Emptying the Notebook: Buljan blows up, happy Halls, fast starts, no bull, Dent's return and on to Indy
Here are some notes, quotes, stats, trends and other odds & ends I emptied out of the old notebook after Tuesday's 84-69 UNM Lobos win over Saint Joseph's in the quarterfinal round of the NIT in the Pit: Buljan blows up If Tomislav Buljan's games in the Pit are over — and based on his transfer portal value to a deep-pocketed power conference team now that it sounds assured he will get another year of eligibility, they very well could be — the 23-year-old first-year college player from Split, Croatia, went out with a bang. Not just Tuesday — 27 points, 11 rebounds — but over the three-game NIT stretch for the Lobos. In UNM's three wins, the 6-foot-9 forward hat the following averages: * Points: 21.
0 * Rebounds: 10. 0 * 2-pt FGs: 62. 9% (22-35) * 3-pt FGs: 75.
0% (3-4) LOUD NOISES!!! #GoLobos ESPN2 pic. twitter.
com/voPNNUbqdd — Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) March 25, 2026 He started his season off brilliantly in the Pit back in November and ended it brilliantly in the Pit in March. Tuesday, his 27 points/11 rebound double-double was against the A-10 co-Defensive Player of the Year, Saint Joseph's Justice Ajogbor and Sunday's 14 points, nine rebounds and seven drawn fouls game was against A-10 All-Defensive team big man Rafael Castro. And in both cases, things got pretty physical in the post for Buljan, leaving him with some visible marks on his arms and face while doing a postgame press conference on Tuesday.
"I mean, when you play rough like that, you get some (scratches and bruises) from couple games," Buljan said. "I mean, they foul sometimes. Sometimes they don't call it, but you should rather play through everything.
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