# 2016–17 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team

The 2016–17 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team represented the University of New Mexico during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as a member of the Mountain West Conference. They played their home games at The Pit in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Lobos were led by fourth-year head coach Craig Neal. They finished the season 17–14, 10–8 in Mountain West play to finish in fifth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament to Fresno State.
On March 31, 2017, head coach Craig Neal was fired after 4 seasons with the Lobos, 3 weeks after New Mexico Athletic Director Paul Krebs had stated that Neal would return next season. The school then hired Paul Weir from their in-state rival New Mexico State as the new head coach on April 11.

## Previous season

The Lobos finished the 2015–16 season 17–15, 10–8 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament to Nevada.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| J. J. N'Ganga | 0 | F | 6'10" | 240 | Senior | Aubervilliers, France | Graduate transferred to Mercer |
| Cullen Neal | 1 | G | 6'5" | 195 | RS Sophomore | Albuquerque, NM | Graduated. Transferred to Ole Miss |
| Devon Williams | 12 | G/F | 6'8" | 210 | RS Junior | Dallas, TX | Career ending spinal injury. Became a graduate assistant |
| Tim Jacobs | 25 | G | 6'0" | 200 | Senior | Las Cruces, NM | Graduated |
| Nikola Scekic | 33 | C | 7'1" | 255 | Freshman | Belgrade, Serbia | Transferred to Hutchinson CC |
| Michael Nesbitt | 34 | F | 6'7" | 220 | RS Senior | Evansville, IN | Graduated. Became graduate assistant. |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Connor MacDougall | 55 | F | 6'9" | 240 | Junior | Phoenix, AZ | Junior college transferred from South Mountain Community College |

### 2016 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Damien Jefferson #40 SF | East Chicago, IN | East Chicago Central High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Sep 19, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 76 ||||||
| Jalen Harris PG | Wilson, NC | Word of God Christian Academy | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Apr 10, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Aher Uguak SF | Edmonton, AB | Harry Ainlay High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | N/A | Oct 21, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2016 New Mexico Basketball Commits". ESPN.com. ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 2* 7:00 pm | | Western New Mexico | W 113–57 | | The Pit (9,587) Albuquerque, NM |
| Nov 4* 7:00 pm | | Eastern New Mexico | W 88–66 | | The Pit (10,283) Albuquerque, NM |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 11* 8:00 pm, RTRM | | Idaho State | W 81–70 | 1–0 | The Pit (11,293) Albuquerque, NM |
| Nov 14* 7:00 pm, RTRM | | Houston Baptist | W 95–79 | 2–0 | The Pit (11,666) Albuquerque, NM |
| Nov 18* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | New Mexico State Rio Grande Rivalry | W 72–59 | 3–0 | The Pit (13,892) Albuquerque, NM |
| Nov 24* 2:30 pm, ESPN | | vs. Virginia Tech Wooden Legacy quarterfinals | L 72–92 | 3–1 | Titan Gym Fullerton, CA |
| Nov 25* 1:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Cal State Northridge Wooden Legacy 2nd round consolation | W 105–89 | 4–1 | Titan Gym Fullerton, CA |
| Nov 27* 12:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Dayton Wooden Legacy 5th place game | L 57–64 | 4–2 | Honda Center Anaheim, CA |
| Nov 30* 7:00 pm, RTRM | | Abilene Christian | W 64–55 | 5–2 | The Pit (11,154) Albuquerque, NM |
| Dec 3* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Illinois State MWC–MVC Challenge | L 74–79 | 5–3 | Redbird Arena (6,056) Normal, IL |
| Dec 7* 7:00 pm, RTRM | | UTEP | W 78–77 | 6–3 | The Pit (11,838) Albuquerque, NM |
| Dec 10* 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at New Mexico State Rio Grande Rivalry | L 71–84 | 6–4 | Pan American Center (6,298) Las Cruces, NM |
| Dec 17* 6:00 pm, RTRM | | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | W 83–43 | 7–4 | The Pit (10,404) Albuquerque, NM |
| Dec 20* 7:00 pm, P12N | | at No. 18 Arizona | L 46–77 | 7–5 | McKale Center (14,008) Tucson, AZ |
| Mountain West regular season ||||||
| Dec 28 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Fresno State | W 78–73 | 8–5 (2–0) | The Pit (11,844) Albuquerque, NM |
| Jan 1 3:00 pm, CBSSN | | at San Diego State | W 68–62 | 9–5 (2–0) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| Jan 4 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Utah State | L 75–79 | 9–6 (2–1) | Smith Spectrum (3,897) Logan, UT |
| Jan 7 9:15 pm, ESPN2 | | Nevada | L 104–105 $^{OT}$ | 9–7 (2–2) | The Pit (11,235) Albuquerque, NM |
| Jan 10 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UNLV | L 66–71 | 9–8 (2–3) | The Pit (11,379) Albuquerque, NM |
| Jan 14 12:00 pm, RTRM | | at Colorado State | W 84–71 | 10–8 (3–3) | Moby Arena (3,418) Fort Collins, CO |
| Jan 17 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Boise State | W 81–70 | 11–8 (4–3) | Taco Bell Arena (3,752) Boise, ID |
| Jan 21 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | Wyoming | W 78–71 | 12–8 (5–3) | The Pit (12,501) Albuquerque, NM |
| Jan 24 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | Utah State | W 74–61 | 13–8 (6–3) | The Pit (10,698) Albuquerque, NM |
| Jan 28 2:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Nevada | L 65–82 | 13–9 (6–4) | Lawlor Events Center (10,727) Reno, NV |
| Feb 1 9:00 pm, CBSSN | | at UNLV | W 80–77 | 14–9 (7–4) | Thomas & Mack Center (12,001) Paradise, NV |
| Feb 4 4:00 pm, RTRM | | San Jose State | L 68–78 | 14–10 (7–5) | The Pit (12,731) Albuquerque, NM |
| Feb 8 7:00 pm, RTRM | | at Air Force | W 74–67 | 15–10 (8–5) | Clune Arena (2,125) Colorado Springs, CO |
| Feb 14 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | Boise State | W 78–73 | 16–10 (9–5) | The Pit (11,071) Albuquerque, NM |
| Feb 18 4:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Fresno State | L 61–71 | 16–11 (9–6) | Save Mart Center (8,807) Fresno, CA |
| Feb 21 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | Colorado State | L 56–68 | 16–12 (9–7) | The Pit (12,078) Albuquerque, NM |
| Feb 25 4:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Wyoming | L 71–82 | 16–13 (9–8) | Arena-Auditorium (5,354) Laramie, WY |
| Mar 4 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | San Diego State | W 64–59 | 17–13 (10–8) | The Pit (13,958) Albuquerque, NM |
| Mountain West tournament ||||||
| Mar 9 3:30 pm, CBSSN | (5) | vs. (4) Fresno State Quarterfinals | L 60–65 | 17–14 | Thomas & Mack Center (5,866) Paradise, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain Time. ||||||