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

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.

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

All-WAC Selections

The 2012-2013 WAC Awards have been released. Here you go:

Player of the Year    Kyle Barone, Idaho    The Senior center put together another dominant season leading the WAC in scoring and rebounding (16.8 points per game and 9.9 rebounds per game). He also hits 59% of his shots. I am happy to see him win this award even though he plays on a bad team. I thought this award was Appleby's just because he played for the best team. Anyway, Kyle Barone is very deserving of this award and finally, the WAC got it right.

My Player of the Year    Kyle Barone, Idaho
______________________________________________________________

Coach of the Year    Michael White, Louisiana Tech    In his second season as head coach, White has established himself as a fantastic one. He has led a team of 2 Seniors, 5 Juniors, 5 Sophomores, and 3 freshmen to a 26-5 record en route to a first place WAC finish. He completely deserves this award and has changed the Louisiana Tech program around.

My Coach of the Year    Michael White, Louisiana Tech
______________________________________________________________

Freshman of the Year    Sim Bhullar, New Mexico State    Completely deserved. Bhullar took over the NMSU starting center role after junior Tshilidzi Nephawe was out for the season. Big Sim finished his freshman year leading the WAC in FG% (61.5%) and was second in blocks (2.4). He tallied 73 blocks this year- an NMSU single-season record.

My Newcomer of the Year    Sim Bhullar, New Mexico State
______________________________________________________________

All-WAC 1st Team
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech
Kenneth Smith, Louisiana Tech
Bandja Sy, New Mexico State
Chris Udofia, Denver
Kyle Barone, Idaho

My All-WAC 1st Team
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech    Deserved. 14.5 points per game. My
                                                                   pre-season Player of the Year
Spencer Butterfield, Utah State    Carried the UtAgs after Medlin & Reed went
                                                            down.
Daniel Mullings, NMSU    Lead WAC in steals (2.2), 8th in scoring (14.0), just
                                                 a flat-out dynamic player. Should be on 1st team.
Chris Udofia, Denver    An all-around force, 10th in scoring (12.7), helped
                                          Denver to 2nd place finish.
Kyle Barone, Idaho    Refer to above.
____________________________________________________________

All-WAC 2nd Team
Chase Hallam, Denver
Daniel Mullings, New Mexico State
Joel Wright, Texas State
Spencer Butterfield, Utah State
Jarred Shaw, Utah State

My All-WAC 2nd Team
Michael Hale III, UT-San Antonio    4th in scoring (16.1), 3rd in assists (3.8). All
                                                                 on an awful team.
Kenneth Smith, Louisiana Tech    Lead WAC in assists (5.3), 3rd in steals (1.7),
                                                             barely missed MY 1st team cut.
Bandja Sy, NMSU    Averaged 11.8 points per game and was sixth in rebounding
                                      (7.3). Led NMSU after a slow start.
Joel Wright, Texas State    Tied for lead in WAC for scoring (17.1), 2-time player
                                                of week.
Sim Bhullar, NMSU    Lead WAC in FG% (61.5), 3rd in blocks (2.4), took over
                                         as starter after Nephawe's injury.
______________________________________________________________

All-WAC 3rd Team
Michael Hale III, UT-San Antonio
Brett Olson, Denver
Kevin Butler, UT-Arlington
Royce O'Neale, Denver
Sim Bhullar, New Mexico State

My All-WAC 3rd Team
Kannon Burrage, UT-San Antonio
Brett Olson, Denver
Kevin Butler, UT-Arlington
Royce O'Neale, Denver
Jarred Shaw, Utah State
______________________________________________________________

All-WAC Defense Team
Chase Hallam, Denver
Daniel Mullings, New Mexico State
Kenneth Smith, Louisiana Tech
Michale Kyser, Louisiana Tech
Chris Udofia, Denver

My All-WAC Defense Team
Chase Hallam, Denver    2nd in steals (2.1)
Daniel Mullings, NMSU    Lead WAC in steals (2.2)
Kenneth Smith, Louisiana Tech    3rd in steals (1.7)
Michale Kyser, Louisiana Tech    Lead WAC in blocks (2.7)
Sim Bhullar, NMSU    3rd in blocks (2.4)
______________________________________________________________

All-WAC Newcomer Team
Alex Hamilton, Louisiana Tech
Spencer Butterfield, Utah State
Jarred Shaw, Utah State
Joel Wright, Texas State
Sim Bhullar, New Mexico State

My All-WAC Newcomer Team
Alex Hamilton, Louisiana Tech    Freshman. 34th in scoring (7.8)
Spencer Butterfield, Utah State    Refer to above.
Jarred Shaw, Utah State    Jr. Transfer. 7th in scoring (14), 4th in rebounds (8.4).
Joel Wright, Texas State    Jr. Transfer. Tied for 1st in scoring (17.1)
Sim Bhullar, NMSU    Refer to above.
______________________________________________________________

What do you think?

Let me know in the comments below...

Or, Tweet me! @JoeTheWigBoy..... #AskTheWig























To see my pre-season selections... CLICK HERE

This Day in NMSU History: March 10, 2012

March 10, 2012

The New Mexico State Aggies were looking to secure their third WAC title in five years as they faced the young, upstart Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in the 2012 WAC Championship game.

#2 NMSU defeated #7 Fresno State and #6 Hawaii to get to the title game, while #5 LaTech defeated #4 Utah State and defeated the heavily-favored #1 Nevada Wolfpack in the semi-finals, who went 28-7 in the regular season.

It was over from the very beginning in Las Vegas as the Aggies took a demanding 38-20 lead into the locker room and led by as many as 28 in the second half.

When the final buzzer sounded, the New Mexico State Aggies (26-9) defeated the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (18-16) by a score of 82-57 to win the WAC Tournament Title.

Senior Wendell McKines went out on top as he poured in 27 points and 14 rebounds. McKines was named the Tournament MVP while teammates Tyrone Watson and Hernst Laroche also made first-team.

The Aggies then advanced to the NCAA Tournament, but lost to Indiana in the first round.

It was an incredible season for New Mexico State.

And yes... Here are some pics from the 2012 WAC Championship game:

Panamaniacs Rush the Floor

Wendell McKines, Tournament MVP

WAC Champs

McKines Cutting Down the Net

NMSU Hands LaTech First WAC Defeat

   Las Cruces, NM- Fans saw the nation's longest winning streak come to an end Thursday as New Mexico State (20-10, 13-4) defeated Louisiana Tech (26-4, 16-1) by a score of 78-60. LaTech entered the game with an 18 game winning streak.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 21-10 lead through the first nine minutes of action, but never really held it together again.

NMSU then used an 18-2 run to take the 28-23 lead with 6:19 left. The Aggies entered the locker rooms up 43-34.

LaTech pulled within four points, 46-50, with 13 minutes left, but that was the closest they ever were for the remainder of the game. This was a very impressive win.

New Mexico State was led by guard Daniel Mullings who had 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals. Tyrone Watson recorded his first double-double since 2011 with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Sim Bhullar had 5 blocks. Bandja Sy and Terrel de Rouen each pitched in with double-figure scoring as well (12 & 10).

LaTech was led by Raheem Appleby, who had 13 points.

With Denver's victory over UT-Arlington, NMSU has been locked in at the 3-seed in the WAC Tournament and will take on #6 Idaho on Thursday.

Just an off note: Various students were constantly booing Tyrone Watson, who played in his first game in the PanAm since his suspension... This bothered me. Not because of what he did, but the fact that he is a member of the Aggies' basketball team and is a 5th year Senior. Another thing I noticed was the Las Cruces crowd's attitude toward K.C. Ross-Miler. I know de Rouen is from LC, but come on...

The Aggies finish off the regular season on Saturday as they take on UT-Arlington on Senior Night! The last game in the PanAm for Bandja Sy and Tyrone Watson.

Player of the Game: Daniel Mullings (23 pts, 8 reb, 4 stl)

Next Game: Saturday, March 9 vs UT-Arlington (17-11, 11-6) at 7:00 MST

GO AGGIES

NMSU falls to Denver

   Denver, CO- The Denver Pioneers (19-8, 14-2) simply out-played New Mexico State (19-10, 12-4) in the second half to defeat the Aggies 66-60 on Saturday. The win put Denver all alone in second place in the WAC, trailing only LaTech. The loss knocked NMSU down to third place and out of WAC regular-season title contention (they were out anyway before the loss).

NMSU took a 28-27 lead into the locker room and quickly jumped out to a 34-27 lead with 16:26 left in the second half. At the under 12 minute timeout, the Aggies had a slight 42-40 lead.

Cue the Denver run.

The Pioneers went on a 14-1 run that lasted just over 7 minutes to take a commanding 54-43 lead with 5:08 left.

But just like they have done all season long, the Aggies rallied back. Sophomore Daniel Mullings sparked NMSU by scoring 6 points and recording a steal in a span of 50 seconds to make the deficit 55-51 with 3:16 left.

Out of a timeout with 1:51 remaining, Bandja Sy nailed a three-pointer to make it a one-point game. After a pair of Denver free throws, NMSU was down by three looking for a basket. But, a turnover by Sy led to a wide-open three by Pioneer Chase Hallam to put Denver up by six with 49 seconds left. Sy answered that three with another one of his own to make the score 60-57.

Kevin Aronis came into the game and missed two 3's as Denver converted on six straight free throws to put the game out of reach 66-57. For style points, Bandja Sy nailed his third three-pointer of the game with four seconds left to play. That made the final outcome 66-60.

Statistically, NMSU played a great game- EXCEPT turnovers.

As a team, they shot 20-41 FG (48.8%) and 3-6 on threes (50%- Sy went 3-3).

One of the best things the Aggies executed was free throw shooting. They shot 17-21, good for 81%. Sim Bhullar went 5-9... resulting in NMSU's only misses from the charity strike.

Senior Tyrone Watson returned to the court after his 30-day/7-game suspension to play 38 minutes, score 10 points, and record 5 assists. Bandja Sy had a great game scoring 21 points with 11 rebounds. Sim Bhullar had 17 points on 6-7 shooting and 4 blocks.

The Aggies committed 18 turnovers- seven by Daniel Mullings.

One of the interesting things I noticed was the Aggies have gone away from the seven-man rotation that helped win 12 games in a row. Nine guys saw playing time today.

Also, I was SHOCKED, yes, SHOCKED, that Renaldo Dixon only saw seven minutes of playing time. This is the guy who has arguably been the New Mexico State MVP of the season.

The Aggies look ahead as ranked Louisiana Tech comes to the PanAm with an insane 26-3 record on Thursday.

Player of the Game: Bandja Sy (21 pts, 11 reb)

Next Game: Thursday, March 7 vs LaTech (26-3, 16-0) at 7:00 MST