The Eastern New Mexico University Men’s basketball team earning the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Division II men’s tournament in the South Central region. They will take on the seventh seed St. Mary’s of Texas after the Greyhounds went 26-5 on the season. Despite losing the Lone Star Conference championship game tournament to Dallas Baptist in the final seconds, head coach Daven Võ believes in his players and team.”We’re going into this game with a lot of confidence,” Võ said. “St. Mary’s beat us in our one meeting during the regular season at home. We feel like we’ve gotten a lot better since then, and we feel like we’ve been through a lot more since then. They presented a lot of problems, and they are going to give us a handful.”Coach Võ is highlighting his star senior forward, Jose Murillo. The Highland High School graduate and four-year starter averaging 16.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game this season. “It is a rare, rare thing to have a guy be at a school, be as dominant as he has,” Võ said. “He is the identity of the team, and he’s raised the standards of what a Greyhound is and what it means to be a Greyhound.”Coach also mentioned his team playing fast, playing tough defense, and rebounding well. Coach acknowledged the rebuild of the program took time, including finding the right players. “We’ve turned this program around since 2020 by identifying the right people and by trying to be really gritty and trying to embrace the culture around here in Portales,” Võ said. “That’s being loyal, hard-working and being tough.”After the Sunday selection show for the tournament bracket, coach said he saw the Greyhounds nationally ranked in the top 10 in the power rankings. He said the team has come a long way in a short amount of time. “Not only have we defied the odds of being good in a Lone Star, but we’ve defied the trend,” Võ said. “Everyone should know by now that has any idea about college athletics, about NIL and the transfer portal, we don’t have NIL here in Eastern New Mexico, despite many, many rumors out there. We brought back eight guys this year, four of which were all-conference guys. That’s because we have a really good culture.”Despite it all, what coach Võ is most proud of is his team’s resiliency and togetherness.”These guys argue, don’t get me wrong, they fight, and that’s how it should be,” Võ said. “You know, brothers fight, families fight, but they actually thoroughly enjoy being around each other and practicing with each other and being in a hotel, being on these trips together, and they embrace that everywhere we go.”Behind this team is a fan base and a community coach says has their back going into the tournament. “The people in town absolutely love them because they’re outstanding people,” Võ said. “We are number one in the conference in attendance. That just tells you how big of a deal ENMU basketball is in Portales.”In their region is the team they lost to in the conference championship tournament, Dallas Baptist, obtaining the No. 1 seed in the region, but also, there is their neighbor, Western New Mexico University, as a No. 4 seed. The South Central region consists of six of the eight teams coming from the Lone Star Conference. ENMU will take on St. Mary’s Saturday, March 14, at 3:30 p.m. WNMU will take on Saint Edward’s Saturday, March 14, at 8:30 p.m.
The Eastern New Mexico University Men’s basketball team earning the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Division II men’s tournament in the South Central region.
They will take on the seventh seed St. Mary’s of Texas after the Greyhounds went 26-5 on the season. Despite losing the Lone Star Conference championship game tournament to Dallas Baptist in the final seconds, head coach Daven Võ believes in his players and team.
“We’re going into this game with a lot of confidence,” Võ said. “St. Mary’s beat us in our one meeting during the regular season at home. We feel like we’ve gotten a lot better since then, and we feel like we’ve been through a lot more since then. They presented a lot of problems, and they are going to give us a handful.”
Coach Võ is highlighting his star senior forward, Jose Murillo. The Highland High School graduate and four-year starter averaging 16.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game this season.
“It is a rare, rare thing to have a guy be at a school, be as dominant as he has,” Võ said. “He is the identity of the team, and he’s raised the standards of what a Greyhound is and what it means to be a Greyhound.”
Coach also mentioned his team playing fast, playing tough defense, and rebounding well. Coach acknowledged the rebuild of the program took time, including finding the right players.
“We’ve turned this program around since 2020 by identifying the right people and by trying to be really gritty and trying to embrace the culture around here in Portales,” Võ said. “That’s being loyal, hard-working and being tough.”
After the Sunday selection show for the tournament bracket, coach said he saw the Greyhounds nationally ranked in the top 10 in the power rankings. He said the team has come a long way in a short amount of time.
“Not only have we defied the odds of being good in a Lone Star, but we’ve defied the trend,” Võ said. “Everyone should know by now that has any idea about college athletics, about NIL and the transfer portal, we don’t have NIL here in Eastern New Mexico, despite many, many rumors out there. We brought back eight guys this year, four of which were all-conference guys. That’s because we have a really good culture.”
Despite it all, what coach Võ is most proud of is his team’s resiliency and togetherness.
“These guys argue, don’t get me wrong, they fight, and that’s how it should be,” Võ said. “You know, brothers fight, families fight, but they actually thoroughly enjoy being around each other and practicing with each other and being in a hotel, being on these trips together, and they embrace that everywhere we go.”
Behind this team is a fan base and a community coach says has their back going into the tournament.
“The people in town absolutely love them because they’re outstanding people,” Võ said. “We are number one in the conference in attendance. That just tells you how big of a deal ENMU basketball is in Portales.”
In their region is the team they lost to in the conference championship tournament, Dallas Baptist, obtaining the No. 1 seed in the region, but also, there is their neighbor, Western New Mexico University, as a No. 4 seed. The South Central region consists of six of the eight teams coming from the Lone Star Conference.
ENMU will take on St. Mary’s Saturday, March 14, at 3:30 p.m. WNMU will take on Saint Edward’s Saturday, March 14, at 8:30 p.m.
