Phoenix, AZ- The Aggies entered conference play with incredibly high expectations, and put any doubters to sleep after a convincing 84-62 win over Grand Canyon Saturday night at GCU Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. NMSU improved to 12-5 on the season and 1-0 in Western Athletic Conference play.
The Aggies scored 84 points on the 'Lopes (6-9, 1-1) on Saturday, without star center Sim Bhullar. Bhullar apparently suffered a minor foot bruise last week vs. South Alabama. "Better to be safe than sorry," was coach Marvin Menzies.
Senior post Renaldo Dixon started in place of Bhullar and went on to score 8 points to go along with 6 rebounds. But the real story of the game was Kevin Aronis. The senior guard scored a career-high 20 points on 6-8 shooting from behind the arc.
Junior DK Eldridge recorded his second consecutive double-double recording 14 points and 10 rebounds. Daniel Mullings had 15 points for the Aggies while Chili Nephawe nearly missed double figures with 9 points, but managed to snag a team-high 11 boards.
Grand Canyon, coached by former Phoenix Suns great Dan Majerle, struggled right out of the gate and quickly found themselves down 45-31 at halftime. Junior Jerome Garrison lit up the Aggies with 25 points, but that was all the 'Lopes had on Saturday. They fell to 1-1 in WAC play after opening up with a victory over Texas-Pan Am on Thursday.
Moving forward, the Aggies will have a home-stand next week vs. Seattle (Thursday) and vs. Idaho (Saturday)
Oh, and just another note... The New Mexico Lobos beat Grand Canyon (in the PIT) by 12 points... NMSU won by 22 points IN Phoenix. Just sayin'.
Player of the Game: Kevin Aronis (20 points, 6-8 3PT shooting)
Next Game: Thursday, January 9th vs Seattle (8-6, 0-1) at the Pan Am
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
2013-2014 WAC Preview
First off, I would like to say Happy New Year! It feels good to be in the blogging mood again. Western Athletic Conference play begins tomorrow night. This year, only three teams remain in the WAC from last season: defending champions New Mexico State, Idaho, and Seattle. Will these three teams completely demolish the other six new coming teams in the conference? Or will the new schools like Grand Canyon or Chicago State make some noise? Without further ado, lets preview the 2013-2014 WAC season.
Awards & Accolades
Player of the Year: Daniel Mullings (New Mexico State)
Coach of the Year: Marvin Menzies (New Mexico State)
All-WAC First Team
G Daniel Mullings (NMSU)
G Isiah Umipig (SEA)
F Stephen Madison (ID)
C Sim Bhullar (NMSU)
C Killian Larson (GCU)
All-WAC Second Team
G Connor Hill (ID)
G K.C. Ross-Miller (NMSU)
F Fred Chatmon (UMKC)
F Tshilidzi Nephawe (NMSU)
F Deshaun Sunderhaus (SEA)
Predicting these All-WAC teams was extremely difficult. With the only exceptions being Mullings, Madison, and Bhullar.
Standings
1. New Mexico State (15-1)
2. Idaho (13-3)
3. Seattle (10-6)
4. Cal State Bakersfield (8-8)
5. Utah Valley (8-8)
6. Grand Canyon (7-9)
7. Texas- Pan American (6-10)
8. UMKC (6-10)
9. Chicago State (4-12)
Friday, August 9, 2013
WR Franklin Ruled Ineligible for 2013
Las Cruces, NM- Right when everything was looking awesome for the New Mexico State football team, head coach Doug Martin ruled that star wide receiver Austin Franklin is academically ineligible for the 2013 college football season.
"He didn't meet the standard of an Aggie football player. We move on," said coach Martin. "He will redshirt this year. He needs to mature, he needs to grow up."
The junior wide receiver led the Aggies last season with 74 receptions for 1,245 yards and 9 touchdowns.
On July 16, Franklin was named to the pre-season 2013 Biletnikoff Award watch list. The Biletnikoff Award recognizes the most outstanding receivers in college football.
To be eligible for the fall season, he needed to retain a 1.9 GPA, which he failed to keep up with. Franklin was held out of spring practices and had been attending summer classes trying to get caught up academically.
According to a press release on Friday, coach Martin said that Franklin will still practice with the Aggies throughout the season.
If New Mexico State is going to reach a bowl game for the first time since 1960, they will need to find production at the receiver position. Junior receivers Jerrel Brown, Joseph Matthews, and Adam Shapiro are all going to be counted on to produce this season in Franklin's place.
Martin added, "If I'm not mistaken, last year we were 1-11 with Austin Franklin. No one out here is irreplaceable."
"He didn't meet the standard of an Aggie football player. We move on," said coach Martin. "He will redshirt this year. He needs to mature, he needs to grow up."
The junior wide receiver led the Aggies last season with 74 receptions for 1,245 yards and 9 touchdowns.
On July 16, Franklin was named to the pre-season 2013 Biletnikoff Award watch list. The Biletnikoff Award recognizes the most outstanding receivers in college football.
To be eligible for the fall season, he needed to retain a 1.9 GPA, which he failed to keep up with. Franklin was held out of spring practices and had been attending summer classes trying to get caught up academically.
According to a press release on Friday, coach Martin said that Franklin will still practice with the Aggies throughout the season.
If New Mexico State is going to reach a bowl game for the first time since 1960, they will need to find production at the receiver position. Junior receivers Jerrel Brown, Joseph Matthews, and Adam Shapiro are all going to be counted on to produce this season in Franklin's place.
Martin added, "If I'm not mistaken, last year we were 1-11 with Austin Franklin. No one out here is irreplaceable."
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Tanveer Bhullar Commits to NMSU
Las Cruces, NM- New Mexico State men's basketball coach Marvin Menzies has added 7-foot-3 center Tanveer Bhullar to the recruiting class of 2013. He is the younger brother of current Aggie center, 7-foot-5 Sim Bhullar.
Bhullar, a native of Toronto, graduated from Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School in Ontario this past season. He helped lead the Crusaders to a 38-2 record while averaging 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks per game.
"Tanveer is a very talented center with a bright future. We welcome him to Aggie Nation," said head coach Marvin Menzies.
Bhullar is eligible to play for NMSU during the 2013-2014 season.
He joins fellow recruit DK Eldridge, a 6-2 incoming guard from New Mexico Junior College, and guard Travon Landry, from Dallas, Texas.
Monday, March 18, 2013
On to the Big Dance...
After celebrating their third WAC Tournament title in four years, the New Mexico State Aggies flew back home to Las Cruces for selection Sunday, to see who they would play in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
The Aggies (24-10) were selected as a 13-seed and will be taking on the 4-seed Saint Louis Billikens (27-6) in the Midwest Region of the bracket.
The second round game will be played on Thursday, March 21, at 12:10 MT in San Jose, California.
The Billikens won the Atlantic-10 Tournament for the first time since 2000 and are making their second consecutive appearance in the Big Dance.
They have some great wins on their resume.. They defeated the New Mexico Lobos 60-46, as well as sweeping tournament participants Butler and VCU. This is a solid team. Or, I guess they are?
I do not recall seeing or hearing so many analysts jumping on a team's bandwagon faster then I have seen in the past two days. Apparently, Saint Louis is a team that could very well beat #1 overall Louisville in the Sweet Sixteen. Are you serious? They are ranked 138th in scoring and 251st in rebounding... Ok? Weird.
Anyway, the point is that New Mexico State is making their 20th tournament appearance, and are looking to end their current six-game NCAA Tournament losing streak.
Check out the next blog coming on Wednesday previewing the game.
GO AGGIES!!!
Twitter: @JoeTheWigBoy
Sunday, March 17, 2013
NMSU Wins 3rd WAC Title in 4 Years
Las Vegas, NV - For the third time in four years, the New Mexico State Aggies are going dancing! They defeated the UT-Arlington Mavericks 64-55 on Saturday in the 2013 WAC Tournament Championship game.
The Aggies (24-10) had to fight off a UTA rally at the end, but eventually got it done. NMSU opened the second half up on a 19-8 run to lead 51-38, their biggest lead of the night with 11:27 left.
Freshman Sim Bhullar carried NMSU to victory with a dominating 16 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots.
With the victory, New Mexico State has won a total of four WAC titles in eight years since joining the conference prior to the 2005-2006 season.
Sorry for this blog being so short, but I was unprepared to write it. Future blogs will be linked with this one.
The Aggies (24-10) had to fight off a UTA rally at the end, but eventually got it done. NMSU opened the second half up on a 19-8 run to lead 51-38, their biggest lead of the night with 11:27 left.
Freshman Sim Bhullar carried NMSU to victory with a dominating 16 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots.
With the victory, New Mexico State has won a total of four WAC titles in eight years since joining the conference prior to the 2005-2006 season.
Sorry for this blog being so short, but I was unprepared to write it. Future blogs will be linked with this one.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
2013 WAC Tournament Schedule
The 2013 WAC Tournament starts on Tuesday, March 12 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
Here is a schedule:
March 12 (Tuesday)
Game 1 - First Round
#7 Texas State vs. #10 Seattle, 7:00 MT
Game 2- First Round
#8 San Jose State vs. #9 Texas State, 9:30 MT
March 14 (Thursday)
Game 3 - Quarterfinals
#3 New Mexico State vs. #6 Idaho, 1:00 MT
Game 4 - Quarterfinals
#2 Denver vs. Winner of Game 1, 3:30 MT
Game 5 - Quarterfinals
#1 Louisiana Tech vs. Winner of Game 2, 7:00 MT
Game 6 - Quarterfinals
#4 UT-Arlington vs. #5 Utah State, 9:30 MT
March 15 (Friday)
Game 7 - Semifinals
Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 7:00 MT
Game 8 - Semifinals
Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6, 9:30 MT
March 16 (Saturday)
Game 9 - Championship
Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8, 9:00 MT
Here is a schedule:
March 12 (Tuesday)
Game 1 - First Round
#7 Texas State vs. #10 Seattle, 7:00 MT
Game 2- First Round
#8 San Jose State vs. #9 Texas State, 9:30 MT
March 14 (Thursday)
Game 3 - Quarterfinals
#3 New Mexico State vs. #6 Idaho, 1:00 MT
Game 4 - Quarterfinals
#2 Denver vs. Winner of Game 1, 3:30 MT
Game 5 - Quarterfinals
#1 Louisiana Tech vs. Winner of Game 2, 7:00 MT
Game 6 - Quarterfinals
#4 UT-Arlington vs. #5 Utah State, 9:30 MT
March 15 (Friday)
Game 7 - Semifinals
Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 7:00 MT
Game 8 - Semifinals
Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6, 9:30 MT
March 16 (Saturday)
Game 9 - Championship
Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8, 9:00 MT
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