What: Game Five
Who: NM State (2-2, 0-0 WAC) vs. UTEP (5-1, 0-0 C-USA)
When: Wednesday, Nov. 30, 7 p.m. MT
Where: Las Cruces, N.M. - Pan American Center (12,504)

Watch: ESPN+ | Comcast NM | Bally Sports Arizona (PxP - Adam Young, Analyst - Rus Bradburd)
Listen: Zia Country 99.5 (PxP - Jack Nixon, Analyst - Anita Skipper)
Attend: Pan American Center Box Office (575-646-1420), Online Ticket Sales
Stats: Click Here
Follow: Twitter - @NMStateMBB, Instagram - @NMStateMBB, Facebook - NM State Men's Basketball

THE OPENING TIP                      
• Following splitting results in Las Vegas last weekend, the Aggies will return home to host the second installment of the season's Battle of I-10.
• NM State last met UTEP on Saturday, Nov. 12 inside the Don Haskins Center where the Miners' 24 bench points carried them to their first victory of the season.
 
THE THREE AMIGOS                   
• Entering Wednesday, the backcourt trio of Xavier Pinson, Deshawndre Washington and DaJuan Gordon are the only three Aggies to appear in the starting lineup in each of the Aggies' first four tilts.
 
PROTECTING THE PAN AM          
• The Aggies are 10-0 in their last 10 meetings with UTEP inside the Pan American Center.
• In those 10 Las Cruces meetings, the Aggies have posted an average margin of victory of 10.8 points over the Miners.
• The last time NM State lost to the Miners at home was exactly 12 years ago when UTEP knocked off the Aggies 74-72 on Nov. 30, 2010.
 
AMONG THE NATION'S BEST       
• A pair of Aggies have played their way into the top of the statistical rankings this season as Northwest Florida State transfers Deshawndre Washington and Issa Muhammad are among the top 15 Division I players in assists per game and field goal percentage, respectively.
• Washington averages 6.2 helpers per contest to rank 15th while Muhammad is converting shots at a 70 percent clip to rank 14th in the nation.
 
ANTHONY THE ARCHER
• Anthony Roy's performance from beyond the arc on Saturday was one of the best in recent Aggie history as he knocked down six three-pointers against UC Irvine.
• The last Aggie to drain six or more triples in a single game was Teddy Allen who went 7-of-10 from the field on Jan. 22, 2022.
• Thanks to the deep-range efforts of Roy and other Aggies, NM State boasts the 21st best three-point shooting percentage in the country at 39.6 while also knocking down the 28th most per game at 10.0.
 
SCOUTING THE MINERS
• In his second year with the program, Joe Golding will be at the helm for the Miners on Wednesday.
• On the court, the Miners are led in scoring by Southern Miss transfer Tae Hardy who averages 11.8 points per game
• Otis Frazier III is the lone other UTEP player to average double figures this season, scoring 10.2 points per contest.
• In the first meeting between the Aggies and Miners, UTEP was led by Hardy who paced his team with 14 points. Big man Ze'rik Onyema finished closely behind Hardy with 13 points while former Aggie Mario McKinney Jr. tallied 10 points.
• Since losing to now second-ranked Texas in their season opener, the Miners are 5-0, including wins over Alcorn State, CSU Bakersfield and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the Jim Forbes Classic hosted by UTEP.
• Following the bout with the Aggies on Wednesday, UTEP will host Northern New Mexico on Saturday.
• In 224 meetings, the Aggies are 120-104 all-time against their rivals from Texas, including winning 15 of the last 18 tilts.