LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The back-to-back outright Western Athletic Conference Champion and four-consecutive WAC Tournament Champion NM State Aggies (22-9, 13-1) have a bye to the WAC semifinals at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., on Friday at 7 p.m. MDT as the tournament's top seed. The Aggies ran over UT Rio Grande Valley 83-44 last Saturday. They await the winner of Thursday's quarterfinal between No. 4 Utah Valley vs. No. 5 Missouri-Kansas City.
 
THE WAC TOURNAMENT: The 2016 WAC Champion, NM State has the No. 1 seed in the 2016 WAC Tournament at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Thursday through Saturday. By virtue of having the top seed the Aggies have a bye into the semifinals and will play at 7 p.m. Mountain (6 p.m. Pacific) on Friday against the winner of No. 4 Utah Valley vs. No. 5 Missouri-Kansas City that is set for Thursday at 3 p.m. Mountain. With a win, NM State would advance into the tournament championship game on Saturday at 9 p.m. Mountain (8 p.m. Pacific). The other side of the bracket has quarterfinal games on Thursday featuring No. 2 CSU Bakersfield vs. No. 7 Chicago State at 5:30 p.m. Mountain and No. 3 Seattle vs. the No. 6 UT Rio Grande Valley at 8 p.m. Mountain. The winners of the No. 2/No. 7 game vs. the No. 3/No. 6 matchup meet in the semifinal that follows the NM State semifinal at 9:30 p.m. Mountain on Friday.
 
PAN AM WEST: The Aggies love the Orleans Arena, home of the WAC Tournament since 2011. NM State is 12-1 in WAC Tournament games at the Orleans and has an 11-game win streak at the arena. The Aggie faithful affectionately call the arena "Pan Am West."
 
SERIES RECORD: If the Aggies meet Utah Valley, it will be the seventh meeting between the Aggies and the Wolverines, with NM State leading the series 5-1. The Aggies won the last four meetings including they 98-74 win at Las Cruces on Feb. 6 and  a 78-66 win in Orem on Jan. 7. The teams first met on Feb. 1, 2014, when NM State posted an 72-49 win at the Pan Am Center. UVU answered on Feb. 27, 2014 with a 66-61 win in Orem. They have not met on a neutral floor.
 
If NM State face Missouri-Kansas City, it will be the seventh meeting between the Aggies and UMKC, with NM State holding a 5-1 series lead. The series started with the 'Roos winning 68-66 on Jan. 18, 2014 at Municipal Auditorium. The Aggies have won the next five games, including a pair of 1-pointers this season: a 62-61 win in Kansas City on Feb. 27 and a 65-64 win in Las Cruces on Jan. 14. The two teams have not met on a neutral floor.
 
MEDIA COVERAGE: Friday's game can be heard live on the Aggie Sports Network (KWML 570AM Las Cruces, KDSK 1240 AM/93.7 FM Albuquerque, KNMZ 103.7 FM Alamogordo, KAMQ 1240 AM Carlsbad, KYVA 1230 AM Gallup) with NM State Hall of Famer Jack Nixon on the call.
 
The game will be web streamed by the WAC Digital Network with Mychal Clanton (play-by-play) and Steven Hunter (analyst).
 
LIVE STATS ON THE WEB: Live stats are available for most games at www.nmstatesports.com at no cost all season long.
 
ABOUT THE AGGIES: NM State won its second consecutive regular season WAC Championship last Saturday and the third since joining the league in 2005-06.
 
NM State extended its 12-game WAC win streak with last Saturday's 83-44 win at UT Rio Grande Valley. This streak comes after a 14-game winning streak against WAC opponents was snapped with the 79-75 loss at Grand Canyon in January. NM State has won 33 of its last 35 games against WAC opponents.
 
NM State has a nine-game win streak at home with the 70-57 win against Seattle U. since dropping a second game at home this season with the 62-59 loss to Wyoming on Dec. 13. NM State had an 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. Since the start of the 2012-13 season, the Aggies sport a 58-6 record at the Pan Am (.906). In the last 71 contests played by NM State at the Pan Am, the Aggies are 65-6 (.916).
 
NM State has won 35 straight Western Athletic Conference games at the Pan American Center. It's the second longest conference home win streak in the nation behind Stephen F. Austin with 38.
 
Aggie Pascal Siakam was named the WAC Player of the Year on Tuesday and joins Ian Baker on the All-WAC First Team. Both were also named to the WAC All-Defensive Team.
 
Siakam was also one of the 10 players selected to the USBWA All-District VIII Team on Tuesday.
 
Siakam is the first sophomore in NM State history to reach the 1,000 Point Club and the seventh in his first two seasons. The 33rd Aggie to score 1,000 career points, Siakam now ranks 24th all-time with 1,078 points.
 
Siakam became the first in history to be named the WAC Men's Player of the Week five times in a season. He was the first player to win the award three weeks in a row (the first three weeks of the season), and has been picked twice since. He is second in double-doubles (25), third in the nation in field goals made (256), seventh in rebounding (11.7 rpg) and 22nd in scoring (20.7 ppg). He's 26th in blocked shots (2.35) and 110th in minutes played (34.42). He leads the WAC in all six categories as well.
 
Siakam was named one of the last 10 for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award selected by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The final five will be announced in March.
 
Siakam is also one of the 31 players on the Lou Henson Award mid-season watch list. The award named after the Aggie coaching legend is presented to the top player from a mid-major institution by College Insider.
 
Siakam missed recording a double-double in six games this season: the two games against New Mexico (23 points and eight rebounds on Nov. 15, and 21 points and four boards on Dec. 16), the two games with CSU Bakersfield (21 points, nine rebounds on Jan. 23 and five points, 12 rebounds on Feb. 18), against Northern New Mexico (eight points, six rebounds) on Feb. 8 (playing only 17 minutes) and at Chicago State (24 points, eight rebounds). He had a 10-game double-double streak this season.
 
Siakam has three 30-point games this season with career-highs of 35 points against Robert Morris and Oral Roberts, and 30 points against Tennessee Tech. He is the first Aggie to post multiple 30-point games in the same season since Troy Gillenwater had four in 2010-11.
 
Siakam tallied the first 20-20 game in 13 seasons for the Aggies 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.
 
Junior Ian Baker was named the WAC Player of the Week on Jan. 25. Baker's buzzer-beating 3-pointer downed CSU Bakersfield 68-67 in double OT on Jan. 23. He averaged 15.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists for the week while hitting 11-of-11 free throws.
 
Baker is currently, he is third in the WAC in free throw percentage (.821, 78-of-95), is sixth in 3-point field goals (2.10 pg), eighth in assists (3.71 apg) and ninth in scoring (13.8 ppg).
 
The Aggies have won a record four consecutive WAC Tournament Championships. No other program in the history of the Western Athletic Conference has ever won more than two straight tournaments. The Ags have appeared 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.
 
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.
 
BACK-TO-BACK WAC CHAMPIONSHIPS: NM State has secured back-to-back regular season WAC Championships and recorded the third since joining the league in 2005-06. The Aggies won a WAC Co-Championship in 2008 and added outright titles in 2015 and 2016. The Aggies have now collected their 17th regular season conference championships, eight outright, in program history. The last time NM State won back-to-back regular season conference championships was in 1993 and 1994 while in the Big West. Those were also outright conference championships.
 
AGGIES 11TH WAC SEASON: The 2015-16 season is the 11th year of competition for NM State in the Western Athletic Conference, and it has been a successful combination for the Aggies in men's basketball. The Aggies won the regular season WAC Championship three times (2008 shared, 2015 and 2016 outright) and the WAC Tournament Championship five times. Those five have come in the last six seasons, including the last four straight. Additionally in the 10 previous seasons, the Aggies have four second place finishes and three thirds. NM State was fourth in its first WAC season (2006). Since joining the WAC, the Aggies have a record of 124-48 (.721).
 
IT'S 20 TIME AGAIN: The Aggies have a 20-win season for the fifth consecutive season and seventh time in the nine seasons under Coach Marvin Menzies. Only the 2008-09 campaign (17-15) and the injury-plagued 2010-11 season (16-17) did not reach the 20-win plateau under the Aggie boss. The 2015-16 also is the 29th season that the Aggies have reached the 20-win mark in their illustrious history. The record string is six straight from 1988-89 to 1993-94 under coach Neil McCarthy. Coach Lou Henson had a total of eight 20-win seasons in his two eras with the Aggies.
 
STRONG ON DEFENSE: New Mexico State is among the top 25 defensive teams in the nation. The Aggies are allowing 63.4 points a game, ranked 18th nationally and leading the WAC. NM State is ninth nationally and tops in the league in field goal percentage defense (.387). The field goal percentage defense is the lowest for the Aggies since the 1961-62 season when NM State held opponents to a .362 field goal average. That defensive play has carried over to rebounding, where NM State is fifth in rebound margin (+10.6) and is second in defensive rebounds per game (29.42) to Michigan State (29.74). The Aggies are 10th nationally in personal fouls per contest, committing just 15.7 per game.
 
STREAKING: NM State has a streak of 12 straight wins against WAC opponents heading into the semifinals of the WAC Tournament. It equals the second-longest WAC opponents win streak for the Aggies of 12 games from Jan. 3, 2013 to Feb. 14, 2013. The longest was the 14-game streak from Jan. 22, 2015 to Jan. 7, 2016.
 
The Aggies had a nine-game win streak from Jan. 14 to Feb. 13 this season that stopped with the loss at Wichita State. The streak marked the 17th time NM State posted a win streak of nine or better. It was the third time that the Aggies have accomplished the feat in the Marvin Menzies era (13 in 2015, 12 in 2013 and nine in 2016).
 
MENZIES MARKS: 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 and Western Athletic Conference history. With a record of 197-109, Menzies is third on the all-time win list for NM State Coaches. He 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's eighth in all-time wins in the WAC, passing Gary Colson at UNM and Fresno State (1980-94) with 193. He's seventh on the win list for WAC only games with 103, passing Ned Wulk of Arizona State (1962-78) with 101. He is third in WAC only winning percentage at .736 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, WAC PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Aggie sophomore Pascal Siakam is in the midst of a season for the ages. He was named the 2016 WAC Player of the Year on Tuesday along with selections to the First Team All-WAC, WAC All-Defensive Team and USBWA All-District VIII Team. At Chicago State he became the first sophomore in Aggie history to score 1,000 points at NM State. He's the 33rd player to join the 1,000-Point Club and just the seventh to do so during his first two years as an Aggie. It's also the 17th time an Aggie has scored 1,000 points in a two-year period. He now has 1,078 points and is 24th on the career scoring list and is nine points from moving into 22nd. He was named the WAC Men's Player of the Week on Feb. 8 for an unprecedented fifth time after another outstanding week against Grand Canyon and Utah Valley. He averaged 22.0 points on 62 percent shooting with 13.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 steals for the week. The 6-9 forward from Douala, Cameroon, scored 17 points and with 16 rebounds against Grand Canyon then added 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds with two blocks and four assists against Utah Valley. 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.  He then followed with his fourth on Dec. 28 becoming just the fourth player to do so in WAC history (Paul Millsap, Louisiana Tech and Nick Fazekas, Nevada in 2005-06, and Daniel Mullings, NM State in 2013-14). Siakam is one of the last 10 on the watch list for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award and is one of 31 players named to the midseason watch list for the Lou Henson Award recognizing the top mid-major player of the year. Siakam was strong against Wichita State, leading all scorers and rebounders with 17 points and 10 rebounds. He also had three blocked shots. He was held to a career-low five points against CSU Bakersfield on Feb. 18. However he countered that with 12 boards and a career-high seven blocked shots. He added 15 points and 18 boards (second best rebounding game in the WAC this season) against Seattle to go with four blocks and a career-high four steals. He notched his 25th double-double of the season and 32nd of his career with his 24 points and 10 boards at UTRGV. Selected the WAC Preseason Player of the Year by the media, Siakam is third in the nation in field goals made (256), second in double-doubles (25), seventh in rebounding (11.7 rpg), 22nd in scoring (20.6 ppg),  26th in blocked shots (2.35) and 110th in minutes played (34.42), leading the WAC in all. He is the leading scorer of the 22 NCAA Division I players averaging a double-double (as of Tuesday) by 1.1 points a game. Siakam also has three of the top five scoring games in the WAC this year. His 10-game double-double streak was snapped with 21 points and nine boards at CSU Bakersfield in January. Siakam matched his career-high in scoring against Oral Roberts collecting 35 points with 11 rebounds, followed by 26 points at Baylor with 10 rebounds. He previously dropped 35 points on Robert Morris to go with 13 rebounds. He followed it with 26 points, 12 rebounds and 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 tallying 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. Siakam has 12 games of 24 or more points this season, seven games of 15 or more rebounds and eight games of four or more blocked shots. Siakam is already on Aggie single season top 10 lists, ranking third in blocked shots (73), third in field goals made (256), fourth in rebounds (364) and fifth in single season points (642). If his averages hold, he will rank in the single season in scoring average and rebounding averge. 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 64 games, he has 1054 career points and 616 career rebounds. He also has 134 career blocked shots to rank fifth on the Aggie career list, and needs one to tie last year's teammate Tshilidzi Nephawe (2010-15) with 135 in fourth.
 
ICE, ICE BAKER IS FIRST TEAM ALL-WAC: Junior Ian Baker was rewarded for a strong season with his selection to the All-WAC First Team and All-Defensive Team. The 6-0 guard from Washington, D.C., is averaging 13.8 points a contest, second on the team and ninth in the WAC. He is third in the WAC in free throw shooting, hitting 82.1 percent from the line (78-of-95). He had a streak of 13 straight free throws this season that was part of hitting 27 of 30 attempts from the line from Dec. 21 to Feb. 18. He scored 16 points again against CSUB. He's sixth in the WAC 3-point percentage (.388, 64-of-165), sixth in the league in 3-pointers per game (2.13) and eighth in assists (3.63). He collected the third game-winning shot in his career on his way to being named the WAC Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 24. He buried a 28-foot 3-pointer that swished as the buzzer sounded to beat CSU Bakersfield 68-67 in double overtime. Baker averaged 15.5 points a game, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists while hitting 11-of-11 from the foul line for that week. Baker scored 16 points and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds to go with six assists in the CSUB victory. He posted 15 points in the win at Seattle U. The shot against CSUB goes down for "Ian Baker: The Big Shot Maker" with his driving layup with 2.2 seconds to play against Texas Southern and his left elbow 3-pointer with 4.6 seconds to go against UC Irvine that won games in last season. Oh, and he buried a 3-pointer with four seconds in regulation last season against No. 24/25 Colorado State to send that game into overtime. His worth to the team was proven at New Mexico when he went down in the 10th minute at New Mexico after running head-first into a blind screen and couldn't return in the Aggies 79-61 loss. He was cleared to play three days later, 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. He scored 22 points in the first UTEP game and 20 vs. Wyoming. Baker also popped for 19 points in consecutive games against New Mexico and Tennessee Tech. Baker is seventh on the NM State career 3-point field goal chart with 133 treys, passing Elijah Ingram (2005-07) with 127. He's hit 133-of-324 3-pointers for a 41.0 percentage that currently ranks fourth on the career 3-point percentage chart. He also has dished 229 career assists. The elder statesman of the team, Baker was named Preseason First Team All-WAC by both the coaches and the media.
 
WARMIN' UP WILKINS: Sophomore Johnathon Wilkins has quietly moved his game up the ladder for the Aggies. The 6-10, 225 pound forward is averaging 6.8 points and 3.8 rebounds a game, while dishing out 1.4 assists. Wilkins is second on the team lead in field goal percentage at 55.3 percent (78-of-141), but is below the minimums for ranking. He also has 12 blocked shots on the season (0.44 bpg). Wilkins scored a career-high 13 points against Chicago State after his 12 points vs. Missouri-Kansas City that matched his scoring against Oral Roberts and Arizona Christian. He since had 12 in the second Grand Canyon game and another dozen against Northern New Mexico to go with his 10 at Grand Canyon and CSU Bakersfield. He grabbed a career-high eight rebounds in the loss to Wyoming and nearly had a double-double with eight points as well. At UNM, Wilkins had eight points with a career-high three assists. After missing the first four games due to an administrative error, Wilkins moved into the starting lineup for the last 24 of his 26 games. Wilkins played in all 34 games last season, starting 10 as a redshirt freshman.
 
A SHINY PENNIE: Sophomore Jalyn Pennie set a new career-high in scoring with his 20 points against UT Rio Grande Valley in Las Cruces. The 6-7, 180 pound guard/forward from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, hit 9-of-14 shots, while pulling down four rebounds and dishing three assists. He tallied 16 points in the second Utah Valley game, going 7-of-9 from the floor (2-of-3 from 3). He had one of his best all-around games at UC Irvine where he hit 4-of-9 3-pointers against the Anteaters, scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds with an assist. It nearly mirrored his game at UTEP when he collected 14 points with eight boards and a blocked shot. Pennie posted 12 points with two key 3-pointers at Seattle U. He grabbed nine boards at Air Force and repeated the nine boards at Utah Valley. He also had three blocked shots at New Mexico and against Chicago State. A starter in the last 22 games, Pennie is averaging 6.4 points with 4.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and is just below the top 10 in the WAC with 16 blocked shots (0.52 bpg).
 
TALENTED TAYLOR: Sophomore Matt Taylor logged only three minutes at UTRGV with an injury, but he's expected to be back for the WAC Tournament. He played a rugged game against CSU Bakersfield, just missing a career-high with 11 points and six rebounds before fouling out. He scored eight points with a block against Seattle U. The 6-5 guard from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, scored a career-high 12 points against UT Rio Grande Valley in a home win. At Chicago State, he only scored three points, but dished out seven assists. Taylor is averaging 5.6 points a contest, with 3.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game for the Aggies. He's also has 18 blocks on the season, and is just below the rankings in the WAC averaging 0.58 per game. Taylor scored 11 points against Chicago State in Las Cruces to go with eight rebounds. He scored nine points at UTEP and collected a career-high eight assists in El Paso on Dec. 19. He also scored nine against the Miners when he pulled down a career-high nine rebounds on Dec. 2. He also posted nine boards at Grand Canyon and scored nine points again in the second matchup with Utah Valley. In his first starting season, has started 30 of the Aggies 31 games.
 
HOOPIN' HUGGINS: Sophomore Braxton Huggins is back on track. The 6-5 guard from Bakersfield, Calif./Mira Mesa scored a career-high 22 points against Seattle U after posting 12 against CSU Bakersfield, shooting a combined 8-of-13 from the floor. He tallied eight points hitting 2-of-3 from the floor at UMKC and scored nine points with a career-high of nine rebounds at UTRGV. Huggins is averaging 5.5 points with 1.9 rebounds. He had a career-high of 15 points 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.
 
THAT'S TANVEER: Sophomore Tanveer Bhullar has provided steady minutes for the Aggies, with strong games at Missouri-Kansas City and UTRGV. The 7-3 center from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds in KC, and followed with 10 points and seven boards in the Valley. He also had 14 points and grabbed a game-high six rebounds in his 18 minutes of playing time against Northern New Mexico at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho. That was his second highest scoring game behind his first career double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds at Utah Valley. Bhullar just missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds against New Mexico in the second game of the year and just missed another with nine points and seven boards in the last game with CSU Bakersfield. The younger brother of Aggie standout Sim Bhullar, Tanveer is averaging 5.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, while blocking 14 shots (0.48 bpg) this season.
 
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 was the prohibitive favorite to win the Western Athletic Conference by both the league's coaches and the media, and proved both right. 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 wrapped up the regular season in style by never trailing in an 83-44 win at UT Rio Grande Valley.
 
Sophomore Pascal Siakam tallied his 25th double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Ian Baker collected 11 points, five rebounds, and six assists, while Tanveer Bhullar added 10 points with seven boards. Braxton Huggins chalked up nine points, a career-high nine rebounds and five assists as well.
 
The Aggies shot 48.5 percent from the floor and held UTRGV to 27.8 percent from the field. The Aggies out rebounded the Vaqueros 54-27 and won the turnover battle eight to 15.
 
ABOUT THE WOLVERINES: Utah Valley is 12-17 on the season, 6-8 in the WAC and holding the No. 4 seed. The Wolverines of first year head coach Mark Pope are led by guard Marcel Davis (6-2, Sr., American Fork, Utah) with 14.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists an outing. Guard Jaden Jackson (6-2, Sr., Salt Lake City, Utah) adds 14.2 points a game to go with 2.5 boards and 2.0 3-pointers a contest. Forward Konner Frey (6-6, Jr., Bountiful, Utah) averages 14.1 points and leads the team with 7.0 rebounds per game. UVU is scoring 75.9 points a game, and allowing 78.6 per contest.
 
ABOUT THE KANGAROOS: Missouri-Kansas City is 11-18 on the season, 4-10 in the WAC and hold the No. 5 seed on RPI. The 'Roos are led by guard Martez Harrison (5-11, Jr., Kansas City, Mo.) with 15.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.4 3-pointers and 4.4 assists per game. Guard LaVell Boyd (6-0, Jr., Chicago, Ill.) adds 13.7 points, 3.4 boards and 2.6 3-pointers a contest. Forward Shayok Shayok (6-9, Sr., Ottawa, Ont., Canada) leads the team with 5.3 rebounds a game while scoring 7.4 points. UMKC is scoring 69.2 points a game, and allowing 71.9 per contest.
 
 
LOOKING AHEAD: With a win in the semifinal, the Aggies would play in the WAC Tournament Championship game on Saturday at 9 p.m. Mountain. The game will be televised on ESPNU.