LAS VEGAS – A rematch of the 2016 Western Athletic Conference Tournament is set to tip-off at 9 p.m. (MT) and 8 p.m. local time (PT) between the No. 2-seed New Mexico State and No. 1-seed CSU Bakersfield in the Orleans Arena.
 
Eric Rothman will have the call on Championship Saturday while Paul Biancardi serves as the analyst on the nationally televised ESPNU broadcast.
 
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 Las Vegas can listen to NM State Athletics/US Bank Hall of Famer Jack Nixon the entire tournament 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
 
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
Heading into Saturday's title game, New Mexico State will have a few opportunities to cement themselves as one of the best teams in NM State history.
 
With its win late Friday night/early Saturday morning, New Mexico State moves to 27-5 on the year and ties the 1969-70 Final Four team led by none other than legendary head coach Lou Henson.
 
In addition, Aggie head coach Paul Weir could join Coach Henson as the only first-year head coach in program history to reach the NCAA Tournament with a win on Saturday when the two squads duke it out.
 
The only other coach to reach the postseason was George McCarthy during the 1949-50 season when he led the Aggies to the NAIB Regional and NAIB Tournament.
 
ROADRUNNER REVIEW
Heading into the championship game, NM State has split the season-series against the 'Runners with each team winning on its home floor. The Aggies took the first meeting 63-58 on Lou Henson Court while the 'Runners took the second meeting 72-53.
 
CSU Bakersfield has had a bit of  success against the Aggies of late, beating NM State in the title game last season and beat NM State on its home floor to snap the 20-game win-streak for New Mexico State.
 
Jaylin Airington leads the pack of four 'Runners scoring in double-figures with 14.7 points per game while Damiyne Durham is second on the team with 13 points per game. Dedrick Basile, who hit the game-winner against NM State last year, is averaging 11.9 points while Matt Smith rounds out the group with 10.9 points per game. Smith leads the team on the glass, pulling down 6.1 boards per game. Brent Wrapp paces the team with 103 dimes on the year, but Basile not far off with 93 of his own.
 
The 'Runners have won 11 of their last 12 games and also includes a quadruple double-overtime win over Utah Valley 81-80.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Ian Baker and Braxton Huggins tied for a game-high 18 points while four other Aggies were hovering around the double-digit mark with eight or nine points.
 
An early shooting slump plagued the Aggies once again, but like clockwork, NM State found its rhythm and four-straight free-throws fueled an 11-0 run that forced UMKC (17-16) head coach Kareem Richardson to call a timeout.
 
The way NM State took the lead was similar to that of the quarterfinals game against Chicago State. After Eli Chuha tied the game up on an out of bounds play, a steal from Huggins led to another quick lay-in for Baker, 24-22. Matt Taylor then drained a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession that led to the timeout.
 
The Aggies finished out the remaining 7:15 minutes of action with a 14-7 run and took a comfortable 41-29 lead behind 56.5-percent shooting from the floor (13-of-23) – including 6-of-12 from downtown.
 
UMKC came out of the break shooting a bit better (4-of-8) by the 15:24 media timeout, outscoring the Aggies 10-4 to cut the NM State lead to 45-39.
 
With NM State struggling from the foul line, UMKC slowly got within 51-44 when Kyle Steward swished a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 12:06 remaining on the clock.
 
Try as they might, the Aggies weren't quite able to pull away from the 'Roos in the second half as they clung onto a 55-48 lead with 7:42 left to play. From that point on, the Aggies outscored the 'Roos 23-12 en route to the 78-60 victory.
 
Huggins finished with 5-of-9 from the field, four of which came from downtown, while Baker was 6-of-12 on the night.
 
UP NEXT
Should the Aggies reclaim its place atop as the conference tournament champions, New Mexico State will earn the WAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Selection Sunday is slated to begin at 4 p.m. (MT) on CBS.