The Aggie men's basketball team faces Seattle tonight as they go for their 11th consecutive victory. The Aggies defeated the Redhawks in an 83-82 double-overtime thriller in Seattle. Up until the past two games, Seattle had been playing every WAC opponent close, losing by fewer than 10 points in all their losses while winning twice. However, things have not gone well for SU in the past two games as they've been blasted by short-handed USU (by 22) and Denver (by 17). Once again this is a game that if New Mexico State has designs on a regular season title, they must win.

Seattle is a middle of the pack team both offensively and defensively but they're one of the better rebounding teams in the league so the Aggies will need to be extra vigilant on the glass tonight. Turnovers kept Seattle in the first game and New Mexico State will need to do a better job against the press tonight. The Aggies nearly cost themselves the first game with a couple of really careless turnovers late in the game in the first meeting after it looked like they had the game wrapped up. The Aggies finished that game with 18 turnovers and to their credit they did force Seattle into 25, however, they must do a better job of taking care of the ball which they have as of late.

As we've noted a few times over the course of this win streak one of the biggest keys to the win streak is the improved offensive play of Bandja Sy. The senior failed to reach double-digits on Thursday against Idaho, the first time that's happened since the losses to UT-Arlington and Louisiana Tech. That can't happen too many more times for New Mexico State. The Aggies are 12-2 when Bandja reaches double digits in scoring but just 4-6 when he doesn't.

Tonight's game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. (MT) tip and can be seen on AggieVision and streaming online via ESPN3.com

The Aggie women's basketball team is back in action tonight as they face Seattle. The Aggies are mired in an eight-game losing streak after losing to Idaho on Thursday night. We've noted ad-nauseum that the Aggies' struggles can be tied directly to the three point arc and Thursday night's loss was no different. The Aggies were a paltry 4-for-27 from deep against Idaho and lost big, 72-53.

Seattle is 9-3 in league play and is chasing Utah State right now. The Aggies struggled to defend the interior presence of Kacie Sowell in the first meeting. Sowell finished with 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting and the Aggies simply don't have anyone who can match up with her.

Tonight's game is scheduled for a 5:00 p.m. (MT) tip-off and can be heard on KSNM AM 570 in Las Cruces and streaming online via Aggie Access (subscription required).

The Aggie softball team opened up the 2013 season with a split yesterday as they lost to Nebraska 5-1 but bounced back to defeat Illinois-Chicago 8-1. Staci Rodriguez got her season off to a bang offensively as she belted a pair of home runs in the 8-1 victory including a first-inning grand slam.

The Aggies continue play in the Hotel Encanto tournament today as they'll face UIC once again at approximately 3:00 p.m. (MT).

The New Mexico State men's basketball team hosts Idaho tonight as the Aggies try for their tenth consecutive victory. In the first meeting between these two the Aggies raced out to a big lead leading 23-9 early and 42-27 at halftime. The lead was still a comfortable 11 points with twelve minutes and change left but Idaho slowly started chipping away and with 43 seconds left the Aggies and Vandals were tied at 68. The game remained tied at 70 with four seconds left when Daniel Mullings was fouled on an inbounds play. He hit one of two and the Aggies held on for a 71-70 victory.

Tonight's game may very well be as competitive, however, some of the key principals in that game for the Aggies will not see action. Tyrone Watson's suspension from basketball activities along with K.C. Ross-Miller's ailing hamstring mean the Aggies will be without their combined 25 points and 37 and 31 minutes respectively that the two played in the first game.

Idaho is the only team to have shot better than 50 percent against the Aggies during the current nine-game win streak but if the Aggies are to win again tonight they'll need to keep Idaho under than percentage. It will be a challenge for this renewed Aggie defense as Idaho leads the league in field goal percentage overall and is second during conference play but is the best three point shooting team in the league percentage-wise during conference play.

Once again it will be interesting to see the adjustments made by the opposition the second time face Sim Bhullar. In the first game Sim finished with 16 points and six rebounds.

Tonight's game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off and can be seen on AggieVision and ESPN3.com

The Aggie women are also back in action tonight as they take on Idaho in Moscow. The Aggies are losers of seven straight and battling UT-Arlington and Texas State to stay out of the basement. Those three teams are firmly entrenched at the bottom of the standings, three (and four) games clear in the loss column from the next closest team ahead of them.

The task is not going to get any easier for the Aggies as they face the third place team tonight in Idaho and then the second place team on Saturday night in Seattle. In fact, before facing fellow basement-dweller UT-Arlington (1-9) in the regular season finale the Aggies' final stretch of conference games comes against teams with a combined 42-23 conference record. The Aggies don't face a team with a losing conference record until that final game against UTA. Obviously the W/L records will change as the season progresses but as it stands now the Aggies have perhaps the toughest finishing stretch of any conference team.

Back to tonight's game. The Aggies lost the first meeting between the two teams. The Aggies lead by seven early, fell behind by as many as 15 in the second half, cut the lead all the way down to two points before losing by six.

It's really a simple formula for the Aggies. Their issues are scoring the basketball. This team struggles to put the ball in the basket and if they're not hitting three pointers, they don't win. As we noted prior to the UTSA loss, when the Aggies lose they shoot horrendously from three point distance, just 19 percent (45-of-228). When they win, they're one of the best three point shooting teams at just over 38 percent (74-of-193).

Tonight's game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. (MT) tip-off and can be heard on KSNM AM 570 and streaming online via Aggie Access (subscription required).

The Aggie football team announced its 2013 recruiting class along with the 2013 schedule yesterday. You can check out the class here and the schedule here.

Aggie soccer also announced their 2013 recruiting class yesterday with seven newcomers joining the squad.

The Aggie men's basketball team is looking for their ninth straight win as they take on UTSA tonight in San Antonio. The Aggies are coming off an 86-72 victory over Texas State on Thursday night, a game in which the Aggies were in control throughout and a game which also produced this highlight breakaway dunk from Daniel Mullings:

Mullings and the short-handed Aggies will take on a Roadrunner squad that they beat handily in Las Cruces, 82-62 in which the game wasn't even as close as that final score (the Aggies led by as many as 32 in the second half). The Aggies held a substantial advantage in the paint outscoring UTSA 48-18 inside.

UTSA continues to be one of the worst teams in the country defensively allowing teams to shoot 53.3 percent from the field, 61.2 percent from inside the arc and 41.2 percent from outside the arc in conference play, all three are 10th out of 10 teams in the league. The Aggies should be able to take advantage of the porous defense. Winning on the road is always a bit of a challenge but even if this game is close at halftime as it was in Las Cruces, we fully expect the Aggies to pull away in the second half.

The game is scheduled for a 5:00 p.m. (MT) start and can be heard on the Aggie Sports Network.

The Aggie women's basketball team returns to action after a disappointing loss to Texas State on Thursday night. The Aggie women continue to struggle offensively posting just 49 points on Thursday night. It was the fifth time this season the Aggie women have failed to break 50 points and they are 0-5 in such games.

UTSA comes into the game at 5-5 in league play and are losers of two straight and in both of those they have failed to score 50 points. The Aggies routed UTSA 69-52 in San Antonio earlier in conference play and it was arguably Aggies' best offensive performance of the season.

UTSA overall boast the best field goal percentage defense in the league, however, in conference play they've dropped to 10th in field goal percentage defense thanks in large part to their poor three point field goal defense. Teams are shooting 36 percent from behind the arc against the Roadrunners and that is something that could favor the Aggies tonight if they're able to get hot from deep. Poor three point shooting has been the issue for New Mexico State this season in their losses. In their losses this season the Aggies are shooting a paltry 41-of-216 from behind the arc which translates to 18.9 percent. In their victories they've shot 74-of-193 which is 38.3 percent. The Aggies truly are a classic "live by the three die by the three" team.

Tonight's game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. tip-off and can be seen on Aggie Access and ESPN3.com

The second half of conference play begins tonight for both the Aggie men's and women's basketball teams. The men's team is on the road this week for the Texas swing facing Texas State and UTSA. The women are home to host those two same teams.

This Texas State game is a bit of a landmine game for the Aggies. Texas State is in the bottom third of the league standings, the Aggies defeated them earlier this season in Las Cruces albeit by a smaller margin than anticipated and Texas State is on a bit of an upswing having won three games in a row, their longest win streak of the year. At the midway point of conference play the Bobcats are allowing an average of 78.2 points per game while scoring 68.7. Joel Wright is averaging 17.5 points per game and he scored 17 points against the Aggies in the first meeting (which the Aggies won 78-67 and if you notice that is nearly identical to the point per game averages in conference play for Texas State).

This is a game the Aggies should win and although there are question marks regarding the statuses of Tyrone Watson (UPDATE: Tyrone Watson has been suspended indefinitely) and K.C. Ross-Miller the Aggies are still the better team and have plenty of other pieces that can fill in. If Watson does not play, we'd expect a little more playing time for Renaldo Dixon in Watson's spot which could in turn greenlight Chili Nephawe's return from his hand injury to help spell Sim Bhullar.

One interesting thing to look for tonight will be the Aggies' opponent's game plan for Sim Bhullar's presence in the paint. The Aggies held the advantage the first go around given that none of the teams had ever played against a 7'5" player but now that they've experienced the mammoth that is Sim Bhullar, how will their game plans from the first game change to account for his shot-blocking and shot-changing in the painted area.

If the Aggies win tonight, which we believe they will, we think they'll run their winning streak to 12 games heading into Logan Utah in three weeks.

Tonight's game is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. (MT) tip-off and can be heard on the Aggie Sports Network with streaming audio available via Aggie Access (subscription required). Live Stats will also be available via the Texas State athletic website.

The Aggie women are looking to end their five-game skid against Texas State who is 1-8 in WAC play at the midway point. Texas State is another fast paced team but in the first meeting between these two teams the Aggies held Texas State to just 58 points and only 68 possessions which is nine possessions under their average pace.

That game the Aggies also did a number Texas State's Diamond Ford who averages 21 points per game. The Aggie defense held her to just six points on 3-of-16 shooting and the Aggies will need another effort like that to win tonight (Ford has not been held under 17 points since that six point effort). Ashley Ezeh averages 15 points per game and hit that average against the Aggies. You're not likely going to be able to completely contain both Ezeh and Ford but if you can hold one of the two well under their scoring average then your chances of winning increase significantly.

As for the Aggies, scoring continues to be an issue for the team. After breaking the 60-point barrier in three of their first four conference games (all wins), the Aggies have been held under 60 points in four of their last five games. The lone game above the 60-point mark was a heartbreaking 65-63 loss at Utah State in which the Aggies lost on a buzzer-beating three pointer.

Tonight's game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. (MT) tip-off and can be seen on AggieVision and ESPN3.com.  Continue Reading This Post >>

The Aggie women's basketball team is back in action this afternoon as they take on the Denver Pioneers at Magness Arena in Denver. This is the first game in a week for the Aggie women and they're looking to break a four-game losing streak (Seattle, Idaho, Utah State and San Jose State). As has been the case the entire season the losing streak hasn't been because of their defensive effort. The Aggies are allowing just 59.0 points per game in conference play and they have the best overall field goal percentage defense as well as the best three point field goal percentage defense in conference play.

Denver is also on a four game losing streak having lost to the same four teams as the Aggies and much like New Mexico State the four game losing streak has seen most close contests with the exception of a 16-point loss against Utah State.

DU's defense hasn't been as good as New Mexico State's as they're allowing 70.9 points per game in conference play but their offense has been better than the Aggies' as they score 72.1 points per game in conference play to the Aggies' 59.8.

New Mexico State has been able hold down their opponents' scoring and we expect much of the same today from the Aggies. The question remains as to whether the Aggies can muster enough offense to win. Denver has just one double-digit scorer in Moran Van Riper-Rose, a sophomore guard who is averaging 13.6 points per game.

Of concern for the Aggie women today is Denver's rebounding ability. The Pioneers are the best rebounding team in conference play at 41.6 rebounds per game and they also boast the best rebounding percentage at 56.3 percent.

These two teams have not met since their Sun Belt Conference days but the Aggies have won five of the past six in the series.

This is a key matchup today as it represents the final game of the first half of conference play. The winner of the game remains within shouting distance of the top half of the league while the loser will drop to 8th place in conference play and a full five games behind first place Seattle, four behind Utah State and three behind UTSA, LA Tech and Idaho (pending the outcome of today's games).

Today's game is scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. (MT) tip-off and can be heard on KSNM AM 570 in Las Cruces with streaming audio available via Aggie Access (subscription required).

The Aggie men's basketball team is back in action tonight against WAC new-comer Denver in a crucial conference game for both teams. The Pioneers are alone in second place at 7-1 in league play while the Aggies are a game behind at 6-2. Both teams are chasing the league's only remaining unbeaten, Louisiana Tech, who is 7-0.

The Pioneers were a trendy pick in the preseason but much like New Mexico State, struggled in the non-conference posting a 4-6 record. The Pioneers played an ambitious out of conference slate with plenty of signature win opportunities against teams like Stanford, Cal, Wyoming, Colorado State and Southern Miss but failed to win any of those games. The Pios' lone conference loss is to Louisiana Tech.

The Pioneers are led by 6'6" forward Chris Udofia who comes into the game averaging 12.4 points per game. Denver is also led by Royce O'Neal who is averaging 12.1 points per game. The Pioneers run a Princeton style offense with plenty of back door cuts but they are also deadly three point shooters garnering nearly 40 percent of their total points from behind the arc. In conference play the Pioneers have shot nearly 40 percent from distance while lofting up a ridiculous 185 three point attempts including 35 against UT Arlington. They have been particularly hot of late. In the past three games they've shot 30-for-65 from three which is just under 47 percent. Brett Olsen is the team's best three point shooter at 42 percent (45-of-107).

One of the biggest key for the Aggies tonight is guarding the three point arc. In Denver's losses this season they've shot just 29 percent from three.

Denver also sports a solid scoring defense. Just one WAC team has scored more than 60 points against the Pioneers, no team has scored more than 70 (probably due in large part to Denver's style of play and limiting possessions). Two conference opponents have failed to break 40 points and Denver's points against average in league play is 50. The Pioneers are also one of the top teams in the league in turnovers forced averaging 15.6 and a turnover rate of 25 percent which is best in the league and seventh best in the country.

Denver is a terrible rebounding team which is something the Aggies must dominate tonight. Denver doesn't turn the ball over much and makes the most of their possessions. The Aggies are going to have to be efficient tonight and if they can get this game played at a fast tempo it would really favor the Aggies.

Tonight's game is scheduled for a 9:00 p.m. (MT) tip-off and will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

It's gameday once again for the Aggie men and Aggie women. The men host San Jose State tonight in the Pan Am after dominating Utah State on Thursday night. It was the best complete game the Aggies have played this entire season. The Aggies held the league's most efficient offense to just 38 percent shooting, dictated play in the pain with seven blocks including five from Sim Bhullar who at this point is the leading candidate for WAC Freshman of the Year. Another key statistic is that Utah State shot just four free throws which is amazing considering the number of blocks the Aggies had. New Mexico State being able to block and alter shots without fouling is huge advantage if they can keep it up.

Over the course of Marvin Menzies' tenure we've become accustom to high-scoring Aggie teams. This year is different though. The Aggies don't have the explosive offense that they've had in the past, however, this year's team is becoming one of Coach Menzies best defensive teams he's had here which at the end of the day is going to help them win a championship. We'll take a team that can lock down the opposition over a team that has to rely on offense and outscore team any day of the week. Offense is fickle and and go through cold streaks but defense isn't subjected to cold streaks.

It is also no coincidence that the Aggies' five game win streak coincides by Bandja Sy's emergence on the offensive end. Mired in a season-long offensive funk, Sy is shooting 32-of-49 and averaging 18.8 points over the past five games. Maybe more importantly is Bandja has stopped relying on being a three point shooter taking just 11 attempts over the past five games (by comparison he took 22 three point attempts in the first five games of the season and 11 in back-to-back games against New Mexico, both losses).

Tonight the Aggies have a chance to run their win streak to six games. The Spartans come into the game off a huge loss against Denver on Thursday night scoring a season-low 37 points. The Spartans are last in the league in field goal percentage, two point field goal percentage and 9th in the league in three point shooting percentage. The Spartans do have the WAC's leading scorer in James Kinney at 20.6 points per game and forward Chris Cunningham is chipping in 10.8 points per game but no other Spartans are in double-digits scoring but Kinney and Garrett are both in San Jose due to violation of team rules (h/t Jason Groves).

The one thing the Aggies need to avoid is a letdown. The Aggies kept themselves in the thick of the WAC race by beating Utah State but a loss to the Spartans would undo all of that.

Tonight's game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. (MT) time and can be seen on AggieVision and ESPN3.com.

The Aggie women are also back in action tonight coming off a heartbreaking loss at Utah State. The Aggies led most of the game but lost 65-63 on a last-second three point shot. The Aggies had two chances at the free throw line in the final 17 seconds but both times missed the front end of one-and-one which kept it a one-point lead. Tonight the Aggies face San Jose State who comes into the game with just a 6-11 record but they're 3-3 in WAC play and have won two games in a row with a 103-80 win over Utah State and a much, much closer win over Denver, 68-67.

The Spartans are the youngest team in the country playing six freshmen and two sophomores and a junior. Ta'rea Cunningham, one of the two sophomore, is averaging 20.7 points per game. She is backed up by freshmen Emily Schill and Riana Bird who average 11.2 and 10.5 points per game.

This is a winnable game for the Aggies but it's another game in which the Aggies need this game to be in the 60s and not in the 70s, 80s or 90s. SJSU can score, they've hit the 80+ mark twice, the 90+ mark once and 100+ once while the Aggies have hit the 70+ mark just four times this season and have more often than not scored in the 50s and 60s with three games in the 40s and one game in the 30s.

One issue the Aggies have had during this three game losing streak is their free throw shooting. They shot just 12-for-22 in a six point loss to Seattle and the aforementioned one-and-one misses against Utah State which could have made the game a two, three, four or five point game had they made any combination of free throws.

San Jose State would like this game to be played at a fast pace. They're tops in the league and second in the country in possessions per 40 minutes at nearly 85. The Aggies have done a good job of keeping the games played at a pace they're more comfortable with.

Tonight's game is scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. (MT) tip-off.  Continue Reading This Post >>

The New Mexico State men's basketball team faces WAC rival Utah State tonight for the final time in the Pan Am at least for the foreseeable future. As it always is, it's an important game for the WAC race. The Aggies are 4-2 in league play, two games behind Utah State and Louisiana Tech in the loss column and a game behind Denver in the loss column. The Aggies also have the same number of losses as both San Jose State and UT Arlington. As we noted prior to the Idaho game, this stretch of games is going to determine whether the Aggies are going to contend for the regular season title. Because of the loss to UT Arlington in the opening game of WAC play, the Aggies must roll through this next set of three games with a 3-0 record or risk potentially falling behind Louisiana Tech and Utah State by three games and Denver by two (depending on their result against SJSU) particularly with trips to Denver and Utah State still to come later in the season.

With Utah State it's the same story this year as it seems to be every year. A gaudy record but question marks with regards to just how good a team they are. The UtAgs are 14-1 but it's against one of the weakest schedules in all of college basketball. USU is led by Preston Medlin who is averaging 16.1 points per game. He's hitting nearly 40 percent of his three point shots and almost 53 percent of his two point shots. Jarred Shaw and Kyisean Reed come in averaging 12.7 and 12.5 points per game respectively. As Jason Groves of the Sun-News has pointed, the Aggies match up well with Utah State and the Aggies can bother Utah State with their length defensively. The UtAgs are very efficient on offense as always. They're tops in the league in field goal percentage, second in two point field goal percentage, first in three point field goal percentage, assists per game, they're tops in assist to turnover ratio and they're tops in the league in offensive points per possession.

Defensively however, the Aggies can take advantage of USU. The UtAgs are just a mediocre defensive team by the numbers. Team are shooting 41.5 percent against them (5th), 46.5 from inside the arc (5th) and 33.4 percent from outside the arc (7th). Utah State is second last in the league in turnovers forced per game and opponent turnover rate.

One area that USU is good at is rebounding percentage. They lead the league at 56.5 percent on the season although in conference play they've dropped to 50.6 percent which is middle of the pack.

For the Aggies to win this game they'll need to rebound well, limit USU's second chance opportunities, defend for all 35 seconds of the shot clock and take the ball inside against USU. The Aggies hold an advantage in both size and athleticism and the Aggies need to take advantage of that as they've done in games past.

One other side note. Utah State comes into the game on a 13-game winning streak. New Mexico State has been a streakbuster for Utah State over the years. The Aggies have snapped Utah State win streaks of 17, 10, 7, 6 and 5 games.

As we noted on this week's podcast, we think New Mexico State wins tonight by ten or eleven points.

Tonight's game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. (MT) tip-off and can be seen on AggieVision and ESPN3.com.

The Aggie women are also back in action and are on the road this week to take on Utah State and San Jose State. The Aggies have their work cut out for them as both of these teams can put the ball in the basket which is something New Mexico State has struggled with this season. Utah State has scored at least 70 points ten times this season including three 80+ point games and two 90+ point games. San Jose State, which not quite as high-scoring, has scored 98 and 103 points in separate conference games this season.

USU is led by Devyn Christensen who is averaging 20.6 points per game and isn't shy about shooting it. She averages 19 shots per game and has deep three point range. Jenna Johnson at 13.9 points per game and Jennifer Schlott at 13.5 points per game are second and third in scoring for USU.

As you can imagine, the lady UtAgs play at a fast pace averaging over 80 possessions per game. They're not great defensively though ranking at the bottom in most defensive statistics.

As has been the case in a lot of the Aggies' games so far in conference it's going to be a battle between the Aggies' defense and the opponent's offense. If New Mexico State can keep this game in the 60's it really favors them, however, if they get into a track meet with Utah State it's going to be tough for New Mexico State to match USU's offense.

Tonight's game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. (MT) tip and can be heard on KSNM AM 570 in Las Cruces with streaming audio available via Aggie Access (subscription required).

The Aggie men's and women's basketball teams are back in action tonight as both teams take on Idaho. The Aggie women are looking to bounce back from a tough 60-54 loss to the Redhawks. The Aggies had no answer for Seattle's Kacie Sowell who finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds on 10-of-13 shooting. The good news for New Mexico State is that the Vandals don't have a player like Sowell. The Vandals do have Alyssa Charlston who is averaging 14.1 points per game and is hitting 47.3 percent of her shots from the floor. The Vandals have won eight of the past nine against the Aggies with the lone win by New Mexico State coming last season in the Pan Am.

Idaho is 2-2 in league play with losses to Utah State and Seattle and wins over Denver and San Jose State. Like Seattle, the Vandals play at a fast pace averaging 76 possessions per 40 minutes on the season and 80.2 possessions per 40 in their four conference games. The Vandals lead the league in three point shooting (conference games only) at 44.8 percent and are second in offensive points per possession (conference games only). This is going to be another tough game for New Mexico State given their inability at times to put the ball in the basket. The fact that Idaho has been hot shooting the three ball also does not help the Aggies' cause. Even though the Aggies rely heavily on their three point shooting, this might not be a team that the Aggies want to get into a three point shooting contest with. One player the Aggies need to really keep track of is Christina Salvatore who has taken 127 three point shots this season making 44.

Rebounding was a concern for the Aggies against Seattle and will be a concern against Idaho tonight. The Vandals are the best rebounding team in the league in terms of rebounds per game at 38.4 and are third in the league in rebounding percentage at 50.6 and an even better 43.5 rebounds per game and 56.6 rebounding percentage in the four conference game. The Vandals also don't put teams on the line very often averaging just 15.6 fouls per game.

The Aggies will likely try to slow the pace of this game down and a game in the upper 50's or low 60's favors the Aggies more than a game in the upper 60's and low 70's.

Tonight's game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. tip-off and can be seen on AggieVision and ESPN3.com

The Aggie men will look to use the momentum of their double-overtime victory over Seattle as they enter a critical four-game stretch in conference play. The Aggies play three of the four teams ahead of them over the next four. The combined conference record of those four teams is 14-5.

At 9-8 this is just the second time this season that the Aggies have been above .500. The last time the Aggies were above .500 was at 5-4 after their win over South Alabama. As we noted, this is a crucial stretch for the Aggies and will really determine whether or not the Aggies will contend for the regular season title. The Aggies already trail Louisiana Tech and Utah State by two games in the loss column and can't afford to lose any more ground. We predicted that 15-3 would likely win the regular season and we still think that's the case.

Idaho is 2-1 in league play with their loss coming at the hands of Utah State in overtime in Logan in a game that the Vandals should have won after leading by eight points three different times including as late at 3:38 left in regulation.

Idaho is shooting 47 percent on the season and 47.4 percent in conference play, however, their points per game has decreased since entering league play. The Vandals are averaging 67.9 points per game on the season but just 64.8 in league play. The Vandals have been hitting 34.8 percent of their three point attempts which is fourth best in the league.

The Vandals' defensive numbers aren't great. They're allowing teams to shoot 43.6 percent from the floor on the year, though in conference play that has improved significantly to 38.6 percent and just 22.5 percent from three point distance.

Idaho does not force a lot of turnovers. In fact they're dead last in the league in turnovers forced per game (7.5) and opponent turnover rate (12 percent). They're not a great rebounding team either which is another area the Aggies should have an advantage in.

The Aggies need to contain Idaho's Connor Hill who is hitting 46.2 percent of his three point attempts (36-for-78) and the matchup between Sim Bhullar and Kyle Barone will be an interesting one. Barone has been at or near the top of the league in field goal percentage each of his seasons in the WAC but has never had to go up against someone like Bhullar (it's pretty safe to say that nobody in the league has ever had that challenge until this season).

Barone and Madison are averaging 15.3 and 15.2 points per game respectively with the aforementioned Hill averagign 10.4 points per game.

Tonight's game is scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. (MT) tip-off and can be heard on the Aggie Sports Network with Jack Nixon calling the action. Live Stats will be available via the Idaho athletic website.

Conference action resumes tonight for both the Aggie men's and women's basketball teams. It's a chance for the Aggie men's team to notch their first road win of the conference season as they take on Seattle and for the women it's a chance to slide into a first place tie with Seattle if they can defeat the Redhawks tonight in the Pan Am.

Tonight's men's game at Seattle sees the Aggies take on a Redhawks team that despite being 0-3 in league play, hasn't exactly had the easiest road to start. The WAC schedule makers did Seattle no favors in basically starting them off with the better half (on paper heading into the season) of the conference when you consider their first seven conference games are against Idaho, Utah State, San Jose State, New Mexico State, Denver, UT Arlington and Louisiana Tech (welcome to the conference Seattle).

So what does Seattle do well that should concern the Aggies tonight? First of all they're the best rebounding team in the league at 37.9 per game and a rebounding percentage of 56.6 percent which is slightly better than the Aggies' rebounding percentage of 56.4 percent. The Redhawks also crash the offensive glass averaging 15 offensive boards per game, tops in the conference. That's something that has given the Aggies some trouble at times this season. In the loss to UT Arlington the Aggies have up 17 offensive boards but have done a much better job the last three games of limiting their opponents' offensive rebounds.

Seattle plays fast. They average 75.7 possessions per game, however, they only average 0.913 points per possession which is second worst in the league. The Redhawks also turn the ball over one out of every four possessions so their could be some opportunity for some easy buckets tonight for the Aggies.

The leading scorers for Seattle average 11 and 10.5 points per game respectively and they're a relatively small team, though they do have a 6'11" freshman center who will likely see a bunch of time tonight against Sim, although he comes into the game only averaging 10 minutes per game. This should be another big game for Sim. There's really no reason to shy away from what the Aggies have been doing with him over the course of the past few games. Sim finishes last week 16-for-17 from the floor, 3-for-4 from the free throw line and had eight boards and four blocks in the two Aggie wins.

This is a game the Aggies should win, although we certainly felt that way when the Aggies went up against UT Arlington as well. The Aggies need to establish themselves on the road in conference play and because of the loss at UTA the Aggies are going to have to steal some road wins somewhere and this trip is one where, if they are going to win the regular season, they're going to have to sweep this road trip.

Tonight's game is scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. (MT) tip-off and can be seen on Root Sports.

The Aggie women host Seattle tonight and they have a chance to run their win streak to four games and with that they could forge their way into a tie for first place. The Redhawks have three players who average double-digits in scoring led by Kacie Sowell's 17.2 points per game. Ashley Ward and Sylvia Shepard average 14.4 and 14.2 points per game respectively.

The Redhawks play fast averaging 78.2 possessions per game but much like their male counterparts, they're not particularly efficient on offense averaging 0.841 points per possession which is middle of the WAC. The Redhawks do lead the league in field goal percentage at 41.3 percent per game and 47 percent from inside the arc. The Redhawks aren't a great three point shooting team hitting just 23.1 percent per game which is dead last in the league.

The Redhawks aren't a great defensive team ranking ninth in overall field goal percentage defense, tenth in two-point field goal percentage defense but they are fourth in three point field goal percentage defense (although that could mean that teams are more willing to abandon the three point shot because they know they can score inside the arc). One area the Redhawks are strong defensively is in turnovers. They force just over 24 per game and their opponents are turning the ball over nearly once every three possessions. This hasn't really been an issue for the Aggies this season but depending on which team is able to impose their style of play, it could become an issue.

Seattle turns the ball over a lot, nearly 23 turnovers per game so there could be some easy points for the Aggie women tonight as well. Seattle is the league's best rebounding team in terms of rebounding percentage at 53.4 percent.

The Aggies continue to play pretty solid defense and once again if they can lock down defensively they'll have a chance. And as always they need to avoid those three-plus minute scoring droughts if they are to have a chance to win tonight.

The game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. (MT) tip-off and can be seen on AggieVision and ESPN3.com