1998–99 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team

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).

1998–99 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second round
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Division	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]

Roster

1998–99 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team
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

See also: 1998–99 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

^[8]

Team players in the 1999 NBA draft

See also: 1999 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
1	22	Kenny Thomas	Houston Rockets

^[9]

References

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.
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.