Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The New Mexico State men's basketball team is slated to face Bucknell and Niagara in the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project.

The Aggies travel to Niagara Falls, N.Y., to take on Bucknell, Nov. 17 and Niagara, Nov. 18. Additionally, NM State opens the event and season at Oregon State, Nov. 11, and the game will be nationally televised on ESPNU with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

The Crimson and White have seven returners and two redshirts including a pair of seniors back in 2012-13 after posting a 26-10 record last year following a WAC Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance.

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - After winning the 2012 WAC Tournament Championship and making its 19th NCAA Tournament appearance, the New Mexico State men's basketball team returns to the court in 2012-13 with 16 regular season home games at the Pan American Center. The schedule also features a Pac-12 opponent and two 2012 NCAA Tournament teams.

Sixth-year head coach Marvin Menzies said he was happy with the schedule that includes non-conferences games against Oregon State, New Mexico, UTEP, Southern Mississippi, Missouri State and South Alabama.

"I'm excited about the schedule for several reasons, one being that we have a lot of opportunities to play teams who have will very good RPIs (Ratings Percentage Index) that we believe will benefit us in the long run," Menzies said. "Having trips to New York and Oregon State and playing games of that magnitude will benefit us in conference play as it has in the past."

The Aggies host Western New Mexico (Nov. 5) in their lone exhibition game of the year before opening the 2012-13 season at Oregon State (Nov. 11) in Corvallis, Ore. This is the fourth consecutive season NM State has started the season with a road contest, and it is the first game of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project.

The Aggies return to Las Cruces to meet Southeastern Louisiana (Nov. 15) in the home opener, which is a part of a doubleheader with the NM State volleyball team. The Crimson and White then return to the road for two additional games in the 2K Sports Classic in New York (Nov. 17-18) with opponents to be announced soon.

NM State concludes a stretch of five games in nine days in Las Cruces with Northern New Mexico College (Nov. 21) and Louisiana (Nov. 23), which is in honor of former Aggie Kelsey Crooks. The Aggies travel to El Paso, Texas, for the first rivalry game of the season at UTEP (Nov. 28).

The Aggies welcome Southern Mississippi to the Pan Am for the first time in school history (Dec. 1), before they face South Alabama (Dec. 4) in Mobile, Ala. Following fall exams, NM State faces in-state rival New Mexico (Dec. 15) in Albuquerque, N.M., prior to the rematch in Las Cruces (Dec. 19). The Aggies host Missouri State (Dec. 22) before WAC play begins.

The conference slate starts on the road at UT-Arlington (Dec. 29) and Louisiana Tech (Dec. 31). NM State hosts UTSA (Jan. 3) and Texas State (Jan. 5). The Aggies travel west to Seattle (Jan. 10) and Idaho (Jan. 12).

A three-game home stand includes Utah State (Jan. 17), San Jose State (Jan. 19) and Denver (Jan. 23). The Aggies start the second half of WAC action at Texas State (Jan. 31) and UTSA (Feb. 2). NM State hosts Idaho (Feb. 7) and Seattle (Feb. 9) in the Lou Henson Classic before travelling to San Jose State (Feb. 14) and Utah State (Feb. 16).

The Aggies take a break from conference play and host UTEP (Feb. 23) prior to the final road game of the year at Denver (March 2). NM State concludes the regular season at home against Louisiana Tech (March 7) and UT-Arlington (March 9).

NM State defends its WAC title at the conference tournament March 13-16 in Las Vegas, Nev.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - New Mexico State men's basketball head coach Marvin Menzies has signed Kevin Aronis and Matej Buovac to National Letters of Intent. The duo joins the Aggies for the 2012-13 season.

Aronis (pronounced Ah-ROW-niss) is a 6-3 shooting guard from Sebastopol, Calif., and Buovac (Mah-tay BOO-ah-vec) is a 6-7 small forward from Zagreb, Croatia.

"Obviously, we had a weakness in the area of shooting the ball last year, so we tried to identify some guys that could help us in that area, along with doing some other things," Menzies said. "Both of them are high character kids with good academic foundations and are great people. We are really excited to be able to add both Kevin and Matej to the Aggie family."  Continue Reading This Post >>

New Mexico State senior forward Wendell McKines has been invited to play in the 60th annual Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in Portsmouth, VA. McKines is one of 64 college seniors invited to play in the annual event featuring some of college basketball's best seniors. The P.I.T. will be played April 11 - 14th. There are eight teams consisting of eight players on each team.

2012 Teams/Rosters | Player List/Stats | Schedule

History of the P.I.T.

Each year for 58 years the P.I.T has invited 64 of the best college basketball players (seniors) from across the nation to participate in a four-day, twelve game tournament in front of representatives from every NBA team. The tournament drew the attention of NBA Scouts and General Managers in the mid-70's when players like Dave Cowens, John Lucas, Walt Szczerbiak and Bobby Cremins came to Portsmouth to play. Soon the word spread and approximately 200 Scouts, General Managers and Representatives of all 30 NBA teams began to come to see players like John Stockton, Dennis Rodman, Tim Hardaway, Scottie Pippen and others. Today scouts from numerous international leagues have joined in on the annual April pilgrimage to Portsmouth. Over the years the P.I.T. has been a showcase for five of the 50 greatest players in NBA History (Rick Barry, Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, Dave Cowens, John Stockton, Scottie Pippen) and for many others who have gone on to NBA stardom.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - New Mexico State redshirt senior forward Wendell McKines has been picked to play in the 2012 Reese's Division I College All-Star game, Friday, March 30 at 3:35 p.m. at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) selected the rosters for the all-star game, which will be played as part of Final Four Friday during the 2012 NCAA Men's Final Four weekend. The game features 20 of the nation's most outstanding seniors from NCAA Division I.

The Reese's College All-Star Game will be broadcast Saturday, March 31 at 11 a.m. on TruTV.

McKines is a member of the west all-star team. He led the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament and averaged 18.7 points and 10.7 rebounds this season.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Courtesy ASAP Sports

Q.  What have you observed about New Mexico State in the time you've watched them on film?
CODY ZELLER:  They're definitely very athletic.  And there's a reason why they're in the NCAA tournament.  They're definitely very athletic.  They like to crash the boards.  We're going to have to do a nice job of getting the defensive rebounds.  They're definitely a very talented team.

Q.  How does the Big Ten season and playing in that conference prepared you to play against a physical team like this?
JORDAN HULLS:  Helped us out a lot playing against the Michigan States and Ohio States, all of the Big Ten is a very physical conference.  It really got us ready for this game because New Mexico State, they play physical.  They crash the boards a lot, so we've got to do a good job of boxing out.

Q.  You've known for awhile you were going to be in the tournament.  Can you talk about the reaction you've had from friends, fans, fellow students since the announcement was made on Sunday night that you guys were actually back in the tournament?
CHRISTIAN WATFORD:  We received a lot of support from our friends and family.  They've been with us throughout the whole year.  It's given them something to cheer for.

Q.  I'm curious, have you all been able to get your family out here to Portland?  I know that's always an issue with some guys.  I know the NCAA probably ought to help family members get out here.  Are all three of your family members coming out here?
CODY ZELLER:  My parents are going to watch Tyler in Greensboro, because he's the favorite.
CHRISTIAN WATFORD:  My family is on their way out here right now.
JORDAN HULLS:  My parents, my aunt, my cousin and my brother are coming.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Tickets to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament are on sale now at the Pan American Center ticket office.

The Aggies earned a #13 seed and will play #4 seed Indiana on Thursday night in Portland, Oregon. Tickets are $81 per session and can be ordered in person at the Pan Am Center ticket office or by calling 575-646-1420. The session ticket includes the NM State vs. Indiana game at 6:45PM, plus the Wichita State vs. Virginia Commonwealth game at 4:15PM (times listed are Pacific).

Because of the quick turn-around time, all physical tickets will be available at will call in Portland.

With a victory over Indiana, the Aggies would advance to the round of 32 and play on Saturday in Portland. Again, tickets for that session would be $81 each and may be purchased through NM State ticket personnel on site in Portland.

The New Mexico State men's basketball team learned it's seeding and first round opponent on Sunday afternoon during the NCAA Tournament selection show. The Aggies received a 13-seed and will face 4-seed Indiana out of the Big Ten conference. The Aggies are 26-9 and coming off their second WAC tournament victory in three seasons. The Hoosiers are 25-8 and ranked 15th in the latest AP poll. Indiana finished the season with a 2-1 record on neutral courts and 5-6 away from Assembly Hall in Bloomington. The Aggies finished the season 5-1 on neutral courts and 7-5 away from the Pan American Center.

Indiana is led in scoring by freshman forward Cody Zeller who is averaging 15.5 points per game to go along with 6.4 rebounds per game. Forward Christian Watford is second in scoring at 12.0 points per game.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - New Mexico State redshirt senior forward Wendell McKines was named to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-District VIII team, the organization announced.

This is McKines' first all-district honor. He collected first team All-WAC accolades and WAC Player of the Week honors this week. He led the Aggies and WAC in both scoring and rebounding with 18.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. McKines has posted 18 double-doubles this year, which ranks sixth in the nation.

This season, he became the second player in school history to record 1,000-career points and 1,000-career rebounds. He was the second active player in the NCAA (T.J. Robinson, Long Beach State) and 12th player in WAC history to achieve the feat.

Written By: WAC Media Relations

DENVER, CO - New Mexico State’s Wendell McKines has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 27-March 4. The honor marks the second career WAC Player of the Week for McKines.

McKines, a senior forward from Oakland, Calif. (Richmond HS), led the Aggies to a 1-1 road record last week. McKines pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds and scored 20 points in a come-from-behind win at Fresno State in overtime on Saturday. The performance marked his 16th 20-point game of the season. He tied personal-best marks with four made 3-pointers, including three in the overtime period, and eight 3-point attempts. He also recorded his 18th double-double of the season and 45th of his career in the victory at Fresno State. At Nevada on Thursday night, McKines had a team-high 10 points and 13 rebounds.   Continue Reading This Post >>