The game will also be televised on ESPNU Brad Sham (play-by-play) and Stephen Howard (analyst).
LIVE STATS ON THE WEB: Live stats will be available for fans at www.nmstatesports.com at no cost all season long. Fans can click on the ‘Live Events’ link at the top of the NMStateSports.com home page or go to the men’s basketball schedule page and click on the ‘related links’ tab to access the live stats.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Get all the updates of Aggie Athletics on Twitter and Facebook. Get in-game statistics and in-game updates on Twitter @NMStateAggies. Find out about all Aggie Athletics promotions and events on Facebook (NM State Aggies and The Aggie Student-Athlete). Also, new this season, follow us on Instagram at NMStateAggies for photos from all the Aggie athletics.
WHAT WILL THEY DO NEXT: NM State’s unique marketing series, “What Will They Do Next” has got folks wondering what they might see at an Aggie Basketball game. So far this season, NM State has presented The Zooperstars, a mascot basketball game, given away 10 42-inch HD televisions, 5,000 trading cards and one live turkey. “What Will They Do Next?” The only way one can find out is to be in attendance at the Pan American Center! The next home game is the second Rio Grande Rivalry contest with New Mexico on Saturday. Call 575-646-1420 for tickets.
ABOUT THE AGGIES: NM State has dropped all six of its road games this season, with four teams receiving votes in the AP and/or USA Today polls.
The Aggies picked up all four wins at home in 2014-15. The Aggies have won 14 straight at the Pan Am, and are 33-2 at Pan Am since the start of the 2012-13 season.
The Aggies’ 14-game home court winning streak is the second longest streak dating back to the 11-12 season. The longest is 15-games, with the 14 and an 11, including the current one.
The Aggies have lost four players to significant injuries this season, including two starters (Daniel Mullings and Tshilidzi Nephawe) and two newcomers expected to make strong contributions (Tanveer Bhullar and Anthony January).
NM State is averaging 14.6 turnovers a game this season, and has turned the ball over 20 times in three games (Wichita State, Stetson, New Mexico).
NM State held Florida A&M to 33 points on Nov. 26, the fewest points scored at the Pan American Center and the fewest points scored against the Aggies since March 1952.
The Aggies are averaging 80.8 points a game at the Pan American Center this season, while collecting 57.5 points. On the road, NM State is averaging 67.7 points, while allowing 76.2 points a contest.
NM State looks to complete the rare four-peat in 2014-15, as the Aggies have won the WAC Tournament title and participated in the NCAA Tournament three years in a row.
Senior Remi Barry is leading the Aggies in scoring. Barry is averaging 13.6 points a game (seventh in the WAC) after scoring double-digits in eight of the this season’s 10 games. He is second in the WAC in field goal percentage, shooting 54.9 percent from the floor. He just missed a double-double at UTEP with nine rebounds.
Redshirt freshman Pascal Siakam has started strong for the Aggies. In eight games, Siakam is averaging 11.2 points and is second on the team with 6.8 rebounds (tops for active players). He leads the WAC in blocked shots with 2.0 per game (63rd nationally), and ranks eighth in the league in board work.
Coach Marvin Menzies was named a Coach of the Week by RushTheCourt.net last week.
Of the 15 players on the NM State roster, nine are from countries other than the United States. Five players are from Toronto, Canada, with two from France, one from Cameroon and one from South Africa.
MENZIES MOVING UP: Head coach Marvin Menzies is about to take over the number three spot on the New Mexico State all-time coaches wins list. In his eighth season at NM State, Menzies has a 156-95 record and needs just one more win to tie for third all-time. Jerry Hines (1929-40, 1946-47) posted 157 wins in 12 seasons. Hall of Famer Lou Henson (1966-75, 1997-2005) holds the NM State record with 289 wins on the Aggie bench (289-152, 16 years), while Neil McCarthy (1985-97) has 229 victories (229-114, 12 years). Menzies was named one of Forbes’ top 25 college coaches for the money in November.
LOOKING BACK: The scrappy New Mexico State Aggies battled through foul trouble and few numbers on Saturday night, but home-standing Oral Roberts held off the a come-back attempt for an 86-83 win at the Mabee Center.
The Aggies trailed by 10 at 79-69 with 2:44 to play and closed on a 14-7 run, but it wasn’t enough to top the Golden Eagles.
NM State was paced by sophomore Ian Baker with a career-high 15 points, while DK Eldridge added 14. Jalyn Pennie posted a career best 11 points with a game-high eight rebounds as six of the nine Aggie players scored double digits.
ABOUT THE BEARS: Baylor is 8-1 on the season, with a solid 77-63 victory over Texas A&M in Waco on Tuesday, Dec. 9. Baylor, who is the first team receiving votes in both the AP and USA Today polls, has not played since. The Bears are paced by forward Taurean Prince (6-7, Jr., San Antonio, Texas) who is averaging 13.4 points. 5.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots a game. Forward Royce O’Neale (6-6, Sr., Killeen, Texas) chalks up 10.3 points, 6.7 boards and dishes 3.4 assists a contest, while guard Kenny Chery (5-11, Sr., Montreal, Quebec) posts 9.6 points. Forward Rico Gathers (6-8, Jr., LaPlace, La.) chips in 9.4 points and leads team and Big 12 with 10.2 rebounds a game (14th nationally). The Bears are scoring 68.8 points an outing, while allowing just 53.8 a contest.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Aggies return home for the second game of the Rio Grande Rivalry with the Lobos of New Mexico on Saturday.
The Lobos (6-3) have won three straight after beating Louisiana-Monroe 54-46 on Saturday at The Pit. UNM meets Central Arkansas on Wednesday before coming to Las Cruces. The Lobos are still without leading scorer (and coach’s son) guard Cullen Neal (6-5, So., Albuquerque, N.M./Eldorado) who averaged 17.0 points, 1.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the first three games, but suffered an ankle injury against Boston College and isn’t expected to play for at least a few more weeks. Guard Deshawn Delaney (6-5, Sr., Chicago, Ill.) is averaging 13.7 points with 6.0 boards, 1.8 assists and 0.9 steals. Hugh Greenwood (6-3, Sr., Tasmania, Australia) is averaging 10.0 points with 4.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists, while center Obij Aget (7-1, So., Juba, South Sudan) adds 5.7 rebounds. The Lobos are scoring 62.7 points an outing, while allowing 56.7 per game.
THE M*A*S*H UNIT: NM State has had a rough time with injuries at the start of this season. The Aggies suffered several injuries during preseason practice with ankle injuries to both Tanveer Bhullar and Anthony January that have cost both the start of the season. January is out for the season and will apply for a medical redshirt. Bhullar had to be casted and is expected to be out at least until the start of conference play. Second team Preseason All-WAC forward Tshilidzi Nephawe suffered a foot injury during the preseason, but was able to come back to start the first six games. But his foot was not healing properly, so he was shut down at Thanksgiving with a January target to return. Then last week, on Thursday in practice after the New Mexico game, WAC Player of the Year Daniel Mullings broke his finger severely enough to have surgery this week. Mullings will be out for a minimum of eight weeks, or until at least early February. Guard Matt Taylor is questionable after suffering an ankle injury at ORU Saturday.
END OF THE (NONCONFERENCE) ROAD: The game with Baylor marks the end of nonconference regular season road play for NM State. The Aggies have six road ventures in nonconference play this season and will total seven road non-conference games this season.