LAS CRUCES, N.M. – After a resounding win last Saturday in Tempe, Ariz., the NM State men's basketball team puts its eight-game winning-streak on the line this Monday, Dec. 19, when it entertains UC Irvine in the Pan American Center at 7 p.m. The Aggies will also be defending its 16-game win-streak at home when the two schools square off.
 
The game versus UCI is the first of three home contests for the Aggies before they turn the calendar year and start Western Athletic Conference play.
 
GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS
This Monday's game against former Big West rival UC Irvine will be the first opportunity Aggie fans will have to take advantage of the 4 for $40 ticket special – which includes four tickets, four hot dogs and four soft drinks for just $40. In addition, fans in attendance will also get a chance to win free Harlem Globe Trotter tickets. The game against the Anteaters is also the "Christmas" game for NM State with Santa on hand to take pictures with children on the concourse.
 
GET CONNECTED
Get up to the minute information and news about the NM State men's basketball team all season on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by following @AggieArmy.
 
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     101.7 FM KQTM
Carlsbad           1240 AM KAMQ
Gallup               1230 AM, 94.9 FM KYVA
Las Vegas         107.1 FM KMDS
 
STREAKING
NM State heads into Monday's contest with an eight-game winning-streak, matching last year's mark the spanned from Jan. 14 to Feb. 13 before falling to Wichita State on Feb. 15, 71-41 on the road.
 
NM State has only had a winning-streak of 8 or better six times in the last 20 season dating back to the 1996-97 campaign. Of those six winning-streaks, five were snapped on the road with the exception of the current streak.
 
Paul Weir is the first coach since Arthur Bergman (1920-21) to have an eight-game winning-streak in his first year the helm in Las Cruces. Reggie Theus is next on that list, having won 13-straight games his second year at the helm. Lou Henson also did it in his second season at the helm, however it was during his second stint as the Aggies head coach.
 
Winning Streaks (1996-97 – Present)
2016-17: 8 (ongoing)
2015-16: 8 – Lost at Wichita State, 71-41
2014-15: 13 – Lost vs. #10/11 Kansas, 75-56 (NCAA Tournament 1st Round)
2012-13: 12 – Lost at Utah State*, 73-69
2006-07: 13 – Lost at Louisiana Tech*, 73-71
1998-99: 8 – Lost at Utah State*, 61-54
*Denotes conference game
 
Winning Streaks (8+ Cont.)
1993-94: 13 – Lost at Nevada*, 77-68
1992-93: 8 – Lost at Pacific*, 71-68
1991-92: 8 – Lost vs. UCLA, 85-78 (NCAA Tournament Sweet 16)
                      10 – Lost to UNLV*, 74-67
1989-90: 12 – Lost at Long Beach State*, 72-56
1978-79: 8 – Lost at Southern Illinois*, 86-83
1969-70: 9 – Lost vs. UCLA, 93-77 (NCAA Tournament Final Four)
                     9 – Lost at Creighton, 72-68
1968-69: 16 – Lost to New Mexico, 86-66
1960-61: 12 – Lost at Arizona State, 86-72 (Border Conference Playoffs)
1959-60: 8 – Lost at UCLA, 66-56
1951-52: 12 – Lost to New Mexico, 40-38
1938-39: 12 – Lost at Texas Tech*, 51-37
1937-38: 21 – Lost vs. Murray State, 30-29 (NIT 3rd Round)
1936-37: 8 – Finished season with win (Lost 2nd game of 1937-38 season to SUC 64-41 at home)
                      9 – Lost at Northern Arizona*, 59-45
1925-26: 10 – Lost to Arizona, 39-19
1920-21: 10 – Lost at Billings of El Paso, 31-17
 
RPI CHECK
After debuting at 94 in the first RPI ranking by the NCAA on Dec. 6, NM State is now sitting at No. 60, good for the highest amongst Western Athletic Conference teams through games on Dec. 17. Utah Valley, who debuted at No. 88 to lead the WAC, is now sitting at No. 180.
 
CHASING HISTORY
Head coach Paul Weir continues to make history in his first year at the helm. Saturday's win over Arizona State was the first victory over a Power 5 team since the 2004-05 season (Northwestern, 64-61). The last time NM State defeated a Power 5 team in a true road game went even further back, 97-84 victory over USC in the Preseason NIT to open the 1994-95 season to be exact. Weir also gave NM State its first win against a Power 5 opponent in 14 tries. The Aggies were winless in their 13 previous attempts.
 
The win over ASU was the first for NM State against a Pac-12 foe since its 79-75 (OT2) win over Washington at home on Dec. 30, 1999.
 
Weir and company now chase Neil McCarthy's 1993-94 squad that opened the year 16-1 before losing their second game. The last Aggie team to start a season 10-2 was Lou Henson's 1970-71 team that was 12-2 before dropping their next game.
 
NM State vs. Power-5 Teams Last 10 years (2006-07 – Present)
Home: 0-1
Away: 1-7
Neutral: 0-5
 
Weir recently added his name to the list of six coaches who beat UTEP in their first attempt as a first-year head coach at NM State. The last people do it were Ken Hayes (1975-76), Lou Henson (1966-67), John Gunn (1947-48), T.R. Coffman (1927-28) and Robert Brown (1922-23). Hayes and Henson are the only two to go undefeated (2-0) in their first year at the helm against the Miners while Gunn and Coffman played four games against UTEP. Brown was the only coach before the modern era to play the Miners twice.
 
Weir also joined his predecessor, Marvin Menzies, on the list of first-year head coaches who defeated UNM at home in their first year.
 
SHARING IS CARING
New Mexico State had 22 of its 28 shots come off an assists Saturday night in its win over Arizona State on the road. Ian Baker paced the Aggies with a season-high tying seven dimes. Eli Chuha's four assists was a new career-high for the redshirt sophomore while Matt Taylor's four dimes ties his season-high. The 22 assists against ASU eclipsed the season-high of 19, previously set against Arizona Christian, while the last time NM State had 22 or more assists in a game was back on Jan. 30 of last season against UT Rio Grande Valley.
 
A LOOK AT THE ANTEATERS
Monday's match-up against UC Irvine will be the first of three games for the Anteaters in the Borderlands region as it heads down I-10 afterwards for a pair of contests in the Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational.
 
New Mexico State owns the all-time series 28-9, but UCI took last year's meeting 54-52 in the Bren Events Center. Before that, the Aggies had won five of the last six meetings between the two teams. NM State is 15-2 against UCI when playing the Pan American Center as well. The last time UCI won in the Pan American Center was Jan. 10, 1998, a 62-55 victory over the Aggies in Lou Henson's first year back with NM State.
 
Senior Jaron Martin paces UCI in scoring with 12.3 points per game while Ioannis Dimakopoulos is just shy of averaging in double-figures with 9.9 points per game. On the glass, Jonathan Galloway leads the Anteaters with 6.3 boards per game while Tommy Rutherford is second on the team with 5.3 rebounds per game.
 
Martin's 42 assists and 12 steals on the year is good for a team-best along with his 20 made 3-pointers. Rutherford's .667 shooting clip (min. 40 attempts) leads UCI as well as his 19 offensive boards.
 
As a team, the Anteaters have picked up the pace from beyond the arch, knocking down 23 shots from 3-point range in their last two games – both losses. UCI has also used the same starting lineup of Brandon Smith, Galloway, Dimakopoulos, Martin and Max Hazzard all year.
 
UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
The following game against Eastern New Mexico on Dec. 27 will also be another opportunity for Aggie fans to purchase the 4 for $40 ticket promotion. That game against the Greyhounds will also serve as Canada Night and a postgame autograph session with the men's basketball team.
 
For its final game of the 2016 calendar year, NM State will host its Hispanic Heritage Night in conjunction with the Las Cruces Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on Friday, Dec. 30, as it hosts the second meeting against Battle of I-10 rival UTEP.
 
LAST TIME OUT
In front of deafening Aggie crowd Wells Fargo Arena, the NM State men's basketball team pounded Arizona State, 81-70, the entire game behind Braxton Huggins' game-high 24 points. Senior point guard Ian Baker chipped in with 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists while Eli Chuha recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 boards with four assists.
 
The Aggies led by as much as 16 in the second half before settling for the 11-point victory. NM State shot 50-percent from the floor for the fifth-straight game while its 11 shots from 3-point range tied the season-high for the third time this year.
 
UP NEXT
The Aggies will get a few days rest after Monday's contest with the Anteaters leading up to Christmas. NM State will then take the floor once again on Tuesday, Dec. 27, when Eastern New Mexico comes to town for a 7 p.m. tip before the Miners of UTEP come to Las Cruces.