MEDIA COVERAGE: Saturday’s game can be heard live on the Aggie Sports Network and over the Las Cruces radio airwaves on KSNM, 98.7 with NM State Hall of Famer Jack Nixon on the call.
The game will also be televised by the American Sports Network (locally on RetroTV, KFOX 14.2) with Dave Barnett (play-by-play) and Ben Braun (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 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! Call 575-646-1420 for tickets.
WHITE OUT: The contest is the Aggies “White Out” and a fan are encouraged to wear white clothing to the Pan American Center for the game.
ABOUT THE AGGIES: The Aggies picked up all three wins at home in 2014-15. The Aggies have won 13 straight at the Pan Am, and have are 32-2 at Pan Am since the start of the 2012-13 season.
The Aggies’ 13-game home court winning streak is the second longest streak dating back to the 11-12 season. The longest is 15-games, with the 13 and an 11, including the current one.
NM State has dropped all five of its road games this season, with four teams receiving votes in the AP and/or USA Today polls.
NM State is averaging 15.3 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 last Wednesday, the fewest points scored at the Pan American Center and the fewest points scored against the Aggies since March 1952.
The Aggies are averaging 84.0 points a game at the Pan American Center this season, while collecting 55.3 points. On the road, NM State is averaging 64.6 points, while allowing 74.2 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.
NM State returns honorable mention AP All-American and WAC Player of the Year Daniel Mullings who is currently second on the team averaging 13.4 points, to go with at team leading 7.4 rebounds and 2.0 steals. Last year, the 6-2 senior guard averaged a team-high 16.8 points per game and led the Aggies with 65 steals, which ranked second in the conference.
Senior Remi Barry is leading the Aggies in scoring. Barry is averaging 13.8 points a game (sixth in the WAC) after scoring 18 points, 17 twice, 16 and 13 points twice in six of the last seven games. He also leads the WAC in field goal percentage, shooting 60.7 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 11.0 points and is second on the team with 7.3 rebounds. He leads the WAC in blocked shots with 1.9 per game, and ranks sixth in the league in board work. In three games last week he averaged a double-double with 13.3 points and 10.7 boards.
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.
LOOKING BACK: The Aggies had a 13-point lead over New Mexico on Wednesday 10 minutes into the game, but the Lobos responded with a 24-5 run to close the half to take away the advantage and never looked back as UNM downed NM State 62-47.
The Aggies lost their fifth road game of the season. NM State posted its worst shooting performance of the year, hitting only 34.8 percent from the floor, including just 23.1 percent in the second half. The Aggies also turned the ball over 20 times.
Senior Remi Barry led NM State in scoring with 13 points, while senior Daniel Mullings nearly double-doubled with 10 points and nine boards. With three steals, Mullings broke the school’s career record for steals, now with 218. Redshirt freshman Pascal Siakam had his streak of five straight double-digit scoring games snapped with six points to go with his seven rebounds.
ABOUT THE MINERS: UTEP (4-2) dropped its second consecutive three-pointer as it lost 65-62 at Colorado State Wednesday after losing on Sunday night 68-65 to Washington in the championship game of the Wooden Legacy in Anaheim, Calif. The Miners are no longer getting votes in the AP poll, but is getting votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Miners are led by forward Vince Hunter (6-8, So., Detroit, Mich.) who is averaging 16.0 points and 11.6 rebounds a game. Forward Cedrick Lang (6-10, Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) chalks up 12.7 points, 7.0 boards and shoots 65 percent from the floor, while forward/guard Julian Washburn (6-8, Sr., Dallas, Texas) posts 11.5 points with 4.2 rebounds. Guard C.J. Cooper (6-0, Sr., Chino, Calif.) adds 8.7 points with 4.7 assists. The Miners are scoring 68.0 points an outing, while allowing 65.0.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Aggies take a week off for final exams, their longest break of the young season, before traveling to Tulsa, Okla., to face Oral Roberts.
The Eagles are 2-4 on the season, with a 62-61 loss at Weber State on Dec. 1 in their last action. ORU takes on Missouri State this Sunday before being idle until meeting NM State on Dec. 13. ORU is paced by guard Obi Emegano (6-3, Jr., Edmond, Okla.) who is averaging 16.5 points. 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists a game. Guard Korey Billbury (6-3, Jr., Tulsa, Okla.) chalks up 14.2 points, 7.0 boards and dishes 3.0 assists a contest, while guard Bobby Word (6-4, So., Lancaster, Texas) posts 7.6 points. The Eagles are scoring 60.8 points an outing, while allowing 67.5.
AIR CANADA: NM State guard Daniel Mullings chalked up 21 points against Wyoming, his second 20-point effort of the season, to go with his career-high 15 rebounds against Stetson. He posted 10 points with nine rebounds at New Mexico. The 6-2, 170 pound senior from Toronto, Ontario, is second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.4 points this season. He leads the squad in rebounds with 7.4 per outing and steals at 2.0 per contest.
Mullings, who was a 2013-14 honorable mention AP All-American, was the WAC Player of the Year in 2014 after averaging 16.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. He hit 46.6 percent from the floor (201-of-431) and 72.7 percent from the foul line (168-of-231). He also led the team with 1.9 steals per outing.
The WAC Preseason Player of the Year for 2014-15, Mullings has led the Aggies in scoring, rebounding and steals the first three games.
Mullings is ninth in career scoring at NM State with 1,512 points after passing Jahmar Young (2007-12) with 1,479 points. Mullings needs nine points to tie or 10 points to pass Wendell McKines (2007-12) with 1,521 points in eighth on the list.
Mullings swiped the Aggie record for career steals against with his three steals at New Mexico. He lifted his total to a NM State record 218, passing the previous record of 216 held by Hearnst Leroche (2008-12). Mullings recorded 65 steals last season (1.9 per game), ranking fifth on the single season steals chart.
He is ninth on the career assist chart with 299 and need one more to become the ninth player in school history with 300 assists. He’s three from Brandon Mason (1999-03) with 302 in eighth.
Mullings third in both career free throws made (404) and attempted (569) at NM State.
Talked with Marvin Menzies, who said Chili Nephawe will be out an estimated 4 weeks and Tanveer Bhullar out an est. 6 weeks with injuries.
— Mark Rudi (@mrudi19) December 5, 2014