1998–99 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team

1998–99 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball
1998–99 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second round
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
	Pacific
Ranking
AP	No. 25
Record	25–9 (9–5 WAC)
Head coach	Dave Bliss (11th season);
Home arena	University Arena
	Seasons ← 1997–98 1999–2000 →

1998–99 WAC men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Mountain
UNLV	9	–	5	.643	16	–	13	.552
Tulsa	9	–	5	.643	23	–	10	.697
Rice	8	–	6	.571	18	–	10	.643
TCU	7	–	7	.500	21	–	11	.656
SMU	7	–	7	.500	15	–	15	.500
Colorado State	7	–	7	.500	19	–	11	.633
Wyoming	7	–	7	.500	18	–	10	.643
Air Force	2	–	12	.143	10	–	16	.385
Pacific
No. 6 Utah †	14	–	0	1.000	28	–	5	.848
No. 25 New Mexico	9	–	5	.643	25	–	9	.735
Fresno State	9	–	5	.643	21	–	12	.636
UTEP	8	–	6	.571	16	–	12	.571
BYU	6	–	8	.429	12	–	16	.429
San Jose State	5	–	9	.357	12	–	16	.429
Hawaii	3	–	11	.214	6	–	20	.231
San Diego State	2	–	12	.143	4	–	22	.154

† 1999 WAC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll^[1]

The 1998–99 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team represented the University of New Mexico as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The Lobos were coached by head coach Dave Bliss and played their home games at the University Arena, also known as "The Pit", in Albuquerque, New Mexico. New Mexico finished 2nd in the WAC Pacific division regular season standings and lost to Utah in the WAC Tournament championship game. The Lobos received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 9 seed in the West region. After defeating Missouri in the opening round,^[2] New Mexico was bounced in the round of 32 by No. 1 seed and eventual National champion Connecticut, 78–56,^[3] to finish with a 25–9 record (9–5 WAC).

Roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
G	3	Lamont Long	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	—	Jr
F	4	Kenny Thomas	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Sr	Albuquerque, New Mexico

Head coach

Dave Bliss

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

^[4]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 13, 1998*	No. 20 т	DePaul	W 82–81	1–0	University Arena Albuquerque, New Mexico
Jan 2, 1999*		New Mexico State	W 77–66	12–1	University Arena Albuquerque, New Mexico
Jan 4, 1999		at Fresno State	L 80–86	12–2 (0–1)	Selland Arena Fresno, California
Jan 7, 1999		San Diego State	W 90–60	13–2 (1–1)	University Arena Albuquerque, New Mexico
Jan 9, 1999		Hawaii	W 82–59	14–2 (2–1)	University Arena Albuquerque, New Mexico
Jan 13, 1999	No. 16	at San Jose State	W 82–81 ^OT	15–2 (3–1)	The Event Center San Jose, California
Jan 16, 1999*	No. 16	No. 7 Arizona	W 79–78^[5]^[6]	16–2	University Arena Albuquerque, New Mexico
Jan 19, 1999*	No. 12	at New Mexico State	L 55–76	16–3	Pan American Center Las Cruces, New Mexico
Jan 23, 1999	No. 12	at UTEP	L 49–67	16–4 (3–2)	Don Haskins Center El Paso, Texas
Jan 30, 1999		BYU	W 78–68	17–4 (4–2)	University Arena Albuquerque, New Mexico
Feb 1, 1999		No. 20 Utah	L 39–57	17–5 (4–3)	University Arena Albuquerque, New Mexico
Feb 6, 1999		at Hawaii	L 68–72 ^OT	17–6 (4–4)	Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, Hawaii
Feb 8, 1999		at San Diego State	W 85–60	18–6 (5–4)	Viejas Arena San Diego, California
Feb 11, 1999		San Jose State	W 82–46	19–6 (6–4)	University Arena
Feb 13, 1999		Fresno State	W 83–81	20–6 (7–4)	University Arena
Feb 20, 1999		UTEP	W 81–65	21–6 (8–4)	University Arena
Feb 25, 1999*	No. 21	at BYU	W 85–64	22–6 (9–4)	Marriott Center Provo, Utah
Feb 27, 1999	No. 21	at No. 12 Utah	L 47–77	22–7 (9–5)	Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah
WAC tournament
Mar 4, 1999*	No. 25	vs. Rice Quarterfinals	W 51–49	23–7	Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada
Mar 5, 1999*	No. 25	vs. SMU Semifinals	W 57–56	24–7	Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada
Mar 6, 1999*	No. 25	vs. No. 8 Utah Championship game	L 45–60	24–8	Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada
NCAA tournament
Mar 11, 1999*	(9 W) No. 25	vs. (8 W) Missouri First Round	W 61–59	25–8	McNichols Sports Arena Denver, Colorado
Mar 13, 1999* CBS	(9 W) No. 25	vs. (1 W) No. 3 Connecticut Second Round	L 56–78	25–9	McNichols Sports Arena (16,237) Denver, Colorado
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West.

^[7]

Rankings

^[8]

Team players in the 1999 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
1	22	Kenny Thomas	Houston Rockets

^[9]

References

^ sports-reference.com 1998-99 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary
^ "Lobos show Missouri they belong in tourney". The Las Vegas Sun. March 12, 1999. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
^ "Punchless New Mexico Is KO'd Early by Connecticut". Los Angeles Times. March 14, 1999. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
^ "1998–99 New Mexico Lobos Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
^ "New Mexico Beats Arizona at Buzzer". Los Angeles Times. January 17, 1999. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
^ "New Mexico Ousts No. 7 Arizona". CBS News. January 17, 1999. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
^ "1998–99 New Mexico Men's Basketball Schedule". University of New Mexico Athletics. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1075–1076. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
^ "1999 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 13, 2022.

[1] sports-reference.com 1998-99 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary

[2] "Lobos show Missouri they belong in tourney". The Las Vegas Sun. March 12, 1999. Retrieved August 13, 2022.

[3] "Punchless New Mexico Is KO'd Early by Connecticut". Los Angeles Times. March 14, 1999. Retrieved August 13, 2022.

[4] "1998–99 New Mexico Lobos Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 13, 2022.

[5] "New Mexico Beats Arizona at Buzzer". Los Angeles Times. January 17, 1999. Retrieved August 13, 2022.

[6] "New Mexico Ousts No. 7 Arizona". CBS News. January 17, 1999. Retrieved August 13, 2022.

[7] "1998–99 New Mexico Men's Basketball Schedule". University of New Mexico Athletics. Retrieved August 13, 2022.

[ESPN-8] *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1075–1076. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[9] "1999 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 13, 2022.

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v t e New Mexico Lobos men's basketball
Venues	Carlisle Gymnasium (1928–1957) Johnson Gymnasium (1957–1966) The Pit (1966–present)
Rivalries	New Mexico State
Culture & lore	Lobo Louie
People	Head coaches NBA draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25