LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The defending undisputed Western Athletic Conference Champion and four-consecutive WAC Tournament Champion NM State Aggies (7-5) face their first nationally ranked team this season as they visit the No. 23 (AP)/22 (USA Today Coaches) Baylor Bears (8-2) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Mountain time at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas. The Aggies are coming off Monday's 76-61 win over Oral Roberts, while the Bears dropped were tripped up 80-61 by then No. 24/24 Texas A&M last Saturday.
 
SERIES RECORD: This is the 10th meeting between the Aggies and Baylor with NM State holding a 5-4 series advantage, including a 2-2 record in Waco. The Aggies had a two-game win streak in the series snapped with last season's 66-55 loss to the Bears on Dec. 17, 2014. NM State had won the previous two meetings 75-71 at the Heart of Texas Coliseum on Dec. 5, 1979 and 61-60 victory at the Pan American Center on Dec. 1, 1980. The Aggies claimed the first meeting in the series on Dec. 29, 1961, with a 67-54 win in the Sun Bowl Tournament in El Paso.
 
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 Fox Sports Southwest with John Morris (play-by-play) and Jim Haller (analyst). The telecast will be carried live by Fox Sports Southwest Plus (DirecTV 676-2, Dish 447/9517), Fox Sports Arizona Plus (DirecTV 686-1, Dish 449/9519), and Fox Sports West (DirecTV 692, Dish 417/5417).
 
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 won its second straight with the 76-61 win over Oral Roberts of the Summit League after snapping a three-game skid with the win at UTEP.
 
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.
 
Last Saturday's 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 last Wednesday, the Aggies scored a season-best 11 3-pointers 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 (110) and double-doubles (10), is sixth in rebounding (12.1 rpg), and ninth nationally in scoring (23.6 ppg). He's 58th in blocked shots (2.00) and 41st in minutes played (35.67). 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.
 
Baker was selected a Preseason All-WAC First Team by both the coaches and media. Currently, he is sixth in the WAC in scoring (14.9 ppg), fourth in 3-point field goals (2.42 pg) and seventh in assists (3.58 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 182-105, 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 is 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 (110) and double-doubles (10), is sixth in rebounding (12.1 rpg), ninth in scoring (23.6 ppg), 58th in blocked shots (2.00) and 41st in minutes played (35.67), leading the WAC in all. He is the leading scorer of the 27 NCAA Division I players averaging a double-double (as of Tuesday). 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 on Monday night with 35 points to go with 11 rebounds and two blocked shots as he recorded his 10th double-double of the season and 17th 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 (46 games), he has 719 career points and 407 career rebounds. He also has 85 career blocked shots ranking ninth on the Aggie career list and is seven 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 last Wednesday after running head-first into a blind screen and couldn't return. He was cleared last Saturday morning to play at UTEP that night and turned in a career performance with 26 points, including going 6-of-7 from the 3-point arc. The second leading scorer on the team,  the 6-0 guard from Washington, D.C., is averaging 14.9 points a contest, sixth in the WAC. He's third in the WAC in free throw shooting, hitting 82.9 percent from the line (34-of-41). He's fourth in the league in 3-pointers per game (2.42), sixth in 3-point percentage (.392, 29-of-74) and seventh in assists (3.58). 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 5.4 points a contest, with 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game for NM State. He's also got six blocks on the season, averaging 0.50 per game. Taylor scored a career-best nine points at UTEP on Saturday, and collected a career-high eight assists. It's 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 on Monday. 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 6.9 points and 4.3 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 battled through a sluggish first half to put away the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles 76-61 on Monday night at the Pan American Center, picking up their second straight victory.
 
Pascal Siakam collected 35 points with 11 rebounds and two blocked shots to lead the Aggies. Siakam matched his earlier career-high with the 35 points. Ian Baker chalked up 12 points and six rebounds, as did Johnathon Wilkins who also set a career-high in scoring. Jalyn Pennie added seven points with seven rebounds.
 
The Aggies shot 47 percent from the floor as ORU shot  percent 45 percent. The Aggies out rebounded the Golden Eagles 41-29.
 
ABOUT THE BEARS: Baylor is 8-2 on the season after losing Saturday at Texas A&M 80-61, snapping a seven-game winning streak. The Bears are led by forward Rico Gathers (6-8, Sr., LaPlace, La.) who is one of 27 nationally averaging a double-double with 14.9 points and 11.8 rebounds, to go with 1.0 blocks a game. Forward Taurean Prince (6-7, Sr., San Antonio, Texas) adds 14.6 points, 5.9 boards and 1.6 3-pointers per contest. Guard Al Freeman (6-3, So., Charlotte, N.C.) averages 12.7 points, 3.6 boards and 1.9 treys, with forward Johnathan Motley (6-9, So., Houston, Texas) chipping in 12.5 points and 4.9 rebounds an outing. Guard Lester Medford (5-10, Sr., Tucson, Ariz.) averages 7.7 points with 6.4 assists and 2.7 steals. Baylor is scoring 82.4 points a game, and allowing 63.1 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 now visit No. 23/22 Baylor on Wednesday. After Christmas, it's at Wichita State next Monday, back home for NAIA No. 4 Arizona Christian on Dec. 30 before a trip to UC Irvine on Jan. 2.
 
AGAINST NATIONALLY RANKED OPPONENTS: New Mexico State is 1-19 against teams ranked in either the AP or USA Today Top 25 since the 2006-07 season.  The Aggies last win against a nationally ranked team was on Jan. 20, 2007, when they defeated No. 13/15 Nevada 80-73 at the Pan American Center. NM State has lost the last 18 contests against teams nationally ranked since then. Coach Marvin Menzies' Aggies are 0-16 against nationally ranked squads.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Aggies are right back at it following Christmas as they get back to action on Monday on the road at Wichita State at Koch Arena.
 
The Shockers are 5-5 on the injury-plagued season after losing Saturday at Seton Hall 80-76. WSU plays Nevada on Tuesday before hosting NM State next Monday. The Shockers are led by guard Ron Baker (6-4, Sr., Scott City, Kan.) who is averaging 15.8 points and 4.1 rebounds to go with his 3.7 assists per game. All-American guard Fred VanVleet (6-0, Sr., Rockford, Ill.), who missed four games with injury, adds 11.3 points, 2.7 boards and 4.0 assists a contest. Forward Anton Grady (6-8, Sr., Cleveland, Ohio) returned Saturday after missing four games and averages 7.8 points and 6.0 boards and 1.9 treys, with forward Markis McDuffie (6-8, Fr., Patterson, N.J.) adding 7.7 points and 2.9 rebounds an outing. Wichita State is scoring 68.8 points a game, and allowing 64.7 per contest.