I’ve been asked a few times this week why I think the WBI (Women’s Basketball Invitational) Tournament is good for the UNM women’s team but not for the men’s team. I’ve been called hypocritical. Reality is, these two programs are at different places and the CBI would have done the men’s team no good. When Craig Neal said, after his team’s loss to Air Force last week in the Mountain West Tournament, that he is going to hit the “reset” button”, he made the right call. His team is injured, beaten up and beaten down. They aren’t a team that got better and can build on momentum. In fact, they lost nine of their last ten games. Shutting it down is the right call. Meanwhile, the women played well down the stretch. After starting the season 1-7, they went on a run to finish second in the league and lost in the conference tournament final. They are young, getting better and can greatly benefit from more games, more practice and the experience of playing in the postseason. I said the men “are New Mexico’ and don’t need to play in the CBI and I believe that. The women’s program is not at that level right now and getting back to the postseason is a step up. Taking steps to build the program is a positive thing. Enjoy the WBI.
