What: Game Twenty-Five
Who: NM State (9-15, 2-10 WAC) at California Baptist (13-12, 5-7 WAC)
When: Saturday, Feb. 11, 7 p.m. MT
Where: Riverside, Calif. - CBU Events Center (5,050)

Watch: ESPN+ | Comcast New Mexico | Bally Sports Arizona Extra
Listen: Zia Country 99.5 (PxP - Jack Nixon)
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Follow: Twitter - @NMStateMBB, Instagram - @NMStateMBB, Facebook - NM State Men's Basketball

THE OPENING TIP                                        
• Before heading home to host a trio of games, NM State will close out its series against California Baptist as they look to even the score after CBU took down the Aggies in the Pan American Center on January 7.
• The Aggies are looking to return to the win column after they saw their brief win streak come to a close on Wednesday in Phoenix. Meanwhile, California Baptist enters Saturday's matchup in hopes of ending a four-game losing skid of its own.
• In the first meeting, NM State allowed the Lancers to pull in 11 offensive rebounds which led to 23 second-chance points - the most the Aggies have allowed all season.
• In response to the bumpy start, the Aggies have exhibited a different sense of urgency as of late - winning two of their last three and appearing to have turned the page following an 0-9 start to league play.
• Saturday will also mark the final meeting between NM State and California Baptist as conference foes as NM State makes the move to Conference USA following the conclusion of the 2022-23 season. Thus far, the Aggies have collided with the Lancers just seven times with the series record currently sitting at 5-2 in favor of NM State
 
DOC'S GETTING IT DONE                            
• Doctor Bradley is amid his best stretch of games in his Aggie career. Not only has Bradley reached double figures in all three of the Aggies' most recent tilts, but the sophomore forward has taken his impressive efficiency numbers to another level.
• On the season, Bradley already ranks first on the Aggies in shooting percentage, converting at a 61% clip, yet in the last three games, the California native has increased that to 82% as he is 14-17 while averaging 21.5 minutes of action.
 
CALIFORNIA LIVIN'                                       
• Outside of Illinois, California is the only other state that more than Aggie hails from as Anthony Roy, Doctor Bradley and Kim Aiken Jr. each represent The Golden State on this year's roster.
• In fact, both Aiken Jr. and Bradley come from the Southern California area. When the Aggies take on the Lancers, Aiken will be less than 30 minutes from home (Redlands, Calif.) while Bradley grew up an hour west of Riverside, in Los Angeles.

NEXT-LEVEL RESERVES                                                
• It's not often you will find a mid-major program that has a pair of players coming off the bench who have each started 65-plus games at the Power Five level. However, that is exactly how the Aggies have been successful as Xavier Pinson and DaJuan Quaye Gordon have embraced their reserve roles in the Aggies' last three outings.
• Pinson, the man who was the starting point guard at LSU following a stint at Missouri, has paced the Aggies in scoring (14.0) during that stretch while also leading the Aggies in assists (4.7 apg).
• Meanwhile, Gordon, a 6-5 guard who played at both Kansas State and Missouri, ranks second in scoring (13.3) during the three-game span.
• Despite coming off the bench, Pinson still ranks second in minutes per game at 32.1 while Gordon has also earned 27 minutes per game in the trio of games.
 
THIRD SECOND TIME'S THE CHARM         
• Including a non-conference series with the Miners, NM State has now faced a trio of teams twice this season, wrapping up a series versus UTEP, Stephen F. Austin and Seattle U. On each occasion, the Aggies have dropped the first meeting but went on to win the second meeting.
• Across the three first-time meetings, the Aggies have lost by an average of five points. However, NM State has come out on top by an average of 12.7 points the second time around.
• Additionally, the Aggie offense struggled the first time it saw each of these opponents - averaging just 63.3 points per game. Yet, NM State has scored 83.3 points per game against these same three opponents during their second matchup.
• NM State hopes to continue this trend on Saturday evening as they fell to California Baptist earlier this season 61-70 in Las Cruces.
 
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE                          
• The emphasis on scheduling quality opponents during non-conference play has always existed at NM State and this year is no exception as four of the Aggies' opponents before WAC play rank inside the top-100 in the NET Rankings, including mid-major power Saint Mary's who currently sits in seventh.
• However, with the improving level of play inside the league, that difficult schedule has now extended into the start of conference play. Through their first 11 WAC games, the Aggies' strength of schedule is one of only two slates that ranks inside the top 100 among the WAC.
• Meanwhile, the Aggies' average opponent NET rank is 77th in the nation - 22 spots higher than that of the next-closest WAC program.
• According to KenPom.com, the Aggies also have the most difficult conference strength of schedule.
 
CHASING 1,500                                           
• In four and a half years at the collegiate ranks, Pinson has scored 1,498 points - putting him just two points shy of reaching 1,500 for his career.
• Pinson has started in 21 of the Aggies' 24 contests this season and paces the team in scoring - making it almost a guarantee that he scores at least two points against CBU to reach the mark.
• While the Chicago native did the majority of his scoring at his previous stops, Pinson would become just the 10th Aggie in program history to reach 1,500 while donning Crimson & White.
• Should Pinson join the ranks of 1,500-point scorers on Saturday, he will become just the 105th active player to score 1,500 points at the Division I level.
 
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 198-74 record against conference opponents.
• Additionally, the Aggies' 10 WAC Tournament titles are the most in conference history with UTEP's five tournament titles being the next closest.
• Individually, the Aggies have collected five WAC Player of the Year honors and 20 First Team All-WAC selections while NM State bench bosses have garnered four WAC Coach of the Year distinctions.
 
TERRIFIC TANDEM                                       
• Deshawndre Washington and Xavier Pinson have been one of the most prolific backcourts in the country and are currently averaging a combined 8.3 assists per game.
• Both Pinson and Washington currently rank inside the top ten in the WAC in assists per game as Pinson's 4.7 assist-per-game average is second-best in the conference and Washington's average of 3.8 assists ranks seventh.
• The two guards who hail from The Windy City are also the Aggies' top two scorers this season as Pinson leads the Aggies by scoring 13.3 points per game while Washington ranks second on the squad, posting 11.9 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.
• Pinson has also been exceptional at avoiding turnovers while still dishing out helpers. Despite the Aggies ranking 12th in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio since league play began, Pinson's 1.61 ratio in WAC games ranks fourth.
• Meanwhile, Washington ranks fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio for the length of the season (1.92).
 
FIRST-YEAR CHALLENGE                            
• Across Division I college basketball, there are currently 63 head coaches in their first year with their respective programs, including 25 head coaches amid their first season at the Division I level like NM State bench boss Greg Heiar. Many of those head coaches are also learning how difficult it is to win games in their debut seasons.
• Of those programs with new head faces leading the way, 34 programs have sub-.500 overall records as of Friday, Feb. 10. This also includes three schools other than NM State that reached the NCAA Tournament last season.
• When it comes to conference records, there are currently 44 institutions with first-year head coaches posting win percentages below .500 in league play, including 13 programs with two or fewer wins against conference opponents.
 
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 (158.77).
• 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
2022-23     158.77            11th
2021-22     194.00            15th
2020-21     238.56            26th
2019-20     245.11            25th
2018-19     171.22            16th
 
FINISHING THE JOB                                     
• Though the Aggies have had a tough time grabbing a late lead this season, they have been good at closing games they do find themselves ahead in during the final minutes.
• This season, NM State is a perfect 8-0 in games that it leads with five minutes left on the clock.
 
PUT JANUARY IN THE PAST                       
• NM State is glad to be done with the month of January after going 0-7 during the first 31 days of the year.
• January marked the first time the Aggies went a full month without a win since NM State went 0-8 in February of 2005.
 
MAJOR MID-MAJOR                                     
• Ten of the Aggies' opponents during the 2022-23 season are featured among the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 rankings, with six Aggie opponents among the top 25 while the remaining four squads are receiving votes to be included in the rankings.
• Of those ten, the Aggies have seen or will see six of them during WAC play (Grand Canyon, Sam Houston, Seattle U, Southern Utah, Stephen F. Austin and Utah Valley).
 
SCOUTING THE LANCERS                           
• In his 10th year with the Lancers, Head Coach Rick Croy will lead California Baptist on Saturday night against the Aggies.
• Last year, California Baptist finished with an overall record of 18-16 and 7-11 in WAC play. CBU won its first WAC Tournament game in program history when they knocked off UTRGV 81-80 in the Opening Round before falling to Sam Houston in the First Round.
• The Lancers are led by star point guard Taran Armstrong who scores 11.9 points per game to represent the lone CBU scorer averaging double figures. Despite Armstrong being the Lancers' leading scorer, perhaps the most dangerous aspect of his game is his ability to create for others as he leads the conference in assists per game at 4.7.
• CBU will also look to Riley Battin and Joe Quintana for scoring as each averages 9.5 points per game.
• In the first meeting between the Aggies and Lancers, Battin paced his squad with 18 points while the Aggies' Deshawndre Washington led all scorers with 20 points.
• This will mark the 24th all-time meeting between the two programs and will likely be the final time the Aggies make the trip to Phoenix while residing in the same league as the Lopes. GCU will repay the visit when they come to Las Cruces on Feb. 22 for the Aggies' final home game of the season.