What: Game Five
Who: NM State (2-2, 0-0 CUSA) vs Northern Colorado (2-1, 0-0 Big Sky)
When: Saturday, Nov. 17, 7 p.m. MT
Where: Las Cruces, N.M. - Pan American Center (12,572)

THE OPENING TIP        
• The last time out, NM State handled business with a decisive win over Western New Mexico 78-43.  
• The Aggies are looking to make a statement and win two in a row for the first time season ahead of the contest against Northern Colorado. A win here will also put them over .500 for the first time this season.
• The Bears are coming off their first loss of the season at the hands of Colorado State at home. They are looking to get their first road win of the season against the Aggies and get back in the win column. 

FRESH START            
• Entering the season, NM State is the only program in the country with an entirely new roster as zero players from the 2022-23 campaign will take the floor for the Aggies this season.
• Tasked with building a roster from scratch that is also expected to be competitive immediately, Head Coach Jason Hooten opted to bring in guys with experience as all but one Aggie on this year's roster has played basketball beyond the high school level. This includes 12 individuals with collegiate experience and one with experience in the NBA Global Academy. Of the 13 players that have collegiate experience, eight have experience at the Division I level.

NEW YEAR, NEW LEADER         
• After spending the last 13 seasons as the bench boss at Sam Houston, Jason Hooten takes over an Aggie program in need of a refresh button.
• Many are confident Hooten has what it takes to return the Aggie program back to glory as he begins his tenure after compiling 261 wins, posting a .607 win percentage and helping the Bearkats to six postseason appearances. With the success, Hooten ultimately departed Huntsville, Texas, as the program's all-time winningest coach.
• In his final year with Sam Houston, Hooten helped lead the 'Kats to the program's first-ever appearance in the NIT Tournament. Once the Bearkats reached the national tournament, they made some noise - defeating Santa Clara in the opening round. During last year's historic season with Sam Houston, Hooten also led his Bearkats to upset road wins over a pair of Power Five programs in Oklahoma and Utah. The Aggies will be looking to absorb some of that magic on Monday when they take on their blue blood opponent

ROOM TO GROW         
• In their first season as a member of Conference USA, the Aggies were projected to finish eighth in the nine-team league according to a vote of the conference's nine head coaches.
• This underdog role is new territory for the Aggie program as they become affiliates with CUSA after a run in the Western Athletic Conference that included seven regular season titles and 10 tournament titles during their 18-year stint as a member of the WAC.
• In fact, during the Aggies' 18 years in the WAC, NM State was selected to finish inside the top three of the coaches poll every year except for their inaugural season in which they were also tabbed to finish eighth. During that stretch, the Aggies were labeled preseason favorites nine times.

TOURNAMENT TIME        
• NM State's 10 conference tournament titles since 2006 are the second-most in the nation. Only the WCC's Gonzaga (14) has more. 

BUILDING A FOUNDATION        
• Although, this may be Jason Hooten's first year with the program, the former Sam Houston coach has done his best to surround himself with familiar faces as two staff members and starting center Kaosi Ezeagu from the Bearkats also made the trip from Huntsville to Las Cruces during the offseason.
• Last season, Ezeagu served as a vocal leader on Sam Houston's squad and started all 33 games that he appeared in and paced the Bearkats in blocks with 16 on the season.
• In addition to Ezeagu, Assistant Coach Payne Andrus and Graduate Assistant Terryonte Thomas were also contibutor's to the success of the Bearkat program last season.

POWER FIVE AGGIES        
• The 2023 NM State roster features three Aggies who have spent time on Power Five rosters as Kaosi Ezeagu (Kansas State), Femi Odukale (Pitt) and Davion Bradford (Wake Forest and Kansas State) each played among the best of the best during their collegiate careers.
• Unfortunately for the Aggies, only Kaosi Ezeagu will be available in the season opener as both Odukale and Bradford are awaiting transfer waivers from the NCAA.

HARRIS' BREAKOUT
• Versus Western NM, Jaden Harris led the team in scoring with 24 points while shooting 5-8 from beyond the arc. He is currently the highest scorer for the Aggies this season - showing the way with 49 total points while averaging 1.3 points a game.

AGGIES LOCKED IN FROM DEEP    
•The Aggies have been connecting consistently from the three point line. They are currently shooting .369% from behind the arc which is ranked 95th in the country and third in CUSA.    

POSEY THROWING DIMES
• Jaylin Jackson-Posey is leading the charge for the Aggies in assist averaging 4.5 per game with 18 total for the season. This has him ranked 45th currently in the country and third in CUSA. He is also averaging 9.3 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game this season. 

SCOUTING THE BEARS    
• Northern Colorado will take on the Aggies on Saturday in what will be its fourth game of the season after its loss against Colorado State (64-83) on Tuesday evening at home.
• Last season, the Bears finished the season with a 12-20 overall record and a 6-12 mark against Big Sky Conference opponents.
• The Bears will be led by 6-7 junior forward Saint Thomas. He is currently averaging a double double for the Bears dropping 13.3 points per game and 11.3 rebounds per game.
• Northern Colorado is led by Steve Smiley who is entering his fourth season as the Bears head coach. He is (47-48) in his tenure as head coach and this has been his first and only head coaching job up until this point.