LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The defending undisputed Western Athletic Conference Champion and four-consecutive WAC Tournament Champion NM State Aggies (7-6) return to the road and start a stretch of three games in six days as they visit Wichita State (6-5) Monday night at 6 p.m. Mountain in Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan. The Aggies are coming off the holiday after Wednesday's 85-70 loss at Baylor, while the Shockers got back on the winning track with a 98-69 victory over Nevada last Tuesday.
 
SERIES RECORD: This is the 30th meeting between the Aggies and Wichita State with the Shockers holding a 15-14 series lead. The teams resumed their series last season when the Aggies opened the season at then No. 11 Wichita State and lost 71-54. The Aggies and Shockers were both members of the Missouri Valley Conference from 1970-1983. The Aggies last win was on Jan. 23, 1982 with a 59-57 win at the Pan American Center. NM State holds a 4-12 record in Wichita.
 
MEDIA COVERAGE: Saturday's game can be heard live on the Aggie Sports Network and over the Las Cruces radio airwaves on KWML, 570AM with NM State Hall of Famer Jack Nixon on the call.
 
The game will be televised in Kansas by Cox Channel Kansas with Bruce Haertl (play-by-play) and Bob Hull (analyst). The telecast will be carried live through the ESPN College Sports Extra package or online at ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.
 
LIVE STATS ON THE WEB: Live stats are available for most games at www.nmstatesports.com at no cost all season long and.
 
ABOUT THE AGGIES: NM State had its two-game win streak snapped with the 85-70 loss at Baylor. The Aggies are 3-3 in their last six games.
 
NM State fell behind Baylor 18-2 in the first six minutes of the game. The Aggies outscored Bears 68-67 over the next 36 minutes of the game.
 
NM State's 73-53 win at UTEP was the largest margin of victory over the Miners in El Paso since a 61-38 triumph on Dec. 30, 1974 and the largest win margin ever at the Don Haskins Center.
 
The win at UTEP was also the Aggies first non-conference road win since Dec. 17, 2013 when NM State won at New Mexico 67-61.
 
NM State is back on the winning track at home with the 76-61 win over Oral Roberts. The Aggies dropped their second game at home this season with the 62-59 defeat by Wyoming. NM State had its 11-game winning streak at the Pan American Center was snapped with the 83-74 loss to New Mexico on Nov. 15 and had won four more before the loss to the Cowboys. Still, since the start of the 2012-13 season, the Aggies sport a 50-6 record at the Pan Am (.893).
 
In the last 63 contests played by NM State at the Pan Am, the Aggies are 57-6 (.905).
 
After not scoring a 3-point field goal at UNM on Dec. 16, the Aggies scored a season-best 11 3-pointers in their next game at UTEP. The Aggies hit 11-of-19 for a season-best 57.9 percent from the arc.
 
Sophomore Pascal Siakam collected his third 30-point game with his 35 points against Oral Roberts. It matched his career-high of 35 against Robert Morris. He is the first Aggie to post multiple 30-point games in the same season since Troy Gillenwater had four in 2010-11. His first was 30 points against Tennessee Tech when he became the first Aggie to score 30 since Daniel Mullings on Jan. 25, 2014 scored 32 at UT Pan American (now UT Rio Grande Valley).
 
Siakam tallied the first 20-20 game in 13 seasons with his 24 points and 23 rebounds in a win over UTEP on Dec. 2. It's the most rebounds for an Aggie since Chris Jackson's 23 at North Texas on Feb. 1, 2003.
 
Siakam was named the WAC Player of the Week the first three weeks of this season. He leads the nation in field goals made (119) and double-doubles (11), is fifth in rebounding (11.9 rpg), and sixth nationally in scoring (23.8 ppg). He's 64th in blocked shots (1.92) and 39th in minutes played (35.77). He leads the WAC in all six categories as well.
 
Siakam has not double-doubled only twice this season, both times against New Mexico. He had 23 points and eight rebounds on Nov. 15, with 21 points and four boards on Dec. 16.
 
Junior Ian Baker bounced back from being clobbered out of the UNM game with a career-high 26 point game at UTEP. He led the Aggie barrage from the 3-point arc, scoring a career-best six and hitting 6-of-7 from long range. He added 21 points at Baylor.
 
Baker was selected a Preseason All-WAC First Team by both the coaches and media. Currently, he is second in the WAC in scoring (15.4 ppg), fifth in 3-point field goals (2.38 pg) and eighth in assists (3.62 apg).
 
The Aggies posted a 23-11 campaign in 2014-15 that included a 13-1 WAC record and the outright regular season championship. They won a record fourth consecutive WAC Tournament. No other program in the history of the Western Athletic Conference has ever won more than two straight tournaments.
 
The Aggies are also coming off appearing in four consecutive NCAA Tournaments, and five in the last six seasons. The Ags are aiming to match the school record of five straight appearances set first from 1967-to-1971 under Lou Henson and then again from 1990-to-1994 under Neil McCarthy.
 
Junior Ian Baker, a Preseason All-WAC First Team by both the coaches and media, is questionable for the game after his injury at UNM. Currently, Baker is eighth in the WAC in scoring (14.1 ppg), fifth in 3-point field goals (2.30 pg) and seventh in assists (3.40 apg).
 
Of the 14 players on the NM State roster, nine are from countries other than the United States.  Four players are from Toronto, Canada, with two from France, one from Cameroon, one from Colombia, and one from Mexico.
 
MENZIES MARKS: Now in his ninth season at New Mexico State, head coach Marvin Menzies is the Dean of WAC Coaches. Menzies is writing himself into the annals of NM State history. With a record of 182-106, Menzies is third on the all-time win list for NM State Coaches. He's reached the 175 win mark faster than the two men in front of him on the win list: Hall of Famer Lou Henson and Neil McCarthy. Henson (1966-75, 1997-2005) leads the group with 289 wins on the Aggie bench (289-152, 16 years). McCarthy (1985-97) has 229 victories (229-114, 12 years). He passed UNM's Bob King (1962-72) for ninth on the WAC all-games win list at 176 with the win over Houston Baptist. He's ninth on the win list for WAC only games with 90, and is third in WAC only winning percentage at .714 in front of the late Jerry Tarkanian at Fresno State (1995-2002). Even with all the winning, Menzies collected his first Don Haskins WAC Coach of the Year Award last year when the Aggies won the regular season by five games. Menzies was named one of Forbes' top 25 college coaches for the money in November 2014.
 
SUPER SOPHOMORE SIAKAM: Sophomore Pascal Siakam continues making a national name for himself with his strong play in the first third of the season. Selected the WAC Preseason Player of the Year by the media, Siakam leads the nation in field goals made (119) and double-doubles (11), is fifth in rebounding (11.9 rpg), sixth in scoring (23.8 ppg), 64th in blocked shots (1.92) and 39th in minutes played (35.77), leading the WAC in all. He is the leading scorer of the 26 NCAA Division I players averaging a double-double (as of Saturday). Siakam also has three of the top four scoring games in the WAC this year. The 6-9 forward from Douala, Cameroon, matched his career-high in scoring against Oral Roberts last week with 35 points with 11 rebounds. He collected 26 points at Baylor with 10 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season and the 18th of his career. He previously dropped 35 points on Robert Morris to go with 13 rebounds. He followed it with 26 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots at Air Force. The 35 points are the most since Justin Hawkins scored 37 against Hawaii at the Pan Am on March 8, 2008. With his 30 points against Tennessee Tech, Siakam has three 30-point games this season and is the first Aggie to post multiple 30-point games in a season since Troy Gillenwater had four in 2010-11. Siakam became the first Aggie to post a 20-rebound game in 13 years when he recorded the program's 10th 20-20 game with a 24-point, 23-rebound game against UTEP. Chris Jackson had the last of both on Feb. 1, 2003 when he posted 20 points and 23 boards at North Texas. The 23 boards are tied for the seventh most in a game in program history and are the most in NCAA Division I this season. They were also the most in the WAC since Paul Millsap of Louisiana Tech had 28 against San Jose State on Feb. 15, 2006. In the second game against UTEP he collected 14 points and 10 rebounds for his ninth double-double and 16th of his career. Siakam became the first person ever to be selected as the WAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week in three consecutive weeks with his selection in the first three weeks. There have been 14 back-to-back Men's Players of the Week in the WAC (including Siakam), and the closest to three straight were three in four weeks done by San Diego State's Michael Cage in 1983-84 and NM State's Daniel Mullings in 2013-14. The league's Freshman of the Year in 2014-15, Siakam was a first team All-WAC selection as a freshman and was honored as a first team NABC All-District VII performer last season. In just under a season and a half (47 games), he has 745 career points and 417 career rebounds. He also has 86 career blocked shots ranking ninth on the Aggie career list and is six away from Aggie legend Sam Lacey (1967-70) in eighth with 92.
 
THIS BAKER DELIVERS: Junior Ian Baker is a tough and vital leader for the Aggies. He went down in the 10th minute at New Mexico after running head-first into a blind screen and couldn't return. He was cleared to play the morning of the game at UTEP, and turned in a career performance with 26 points, including going 6-of-7 from the 3-point arc. He followed that with his fourth 20-point game of the season with 21 points at Baylor. The second leading scorer on the team and in the WAC,  the 6-0 guard from Washington, D.C., is averaging 15.4 points a contest. He's third in the WAC in free throw shooting, hitting 83.0 percent from the line (39-of-47). He's fifth in the league in 3-pointers per game (2.38), eighth in 3-point percentage (.388, 31-of-80) and eighth in assists (3.62). He scored 22 points in the first UTEP game and 20 vs. Wyoming after picking up 17 points at Air Force with a career-high eight rebounds. Baker also popped for 19 points in consecutive games against New Mexico and Tennessee Tech. The elder statesman of the team, Baker was named Preseason First Team All-WAC by both the coaches and the media.
 
TALENTED TAYLOR: Sophomore Matt Taylor has stepped up his workmanlike play for the Aggies. The 6-5 guard from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is averaging 5.8 points a contest, with 4.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game for NM State. He's also got six blocks on the season, averaging 0.46 per game. Taylor scored a career-best nine points at UTEP, and collected a career-high eight assists. It was the second time this season Taylor had nine against the Miners. In his first starting season, he is one of three Aggies who have starts in all 12 games.
 
WARMIN' UP WILKINS: Sophomore Johnathon Wilkins has made the most out of his last few games. The 6-10, 225 pound forward scored a career-high 12 points against Oral Roberts last week. He grabbed a career-high eight rebounds in the loss to Wyoming and nearly had a double-double with eight points as well. Against UTEP on Dec. 2, Wilkins posted a season-high 10 points. At UNM, Wilkins had eight points with a career-high three assists. After missing the first four games due to an administrative error, Wilkins has moved into the starting lineup and is averaging 6.6 points and 4.0 rebounds a game. Wilkins played in all 34 games last season, starting 10 as a redshirt freshman.
 
HENSON INDUCTED: Aggie Legend Lou Henson was officially inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame on Nov. 20 as part of a class of eight individuals, including three coaches, who formed the NCB Class of 2015 at the College Basketball Experience in Kansas City, Mo. Henson had a 41-year career as a collegiate head coach, all at the NCAA Division I level, posting a record of 779-412 with a 65.4 winning percentage. He's the all-time winningest coach at both New Mexico State and Illinois, and started his career at Hardin-Simmons. Henson, a 1955 graduate of NM State, coached 16 years in two stints for his alma mater, posting a 289-152 record. He also tallied a 423-224 mark in 21 years at Illinois and amassed a 67-36 record in four seasons at HSU. He is currently 11th all-time in career Division I victories, and was sixth on that list when he fully retired from the floor in January of 2005. Henson is one of only 12 coaches to take two different schools to the Final Four.
 
THE FAVORITE: New Mexico State is the prohibitive favorite to win the Western Athletic Conference by both the league's coaches and the media.  The media went on to name sophomore forward Pascal Siakam as the league's preseason player of the year.
 
The Aggies received seven of the eight first place votes and 49 points from the coaches, the most they could receive since they couldn't vote for their own team or players.  Grand Canyon was second with 39 points and CSU Bakersfield third with 36 and the other first place vote.
 
The media, with no voting restrictions, picked up 13 of the 14 first place votes and was third on the ballot that gave CSU Bakersfield a first place vote for a total of 110 points.
 
The media gave Grand Canyon second with 88 and Missouri-Kansas City third with 87.
 
Siakam and junior guard Ian Baker were the Aggies selected on both the Coaches and Media's Preseason All-WAC first team. Siakam was the media's preseason player of the year, while UMKC's Martez Harrison was the coaches preseason player of the year.
 
LOOKING BACK: The New Mexico State Aggies opened with a severe case of the jitters against No. 23/22 Baylor last Wednesday, allowing the Bears an 18-2 run and 15 first half turnovers in route to the 85-70 loss at Baylor. The Aggies battled back to within seven with just under six minutes to play before the Bears pushed it back to the 15-point margin.
 
Pascal Siakam collected 26 points with 10 rebounds and a blocked shot to lead the Aggies. Ian Baker chalked up 21 points, five rebounds and four assists for NM State.
 
The Aggies shot 52 percent from the floor, while Baylor shot 48 percent. The Aggies out rebounded the Bears 31-27, but NM State suffered 22 turnovers to Baylor's eight.
 
ABOUT THE SHOCKERS: Wichita State is 6-5 on its injury-plagued season after beating Nevada 98-69 at Koch Arena last Tuesday. The Shockers are led by guard Ron Baker (6-4, Sr., Scott City, Kan.) who is averaging 15.9 points and 4.2 rebounds to go with his 3.5 assists per game. All-American guard Fred VanVleet (6-0, Sr., Rockford, Ill.), who missed four games with injury, adds 11.6 points, 2.9 boards and 4.3 assists a contest. Forward Anton Grady (6-8, Sr., Cleveland, Ohio) returned Seton Hall after missing four games and averages 8.0 points and 6.1 boards an outing. Wichita State is scoring 71.5 points a game, and allowing 65.1 per contest.
 
CHALLENGING STRETCH: The Aggies started tough holiday campaign last Sunday that leads them to Western Athletic Conference play. NM State fell to Wyoming and UNM before beating UTEP and Oral Roberts in eight days. The Aggies followed with a loss at No. 23/22 Baylor. Next up it's at Wichita State on Monday, back home for NAIA No. 4 Arizona Christian on Wednesday and a trip to UC Irvine on Jan. 2.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Aggies return to the Pan American Center on Wednesday night to face the No. 4 team in the NAIA, Arizona Christian from Phoenix. The game is a regular season contest for the Aggies, while it has been designated an exhibition game for Arizona Christian.
 
The Firestorm is 13-2 so far this season, having beaten Montana Western 79-76 on Dec. 18. ACU is off until taking on NM State next Wednesday. The Firestorm is led by guard/forward Chris Sterling (6-5, Jr., Bakersfield, Calif.) who is averaging 19.5 points and 5.5 rebounds to go with his 2.3 3-point field goals per game. Guard Brandon Newman (6-0, Sr., Atlanta, Ga.) adds 14.3 points, 3.0 boards and 2.6 3's a contest. Guard Bobby Gray (6-1, Sr., Houston, Texas) averages 10.3 points and 3.6 boards with 4.1 assists, while forward Jackson Helms (6-7, Sr., Murrieta, Calif.) scores 8.1 points and leads the team with 7.6 rebounds an outing. Arizona Christian is scoring 86.4 points a game, and allowing 73.4 per contest.