Place two teams in various can’t-win modes on the same floor and one must win by default.
New Mexico (13-9, 4-5 Mountain West Conference) can’t win on the road, having gone 0-8 away from The Pit this season, and Colorado State (12-10, 1-8) can’t seem to win anywhere of late. The Rams have lost six in a row and are on the verge of their fourth consecutive season with at least a seven-game losing streak in league play.
So unless New Mexico’s team bus gets lost on the way to Moby Arena tonight or the power goes out, one team’s exercise in futility will finally end.
“We have to play better on the road in order to win,” New Mexico coach Ritchie McKay said during the MWC’s teleconference. “I’m hoping we can change and get that better play down the stretch. Our guys are confident. We believe we can still be a factor in this race.”
A year ago, New Mexico came into Fort Collins and ended a 22-game losing streak in conference road games. CSU is challenging that record, having lost its past 20 MWC road games.
Before home losses to BYU and San Diego State last week, CSU forward Micheal Morris said there was no way he wanted to go through a fourth season enduring a seven-game slump. Now the Rams need a win to avoid just that.
He was a freshman when the Rams pulled out of the tailspin in time to gather steam going into the league tournament – which they won, to make the NCAA Tournament.
“That’s always in the back of people’s minds,” CSU coach Dale Layer said. “You have to have some confidence going into (the tournament), and we’ve experienced very little of that of late.”
Footnote
McKay, who coached CSU in the 1999 and 2000 seasons, said he hasn’t thought about returning to Moby since the first trip, a late-night Monday game in 2003, but the rivalry is special because of the friendship with Layer, his former assistant. “I hate playing a game against one of the people I love dearly in this world,” McKay said.
Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-820-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
