Game Eighteen | 2021 Hercules Tires WAS Tournament Quarterfinals
#3 NM State (10-7) vs. #6 UTRGV (9-9)
Thursday, March 11 | 9:00 p.m. | Las Vegas, Nev. | Orleans Arena
Watch | Listen | Live Stats | NM State Game Notes | UTRGV Game Notes | WAC Tournament Central
OPENING TIPS
• On a quest to secure the program's 23rd NCAA Tournament appearance, the NM State men's basketball team journeys to Las Vegas, Nev., where it'll be the third seed for the 2021 Hercules Tires WAC Tournament.
• The Aggies' run in the league tournament begins Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. MT when they tangle with sixth-seeded UTRGV inside the Orleans Arena.
• ESPN+ and the ESPN app will stream the showdown in the United States while the WAC Digital Network will carry the clash to all other locations around the globe. Michael Potter, Joan Bonivici and Rachel Vigil will be on the call.
• Over the airwaves, US Bank/NM State Athletics Hall of Famer Jack Nixon will be on hand inside the Orleans Arena to narrate the action. Locally, Nixon's call can be heard 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 101.7 FM KQTM (Albuquerque), 103.5 FM KNMZ (Alamogordo), 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.
AGGIES IN THE WAC TOURNAMENT
• 10 | Thursday night at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., the Aggies commence their quest for a 10th WAC Tournament crown. The Aggies have captured the league's championship tournament trophy and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on nine occasions in the program's history - 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
• 2006 | Since joining the WAC prior to the start of the 2005-06 season, NM State has qualified for the league's postseason tournament every season. NM State picked up its first win in the league tournament in 2006 by taking down fourth-seeded Hawaii in the quarterfinals by a 58-57 score. Reggie Theus was the first NM State head coach to secure a WAC Tournament victory.
• 2007 | Just one year after posting its first win in the WAC Tournament, the Aggies punched their first ticket to the NCAA Tournament as WAC members. In 2007, when the tournament was hosted inside the Pan Am Center in Las Cruces, N.M., the second-seeded Aggies took down Louisiana Tech, Boise State and Utah State to grab the WAC Tournament title for the first time .
• 0 | At no point through their time in the WAC has NM State ever failed to advance to the semifinal round of the league's postseason tournament.
• 9 | Dating back to the 2012 season, the Aggies have made nine consecutive appearances in the WAC Tournament championship game. NM State is also riding a nine-game winning streak in the WAC Tournament which dates back to March of 2017.
• Eight | Thursday night's showdown between the Aggies and Vaqueros represents NM State's eighth matchup against a six-seed in the WAC Tournament. Each of the Aggies' previous seven meetings against six seeds resulted in wins for NM State with the most recent of those triumph coming in 2014 against CSU Bakersfield by a 69-63 tally. NM State's average margin of victory over six seeds in the WAC Tournament is 14.4 points.
• Chris Jans | All the Aggies' third-year bench boss knows how to do in WAC Tournament play is win. Jans is the owner of a perfect 6-0 (1.000) record in WAC Tournament games and each of the Aggies' four head coaches during their tenure in the WAC succeeded in winning their first game in the tournament. Jans' six wins in the WAC Tournament are the second-most in program history behind only Marvin Menzies won came up with 19 of them through his time in Las Cruces.
• MVP | Eight different Aggies have earned WAC Tournament MVP honors in their careers, but just one has been named MVP on multiple occasions. Sim Bhullar grabbed the award in both 2013 and 2014 and in the history of the WAC Tournament, just four players have been crowned WAC Tournament MVP multiple times. That list includes Bhullar, Kenny Thomas (New Mexico, 1996 and 1998), Eric Leckner (Wyoming, 1986, 1987 and 1988) and Keith Van Horn (Utah, 1995 and 1997)
• 12 | NM State owns the two longest winning streak in the history of WAC Tournament play. From 2012-16, the Aggies reeled off 12 consecutive victories in the WAC Tournament.Currently, NM State has won nine consecutive WAC Tournament games - the second-longest streak in the history of the league. Should the Aggies run the table at the Orleans Arena this season, they'd match their own program record for consecutive WAC Tournament wins.
• RECORDS | NM State possess WAC Tournament records in no fewer than 10 statistical categories. Jemerrio Jones owns the record for most rebounds in a WAC Tournament game (22 in 2018) and in a WAC Tournament (55 in 2018) while the Aggies as a team own the WAC Tournament records for winning margin in a game (37 against Chicago State in 2019), most field goal attempts in a game (83 against Boise State in 2008), most three-pointers made in a game (17 against GCU in 2019) and in a tournament (39 in 2019), most three-pointers attempted in a game (39 against GCU in 2019) and in a tournament (102 in 2019), best three-point field goal percentage in a game (76.9-percent, 10-of-13 against Boise State in 2007) and in a tournament (58.8-percent, 20-of-34 in 2007) and most steals in a game (14 against Boise State in 2008).
FAST BREAK POINTS
• For the first time since 2013 and for the fifth time in program history, NM State is the third seed for the WAC Tournament. All-time, the Aggies are 9-2 (.818) as the number-three seed in the league's postseason tournament. In three of the previous four years in which the Aggies have been the third seed they have advanced to the WAC Tournament title game. NM State has won the WAC Tournament as a three seed twice - in 2013 and 2010.
• NM State heads into the Orleans Arena riding a three-game winning streak - its longest of the season. The Aggies' three-straight wins also represent the longest active winning streak among all participating 2021 WAC Tournament teams.
• Dating back to 2013, NM State has emerged as the victors in each of their last 15 regular season games played in the month of March.
• NM State head coach Chris Jans is a perfect 7-0 in regular season games during the month of March as the Aggies' bench boss. Against WAC teams in March, Jans is the owner of a perfect 13-0 record and overall he's 13-2 in the month as NM State's head coach.
• Through the last five games, junior guard C.J. Roberts has been playing some of his best basketball in an NM State uniform. The North Richland Hills, Texas, product is averaging 11.0 points per game on shooting splits of .422/.450/.800 while also going for four rebound and 1.8 assists per game in that span.
• Thanks to a double-digit output in offensive rebounding last Friday night in St. George, Utah, senior forward Johnny McCants ranks 42nd nationally in offensive rebounds per game (3.00). His 10 offensive boards at Dixie State last Friday night were the most in a game by an Aggie since he grabbed 10 in a WAC setback at California Baptist on Jan. 3, 2019.
• Senior guard Evan Gilyard continues to rank among the WAC's best in terms of assist-to-turnover ration. The Chicago, Ill., product owns the nation's 78th-best assist-to-turnover ratio with a mark of 2.13. That's the third-best among all WAC players, too.
• Seniors Gilyard II and Donnie Tillman are approaching the 1,000-career point mark for their respective college careers. Gilyard II needs 53 points to get to quadruple digits while Tillman is 44 points away from that milestone.
• Tillman is coming off of his first 20+ point outing in an Aggie uniform. The senior dropped in 22 points in NM State's win over Dixie State last Saturday night in St. George, Utah, which was his first game of 20+ since netting a career-high 28 in a victory over Fresno State as a member of UNLV's squad on Dec. 4, 2019.
• 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 40 games due to either injury or NCAA transfer rules. This will continue to be the case for the rest of the 2020-21 season as junior Jason King underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in mid-February.
SCOUTING UTRGV | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Mired in five-game losing skid, the Vaqueros - who occupy the lowest seed in the 2021 WAC Tournament - would like nothing better than to do what many come to Sin City to accomplish: go on a heater at the right time to get out of the red and get people talking.
• The identity of UTRGV has not changed in the slightest since it faced off against NM State a little over one week ago inside the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas. Defense remains the Vaqueros' calling card and that defense will surely have substantially more bite to it with a win-or-go-home scenario on the docket.
• UTRGV ranks fourth in the nation in turnovers forced per game (18.78) and sixth in the land in terms of steals per game (9.2). Three-point field goal prevention is also a specialty of UTRGV as it ranks 10th nationally in opponent three-point field goal percentage (28.4).
• WAC All-Defensive Team member and 2020 WAC Defensive Player of the Year Javon Levi goes gunning for the first win of his college basketball career against NM State armed with a team-leading scoring average (10.3 ppg) as well as some of the best hands in the land (2.9 steals per game, 5.3 assists per game).
• All-WAC Honorable Mention performer Quinton Johnson II is also putting in points at a rate of 10.3 per game while serving as the squad's leading rebounder (6.5 per game). In the previous meeting between the Aggies and Vaqueros this year, he dished out a career-best six assists.
• Following the tragic passing of UTRGV head coach Lew Hill earlier this year, the late Hill was the unanimous selection for the WAC's 2021 Don Haskins Coach of the Year.
LAST TIME OUT | NM State 68, at Dixie State 56 | Saturday, March 6, 2021
• Donnie Tillman was the most dangerous man in the city of St. George, Utah, Johnny McCants did something no other NCAA Division I men's basketball player did in 2020-21 and the Aggies wrapped up their regular season slate by getting by Dixie State 68-56.
• Tillman, who entered the game with just three made three-pointers in all of 2020-21, drilled three triples in the first half alone en route to a game and season-high 22 points on the night.
• With Tillman shouldering the majority of the Aggies' scoring load, McCants took care of just about everything else. The senior finished with 12 points, six rebounds, five assists, five steals and three blocked shots in the victory.
• As of this writing, McCants is the only NCAA Division I men's basketball player this year who have finished a game with 10 or more points, five or more rebounds, five or more assists, five or more steals and three or more blocked shots without committing a single turnover.
• Clayton Henry concluded his night with 10 points in 23 minutes of action to round out the Aggies' main trio of scorers.
• Tillman's 22 points were the most in a single game by an Aggie this year and stood out as the highest single-game scoring outing by an NM State player since Feb. 15, 2020, when Jabari Rice pumped in a game and career-high 29 in a WAC home victory against Utah Valley.
• McCants' five steals on the night were a career-best for the Las Cruces, N.M., product and also represented the highest total by an Aggie in a game since Trevelin Queen generated seven in a 104-30 non-conference romp over Northern New Mexico on Dec. 29, 2019.
LAST TIME OUT vs. UTRGV | NM State 69, UTRGV 51 | Tuesday, March 2, 2021
• Through the first 9:16 UTRGV had been successful in bottling up the Aggies' offense, allowing NM State to go just 2-of-18 (11.1-percent) from the field. From there the Vaqueros were, uh, not as successful.
• NM State closed the opening stanza on a 26-8 run to take control for good in its 69-51 triumph over UTRGV in the Don Haskins Center Tuesday afternoon.
• Jabari Rice flirted with a double-double, generating game-highs in points (16) and rebounds (eight) to help the Aggies start off the month of March on the right foot.
• Clayton Henry came on especially strong in the second half to help NM State put UTRGV away. The senior scored all 15 of his points through the final 14:13 of regulation and was one of four Aggies who notched 10 or more points in the team's 19th-consecutive triumph over their WAC foes from the Lone Star State.
• C.J. Roberts netted 10 of his 12 points in the first frame and demoralized the Vaqueros by hitting a twisting fall-away three-pointer at the halftime horn to put the Aggies ahead 31-19. Roberts accounted for a season-best six rebounds for the Aggies, too.
• Johnny McCants concluded his day with a 10-point, six-rebound performance with all six of his boards coming on the offensive end. Those six offensive rebounds matched McCants' career high in that department.
• The Aggies got back to their roots on the boards, boasting a 44-32 (+12) edge in that area over UTRGV. NM State was especially frenzied in terms of offensive rebounding, snaring 19 which matched its season-high.
• Though he didn't put in a field goal, Evan Gilyard II passed out a game-high five of the team's 12 assists in the win.
LAST TIME OUT vs. UTRGV in THE WAC TOURNAMENT | NM State 79, UTRGV 72 | Friday, March 15, 2019
• Fueled by a team-high 19 points from Terrell Brown, the Aggies punched their ticket to the WAC Tournament title bout for the third-straight season with a 79-72 victory over UTRGV in Las Vegas.
• A close game turned into a runaway early in the second half as JoJo Zamora capped a 19-8 Aggie surge with a fast-break layup that hiked NM State's lead to 59-40 with 14:03 to go.
• Following that bucket, however, the Vaqueros made a bid for the upset. UTRGV scored 20 of the game's next 26 points to whittle the Aggies' lead all the way down to three, 65-62, with 7:13 to go.
• Shortly after Javon Levi's two free throw makes pulled the Vaqueros within three, however, the Aggies righted the ship. Brown started an 8-0 New Mexico State run by canning his third and final three-pointer of the night and after Shunn Buchanan went 1-for-2 at the foul line with 3:40 left the Aggies found themselves with a 73-62 lead.
• New Mexico State went 6-of-8 from the foul line through the closing minutes of the game to seal the deal and run their winning streak to 18 games.
• A.J. Harris and Clayton Henry combined to generate 27 points while drilling six of the Aggies' 11 three-pointers in their 16th-consecutive win over the Vaqueros.
• Eli Chuha came close to a double-double by finishing with nine points and a game-high seven rebounds.
• The victory, the Aggies' 29th on the year, tied the existing program record for number of wins in a season.
• Just four of the 20 players who played in that game - Ucha Dibiamaka, Henry, Levi and Johnny McCants - are back for the two squads for their Thursday night showdown.
LAST TIME OUT in THE WAC TOURNAMENT | NM State 89, GCU 57 | Saturday, March 16, 2019
• With just 40 minutes separating them from a third-straight NCAA Tournament bid, the Aggies turned to Trevelin Queen who exploded for a game and career-high 27 points as NM State hammered Grand Canyon, 89-57, in the 2019 WAC Tournament title bout.
• Queen came off the bench in that tilt as did Ivan Aurrecoechea who added 16 more on 7-of-9 shooting. The Aggies' reserves combined for 50 points in the victory - seven fewer than GCU's point total.
• The lone Aggie starter who generated 10 or more points was Clayton Henry who sprung for 14. Henry hit four of the Aggies' WAC Tournament record 17 three-pointers.
• Sparked on the glass by seven boards apiece from Aurrecoechea and Johnny McCants, NM State produced a 47-28 (+19) edge on the glass against their foes from Arizona.
• Though the final score wouldn't indicate it, it was GCU who came out on fire. The Lopes started the game on a 10-2 run through the first 5:04 but the Aggies outscored them 39-20 through the last 14:37 of the frame to take a double-digit lead at the half.
• Six of the Aggies' first baskets of the final 20 minutes came from beyond the arc, allowing the WAC Tournament's top seed to push its lead to 61-45 with 12:47 to go. NM State's lead got no lower the rest of the way.
• For his efforts, Queen took home the title of WAC Tournament MVP. Terrell Brown, who put in nine points, joined Queen on the WAC All-Tournament Team.
• NM State improved to 2-0 all-time aganist GCU in the WAC Tournament with the victory.
COMING UP NEXT
• If the Aggies take down they Vaqueros, they'll advance to the semifinal round of the WAC Tournament where 2021 WAC co-regular season champion and second-seeded Utah Valley awaits. That showdown is set for 9:00 p.m. MT on Friday, March 12.
++NM State++
