) | University Arena (14,777) Albuquerque, NM |
| 02/28/2009 7:00 pm | at Colorado State | W 81–79 $^{2OT}$ | 19–10 (10–4) | Moby Arena (3,023) Fort Collins, CO |
| 03/03/2009 7:00 pm, The Mtn. | Utah | W 77–71 | 20–10 (11–4) | University Arena (18,018) Albuquerque, NM |
| 03/07/2009 1:30 pm, The Mtn. | at Wyoming | W 74–73 | 21–10 (12–4) | Arena-Auditorium (7,412) Laramie, WY |
| 2009 MWC men's basketball tournament ||||||
| 03/12/2009 9:30 pm, The Mtn. | vs. Wyoming Quarterfinals | L 67–75 | 21–11 | Thomas & Mack Center (10,011) Paradise, NV |
| 2009 National Invitation Tournament ||||||
| 03/17/2009* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | Nebraska First Round | W 83–71 | 22–11 | University Arena (7,974) Albuquerque, NM |
| 03/19/2009* 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | at Notre Dame Second Round | L 66–70 | 22–12 | Joyce Center (3,013) Notre Dame, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||