Ben Woloszyn/Laramie Boomerang via Associated Press

University of New Mexico men's basketball players Jamaal Smith (left) and Jonathan Wills (right) surround Wyoming guard Brad Jones during their Mountain West Conference opener. The Lobos rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to win 99-92 in double overtime at Laramie, Wyo.

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Saturday's Pit visitor is not exactly one of the bad boys of the Mountain West Conference when it comes to bringing venom and energy out of the Lobos' den.

San Diego State is not Brigham Young, not Utah. What the Aztecs typically represent is underachieving.

But maybe Saturday all that's necessary to give Lobos coach Steve Alford his wish for a full house is what he already has — a 14-2 University of New Mexico men's basketball team.

The Lobos return to The Pit Saturday to play SDSU after a three-game road swing to Hawaii, UTEP and Wyoming.

If you go by recent UNM road history, the Lobos coming back with three wins, including a 99-92 double overtime MWC win Saturday in Laramie, is nothing short of amazing.

But maybe not for these Lobos.

Alford's Lobos keep finding ways to win games that maybe they shouldn't be winning.

UTEP had the Lobos beat but couldn't close it.

Wyoming was up by 16 points at the half and seemed to forget that the Lobos can kill you with 3-pointers.

The Cowboys made the mistake of letting UNM back into the game. It took UNM two overtimes, but eventually its fundamental discipline — and Wyoming's lack of it — made the difference.

The Lobos now sit atop the MWC alongside SDSU, UNLV and Utah at 1-0. SDSU won at home 64-57 over TCU, UNLV won 65-62 at Colorado State and Utah defended its home court by bombing Air Force 58-36.

That gives UNM and UNLV "breakthrough" wins on the road.

"We are plus one as we like to say, because we got a road win," Alford said on his postgame radio show after the Wyoming win.

One thing the Lobos don't want to do is drop down to "even" by losing to the Aztecs.

The Lobos might need The Pit's help. The Aztecs have never been known for discipline or fundamentals under coach Steve Fisher, but they are known for talent and athleticism.

The Aztecs have good size, too.

They put TCU away with an 18-1 run early in the game, held TCU to 13 first-half points, and coasted to the seven-point win. The Aztecs bring an 11-3 overall mark into The Pit.

"There is no bigger game than the next one," said Alford. "They (Aztecs) are very talented, very athletic team, greatly coached by coach Fisher, so we are going to need 18,000 in there to help us.

"Our guys deserve that, and this team is a lot of fun to watch."

The Lobos weren't much fun to watch in the first half against Wyoming as UNM slipped into a 16-point hole at the half.

"We got pounded on the glass," said Alford. "We turned the ball over. We didn't guard anybody. And we didn't play very tough."

Alford said at halftime he decided to go more to a 2-3 zone to try and contain Cowboy Brandon Ewing. He also said he challenged a couple of seniors — Jamaal Smith and Darren Prentice.

"I really challenged them at halftime," said Alford. "They are seniors. They are vets. Those two had to step up, because they've been here before."

Smith responded with a career-high 24 points, 22 in the second half. Prentice scored 15, and junior Chad Toppert must have been listening to Alford's "step up" lecture, too.

Toppert scored 18 points hitting all five of his 3-pointers in the second half.

"There were no adjustments made by coaches," said Alford, "This was all players getting the job done."

The Lobos players might be all Alford needs Saturday against SDSU, too. But just in case, Alford wants the additional 18,000 Lobos.