What: Game Nineteen
Who: NM State (7-11, 0-6 WAC) at Southern Utah (13-6, 5-1 WAC)
When: Thursday, Jan. 19, 7 p.m. MT
Where: Cedar City, Utah - America First Event Center (5,300)

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

THE OPENING TIP                                      
• The start of league play has not gone according to plan for the Aggies as they have lost their first six WAC contests by an average margin of 8.2 points after winning at least a share of four of the previous five WAC Regular Season titles.
• Until this season, NM State had only started with five league losses in two other seasons (1954-55, 1945-46).
• Thursday, the Aggies will look to even the season series with WAC newcomer Southern Utah after falling to the Thunderbirds 75-59 in NM State's first WAC home game of the season on Wednesday, Dec. 28.
• Junior guard Deshawndre Washington scored 18 points to pace the Aggies in scoring while also pulling down 11 rebounds to tally his third double-double of the season in the meeting against Southern Utah in December.
• On the other side, Preseason First Team All-WAC selection Tevian Jones scored a game-high 20 points while shooting 5-7 from beyond the arc to carry the Thunderbirds to their second win in league play.
• Thursday will also start a stretch of three road games in the state of Utah for the Aggies as NM State will travel to take on Utah Tech on Saturday before returning to the state to play Utah Valley on Saturday, Jan. 28.
 
CHI CHI FOR THREE THREE                     
• Sophomore forward Marchelus Avery has seen his role expand in his second year with the program and has developed his game from beyond the arc after making just 10 three pointers last season.
• Avery has already more-than-doubled that amount this season as he has drained 21 three-pointers while shooting 43.8% from deep to rank first among Aggies with at least 10 attempts
• The Richmond, Va., native has only upped his ability to be a threat from three-point land during conference play as he is tied with Xavier Pinson as the team's leader in made threes in WAC play with 12.  Additionally, Avery is shooting a blistering 57.1% from downtown against league opponents.
 
PINSON NOT MISSIN'                                
• Xavier Pinson has been automatic from the charity stripe during conference play as he currently ranks fifth in the WAC in free throw percentage in conference play by way of making 18 of 20 across the Aggies' first six WAC contests.
• In his first season with NM State, Pinson has shot 85.5 percent from the free throw line to rank first among Aggies, second in the WAC and 65th in the nation.
• One of Pinson's best performances at the line came in the Aggies' first matchup against Southern Utah when the LSU transfer went a perfect 6-6 at the line with all of his attempts coming in the second half.
 
CHASING 1,500                                          
• In four and a half years at the collegiate ranks, senior guard Xavier Pinson has scored 1,407 points - putting him just 93 points shy of reaching 1,500 for his career.
• As of now, Pinson would need to average just 7.8 points per game to reach this milestone during the regular season slate.
• Serving as the lone Aggie to have started in every game this season, Pinson paces the Aggies in scoring, notching 229 total points to average 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 196-70 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.
 
TERRIFIC TANDEM                                     
• Deshawndre Washington and Xavier Pinson have been one of the most prolific backcourts in the country and are currently averaging a combined 8.6 assists per game.
• Both Pinson and Washington currently rank inside the top five in the WAC in assists per game as Pinson's 4.6 assist-per-game average is second-best in the conference and Washington's average of 4.0 assists ranks tied for fifth.
• The two guards who both hail from Chicago, Ill., are also the only two Aggies to average double figures as Pinson leads the Aggies by scoring 12.7 points per game while Washington ranks second on the squad, posting 12.1 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.
 
SIX STUMBLES                                           
• The Aggies' current six-game losing streak marks the first time that NM State has lost six consecutive games since 2010-11. This was also the last time that NM State dropped more than five games inside WAC play outside of the year affected by COVID-19 when NM State played zero games at home and finished WAC play with a 7-6 record.
 
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 (159.9).
• 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.
• Meanwhile, from the 2018-19 season to the 2021-22 season, 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 19th of January a total of
21 times - boasting an overall record of 11-10, including a 3-0 mark in WAC play.
• Thursday will mark the Aggies' eighth-ever
home game on Jan. 19 with NM State posting a 3-5 record.
• Most notably, the Aggies topped No. 12 New Mexico at home on Jan. 19, 1999.
 
SCOUTING THE THUNDERBIRDS            
• In his seventh year with the Thunderbirds, Head Coach Todd Simon will lead Southern Utah on Thursday against the Aggies.
• Last year, SUU finished with an overall record of 23-12 and after falling in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Tournament, the Thunderbirds made an impressive run in The Basketball Classic before falling to Fresno State in the semifinals.
• In its first year in the league, Southern Utah has made quite the impression, racking up a 5-1 record against WAC opponents to start the season.
• The Thunderbirds have been especially good at home, posting an 8-1 record inside America First Event Center, including going 3-0 in WAC play.
• Leading the charge for SUU is Tevian Jones who averages 19.6 points per game to rank 26th in the nation. Additionally, Jones is posting 18.67 points in conference games to rank fourth in the conference across the start of the WAC season.