LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State men's basketball team looks to finish the Western Athletic Conference regular-season on a strong note as it heads to UT Rio Grande Valley this Saturday, March 3, for a 6 p.m. (MT) tip-off before heading to #WACvegas.
 
GET CONNECTED
Get up to the minute information and news about the NM State men's basketball team all season on Twitter and Instagram by following @NMStateMBB and on Facebook at FB.com/NMStateMBB.
 
LISTEN UP!
Aggie fans that can't make it to the game Saturday can catch the game by listening to NM State Athletics/US Bank Hall of Famer Jack Nixon on 99.5 Zia Country and affiliate stations on the Aggie Sports Network listed below.
 
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
 
ONE TIME FOR THE ONE TIME
With last Saturday's resounding 82-58 win over UMKC in the Pan American Center on senior day coupled with a Utah Valley loss, New Mexico State clinched the Western Athletic Conference regular-season title for the third time in four years. Other than the three the Aggies have on since the 2014-15 season, the last time NM State won a regular-season title outright was when it won the Big West Conference back-to-back years from 1992-94.
 
With the win, Chris Jans became the only first-year head coach in program history to win a regular-season conference title outright. Former Aggie head coach Marvin Menzies shared the WAC regular-season title his first year at the helm.
 
KEEP UP WITH THE J. JONES
Jemerrio Jones was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week (Feb. 26) after a stellar weekend in his final two home games in the Pan American Center. This is Jones' third player of the week honor this season and seventh award for NM State this season through 16 weeks of action.
 
By the end of last weekend, Jones was averaging 13.5 points, 17.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists to go with pair of blocks and steals for his 17th double-double of the year. Saturday was also the fourth time he had grabbed 20-plus rebounds in a single-game, joining Sam Lacey as the only Aggie to do so in a single-season. Jones, Lacy and Billy Joe Price are the only Aggies to tally 20-plus rebounds four or more times in their career at NM State.
 
With his 34 rebounds last week, Jones now has 364 rebounds on the year, moving him into fifth place and just 11 shy of passing Wendell McKines (374, 2011-12) for fourth place. With at least two games remaining, Jones needs 65 more rebounds to crack the top-10 in career rebounds at NM State – which would have him surpass Jeff Smith (718, 1968-71).
 

#SuperJJ having a great year is quite the understatement. Check out how his stats compare across the country!! ???? #AggieUp pic.twitter.com/5XiVXP6lVg

— NM State MBB (@NMStateMBB) February 28, 2018

ROUNDING OUT THE VAQUEROS
With the final game of the regular-season on tap, NM State travels to UT Rio Grande Valley this weekend for a 6 p.m. (MT) tip-off. The Vaqueros recently beat Chicago State at home, 83-75, marking the most wins in WAC play for UTRGV in program history with six.
 
The Vaqueros head into this weekend 15-15 overall and 6-7 in conference action. They are 9-6 on the year at home and 3-3 at home during WAC play. Opponents are outscoring UTRGV by 2.0 points per game and shooting 44.5-percent from the floor compared to the 40.7-percent by the Vaqueros.
 
Nick Dixon, the league's leading scorer at 20.7 points per game, has started all 30 games for UTRGV. He also paces the team with a .455 (min. 100 FGA) shooting clip, 52 triples, and 41 steals. He's also 23rd in the country in total points with 621 through games on Feb. 28.
 
Meanwhile, Xavier McDaniel, Jr. is second on the team with 10.0 points per game while averaging 4.3 rebounds. Terry Win is just a tick off the double-digit points mark, checking in with 9.9 points per game while leading the team with 7.1 boards per game.
 
LAST TIME OUT
New Mexico State sent its seniors off with a bang as it defeated UMKC 82-58 while also clinching the WAC regular-season title moments after its game when Grand Canyon fended off Utah Valley. The Aggies were led by senior Jemerrio Jones, who posted his 17th double-double of the year with 15 points, 23 rebounds and seven assists. Eli Chuha matched Jones' point total with 15 of his own on 7-of-9 shooting with four rebounds. AJ Harris and Zach Lofton each added 13 points of their own, respectively, while the Aggie defense held every opposing player under double-digits for the first time this season.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
With the WAC Tournament looming on the horizon, here's a quick look at how NM State has fared. This is just the third time New Mexico State has been the No. 1 seed in the tournament since joining the league during the 2005-06 season. NM State claimed the tournament title the previous two other times it entered as the top-seeded team (2015 & 2016). Since the Aggies have joined, the No. 1-seed has only won the tournament 5-of-12 times with NM State owning two of those wins.
 
To date, of the eight losses by top-seeded teams, four of those losses occurred in the semifinals while three of those losses have come at the hands of the No. 4 seed. Louisiana Tech had the worst defeat in 2013 when it lost in the quarterfinals to the No. 9 seed, UTSA.
 
UP NEXT
NM State will open the WAC Tournament next Thursday, March 8 against the No. 8- seed Chicago State on ESPN3 at Orleans Arena. Mychal Clanton will have the call Thursday night while Sed Bonner serves as the analyst and Rachel Vigil as the sideline reporter.