LAS VEGAS – The New Mexico State men's basketball team looks to claim its ninth Western Athletic Conference Tournament Championship this Saturday, March 16, as it battles Grand Canyon in a rematch of last year's title game at 8 p.m. (MT) on ESPNU inside Orleans Arena.
Kanoa Leahey (
@KanoaLeahey) will have the call on the ESPNU broadcast while former Chicago Bulls second-round draft pick and Maryland guard Adrian Branch joins him as the analyst.
WHERE TO WATCH
Aggie fans can catch the WAC Tournament Championship game on ESPNU. Fans can also watch it online or through any mobile device, tablet or through a third-party unit such as Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Playstation 4, Xbox One etc.
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 Saturday's WAC Tournament title game 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 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 |
JANS NAMED HUGH DURHAM AWARD FINALIST
New Mexico State head men's basketball coach was named a finalist for the Hugh Durham Award Friday afternoon. The award is presented annually to the nation's top mid-major coach.
The reigning back-to-back Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year has had great success since taking over the well-storied Aggie basketball program. Since he hit the ground running, Jans has gone 55-10 overall while posting a 27-3 mark in conference action at NM State.
So far in 2018-19, Jans has led New Mexico State a 28-4 overall record – including a 17-game win streak after the team's quarterfinal win in the conference tournament against Chicago State. With a win on Friday, March 15, in the WAC Tournament semifinal, this year's squad led by Jans can break the program record for most wins a single-season – which he tied in his first season at the helm.
Jans is no stranger to national awards, he was chosen by his peers as the National Association of Basketball Coaches' top first-year head coach and was presented with the 2015 Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year award.
The recipient of the 2019 Hugh Durham award will be announced on April 5 at the College Insider Awards Event, in Minneapolis, site of the 2019 NCAA Division I basketball championship. For more information, please visit
www.hughdurhamaward.com.
BEST CAREER STARTS
After Friday night's 79-72 win over UT Rio Grande Valley in the WAC Tournament semifinal game, Aggie head coach
Chris Jans is now tied with for the ninth-best start so far in NCAA Division I men's basketball history for those in their third year at the helm.
Chris Lowery went 78-26 (.780) through three seasons from 2005-07 at Southern Illinois. Jans currently sits at 78-22 (.780) with at least two games remaining in his third season as a Division I head coach.
A GRAND REMATCH
For the second-consecutive year, New Mexico State will face Grand Canyon for the WAC Tournament Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. Heading into Saturday's title game, NM State is 12-2 all-time against GCU and 1-0 when playing in a neutral setting.
In last year's title match, NM State's 33-22 first-half lead was too much to overcome for the Lopes – who tried to play spoiler against the Aggies in their first year eligible for the NCAA Tournament. NM State was led by its big-3 last season in
Zach Lofton,
Jemerrio Jones and
AJ Harris. Lofton went for a game-high 21 points and four rebounds on 9-of-11 shooting from the line while Harris poured in 20 points and four rebounds of his own. Jones, who was named the WAC Tournament MVP, chipped in with 15 points with 19 rebounds.
Carlos Johnson, who is averaging 33 points in the WAC Tournament, continues to pace the Lopes in scoring, checking in with 14.8 points per game and 4.1 boards per game with a .495 shooting clip. Alessandro Lever is second on the team, averaging 12.5 points and 4.2 board while Michael Finke is just behind with 12.3 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game. Damari Milstead rounds out the list of double-digit scorers with a 10.3 points average.
Trey Drechsel leads the team on the glass with 5.8 boards per game while also posting an 8.1 points average. Milstead paces the team in assists (3.7 apg) and steals (1.4 spg).
LAST TIME OUT
New Mexico State and UT Rio Grande Valley had a great defensive battle to start the game before NM State began to pull away late in the first-half. The Aggie momentum continued in the second-frame as the lead ballooned to 19 points at the 14:03 mark.
However, the resilient UTRGV squad clawed back and brought it down to 65-62 with 7:13 left to play before
Shunn Buchanan brought the lead back up to 73-62 for NM State. Faced with close games all year, the Aggies were able to weather yet another blitz from the Vaqueros late in the game to hang on for the 79-72 victory.
UP NEXT
Whether the Aggies punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the 22nd time in program history or seventh appearance in the National Invitational Tournament will be determined tomorrow.
LOOKING AHEAD
Should the Aggies win on Saturday and go dancing once again, NM State will find out who it'll play and where the committee will send it on Sunday, March 17, from 4-5 p.m. (MT) on CBS. Should the Aggies lose and play in the NIT, NM State will find out where and who it'll play late Sunday night after the field is set for the NCAA Tournament.
++NM State ++
