What: Game Fifteen
Who: NM State (5-9, 0-0 CUSA) at Cal Baptist (8-4, 0-0 WAC)
When: Friday, Dec. 30, 7:00 p.m. MT
Where: Las Cruces, N.M. - Pan American Center (12,572)
THE OPENING TIP
• After dropping two nail-biting contests to Stephen F. Austin and Tulsa on their most recent road trip, NM State meets up with an old WAC opponent in Cal Baptist back home in the Pan American Center.
• The Aggies fell 59-65 to Tulsa last Friday after holding the lead for the majority of the game. With the loss, Hooten's group is now on a three-game losing streak after falling in a stunner to New Mexico at home 73-72 and 72-75 to SFA in Nacgodoches.
• NM State will collide with the Lancers who recently put one in the win column in a home contest versus Chicago State, 74-62 on Wednesday.
• Friday will mark the ninth time that the Aggies and Lancers meet on the hardwood with the Lancers coming out on top 70-61 in the last meeting on Jan 7, 2023. NM State won five of the last six previous contests, with the most recent win coming on Feb. 3, 2022 when Teddy Allen went for 22 points.
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 two Aggies who have spent time on Power Five rosters as Kaosi Ezeagu (Kansas State) and Femi Odukale (Pitt) each played among the best of the best during their collegiate careers.
AGGIES GET TO THE LINE
• NM State has been successful at forcing the issue this season and that has resulted in being one of the conference's best at earning and converting free throws.
• Through 14 games, the Aggies rank fifth in the conference in free-throw attempts per game (21.9). This mark is also good for 84th in the country.
• The Aggies also also rank fourth among CUSA schools in free throws made per game (15.4) while ranking 95th among Division I teams.
THE AGGIES WELCOME TANAHJ PETTWAY
• On Dec. 12, the newest Aggie made his debut as Stony Brook transfer Tanahj Pettway checked in during the Aggies' 76-71 victory over Northern New Mexico. Against the Eagles, Pettway logged eight minutes and posted six points including draining a huge three down the stretch to help lift the Aggies to the win.
• Prior to landing on the NM State roster, Pettway appeared in 35 games for the Seawolves across two seasons - 33 of which came during the 2022-23 campaign. Pettway also made eight starts as a junior and averaged 7.1 points per game. In total, Pettway notched a career-high 38 steals to pace the team.
• Before suiting up for Stony Brook, Pettway averaged 11.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game during the 2020-21 season with Indian River State College. Pettway ultimately played two seasons at Indian River State College and helped lead the program to its most successful two-year spurt in school history - winning back-to-back Southern Conference titles and reaching the national tournament for the first time in 46 years in 2020-21.
SCOUTING THE LANCERS
• Cal Baptist enters Friday night with a 8-4 overall record, including going 2-1 outside the Fowler Events Center.
• The Lancers will be led by Head Coach Rick Croy who is in his eleventh season leading the program. Last season, Croy led his team to a 17-18 record before getting upended by a Jason Hooten-led Sam Houston in the WAC Tournament Quarterfinals.
• The Lancers are led in scoring by Dominique Daniels Jr. who posts 18.5 points per game - against CUSA foe Western Kentucky, Daniels Jr. put up a season-high 32 points in a 73-70 loss. He is a junior transfer from San Bernardino Valley College and averaged 23.8 ppg for the Wolverines.
• NM State will have to contend with 6-foot-7 forward Hunter Goodrick on the boards as he leads the Lancers in rebounds per game at 9.7.
