Lobo basketball back on ESPN

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) - Lobo Basketball fans will literally be howling at the moon Monday night and a national audience will be howling too.

Their season opener is being broadcast live on ESPN. It's been seven years since the team's last televised regular season game on the network, but that ends this season.

When the clock strikes midnight the Lobos will be one minute into their nationwide debut of the season, taking on the Davidson Wildcats from North Carolina.

Fans trickled in to snatch up any remaining tickets for Monday's late night game. Pit officials say they've sold about 14,000 seats. They say that's great for a season opener. Capacity at the pit is just over 15,000 and fans have high expectations this year.

The Lobos have brought home four championships in five years under head coach Steve Alford, but this is the first time since 2005 the Lobos will appear on ESPN. They were last on ESPN 2 in 2006.

The Mountain West Conference's now defunct Mountain Network prevented Lobo games from airing on ESPN, but then The Mountain went dark, lighting up hopes for the Lobo nation to once again reach ESPN's 98 Million viewers.

It's a move everyone's celebrating.

"Great exposure tonight as well as weeks leading up to the appearance, promoting this  marathon of college basketball and it's pretty nice," said Associate Athletic Director Brad Hutchins.

Others agreed.

"It gets New Mexico out there more so more people are aware of how good the Lobos are," agreed UNM Sophomore Theodore Trillo.

This will also be the first time the Lobos have ever played at midnight.

Monday night's game is part of a 24-hour basketball marathon on ESPN. Earlier this year UNM announced the Lobos will be part of an ESPN tournament once a year for the next four seasons. That starts next season.