If you're looking for a team to cheer for during the NCAA tourney...try the Lobos

I've been searching for a team to root for during the 2010 NCAA Basketball Tournament, which gets underway on March 16. If the Arizona Wildcats can't make the dance then I need to find a team -- besides the California Golden Bears, of course -- to get behind.

  need to find one, otherwise it's going to be pure boredom. You can rest assured I won't pick a team from the Big East, the ACC, or any team from the middle of the country as well. So, let's look closer to home. For my fun pick, I've selected a team that is 27-3 on the season, a team that has won 13 games in a row and a team that's knocked off six ranked opponents, including California (I assume the Bears will finally get back into the Top-25 after their win over ASU today). That team is Steve Alford's New Mexico Lobos. The Lobos are on a roll and are fresh off a win this afternoon over 13-ranked Brigham Young University. The game was played in Provo -- a place were visiting teams seldom win. In fact, the Cougars were the proud owners of a 21-game home winning streak. Until today, that is.

The Lobos go into their final week of regular-season play with four players averaging in double figures, with a fifth player not too far behind. New Mexico, ranked 10th in the country, clinched the Mountain West Conference title (and a trip to the NCAA tourney) today with its win over BYU.

Remember them?

The Cougars (26-4) rolled over the Wildcats at McKale Center earlier in the year in a game Arizona fans would just as soon forget. BYU will head for the dance anyway, as will UNLV (22-7) and San Diego State (20-8), the third and fourth best teams in the Mountain West Conference. Of course, those are two more teams Arizona fans would just as soon forget. UNLV beat the Wildcats in double overtime back on Dec. 2 at McKale, while San Diego State took down Arizona Dec. 12 on the Aztecs' home court.

To be the top dog in the MWC this year is quite an accomplishment for Alford and his Lobos. Alford has certainly done great things in his three years at New Mexico and he just might have the team this year that could reach the sweet sixteen and possibly even further.

Well, I feel much better...I've found a team to root for.