LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The defending undisputed Western Athletic Conference Champion and four-consecutive WAC Tournament Champion NM State Aggies (4-2) return to the friendly confines of the Pan American Center on Wednesday at 7 p.m. to host the first Battle of I-10 matchup with the UTEP Miners. The game is sponsored by Wells Fargo and El Paso Electric. The Aggies enter the contest 4-2 after suffering a heartbreaking 66-64 overtime loss at Air Force last Saturday. The Miners are 6-0 and are receiving votes in both the AP and USA Today polls after beating Colorado State 99-90 in double overtime at the Corpus Christi Coastal Classic.
 
SERIES RECORD: This is the second longest series in NM State history, as the Aggies lead the series that started a century ago 107-101.  The Aggies claimed the last meeting 71-64 on Dec. 6, 2014 at the Pan American Center. The teams split the series last season with UTEP grabbing a 77-76 win in El Paso on Nov. 22, 2014. NM State has won four of the five previous meetings between the teams and has taken five of the last eight contests. In addition to last season, the Aggies won 86-73 in Las Cruces on Nov. 15, 2013, then grabbed a 77-68 win at El Paso on Nov. 23, 2013. NM State also won 55-51 on Feb. 23, 2013 at the Pan Am Center.  The Aggies boast a 56-42 advantage in Las Cruces.
 
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 by AggieVision with Adam Young (play-by-play) and Patrick Knapp (analyst). The telecast will be carried by Comcast Cable in New Mexico and also air live on Altitude 2 (681-1) and ESPN3. The game will be tape delayed on Fox Sports Arizona (DirecTV 686, Dish 415/5415) Wednesday at 10 p.m.
 
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: Sophomore Pascal Siakam was named the WAC Player of the Week for the third straight week this season. He leads the nation in field goals made (63), is second nationally in scoring (26.8 ppg) and is 11th nationally in rebounding (11.8 rpg). He leads the WAC in all three categories as well as blocked shots (2.17) and minutes played (36.17).
 
The Aggies went 3-1 in the Air Force Classic.
 
NM State has won back-to-back games at home after seeing its 11-game winning streak at the Pan American Center was snapped with the 83-74 loss to New Mexico on Nov. 15. It was the first loss on the parquet floor since a 58-57 overtime loss to No. 24/25 Colorado State on Dec. 27, 2014. Still, since the start of the 2012-13 season, the Aggies sport a 48-5 record at the Pan Am (.906).
 
In the last 59 contests played by NM State at the Pan Am, the Aggies are 55-5 (.917).
 
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.
 
Pascal Siakam collected his second 30-point game with his 35 points (with 13 rebounds) against Robert Morris. He becomes 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 last week 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 was named by the media as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year. Last season's WAC Freshman of the Year, Siakam averaged 12.4 points, leading the WAC in field goal percentage (.572) and blocked shots (61, 1.8 per game). Siakam was named to the Preseason All-WAC First Team by both the coaches and media.
 
Junior Ian Baker was named to the Preseason All-WAC First Team by both the coaches and media. Baker led the WAC in 3-point field goal percentage (34-58, .457) last season and was third in the league in steals.
 
NM State had 11 of its 12 suited players score against Houston Baptist. The last time the Aggies had 11 players in the scoring totals was on Nov. 26, 2014 in a 78-33 win over Florida A&M.
 
Of the Aggies eight returning lettermen, only one didn't play in at least 26 of the teams 34 games (or 76 percent of the games) last season. Tanveer Bhullar saw action in just 10 games after missing most of the season with a foot injury.
 
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 179-102, 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 last November.
 
SIAKAM HITS TRIFECTA AS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sophomore Paschal Siakam has written his name in the history of the Western Athletic Conference. Siakam has become the first person since 1982 to be selected as the WAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week in three consecutive weeks with his selection for the past week. The 6-9 forward from Douala, Cameroon, established a new career-high a new career-high on Tuesday night when he dropped 35 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 for his fifth double-double of the season and 12th of his career. His 35 points are the most since Justin Hawkins scored 37 against Hawaii at the Pan Am on March 8, 2008. He is also the first Aggie to post multiple 30-point games in a season since Troy Gillenwater in 2010-11. He had 30 against Tennessee Tech, becoming the first Aggie to score 30 since Daniel Mullings had 32 against Texas-Pan American (UT Rio Grande Valley) on Jan. 25, 2014. He also chalked up 11 rebounds and set a career-best with four assists. 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. Selected the WAC Preseason Player of the Year by the media, Siakam leads the nation in field goals made (63), is second in scoring (26.8 ppg), and is 11th in rebounding (11.8 rpg). In addition to leading the WAC in those categories, he also leads the WAC in blocked shots (2.17 bpg) and minutes played (36.17 mpg). Siakam also has the top two scoring games in the league this year. The league's Freshman of the Year in 2014-15, Siakam averaged 12.8 points a game last season, ranking eighth in the WAC. He was second in the WAC in rebounding with 7.7 boards a game and led the WAC in field goal percentage (57.2 percent) and blocked shots (61, 1.8 per game). 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 two seasons he has 597 career points, 333 career rebounds and 74 career blocked shots.
 
THIS BAKER DELIVERS: Junior Ian Baker has been rock steady running the team and has established himself as the second leading scorer on the team. The 6-0 guard from Washington, D.C., is averaging 14.2 points a contest, ranked 11th in the WAC. He's also third in the WAC in free throw shooting, hitting 88.9 percent from the line (16-of-18). He's sixth in the league in 3-pointers per game (2.50), seventh in 3-point percentage (.405, 15-of-37) and eighth in assists (3.83). He scored 17 points at Air Force with a career-high eight rebounds. Baker popped for 19 points vs. Tennessee Tech, matching a career-high with five 3-point field goals. He had another big scoring night against New Mexico with 19 points, just missing his career high of 21 set against the Lobos last season. He added 12 points and a career-high seven assists against Mississippi Valley. The elder statesman of the team, Baker was named Preseason First Team All-WAC by both the coaches and the media
 
WILKINS RETURNS: Forward Johnathon Wilkins appeal for an eligibility waiver after an administrative error was approved by the NCAA last Tuesday and he has played against Robert Morris and Air Force. NM State and Wilkins had appealed a previous NCAA staff ruling that Wilkins had not met course requirements to remain academically eligible because of an administrative error that prevented him from taking the proper course load. The error was not a fault of his own or the men's basketball program.
 
HOOPIN HUGGINS: Sophomore Braxton Huggins stepped up well in the shooting guard spot for the Aggies. The 6-5 guard from Bakersfield, Calif./Mira Mesa is third on the team averaging 8.2 points with 3.3 rebounds. Huggins has been a weapon so far this season for the Aggies. He had career-highs of 15 points and five rebounds against Robert Morris. The scoring against RMU eclipsed the 14 points he netted against New Mexico in game two. He also tallied 12 points against Mississippi Valley State when he connected on a career-high four 3-pointers. This is Huggins first season to start after playing in 27 of the 34 games last season as a true freshman.
 
HENSON INDUCTED: Aggie Legend Lou Henson was officially inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame last Friday 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: New Mexico State battled a tough Air Force squad from behind most of the afternoon last Saturday, but found that 19 turnovers is hard to overcome on the road as the Falcons claimed a 66-64 overtime victory against the Aggies.
 
Pascal Siakam posted a career-high six blocked shots in the contest to go with his 26 points and 12 rebounds to mark his fifth double-double this season and 12th of his career. Ian Baker added 17 points and a career-high eight rebounds to go with four assists.
 
The Aggies outshot the Falcons 44.2 percent to 36.9 percent from the floor and outrebounded the USAFA 46-29, but suffered the season-high 19 turnovers to the Falcons season-low seven in the game that was decided by two Aggie turnovers in the final minute.
 
ABOUT THE MINERS: UTEP is 6-0 on the season after beating Colorado State 99-90 in double overtime last Saturday for the championship of the Corpus Christi Coastal Classic. UTEP is receiving votes in both the AP and USA Today Coaches polls. The Miners are led by guard Lee Moore (6-4, Jr., Kennesaw, Ga.) who averages 17.7 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting .333 from the 3-point arc. Guard Earvin Morris (6-4, Sr., Memphis, Tenn.) adds 17.4 points, 4.8 boards and 2.4 assists per contest.  Center Hooper Vint (6-11, Sr., Van Buren, Ark.) averages 13.0 points and leads the Miners with 6.5 boards, with guard Dominic Artis (6-3, Jr., San Francisco, Calif.) chipping in 11.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists with 2.0 steals an outing. UTEP is scoring 83.8 points a game, and allowing 64.5 per contest.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Aggies travel to Southern California to face Long Beach State for the first time in over seven years. The last time the Aggies played the 49ers was on Nov. 30, 2008, falling 82-77.
 
The 49ers are 3-3 on the season after losing to Oklahoma State 79-73 in Stillwater last Friday. They play San Diego State on Tuesday and visit Colorado State on Thursday before hosting the Aggies on Saturday. The 49ers are led by guard Nick Faust (6-6, Sr., Baltimore, Md.) who averages 13.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.8 3-pointers a contest. Guard/forward Travis Hammonds (6-6, Jr., Columbia, S.C.) adds 10.8 points, 4.0 boards and 0.8 blocked shots per contest. Forward Roschon Prince (6-6, So., Long Beach, Calif.) chips in 10.2 points with 3.7 rebounds. Forward Gabe Levin (6-7, So., Oak Park, Ill.) leads the team with 6.0 rebounds to go with 7.3 points. LBSU is scoring 73.2 points a game, and allowing 74.5 per contest.