New Mexico State has been a quality program for a long time. But this year is different.
It seemed like that when the Aggies swept their annual early-season home-and-homes with longtime rivals New Mexico and Texas-El Paso. It looked like a pretty good bet when they won what was essentially a road game against Illinois last weekend. And it can be said for certain now after NMSU has announced its arrival on the scene with a pair of exciting wins on national television in the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii, the latest a 63-54 victory over previously undefeated and sixth-ranked Miami (Fla.) Saturday night.
The Aggies took the lead late in the first half and never gave it back, weathering a Hurricanes rally late and getting some huge winning plays in the final minute. Zach Lofton hit a clutch three-pointer with 54 seconds left to push the lead to four, and A.J. Harris added a steal and a layup soon after. New Mexico State also shut down Miami on 34% shooting (including 2 of 18 from three-point range) and even owned the boards in a win that was impressive in its physical superiority on this night and for its mental toughness in crunch time.
Not since Neil McCarthy was coach in the 90s and had the Aggies pushing UNLV in the Big West Conference and regularly making the NCAA Tournament, has New Mexico State had a team this set to make noise nationally. Chris Jans has proven to be a grand slam coaching hire, taking the good work of predecessors Reggie Theus, Marvin Menzies and Paul Weir to the next level.
That trio of coaches took NMSU to the NCAA Tournament seven times in the last 11 years, building the Western Athletic Conference’s preeminent program, especially after the league was decimated by schools leaving to attempt to satisfy their football interests. Good as that record was, though, the Aggies frequently came up short when facing the biggest names on their schedules, including going 0-7 in the NCAAs in that time. That low seeds in the tourney often contributed to those results only lessened some of the sting for a program that has known major postseason success, with a Final Four trip in 1970 and a Sweet 16 as recent as 1992 as part of McCarthy’s highly successful tenure (one that ended in dubious fashion and with considerable NCAA probation, it also should be noted).
Jans inherited a talented team from Weir, one that won 28 games a year ago, had a big addition waiting in Ohio State transfer Harris, and also added to it with the pickup of the well-traveled Lofton. The team has come together nicely, as noted in a good article by NMSU beat writer Mark Rudi of the Las Cruces Sun-News, and it’s shown a toughness at the end of close games, also making plays in the final minutes against Illinois and in its 69-68 quarterfinal victory over Davidson on Friday.
New Mexico State will face USC in the Diamond Head final on Christmas Day after the Trojans outlasted Middle Tennessee State 89-84. After a loss earlier in the week to Princeton and an underwhelming first half of their tourney opener, the Trojans have looked more like the offensive team many expected the last 60 minutes of play, seemingly flipping the switch in the second half of their quarterfinal win over Akron and again Saturday, scoring 42 points in the final 14 minutes against a good defensive team.
USC shot a season-best 57.8% against MTSU and now is one win away from a tournament title that can erase some of the sting from an underwhelming start for a team that had big expectations coming into the year.
The Diamond Head tourney was poised to deliver its share of dandies, and it had another in a consolation game Saturday as Princeton edged Akron 64-62 as Myles Stephens scored under the basket at the buzzer. Also, host school Hawaii knocked off Davidson 79-71, putting the Wildcats in the seventh-place game in this very competitive field.
Side Dishes:
- The big made-for-TV event of the day was the CBS Sports Classic, which included a thoroughly expected result followed by a surprise. North Carolina took care of Ohio State 86-72, becoming yet another team proving how easy the three-point shot has become (13-for-25, or 52%). The Heels’ bench was the difference here, outscoring the Buckeyes’ reserves 32-6. The second game was a surprise, with UCLA-which skimmed by South Dakota earlier this week-toppling Kentucky 83-75. The Bruins busted out to big leads twice in the second half before the Wildcats reeled them back in, but UCLA held firm for easily its biggest win of what has been a challenging season so far.
- A stunner at the Las Vegas Classic, where San Francisco got a three-pointer by Jordan Ratinho with six seconds left and held on to top Nevada 66-64. What a gritty effort rewarded with a win for the Dons, a team we pegged as one to watch before the season that has had some struggles but earned this one with toughness and some big shotmaking. In the other game, Southern Illinois topped Duquesne 74-64, the Salukis committing just four turnovers and led by Sean Lloyd with 19 points.
- Seton Hall cruised to a 74-62 win over Manhattan, led by Angel Delgado with 15 points and 18 rebounds and all five starters scoring in double figures. This one had some drama with the Pirates’ Myles Powell and the Jaspers’ Rich Williams both ejected after a scuffle at the end of the first half following a tangle under the basket.
- Illinois jumped all over Missouri in the first half and held on for a 70-64 win in the Braggin’ Rights game in St. Louis. The Fighting Illini led by 20 at the break before the Tigers made a rally late. Trent Frazier scored a career-best 22 for Illinois. The game also had a nice touch afterwards when Illini senior Leron Black-who also had a big hand in the win with 20 points-asked for the hand of girlfriend Sheila Segura with a proposal at courtside after the game. She accepted.
- BYU handled Texas Southern 73-52 in Provo. The Tigers played without tiny dynamo Damontrae Jefferson, who averages better than 23 points per game but was not with the team after his father was sadly killed earlier this week. Prayers for him and his family during a difficult time.
- Auburn pummeled Connecticut 82-54. It’s not a good thing when a game looks like it’s in garbage time in the first half, and that’s what this looked like, with the Tigers up 20 by the under-8 timeout in the first half and constantly out-and-running while the Huskies rushed one-on-one shots. There’s been a lot of piling on Kevin Ollie and the Huskies this season, but this was ugly.
- Tennessee led Wake Forest by just a point at halftime, but the Volunteers never trailed in the final 20 minutes and pulled away late for a 79-60 win. UT shot 51.8%, one of its most efficient offensive performances of the season.
- West Virginia is now a quiet 11-1 after downing Fordham 86-69. Jevon Carter scored 10 points and also had 12 assists. The Rams were within six points with under six minutes remaining before the Mountaineers pulled away late.
- Illinois State won at Evansville 72-66 in both teams’ Missouri Valley openers, with Milik Yarbrough filling it up with 28 and Keyshawn Evans scoring the game’s final seven points, including a pair of huge three-pointers in the final minutes. The Purple Aces were playing for the first time since their massive loss at Duke and got high-scoring Ryan Taylor back, and he scored 22 in his return from a foot injury.
- Another buzzer beater came as Prentiss Nixon pulled up from well behind the three-point line and hit the game-winner for Colorado State in a 68-66 victory over Long Beach State.
- UC Santa Barbara is now 10-3 after an 82-72 win at Sacramento State. Max Heidegger continues to score at a prodigious rate and had another 23 points.
- Finally, a humble plug for some of our other Hoopville content, our story after Wisconsin-Milwaukee lost a tough decision to Western Michigan Friday night.
Today’s Menu:
All is quiet on Christmas Eve.
Merry Christmas everybody. Wishing all joy and hopefully time with family on this special holiday.
