Sick's Pack: The House always wins and other UNM hoops takeaways (post-Vegas edition)

Mar. 21—Six days in Las Vegas, Nevada is enough to put anyone's mind on overload.

To the best of my reckoning, last week's Mountain West tournament excursion netted me $37 in video poker losses, 10 pounds gained at some amazing local eateries and one brain fully scrambled by endless hours spent watching college basketball.

I'm calling it a winning road trip. It was also a good way to wrap up the live-coverage portion of my 2023-24 hoops season. Sure, I'll watch the ongoing March Madness festivities on TVs and computer screens like every other basketball junkie, but the buzzer has likely sounded on my time sitting on press row or in the stands for this season.

I'm not complaining. The teams I covered won a lot more games than they lost and postseason appearances are a bonus for players, coaches, fans and media types alike.

But with the University of New Mexico women's season done and Lobo men's NCAA Tournament coverage in the capable (and well-traveled) hands of Geoff Grammer, it's time to offer a few (well, six) final thoughts before the sensory overload of Las Vegas disperses.

With any luck, drawing six for this column will work out better than those lousy five-card poker hands I ended up with last week. Now on to this Las Vegas-style edition of Sick's Pack:

Top six UNM basketball takeaways (post-MWC Tournament)

No. 6 — BUSTED! Yeah, I saw this term often enough while playing video Blackjack. So did the UNM women, who drew a losing hand in their MWC quarterfinal vs. San Diego State. Not a good night to go 3-for-17 from 3-point range, especially when Aztecs shooters came up aces.

No one knew at the time it would be the Lobos' season finale — or that it would be the final game in UNM uniforms for five players including starters Paula Reus and Aniyah Augmon (more on her later). Certainly not a satisfying conclusion to a 21-11 season that largely exceeded expectations.

Still, not all Lobo women's hoops memories from Vegas were bad in 2024. Walking past Cox Pavilion to the MWC media entrance all week, I couldn't help thinking about Jan. 20, when Viané Cumber's long 3 with 3.7 seconds left lifted UNM to a stunning 69-66 win over then-No. 25 UNLV. Considering the Lady Rebels have now won 39 of their last 40 home games and 44 of their last 45 games versus conference foes, I'd call Jan. 20 beating house odds.

No. 5 — DIAMONDS: This suit was fitting for Soundpack, UNM's illustrious pep band, which made itself an entertaining part of the show in Las Vegas. Granted, I became more aware of Soundpack's antics after interviewing several members for a feature story.

Still, location is everything, and Soundpack had an opportunity to shine at floor level in the Thomas & Mack. Chanting, pointing, taunting opposing players and playing in synchronous motion, these folks drew as many eyes as UNM's cheerleaders and spirit team. Sticking them up in the rafters for Pit games kind of feels like a missed opportunity.

No. 4 — HEARTS: This suit refers to what the Lobo men demonstrated in their 68-61 win over San Diego State in Saturday's MWC final. Not only were the weary Lobos playing their fourth game in four days, starting point guard Donovan Dent was severely under the weather. Dent gamely tried to give it a go but lasted just 12 minutes. He spent most of the game near the end of UNM's bench with a towel over his head.

UNM's other guards — Jamal Mashburn Jr., Jamarl Baker Jr., Tru Washington and, of course, Jaelen House, rose to the occasion and significantly outplayed SDSU's backcourt as the Lobos won without one of their aces.

No. 3 — QUEEN OF HEARTS: This card goes to Augmon, who ended up playing her last UNM game in Las Vegas. It wasn't her best performance, but Augmon still came away with 10 points, a team-best seven rebounds, two assists and two steals on a night when nothing came easy.

Like many Lobo fans, I was sorry to see Augmon's post this week announcing she would forgo her final season of eligibility. For three seasons, she's been the team's Energizer Bunny, playing as hard as anyone and rising to All-Mountain West status this year — her first as a starter.

Augmon's decision is understandable, however. Not only is she on track to graduate as a junior, her all-out playing style has taken a toll. She had knee surgery after last season and played through significant shoulder and knee injuries this year. Augmon's slight body was simply beat up, but it never impacted her heart.

No. 2 — PAIR OF 10s: This refers to Eddie House and his never-a-dull-moment son, Jaelen, both of whom sported No. 10 UNM jerseys at the Thomas & Mack Center. It turned out to be a successful family reunion.

Sitting near the elder House in the stands, I was able to see the interaction between father and son during games. Eddie fit right in with the Lobo fans around him, cheering on the team and getting a bit more animated when Jaelen made one of his many key plays. Jaelen, for his part, looked up to his father's seat time and again during timeouts and breaks in the action.

Family support seemed to spark UNM's senior guard, who entered the tournament in a bit of a funk. In his previous four games, Jaelen had averaged 10.5 points on a combined 12-of-50 shooting (24%). In Las Vegas, he averaged 23 points over four games, hitting 31 of 68 shots (45.6%) and was named tournament MVP. Jackpot!

No. 1 — ROYAL FLUSH: This all-red hand is tailored to Lobo fans, who made the Thomas & Mack Center their personal stomping ground last week. San Diego State fans turned out in impressive numbers for Saturday's final but appeared to outnumbered roughly 60-40 from my vantage point. That was as close as it got all week.

"Woof-woof-woof" chanting UNM fans dominated the stands for each of the Lobos' previous tourney wins over Air Force, Boise State and Colorado State. They celebrated on the concourse, on the steps outside the arena and finally on the court after the Lobos' championship victory. Host UNLV's early tournament exit probably played a role, but the Rebels' arena was largely the "Pit West" last week.

No report on how all those cherry-clad fans fared at the casinos (hopefully better than I did), but I'm pretty confident they came home from Vegas feeling like winners. Enjoy it, folks. Such is not always the case.