LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Basketball season has finally returned to the Pan American Center as the New Mexico State men's basketball team fires up its season with a 7 p.m. exhibition game on Wednesday, Nov. 1 against Southeastern. The event is FREE for all fans with general admission seating, including parking.
 
Wednesday's contest will be one of two exhibition games for the Aggies with the addition of their hurricane relief game against Texas Tech on Sunday, Nov. 5, at noon (MT)/1 p.m. local time (CT).
 
LISTEN UP!
Aggie fans that can't make it to the game can listen to NM State Athletics/US Bank Hall of Famer Jack Nixon Saturday night on 99.5 Zia Country and affiliate stations. Fans can also listen to the game live with their mobile or tablet device on the TuneIn app for free. The game will be available on following affiliate stations as well:
 
Alamogordo          103.7 FM KNMZ
Albuquerque         1150 AM KNMM
Carlsbad               1240 AM KAMQ
El Paso                 1380 AM KHEY
Gallup                   1230 AM, 94.9 FM KYVA
Las Vegas             107.1 FM KMDS
 
THE BIG 5-0
The 2017-18 campaign serves as the 50th-season season for NM State men's basketball inside the Pan American Center. To celebrate, the NM State marketing department has created special edition posters including head coach Lou Henson, senior Jemerrio Jones, redshirt junior Eli Chuha and a schedule card featuring Las Cruces native, Joe Garza.
 
In addition, the 2018 calendar year will also serve as the 50th Anniversary of the Pan American Center. Promotions and upcoming events surrounding the Pan Am's 50th will be forthcoming.
 
CONFERENCE POWERHOUSE
Heading into the 2017-18 season, New Mexico State has finished in the top-three in conference play for 11-straight years, which ranks them fifth in the nation and trails only Gonzaga (20), Kansas (17), Belmont (15) and BYU (12).
 
HOMECOURT HEROES
New Mexico State is 605-152 all-time inside the Pan American Center and has gone 140-26 the last 10 years at home.
EYEING THE SAVAGE STORM
Southeastern is led by seventh-year head coach Kelly Green and return two of five starters and five letter winners in total. Green's team went 12-16 overall last season and 8-14 in the Great American Conference while posting just a 3-11 mark when playing on the road last year.
 
The Savage Storm (DII) is led by Kevin Buckingham, who is the team's top returning scorer at 10.8 points per game in 2016-17. The 6-6 sophomore also averaged 5.5 rebounds a game and shot 43-percent from the floor. Jett Jobe is the other starter returning for Southeastern, starting in all 28 games last season and averaged 8.4 points with a .404 shooting clip.
 
Other letter winners returning for the Savage Storm consists of Bobby Johnson (6.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg), Jose Libiano (2.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg), James Donelan (1.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg) and Anthony Palmer (2.1 ppg, 1.9 rpg).
 
CHRIS JANS ERA BEGINS AT NM STATE
First-year head coach Chris Jans became the 26th head men's basketball coach for NM State on April 17, 2017, taking over the reins of a team that went 28-6 in 2016-17.
 
Staying on staff with Jans is video coordinator Jordan Sperber and graduate assistant Keith Roberts. His first order of business was hiring associate head coach Lou Gudino, who came to NM State from Indiana State. Following Gudino on staff were assistant coaches David Anwar, Jeff Mailhot and graduate assistant Jovan Austin.
 
MEET THE NEWCOMERS
With just five players returning from last year's history run, Coach Jans and his staff scoured the country and finished with 11 new players. Of the 11, four will redshirt during the 2017-18 season and of the four, two are sitting out due to NCAA transfer rules.
 
Keyon Jones, Shunn (pronounced Shawn) Buchanan, Wayne Stewart, Zach Lofton and Leston Gordon are the four transfers they'll play immediately for the Aggies. Jones averaged 13.6 points during his two seasons at Odessa College while posting 129 career assists with a .470 shooting clip beyond the arc while shooting 52-percent from the floor.
 
Buchanan, a 6-0 guard from Northeast Mississippi averaged 12.7 points his freshman season to go with 5.3 assists per game. T Durant, Miss., native is nailed 48-percent of his shots last season, while hitting 37-percent of those from downtown. Stewart is a 6-6 guard that comes to NM State from Lamar Community College. He averaged 15.1 points his two seasons and was named the NJCAA Division I Region IX Player of the Year. Jans also added a big man in Gordon, who stands at 6-8, comes to NM State from Lee College.
 
Last, but not least, is Lofton. The reigning Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year chose Las Cruces to play his final year as a grad transfer. Lofton, who hails from St. Paul, Minn., averaged 16.6 points last season at Texas Southern while shooting 47-percent from the floor to go with 3.8 boards per game. He also owns a career average of 14.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and a .413 career shooting clip.
 
The Aggies also have a pair of freshmen joining the mix in Gabe Hadley and Kortrijk Miles. Hadley, a 6-3 guard, is known for her sharp-shooting skills and will be a key replacement from the perimeter for Braxton Huggins. Miles is another athletic guard for coach Jans to roll out. The Dallas, Texas, native was named the 4A Player of the Year after averaging 22 points and 12 rebounds his senior year.
 
JoJo Zamora, C.J. Bobbitt, Robert Brown and Jabari Rice will redshirt this season. Zamora (Utah) and Bobbitt (Denver) are both transfers that are sitting out due to the NCAA transfer rule while Brown and Rice are freshmen.
 
PRESEASON HONORS
Heading into the season, NM State was picked to finish second in both coaches and media Preseason WAC Men's Basketball Polls. The last time NM State was picked to finish second in both polls came in 2010. Eli Chuha was a unanimous first-team selection while Sidy N'Dir was named to the second-team in the coaches' poll while Jemerrio Jones was named to the second-team on the media poll.
 
UP NEXT
New Mexico State travels to Midland, Texas, for a charity relief game against the Red Raiders of Texas Tech at noon (MT)/1 p.m. (CT). Tickets are just $10 for general admission with all proceeds benefiting the Greater Houston Community Foundation. To purchase tickets, visit www.TexasTech.com or by calling 806-742-8324 (TECH). Doors are set to open at noon local time (CT).