If you hang out in Albuquerque long enough, you will realize one thing: it's a little hoop crazy. We love our basketball around here, and more to the point, we love winning basketball teams around here. This year, that means we love the University of New Mexico Lobo men's and women's basketball teams.

First off, there is The Pit. It is well documented and ranked as one of the best basketball arenas in the country. From the outside, it looks like a simple red one-story building, but when you enter the confines and see Bob King court, you realize the seating sinks down into the ground--making a serious pit of up to 18,018 people. I've seen great basketball games, speakers and rock concerts at the venue, and there really isn't a bad seat in the house. It's also where more than a few miracles have happened. Remember the famous unintentional ally-oop pass by North Carolina State to beat Houston and win the NCAA 1983 championship? Remember Jim Valvano scrambling around the court looking for somebody to hug? That was in Albuquerque. That was at The Pit.

This weekend, the UNM basketball teams did not have the comforts of The Pit. They were up at the Pepsi Center in Denver at the Mountain West Tournament. Expectations were high, as the women tied for the regular season title with Utah, and the men came in second to Utah (do you see the trend?). Of course, anyone who watches these tournaments knows that what should happen does not always occur. Upsets are the norm when all the conference teams come together.

The Lobo men have a bona fide superstar this year named Danny Granger. After transferring from Bradley, Granger spent last year and this honing his moves to the next level. Not only can he shoot inside and out, he has the intangibles of creating his own shots at will. At his best, he's electrifying to watch. When Granger went down with a slight tear in his knee earlier this season, the team promptly lost all three games without him. With him in the line up, they only lost three games the rest of the season. With quality complimentary players with last names like Walters, DeVries, Neale, and Chiotti, these Lobos had many options to support the Granger.

The women started the year with a balanced attack. Several capable scorers but no go-to player. The point guard, Mandi Moore, was a four year starter and has a knack for getting elbowed or punched at least once a game. Another senior, Lindsey Arndt, added a nice inside presence and continued the recent tradition of big blondes leading the team. The wild card for the team was a tall slender freshman named Dionne Marsh. Her athleticism and knack for getting inside shots improved all year. The team broke an 0-26 losing streak at Utah and 0-12 streak at Colorado State. These ladies were something special in the regular season.

But it was tournament time which means anything can happen, and rarely does it happen the way you want it. In typical heavyweight fashion, the big hitting teams for the men and women made it to the championship game, and they happened to be the same two schools: Utah & New Mexico.

New Mexico has a notorious reputation of coming up short in big games, so hoping for a split was more than reasonable. The ladies played first, and the toll of playing three game in three days was evident. No one could score, save one. The Lobo freshman Dionne Marsh scored 22 points as the ladies held off the Utes 47-37. An automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the lovely Lobo ladies. Beautiful.

Okay, so we got one out of 2. Don't be greedy. After all, Utah men were ranked 15th in the country, and the Lobos were a bubble team with a low Schedule Strength and Power Ranking. Even with a record of 25-6, the men were not guaranteed anything, and they played that way. The Lobos jumped out to an early lead and continually fought off the Utes. Never leading by more than six, but never down by more than five, the heavyweights kept taking shots. In the end, Granger played like a superstar with 28 points, and the position players all excelled in their roles. When the final buzzer went off, the Lobos had 60 points to Utah's 56.

Call it a sweep, call it a miracle, call something that has never happened for UNM. The men and women took the Mountain West tournament title in the same year. For the desert hoop crazy town of Albuquerque, there is not much more we can ask for in life. For one glorious Saturday, the town is a winner in every way.

On to the NCAA tournament for both the men and women, it would be nice for them both to pick up a win or two, but this tournament was sweet. Super sweet. Super dooper sweet. Super dooper hoops sweet. Take your miracles wherever and however they come. This week, it came in the form of the New Mexico Lobo basketball teams.

Chris Jungle is a UNM alumni.