NM State Heads North for Two WAC Battles at Seattle U

Thursday 02/11/2021 | By: NM State Athletics Media Relations

Aggies hoping to start first WAC winning streak of season in the Pacific Northwest

OPENING TIPS
• With its sights set on stringing together WAC victories for the first time this season, the NM State men's basketball team heads to the Pacific Northwest for a two-game series at league adversary Seattle U.
• Game one is set to begin Friday night at 7:00 p.m. MT from the Redhawk Center on Seattle U's campus. Fans can watch Friday's game nationwide on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. International viewers can tune in to the clash on the WAC Digital Network.
• The second showdown between the Aggies and Redhawks is set for 7:00 p.m. MT Saturday night from the Redhawk Center. ESPN+ and the ESPN app will carry that game nationwide, too.
• Over the airwaves, longtime NM State play-by-play man and US Bank/NM State Athletics Hall of Famer Jack Nixon will narrate the action from Eastwood High School on Zia Country 99.5 FM in Las Cruces.
• Listeners outside of the Las Cruces area can access Nixon's call on the Aggie Sports Network's affiliate stations which include 103.5 FM KNMZ (Alamogordo), 1150 AM KNMM (Albuquerque), 1240 AM KAMQ (Carlsbad), 1380 AM KHEY (El Paso), 1230 AM, 94.9 FM KYVA (Gallup) and 107.1 FM KMDS (Las Vegas). Fans not in any of those areas can also find his broadcast via the TuneIn app which is available nationwide.

FAST BREAK POINTS
• NM State is in search of its first road victory against an NCAA Division I opponent this season. The Aggies' last road win at a DI foe came on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, in Bakersfield, Calif., when they hammered CSU Bakersfield 62-46.
• For the second-straight week, the Aggies will be trying to put the clamps on a reigning WAC Player of the Week. Last weekend in El Paso, Texas, NM State split with California Baptist and held guard Reed Nottage to 11.5 points per game on shooting splits of .583/.556/1.000. This week the Aggies will have to contend with the Redhawks' high-scoring guard Darrion Trammell who averaged 30.0 points on 21-of-42 (50-percent) shooting in Seattle U's split at Dixie State last week.
• Ball security has been of increased importance for senior guard Evan Gilyard II and that has been showing as of late. The product of Chicago, Ill., ranks 23rd nationally with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.12. Gilyard II's ratio in WAC games stands at an impressive 4.3 - the third-highest in the league.
• After missing just under two months (but only two games) due to a foot injury, redshirt junior guard Jabari Rice has picked up right where he left off. The Houston, Texas, native ranks 34th nationally in field goal percentage (.571) while averaging a team-leading 14.8 points per game. He's the only Aggie who has put in 10+ points in each of the team's games this year.
• Junior guard C.J. Roberts currently ranks third in the WAC when it comes to field goal percentage in league tilts. The North Richland Hills, Texas, product is hitting 63.2-percent (12-of-19) through the Aggies' first four league tilts.
• Both Gilyard II and senior forward Donnie Tillman are approaching the 1,000-career point mark for their respective college careers. Gilyard II needs 113 points to get to quadruple digits while Tillman is 123 points away from that milestone.
• After coming off of its latest COVID-19 pause on January 25, 2020, NM State's turnover numbers have been steadily decreasing. Over the last five games the Aggies are averaging just 10.8 turnovers per game and have committed single-digit throwaways in back-to-back contests. NM State ranks second in the WAC and 57th nationally in turnovers per game (11.8).
• After securing a 97-70 win last Saturday against California Baptist, NM State's NET ranking jumped up significantly. The Aggies moved from 282 to 238 - an improvement of 44 spots.
• Since the start of the 2019-20 season, NM State has not had the benefit of a completely full roster complement for a single game. At least one Aggie has sat out in each of NM State's last 39 games due to either injury or NCAA transfer rules.

SCOUTING SEATTLE U | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• One of just three current WAC head coaches who have defeated Aggie bench boss Chris Jans, Seattle U's Jim Hayford heads into the weekend hoping to help his squad snap a five-game skid against NM State.
• After Terrell Brown (no, not that one. The other one) chose to head to Tucson, Ariz., to play for the Pac-12's Arizona Wildcats for the 2020-21 season, Hayford and his crew have let the scoring spotlight shine on another big-time backcourt producer. In his debut season for the Redhawks, junior Darrion Trammell is putting in points at a WAC-leading clip of 19.7 per game. That average is also good for the 34th-best in the nation at the moment.
• Not only the Redhawks' best point-producing option, Trammell tops the team's charts in assists. His 5.7 per outing represent the best average in the WAC as well as the 22nd-best in the nation.
• As a result, the Redhawks have seen good production from junior Riley Grigsby (18.7 ppg) and senior Aaron Nettles (10.4 ppg) in terms of scoring.
• Anchoring Seattle U's front court is junior forward Emeka Udenyi who leads the squad in rebounding at 7.8 per game. Not far behind Udenyi in that area is Australian freshman Kobe Williamson who averages 7.1 boards per game as well as a team-best 1.4 blocked shots per game.
• The Redhawks rank eighth nationally in turnover margin (+4.9) and are committing the fewest turnovers per game in the WAC (11.0, 22nd nationally).
• Like the Aggies, Seattle U had a number of games wiped out due to COVID-19 protocols. The Redhawks' games at Dixie State last weekend were the team's first games since Friday, Jan. 15.
• Seattle U owns a 4-1 record on its home court this season and will be looking to collect its first home wins since Saturday, Jan. 9 (a 98-63 victory over Saint Martin's).

LAST TIME OUT | NM State 97, California Baptist 70 | Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021
• Behind a return to form, NM State put an end to its longest WAC losing streak since 2010-11 by blasting California Baptist 97-70 last Saturday night at Eastwood High School.
• Jabari Rice poured in a team-high 20 points and was one of five Aggies who turned in double-digit scoring performances.
• Donnie Tillman contributed a season-high 19 points to the effort while Evan Gilyard II added 13 to go along with a game-high three steals.
• NM State's bench brigade came to play, too, with C.J. Roberts and Will McNair leading the way there. Roberts shot 5-of-7 from the field and finished with a season-high 11 points while McNair went 5-of-6 from the field for to conclude his night with a career-high 12 points.
• The Aggies' 97 points were the team's most in a WAC regular-season game since they put in the exact same amount in a 97-60 win at Chicago State on Jan. 6, 2018. That game was head coach Chris Jans' first WAC tilt as the Aggies' bench boss.
• NM State also generated season-highs in points in the paint (50), bench points (40), field goals made (37), field goal percentage (.597), three-point field goal percentage (.400) and steals (10).
• After being held scoreless in his Aggie debut last Friday night, redshirt freshman guard Marcus Watson netted eight points in six minutes of action. Included among that scoring total was a four-point play and a highlight reel worthy windmill dunk.
• Tinkering with their starting lineup, the Aggies saw Johnny McCants come off the bench for the first time since Dec. 14, 2019. That broke a streak of 26-straight starts for McCants.

LAST TIME OUT vs. SEATTLE U | NM State 72, Seattle U 64 | Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020
• Johnny McCants asserted his dominance on the glass and as a result the Aggies secured a hard-fought 72-64 triumph over the Redhawks inside the Pan Am Center.
• McCants played for all but four minutes of the Aggies' showdown with Seattle U and finished with a monstrous 14-point, 18-rebound double-double. The Las Cruces, N.M., product easily reset his career high in the rebounding department with his strong showing on the glass.
• Of the Aggies' 33 total defensive rebounds in the win, McCants corralled 14 of them (42.4-percent).
• McCants' 14 points represented just a portion of the Aggies' balanced scoring effort in the team's fifth-straight triumph over the Redhawks. Ivan Aurrecoechea and Shawn Williams each chipped in 11 points while Evan Gilyard II and Jabari Rice added 10 apiece.
• Aggie senior guard Trevelin Queen played 14 minutes in his team's win, finishing with two points and two rebounds through that span. It was Queen's first game back after he missed NM State's previous five tilts due to a knee injury.
• With McCants in their corner, the Aggies finished with a +12 advantage (41-29) on the boards. Free throw shooting played a big part in NM State's win, too, as the Aggies finished with nine more free throw makes and eight more tries from the foul stripe than Seattle U.
• By securing the victory, NM State extended its winning streak to 14 games and hit the 20-win mark for the ninth-consecutive season.
• NM State moved to 9-0 against Seattle U inside the Pan Am Center.

COMING UP NEXT
• NM State and Seattle U will meet for the second and final time in the 2020-21 regular season Saturday night inside the Redhawk Center. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. MT and the showdown will be streamed nationwide on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

++NM State++

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Aggies hoping to start first WAC winning streak of season in the Pacific Northwest

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