ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico Lobos were close, but not close enough to make it to the Sweet 16.

The season ended with a loss to Michigan State Sunday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. On Monday, the conversation shifted to the basketball team’s future.

KOB 4 had a front row seat to weekly sports talk show “Two Men On” hosted by Fred Slow, Van Nunley, and Jake Cascio. The discussion Monday centered around UNM Head Coach Richard Pitino. Will he trade in his Cherry and Silver?

“He’s staying one more year. He’s going to stay,” one caller said.

“I think he stays one more, finishes out the contract the way it is,” another caller said.

Pitino has options. His name has been linked to the Villanova Wildcats as the longtime basketball powerhouse outside Philadelphia hunts for a new head coach.

“Villanova is a sexy job. Villanova is in a sexy city. Villanova is a sexy basketball town. Villanova can recruit. Villanova has money,” Slow said.

Enough money to buy him out of his contract? It would cost any school $375,000 to get Pitino before his contract is up in 2029. According to his contract, it would have been double that if former Athletic Director Eddie Nunez hadn’t left UNM.

“School are going to obviously pay that for what Pitino has done for the last two years. It’s huge. That price is almost nothing for what schools could receive in return,” UNM sophomore Cole Lobitz said.

Pitino got a raise when he signed his new contract last year. He’s now making $1.2 million annually. That increases next season. Villanova fired it’s coach Kyle Neptune last week. According to Sportscasting, they paid him $4.4 million a year.

“I hope we can keep them for another year and maybe win back our titles that we had in years past,” UNM freshman Sarah Denslow said.

You can’t talk about the future of the team without talking about star point guard Donovan Dent. The transfer portal opened Monday. So far, Dent has not entered it.

“Pitino’s number one is getting Donovan Dent that bag. We got to keep both of them think about this program’s momentum to keep going,” Nunley said.

Two players have entered the portal. Shane Douma-Sanchez, who claimed he was assaulted by a Lobo teammate last year, is now in the portal along with sophomore Quenton Webb.