As Lobos former head coach Steve Alford heads west, all of the speculation is who will fill his cherry sport coat next season? UNM Athletic Director Paul Krebs named Lobos Associate Head Coach Craig Neal, Interim Head Coach…for now.

Although Coach Neal has no head coaching experience at the collegiate level, you have to look at what he’s done for the program as a whole. Neal is a part of a staff that won 4 regular season titles, and 2 mountain west tournament titles running the offensive side of the ball. In the past 5 seasons, the Lobos offense finished in the top 3 in scoring offense.

As the defense-savvy Alford has departed, it’s critical for Neal to stick around for recruiting and the development of talent the Lobos have returning for another run to a possible Sweet 16 berth. Coach Alford continuously endorsed Neal (age 49) as being ready for a head coaching position, while current players Cameron Bairstow & Alex Kirk voiced their consideration to play under Neal.

It’s a no-brainer considering what he’s done for the program as an assistant as well as associate head coach having all 5 starters returning as well as a recruiting class that Neal can convince to stay, may prove to be an easy segue into his first season as a Head Coach. Sometimes you just need someone to take a chance, maybe this is Neal’s shot he’s been waiting for.

I woke up this morning feeling like a kid again. For every basketball fan, the NCAA Tournament feels like Christmas Day. Number one seeds are like the family members who give you the same thing every year- in this case, 2nd round wins. Then, we all have that crazy aunt or uncle who gives us a present that is completely random. In this case, it’s the upset. My upset of the day was 14-seed Davidson beating 3-seed Marquette. The Wildcats had the nation’s longest winning streak at 17 so picking Davidson to topple Marquette just felt right. However, instead of bringing joy, Marquette won and I get a fat lump of coal. The Golden Eagles outscored the Wildcats 11-5 to end the game thus the 3-seed moves on in the big dance. D’oh! This, is what Christmas in March feels like. I ALMOST got new golf clubs, instead I received a velour sweater-vest.

The big dance is finally here, and the Lobos are ready to make some noise.

So far this season the Lobos are 5-0 on neutral courts which is a plus. Although Tony Snell’s scoring was inconsistent during the year, it looks like he’s got the confidence and ability to be the sharp shooting x-factor the Lobos need to make a deep tournament run.

Rewind back to the George mason game in the paradise jam tourney… If it wasn’t for his game winning 3 pointer, the Lobos would have won only 27 games during the year and not the second of all time by a Lobo team at 29.

Being a Lobo alumnus, I haven’t been excited about a Lobo team in a long time.  This team is special because of how unselfish everyone is on the team. Talking to Hugh Greenwood, he said that’s what makes this team so deadly.

The fact one after the other step up on a nightly basis providing a spark – this is key to making a deep run in a tournament where sinking big shots and making plays is the name of the game.

What if…the Lobos defeated South Dakota St., improving to 13-0 instead of 12-1 and defeating 8th ranked Cincinnati last night to improve to 14-0 and *STILL ranked 16th? What if the Lobos defeated South Dakota St., 8)Cincinnati, and THEN beat St.Louis on New Years Eve?? The *then 16th ranked Lobos would most DEFINITELY be ranked in the top 10 without a doubt as their record would hypothetically be15-0…Instead, the Lobos find themselves the next team in the top 25 at 26 receiving 66 votes in the AP Poll with (now) a 13-1 record. I definitely think the lack of respect for the Lobos reighned true in the recent poll…How do you get bounced from 16 to completely out of the poll? 10 spots after one loss?? Either way, the Lobos bounced back with a big 55-54 win over 8th ranked Cincy and the rest will be history when they crack the top 25 on Monday.

NCAA Final Four basketball coverage will pre-empt KRQE News 13 at 5:30 p.m. today.

CBS will air a “Road to the Final Four” show beginning at 2 p.m., and game coverage starts at 4 p.m.

Evening newscasts are scheduled at 9 p.m. on 2 KASA Fox and 10 p.m. on KRQE.

The Final Four games pit Kentucky agains Louisville and Ohio State against Kansas.

The championship game airs Monday on KRQE beginning at 7 p.m.

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What’s happening tonight: KRQE 13 and 2 KASA Fox TV programming schedules

What’s coming up: KRQE.com Community Events Calendar