What: Game Seventeen
Who: NM State (7-9, 0-4 WAC) at Seattle U (12-4, 3-0 WAC)
When: Thursday, Jan. 12, 8 p.m. MT
Where: Seattle - Climate Pledge Arena (17,459)

Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Zia Country 99.5 (PxP - Jack Nixon)
Attend: Online Ticket Sales
Stats: Click Here
Follow: Twitter - @NMStateMBB, Instagram - @NMStateMBB, Facebook - NM State Men's Basketball

THE OPENING TIP                                      
• The Aggies will look to earn their first win in league play of the season as they take on Seattle U on Thursday night inside Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
• After starting the WAC season 0-4, NM State will look to avoid its first 0-5 start in conference play since 1961-62 when it suffered losses in its first five contests in the Border Conference.
• Prior to this season, NM State has only opened league play with an 0-4 record on five occasions during its 118-year history.
• Thursday will also mark the second time the Aggies visit a fellow 2021-22 WAC Regular Season Co-Champion after taking on Stephen F. Austin on Jan. 4.
• The mid-week meeting is set to take place inside Climate Pledge Arena - the former home of the old NBA franchise Seattle Supersonics and home away from home for Seattle U.
 
CHASING 1,500                                          
• In four and a half years at the collegiate ranks, senior guard Xavier Pinson has scored 1,385 points - putting him just 115 points shy of reaching 1,500 for his career.
• As of now, Pinson would need to average just 8.3 points per game to reach this milestone during the regular season slate.
• Currently, Pinson paces the Aggies in scoring by way of notching 12.7 points per game.
 
HISTORIC WAC DOMINANCE                   
• Amid its final season in the WAC, NM State has put together one of the most impressive runs in all of college basketball.
• Across 17-plus years, the Aggies have posted a 196-68 record against conference opponents.
• Additionally, the Aggies' 10 WAC Tournament titles is the most in conference history with UTEP's five tournament titles being the next closest.
 
CRASH THE BOARDS                                
• After pulling down 24 since the start of WAC play, Deshawndre Washington enters Saturday's game ranked 45th in the nation and second in the WAC in defensive rebounds - pulling down 6.31 per game.
 
TERRIFIC TANDEM                                     
• Deshawndre Washington and Xavier Pinson have been one of the most prolific backcourts in the country and are currently averaging a combined 8.9 assists per game.
• Both Pinson and Washington currently rank inside the top three in the WAC in assists per game as Pinson's 4.5 assist per game average is second-best in the conference and Washington's average of 4.4 assists ranks third.
• The two guards who both hail from Chicago, Ill., also each average double figures as Pinson leads the Aggies - scoring 12.9 points per game while Washington ranks second on the Aggies, posting 12.7 points per contest.
• Pinson and Washington are also the only two Aggies averaging more than 30 minutes of playing time under Greg Heiar this season.
 
NO WALK IN THE PARK IN THE WAC    
• For years, WAC Championships have run through Las Cruces and there appeared to be a gulf between NM State and the rest of the league, however, this season it looks as though the rest of the league has finally caught up.
• Currently, the WAC ranks 11th out of 32 Division I conferences in average NET ranking (160.0).
• Last season, the conference made a massive jump to finish with an average NET ranking of 194.0 to conclude the season ranked 15th out of 31 after finishing ranked 26th in 2020-21.
• From 2018-19 to 2021-22, the WAC posted a final average NET ranking of 212.22 with a final average ranking of 20.5.
 
Year           Avg. NET        Rank
2021-22    194.00           15th
2020-21    238.56           26th
2019-20    245.11           25th
2018-19    171.22           16th
 
NM STATE ON THIS DATE  
• Across the history of the program, the Aggies
have played on the 12th of January a total of
22 times - boasting an overall record of 14-8, including a 5-1 mark in WAC play.
• Thursday will mark the Aggies' ninth-ever
away game on Jan. 12 and the Aggies are 5-4 away from home on this date.
• The Aggies are currently riding a four-game winning streak on Jan. 12 with their last loss coming in 2009.
 
SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
• After serving as the interim head coach for all of last season, 2021-22 WAC Coach of the Year Chris Victor is in his first official year at the helm of Seattle U's program.
• Last year, Victor led the Redhawks to a historic season in which it earned a share of the WAC regular season title for the first time in program history after putting together a 23-8 overall record in the regular season and a 14-4 WAC record.
• The Redhawks' season came to an abrupt end when they fell to WAC Tournament runner-up Abilene Christian in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament.
• Seattle U did lose a big piece from last year's team, though, as First Team All-WAC member and Redhawk leading scorer Darrion Trammell transferred to San Diego State during the offseason.
• Similar to how the Aggies' last opponent played, the Redhawks will shoot the three-ball at will as they enter Thursday ranked eighth in the nation in three-point attempts per game. However, Seattle U will rely on volume as it shoots just 32.6% from beyond the arc to rank 240th among Division I teams yet still ranks 27th in makes per game at 9.4.
• The Aggie defenders will be tasked with containing one of the nation's top scorers in 2021-22 First Team All-WAC selection Cameron Tyson who knocks down almost four three-pointers per game to average 20.9 points - a mark that ranks 14th in the country
• Seattle U will also receive scoring contributions from Alex Schumacher who scores 11.3 points per game and senior Riley Grigsby who posts 10.4 points per game.
• This will mark the 25th meeting between Seattle U and NM State with NM State holding a 20-4 advantage over the Redhawks.
• The Aggies will also look to maintain success against the Redhawks on the road as NM State is 4-1 in its last five games against the Redhawks in Seattle. This might be a tough task as one of four WAC schools without a blemish at home. However, this will be just the second game that the Redhawks play at Climate Pledge Arena this season as five of its six home wins have come inside the 999-seat Redhawk Center.