LAS CRUCES, N.M. – A tough week awaits the New Mexico State men's basketball team as it prepares to play host to Battle of I-25 rival New Mexico this Tuesday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. (MT) in the Pan American Center. Tuesday's rivalry game is sponsored by Wells Fargo.
 
Adam Young (@youngpbp) will have the call alongside former Neil McCarthy assistant Rus Bradburd (@RusBradburd) on the broadcast of the 222nd meeting between the Aggies and Lobos.
 
WHERE TO WATCH
Aggie fans can catch the game on several stations including FOX Sports Arizona Plus, FOX Sports Oklahoma, FOX College Sports Pacific and Eleven Sports. In addition, fans with a paid cable subscription can catch the action anywhere on the go through their mobile device using the FOX Sports GO App on both Apple and Android platforms.
 
Fans can also stream the game through Twitch.tv on the Eleven Sports NEXT channel.
 
FOX Sports Arizona PLUS (LIVE)
DISH: SD - 449, HD – 9519 | DISH Hopper: 412-37 | DTV: 686-1
 
FOX Sports Sun PLUS (LIVE)
DISH: SD - 442, HD – 9580 | DISH Hopper: 412-30 | DTV: 653-1
               
FOX College Sports Pacific (LIVE)
DTV: 608 | Comcast Xfinity: 262 | AT&T U-verse: 647
 
Eleven Sports (LIVE)
DTV: 623 | AT&T: 1665 | Verizon FiOS: 597
 
Comcast New Mexico | Ch. 77
 
GET CONNECTED
Get up to the minute information and news about the NM State men's basketball team all season long on Twitter and Instagram by following @NMStateMBB and on Facebook at FB.com/NMStateMBB.
 
LISTEN UP!
Aggie fans that can't make it to Tuesday's Battle of I-25 match-up can catch the game by listening to NM State Athletics/US Bank Hall of Famer Jack Nixon and former Aggie Justin Hawkins on 99.5 Zia Country and affiliate stations on the Aggie Sports Network listed below or via TuneIn.
 
Alamogordo                      103.7 FM KNMZ
Albuquerque                     1150 AM KNMM
Carlsbad                           1240 AM KAMQ
El Paso                             1380 AM KHEY
Gallup                               1230 AM, 94.9 FM KYVA
Las Vegas                         107.1 FM KMDS
 
GAME DAY TRAFFIC INFO
Fans traveling down I-10 for Tuesday's rivalry game against New Mexico are encouraged to leave a little earlier or seek an alternative route. The New Mexico Department of Transportation will be replacing guard rails along I-10 and will close lanes both eastbound and westbound along with reduced speeds.
 
Construction is scheduled to begin on Monday, Dec. 3, from 7 a.m. (MT) to 5:30 p.m. through Friday, Dec. 7, according to NMDOT. For more information, please contact Ami Evans – Public Information Officer for NMDOT District One – at 575-640-5981 or by email at ami.evans@state.nm.us.
 
GAME DAY PROMOTIONS
The University Advancement Office will once again have its "Grand in the Stands" promotion at halftime of the UNM game. Students in the attendance can enter in a drawing for a chance to win a $1,000 scholarship courtesy of the University Advancement Office. Registration for the drawing is located on the southeast corner of the concourse in the Pan American Center.
 
IN THE NATION
Heading into Tuesday's game, the Aggies as a team are ranked in the top-25 nationally in a couple categories through games on Sunday, Dec. 2…
 
Category                       National Rank               Value
Fewest Turnovers          14^th                                   72
Turnovers per Game     18^th                                   10.3
Turnover Margin            20^th                                   5.0
 
FIRST OF HIS KIND?
Should New Mexico State complete the sweep of Battle of I-25 rival New Mexico on Tuesday, Aggie head coach Chris Jans would become the only head coach in program history to sweep both rivals back-to-back years in his first two seasons at the helm.
 
Jerry Hines is the only head coach in program history to sweep both UNM and UTEP in back-to-back season.
 
Head Coach     Years                                                                                  
Jerry Hines         1936-38 (4 games each)
Jerry Hines         1937-39 (4 games vs. UNM/2 games vs. UTEP)
John Griffith        1918-19* (4 games)
*Only played UNM his second season as a head coach.
 
BATTLE OF I-25 STREAKS
The Aggies head into Saturday's rivalry contest with a four-game winning-streak against New Mexico and looks to go for its fifth-straight. Below are the times NM State have had a five-game winning-streak against the Lobos or higher…
 
Streak                 First Win           Last Win           
5                             3/2/1954           1/18/1956
19                           2/22/1936         12/11/1940
10                           2/11/1916         2/21/1923
 
AGGIES VS. LOBOS: ROUND II
The second edition of the Battle of I-25 this season is set to take place this Tuesday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. (MT) in the Pan American Center when the Aggies and Lobos battle on Lou Henson Court for the 222nd time in program history.
 
New Mexico State has won the last four meetings between the two programs, including a 2-0 mark during that stretch at home. NM State's last loss at home to the UNM came on Nov. 15, 2015 (83-74).
 
The Lobos come to Las Cruces with a 4-1 record overall so far with their lone losing coming at the hands of New Mexico State back on Nov. 17 at Dreamstyle Arena aka The Pit. Since its loss to NM State, New Mexico have reeled off wins over UTEP (84-78) at home and Bradley (85-75) on the road.
 
Anthony Mathis leads the pack in scoring as well as several other categories. The 17.8 points average is good for a team-best to go along with his .587 shooting clip, 23 shots from downtown, .923 clip from the free-throw line and 13 assists.
 
Joining Mathis in the double-digit column is Corey Manigault, who is averaging 14.8 points and 5.8 rebounds. Vance Jackson, the team leader in rebounds with 7.2 boards per game is also averaging 13.4 points while Dane Kuiper checks in at 10.4 points per game. Kakuach Maluach isn't too far off, averaging 9.0 points for the Lobos.
 
As a team, UNM has allowed 83.6 points per game to opponents and have been outrebounded by opponents to the tune of a -1.0 rebounding margin. The Lobos have also turned the ball over 17.2 times per game while only turning opponents over 15 times per game.

In its latest game at Bradley, New Mexico had three players score in double-figures led by Mathis – who had 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting from beyond the arc. Manigault chipped in with a double-double for 18 points and 11 rebounds – including a 10-of-11 night from the free-throw line. Rounding out the list is Kuiper, who had 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting. The Lobos were able to outrebound the Braves that game 40-33.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Aggie defense and timely plays on both ends of the floor down the stretch saw New Mexico State topple its first Power-5 team at home since 2002 this past Saturday when it defeated Washington State 69-63 on Lou Henson Court.
 
NM State led wire-to-wire, but WSU kept clawing back and tied the game up twice before a 3-pointer from Shunn Buchanan gave the Aggies some breathing room before sealing the victory. NM State used 19 Wazzu turnovers and converted them to 20 points while also holding a 17-5 edge in fastbreak points.
 
FEAR THE PANAMANIACS
With its win on Saturday over Washing State, New Mexico State captured its first victory over a Power-5 opponent at home since Nov. 27, 2002, when the Aggies defeated Colorado 75-71. NM State has now taken down a Power-5 opponent at least once in the last three seasons.
 
Since the 1999-2000 season, NM State has only hosted eight teams from a Power-5 conference. Of those eight games, the Aggies have gone 4-4.
 
Team                                   Date                     Score                  
Washington State           12/1/18              W, 69-63
Arizona                                11/29/11           L, 83-76
Texas Tech                        12/29/05           L, 69-63
Colorado                             11/27/02           W, 75-71
Washington                       12/8/01              L, 75-74
Texas Tech                        11/28/01           L, 81-80 (OT)
Washington                       12/30/99           W, 79-75 (OT)
Texas Tech                        12/17/99           W, 84-75
 
UP NEXT
A signature game is on the horizon for New Mexico State as it heads to Kansas City for a neutral site match against No. 2 Kansas this Saturday, Dec. 8, inside the Sprint Center. The fourth meeting between the Aggies and Jayhawks is scheduled to tip-off at 6:30 p.m. (MT)/7:30 p.m. local on ESPN2.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
After the Aggies return home from road trip to Kansas City, NM State will play host to a pair of games as part of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic. First up on the docket for the Aggies will be Northern Colorado on Tuesday, Dec. 17 followed by CSUN on Wednesday, Dec. 19. Both games are scheduled to tip-off at 7 p.m. (MT).
 
After those two games, the Aggies immediately head to Las Vegas for the remaining two games of the tournament at Orleans Arena. NM State's first opposition in Sin City will be Drake on Saturday, Dec. 22. The Aggies then take on either Washington State or San Diego the very next day on Sunday, Dec. 23 depending on the results from Saturday's games.