New Mexico Lobos Open Season Against Texas Southern

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ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico  – The University of New Mexico men's basketball team will begin the 2015-16 regular season Friday against the Texas Southern Tigers at 5:30 p.m. MT/ 7:30 p.m. ET in the WisePies Arena aka The Pit. The game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS.
 
The Lobos will kick off the 2015-16 season with "Heroes Night" in honor of the current and former men and women who have served our country in the armed services, as well as the first responders of our community. There will be $10 tickets in bench Rows 11-25 & 1-10 while supplies last. You can also use THANKYOU as a promo code and receive the same price for online purchases on www.unmtickets.com.
 
New Mexico enters Friday looking for its 13^th straight season-opening win. The Lobos are coming off a strong preseason, in which they defeated CSU-Pueblo, 96-84, and Rogers State, 80-69. The revamped Lobos roster was led by redshirt sophomore Cullen Neal, who averaged 26.5 points per game on 57 percent shooting. Tim Williams, the Preseason Mountain West Conference Newcomer of the Year, averaged 14 points and six rebounds in two games.
 
Texas Southern was selected to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference, earning 123 points in the conference preseason poll. They had 11 more points than second-place Southern. David Blanks was named SWAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, while Chris Thomas and Malcolm Riley were each selected Preseason All-SWAC Second Team. They did not have a traditional slate of exhibitions this past month, but travelled to China for exhibition play over the summer.
 
The Coaches:
Neal enters his third season as head coach of the Lobos and his ninth year with the university. Neal holds a 42-23 overall record as a head coach. He reached 40 wins in just 53 games and is the second fastest coach in school history to reach that mark. Mike Davis leads the Tigers after three seasons at the helm. He has led Texas Southern to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. He previously coached at UAB and Indiana.
 
Series History:
The Lobos' season-opener on Bob King Court will be the seventh matchup, all in WisePies Arena, between New Mexico and Texas Southern. The Lobos lead the series, 5-1. The series dates back to Nov. 26, 1984, when the Lobos won a close battle, 64-63. The two teams have not met since Nov. 19, 2001, when the Lobos won, 97-51. It was the largest margin of victory in series history. The lone win for Texas Southern over New Mexico came on Nov. 28, 1994 by a score of 73- 67.
 
Broadcast Information:
The men's and women's basketball doubleheader will be televised on ROOTS SPORTS. The broadcast will begin at 5:30 p.m. MT with the men's game against the Tigers. The women's basketball team's 2015-16 debut against Houston Baptist will take place 30 minutes after the conclusion of the men's game. In between games, ROOT SPORTS will air UNM-related programming brought to you by LoboTV.
 
The Lobo games on Nov. 13 will air exclusively on ROOT SPORTS in most areas of New Mexico, as well as Colorado, Eastern Wyoming, and portions of South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas. The game may also be available in additional markets, so please check your local listings.
 
For fans tuning in on the radio, Robert Portnoy will give the play-by-play action alongside analyst and Lobo great Hunter Greene on 770 KKOB, the flagship station of the New Mexico Lobos. This feed will also be available via the TuneIn Radio App.

COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS