The game honors Aggie Hall of Fame coach Lou Henson, who began his head coaching career at NM State in 1966. After two stints as his alma mater, Henson is the all-time winningest coach at NM State with 289 wins and ranks 11th all-time in career Division I wins with 779.
Henson is one of only 11 coaches to take two different schools to the Final Four. During his Aggie career, Henson’s teams made the only Final Four appearance, 19 NCAA appearances, four NIT appearances, won two conference championships and produced five all-Americans.
Currently, Henson ranks sixth all-time in games coached with 1,191 and he was the 15th fastest coach in history to reach 700 wins. Henson is also one of only eight coaches to have 20 wins or more with two different schools. Henson ranks 16th all-time on the NCAA’s list of most Division I 20-win seasons with 20, including nine in a row.
The Lou Henson Classic has been an Aggie tradition since the first game against Chicago State on Dec. 2, 2006 when NM State won 80-74. Since that first game, the Aggies have gone 9-1 in the Lou Henson Classic, with their only loss coming to North Texas, 75-72 (Dec. 1, 2007). The Aggies have beaten the likes of San Francisco, Fresno State and Pacific during the Classic, with two of their nine wins coming against Chicago State.
Last year’s Classic was also against UMKC, where the Aggies cruised to a 71-48 win over the Roos. Tshilidzi Nephawe led the four Aggies in double-digit scoring, with a double-double of 15 points, and 13 rebounds.
Tickets for the game are available at the Pan American Center box office, by calling (575) 646-1420, or online at Ticketmaster.com.
Lou Henson Classic Record
12/01/06…Chicago State……….80-74(W)
12/02/06…San Francisco……….89-78(W)
11/30/07…Chicago State……….94-61(W)
12/01/07…North Texas………….72-75 (L)
12/11/08…Sacramento State…76-75(W)
12/23/09…Texas Southern…….79-75(W)
12/18/10…Pacific……………………69-64(W)
01/28/12…Fresno State…………60-56(W)
02/09/13…Seattle U………………60-57(W)
02/09/13…UMKC……..……………71-48(W)