LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State men's basketball team is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in six years as the first-year head coach Paul Weir leads the 14th-seeded Aggies against the No. 3-seed Baylor. The first-round action against the #12/11-ranked Bears serves as the first game in Tulsa and is scheduled for a 10:40 a.m. (MT)/11:40 a.m. local time (CT) tip-off on TruTV.
 
WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Kevin Harlan will have the call on TruTV while Reggie Miller serves as the analyst with Dan Bonner and Dana Jacobson reporting.
 
DirecTV: 246 | DISH: SD: 242, HD: 9430 | Verizon FiOS: SD: 183, HD: 683
Xfinity/Comcast, AT&T and Time Warner Cable/Spectrum: Area code search
 
Westwood One will have the full streaming rights to all NCAA Tournament games. Craig Way will call the game on-site in Tulsa while former NBA head coach PJ Carlesimo will serve as the analyst. Fans can also tune via Sirius Radio on channel 136 or on XM channel 202.
 
To listen to every guy from the Tulsa region in its entirety without interruption, fans can go to www.westwoodonesports.com/tulsa.
 
Fans can also listen in on their phone or tablet for free via the NCAA March Madness Live app or on Tune-In by searching Westwood One Sports D and then select NCAA March Madness.
 
DANCING TICKETS FOR TULSA
Aggie fans interested in attending New Mexico State's NCAA Tournament first-round game against No. 3 Baylor can purchase tickets by visiting the Pan American Center ticket office or via phone at 575-646-1420. Tickets are $100 each with tickets on sale until 6 p.m. (MT) on Thursday, March 18, or until the NM State allotment is sold out.
 
LIVE FROM ALLEN THEATERS
Fans in the Las Cruces area can watch the Aggies take on the Baylor Bears at the Allen Theaters Cineport 10 location beginning at 10 a.m. (MT).
 
WATCH PARTIES
In addition to fans watching the game at Allen Theaters, there will also be a watch party at the Corbett Center Aggie Lounge on Friday, March 17, for the men's game.
 
For those looking to grab an early lunch and watch the game at the same time, Hooters will open its doors early at 10:15 a.m. (MT) for Aggie fans.
 
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 Friday's NCAA Tournament game in Tulsa 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 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 TULSA
The 2017 will serve as the seventh time Tulsa has hosted the NCAA Tournament and second time it's been hosted in the BOK Center (2011). The previous five times have been hosted in the ORU Mabee Center (1974, 75, 78, 82, 85).
 
#WEIRREADY RADIO TOUR
Head coach Paul Weir has been making the round on national radio since NM State's name was called on Selection Sunday. The first-year head coach appeared on both ESPN radio stations in the Albuquerque area, Baylor's flagship radio station ESPN Central Texas (1660 AM), Sirius XM College Sports with Chris Spatola of ESPN, Fox Sports Radio 1380AM KRKO with Jeff Aaron and NBC Sports Radio Los Angeles with Kate Delaney.
 
AGGIES IN NCAA HISTORY
Friday's showdown against the third-seeded Baylor Bears will be New Mexico State's 20th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies are 7-21 all-time at the Big Dance with all seven of their wins coming from 1968-70. The last NM State win in the tournament came against St. Bonaventure in the NCAA Consolation game, 79-73, during its Final Four run in 1969-70.
 
*Note: Aggies had to vacate wins from 1991-94, including 3-3 mark in NCAA Tournament during those years. If counted, it would NM State's 23rd NCAA Tournament appearance with a 10-24 all-time record with its last tournament victory coming against Nebraska (97-79) in 1993.
 
NM State has now made an NCAA Tournament appearance in six of the last eight years. The Last time New Mexico State played a tournament game in the state of Oklahoma was in 1994 against Oklahoma State in Oklahoma City, a 65-55 decision in favor of the Cowboys.
 
In the last nine losses for NM State in the Big Dance, two have come by single digits. Those two single-digit losses came against No. 13 San Diego State (73-69 OT) in 2014 and No. 12 Michigan State in 2010, 70-67.
 
AGAINST ALL ODDS
The No. 14 seed has made it to the Sweet 16 only twice and has never advanced to the Elite 8 in NCAA Tournament history. Chattanooga was the last school to do it in 1997 with Cleveland State being the other in 1986. Florida Gulf Coast was the last low seed to make it to the Sweet 16, checking in at No. 15 in 2013.
 
The No. 14 seeds are 7-41 in the last 10 years while the 14th-seed has won at least one game in the last five years, including two wins in 2015. In the last three NCAA Tournaments, the 14th-seeds have gone 4-12 while the 13th-seeds have only gone 1-12. The No. 14 seeds have also had more wins than the No. 12 seeds the last two years, 3-2.
 
14th-Seed Records Last 10 years
2016: 1-4
2015: 2-4
2014: 1-4
2013: 1-4
2012: 1-5
2011: 0-4
2010: 1-4
2009: 0-4
2008: 0-4
2007: 0-4
 
BRACKET BUSTERS
In the last four NCAA Tournaments, five 14 seeds have upset the No. 3 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
2016: Stephen F. Austin defeated West Virginia, 70-56)
2015: Georgia State defeated Baylor, 57-56 | UAB defeated Iowa State, 60-59
2014: Mercer defeated Duke, 78-71
2013: Harvard defeated New Mexico, 68-62
 
WAC TOURNAMENT REWIND
Just five days after being named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, New Mexico State senior Ian Baker led the Aggies through a three games in three days to capture its fifth WAC Tournament title in six years en route to being named the tournament MVP.
 
The senior guard averaged 16 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists while shooting .438 from the field for the Aggies. Braxton Huggins and Eli Chuha were also named to the all-tournament team after posting 13.3 points per game and 12.3 points per game, respectively. Huggins shot .458 from the floor at the tournament while Chuha collected two double-doubles to push his total to 15.
 
Chancellor Ellis made an impact in the title game, knocking down a pair of threes – including a step-back triple that gave NM State the lead for good. Jemerrio Jones had a terrific final two games, in addition to his eight points, nine rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals in the WAC Championship game.
 
LOCKING DOWN THE BEARS
When NM State and Baylor square off on Friday, it will be the 11th meeting between the Aggies and Bears. The all-time series sits at 5-5 with Baylor winning the last two contests. NM State and Baylor last squared off on a neutral floor on Dec. 20, 1969, 87-73. The Aggies' win against Baylor on a neutral floor was the first meeting between the two programs, a 67-54 victory in favor of the Crimson and White on Dec. 29, 1961.
 
Nationally, Baylor is fourth in the country in rebounding margin (8.9) and 16th in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 62.7 points per game. The Bears also held opponents to just a .398 shooting clip this year, which is good for 18th in the nation.
 
When the Aggies and No. 23/22-ranked Bears last battled in Waco, Ian Baker dropped 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting with five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Jalyn Pennie was the next highest scorer, checking in with eight points and five assists. Meanwhile, Matt Taylor had five assists with three points. Former Aggie Pascal Siakam recorded 26 points and pulled down 10 boards in the 85-70 loss.
 
Baylor is 5-5 in its last 10 games, including a first-round exit in the Big 12 Tournament to Kansas State, 70-64. The Bears opened up the 2016-17 season on a 15-game winning streak before falling to West Virginia on the road.
 
Johnathan Motley, a 6-10 forward, leads Baylor with 17.3 points per game and is nearly averaging a double-double with 9.9 boards per game. Meanwhile, Manu Lecomte is the only other player averaging in double-figures for the Bears, checking in with 12.4 points and 3.9 assists per game. Al Freeman is close to averaging double-digit points for BU with 9.8 points per game while Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. is averaging 9.2 points and 7.0 rebounds to go with a team-best 83 blocks.
 
WACTION IN THE BIG DANCE
With the current makeup of the Western Athletic Conference, only three different teams have advanced to the NCAA Tournament in NM State (23), Seattle U (11) and CSU Bakersfield (2016) while the Aggies and 'Runners are the only teams to have advanced to the tournament as a member of the WAC.
 
When the Aggies take the court on Friday, it'll be the 92nd time a WAC team has played in the NCAA Tournament.
 
UP NEXT
Should the Aggies upset No. 3 Baylor on Friday, NM State will play the winner between No. 6 SMU and the 11th-seed – which will be the winner of the play-in between Providence/USC – on Sunday. Time and TV network is TBD.