Game Thirty-Two | WAC Tournament Championship Game
#1 NM State (25-6) vs. #6 Abilene Christian (23-9)
Saturday, March 12 | 8:00 p.m. MT | The Orleans Arena | Las Vegas, Nev.
Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Tickets | NM State Game Notes | ACU Game Notes
WAC Tournament Central
THE OPENING TIP
• On the cusp of its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2019, the top-seeded NM State men's basketball team is just 40 minutes away from putting on its dancing shoes. Standing in its way is sixth-seeded Abilene Christian who seeks a third-straight trip to the Big Dance.
• Those teams will oppose one another for just the second time in the last 57 years Saturday night at The Orleans Arena in Sin City in the WAC Tournament championship game. Tip-off in the 10th all-time meeting between the Aggies and Wildcats is set for 8:00 p.m. MT.
• ESPNU and the ESPN app will carry each and every second of the action nationwide. Dave Flemming and Mike O'Donnell will be on the call.
• Over the airwaves, legendary radio play-by-play man Jack Nixon will set up shop courtside to call the action.
• The play-by-play and analysis of the nation's 14th-longest tenured NCAA Division I men's basketball voice can be heard on 99.5 Zia Country FM in Las Cruces, N.M., and nationwide on The Varsity Network app.
• Affiliate stations of the Aggie Sports Network can be tuned in to in Artesia, N.M. (990 AM), Carlsbad, N.M. (1240 AM), Gallup, N.M. (94.9 FM), Alamogordo, N.M. (103.7 FM) and El Paso, Texas (1380 AM). All of those stations will also carry Nixon's commentary of Saturday night's showdown.
NM STATE IN THE WAC TOURNAMENT
• 10 | Saturday night at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., the Aggies continue 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.
• 10 | Dating back to the 2012 season, the Aggies have made 10 consecutive appearances in the WAC Tournament championship game.
• Six | Saturday night's tilt between NM State and Abilene Christian pits the Aggies against a six-seed in the WAC Tournament for the ninth time. NM State is 8-0 all-time against sixth-seeded teams in the WAC Tournament, but this is the program's first matchup with a sixth-seed in the championship bout. The Aggies' average margin of victory over sixth-seeds in the WAC Tournament is 15.6 points.
• Chris Jans | Pretty much all the Aggies' fifth-year bench boss knows how to do in WAC Tournament play is win. Jans is the owner of an 9-1 (.900) 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' nine 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. From 2017 until March 13, 2021, NM State went on an 11-game heater in the WAC Tournament. That streak was snapped by 2021 WAC Tournament champion Grand Canyon.
• 3 | NM State senior forward Johnny McCants is looking to secure his third WAC Tournament title. Just three Aggies have won four WAC Tournament titles. Prior to McCants, Remi Barry, Daniel Mullings and Tshilidzi Nephawe won four WAC Tournament crowns from 2012-15.
• 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).
LAST TIME OUT | WAC Tournament Semifinals | #1 NM State 75, #4 Grand Canyon 60 | Friday, March 11, 2022
• Teddy Allen and Jabari Rice joined forces to push NM State into its 10th-straight WAC Tournament championship game as the duo finished with 56 combined points to help the Aggies claim a 75-70 win over Grand Canyon.
• The first matchup between the Aggies and Lopes in the WAC Tournament semifinals came down to the wire after Grand Canyon cut a 14-point second-half lead by NM State all the way down to two with 19 seconds to go. Fortunately, the Aggies made all the right moves down the stretch.
• Allen and Rice each drilled two free throws in the last 19 seconds, hiking NM State's free throw percentage to 76.9-percent (20-of-26) for the game.
• Allen, the WAC Player of the Year, did a little bit of everything to get the job done for NM State. The Phoenix, Ariz., product finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists. In three games against the Lopes this season, Allen averaged 27.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per outing. He shot 29-of-31 (.935) from the foul line against the Lopes through those three meetings, too.
• After totaling just 10 points in his previous two outings, Rice came alive on offense once again. The Houston, Texas, product finished with 21 points on a 6-of-8 showing from the field. When Rice scores 20 or more points, NM State owns an 11-1 (.916) record.
• The win gave NM State 25 wins for the 2021-22 season. It marks the program's 13th season of 25 or more wins and its fourth 25+ win campaign in Chris Jans' five seasons as the Aggies' bench boss.
• Allen's 25-point outburst hiked his season total to 606 points. He is now one of just eight NM State players in program history who have amassed 600 or more points in a single season. Those 606 points are tied with Kenny Travis for the seventh-most in a single-season in the history of the program.
LAST TIME OUT vs. ABILENE CHRISTIAN | NM State 77, ACU 63 | Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022
• Teddy Allen put on one of the greatest individual performances in the history of the Pan American Center by pumping in career-high tying 41 points to lead NM State to a 77-63 win over Abilene Christian.
• The Phoenix, Ariz., product shot 13-of-20 from the field to finish with those 41 markers. He drilled six of his 11 tries from long distance, too, while adding seven rebounds, two assists, a blocked shot an a steal.
• Allen's 41 points came almost 20 years to the day since the last 40+ point outing by an NM State player. On January 26, 2002, Eric Channing fired in 41 points for the Aggies in an 88-71 victory over North Texas inside the Pan American Center.
• Among all NCAA Division I men's basketball players this season, Allen's 41 points are the fifth-most in a single game and the most by any WAC player.
• Only two NM State players - the late Jimmy Collins and Ernest Patterson - poured in more points in a game inside the Pan American Center than Allen did Saturday night. Both Collins (vs. Air Force on Feb. 14, 1970) and Patterson (vs. New Mexico on Dec. 11, 1982) went for 42 points in a single game.
• All-time, Allen's 41-point outing ranks fifth on the list of single-game scoring performances in NM State history. Allen and Eric Channing are the only individuals who have scored 40 or more points for NM State in the 21st century.
• Efficiency was the name of the game for Allen who needed just 20 shots to get to the 41-point mark. Over the last three seasons, he's one of just eight NCAA Division I players who needed 20 or fewer shots to rack up 41 or more points in a single game. Also included on the list is former Iowa star Luka Garza.
• With Allen shouldering most of the load on offense by accounting for 53.2-percent of the Aggies' point total, that didn't leave too many more markers to go around. Still, Clayton Henry and Jabari Rice added 10 points apiece in NM State's win.
• Henry's 10 points made it two games in a row in which the guard hit double digits.
LAST TIME OUT IN THE WAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP GAME | NM State 56, Grand Canyon 76 • Saturday, March 13, 2022
• NM State scored the first four points of the game, but Grand Canyon took control from there and defeated the Aggies by a 74-56 tally in the 2021 WAC Tournament title bout.
• Jabari Rice drilled a three-pointer with 14:05 to go in the opening frame to hand NM State a 9-7 lead, but the Lopes answered with a devastating 12-0 run over the next five minutes and the Aggies never fully recovered.
• GCU's lead dipped below double-digits just five times for the rest of the night and NM State suffered its first loss in a WAC Tournament championship game since 2016.
• Evan Gilyard II netted a team-high 18 points for the Aggies on a 6-of-13 night from the field.
• Donnie Tillman finished with 11 points and five rebounds, putting the finishing touches on a strong three-game run at the WAC Tournament. For his efforts, the Detroit, Mich., product earned a spot on the WAC All-Tournament Team.
• NM State turned in season-lows in both free throws made (seven) and free throw attempts (nine) through the 40-minute tilt.
• The loss put an end to the Aggies' five-game winning streak. That unbeaten run was NM State's lengthiest of a disjointed 2020-21 campaign.
• NM State head coach Chris Jans suffered the first WAC Tournament loss of his career. Jans' record in WAC Tournament tilts now sits at 8-1.
• Of the 12 players who logged minutes in the WAC Tournament title game, just five remain on the team's 2021-22 roster.
SCOUTING ABILENE CHRISTIAN | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Trying to pull off the ultimate feat of winning four games in four days to reach the NCAA Tournament for the third-straight season, Abilene Christian has taken out two of the top three seeds in the 2022 WAC Tournament already en route to its date with the Aggies Saturday night in the WAC Tournament title bout.
• Like many of the Texas teams who entered the Western Athletic Conference ahead of the 2021-22 season, Abilene Christian relies on a hard-nosed, tough form of defense to get the job done. Under first-year head coach Brette Tanner, the Wildcats lead the nation in turnovers forced per game (21.69), turnover margin (9.2) and steals per game (11.1).
• In addition to their stifling defense, the Wildcats also excel at getting to the foul line. Abilene Christian ranks fifth nationally in free throw attempts (730) and third in the land in free throws made (547).
• That free throw prowess has helped Abilene Christian own the WAC's most potent scoring offense. The Wildcats average 77.1 points per game - the 41st-highest mark in the nation.
• Running the point for Abilene Christian is Damien Daniels, who owns the WAC's best assist-to-turnover ration (2.52, 25th nationally). He dishes out to a Wildcats offense which is quite balanced as no player on Abilene Christian's roster averages over 11.8 points per game.
• Airion Simmons (11.8 ppg), Coryon Mason (11.5 ppg) and Mahki Morris (11.0 ppg) represent the Wildcats' three main scoring threats.
• Getting open shots has been a recipe for success in Abilene. The Wildcats are tied for the WAC lead in terms of assists per game (15.2).
THIS DATE IN NM STATE HISTORY
• NM State is 3-1 in its last four games played on March 12. In the most recent of those games, the Aggies posted a 78-62 win over Utah Valley in the WAC Tournament semifinals.
• The Aggies are 3-1 all-time in WAC Tournament games played on March 12.
• The team's first-ever game on March 12 came in 1951 when the Aggies took down Glenville State by a 68-54 tally in the NAIB Tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
• March 12 is also the date in which the Aggies picked up their first NCAA Tournament regional victory on their way to the 1970 Final Four. Lou Henson's crew beat Kansas State 70-66 on this day back in 1970.
COMING UP NEXT
• No matter what happens Saturday night, NM State will have at least one more game remaining on its 2021-22 schedule. A win would give the Aggies a ticket to the 2022 NCAA Tournament while a loss would send NM State to the NIT.
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