By Dave Burge<\/p>\n
The New Mexico State University mens basketball team is wrapping up an important nonconference stretch where it will learn a lot more about the type of team it is.<\/p>\n
And how it may fare in the upcoming Western Athletic Conference season in the new year.<\/p>\n
Every team is a work in progress, and we will just try to get better in as many facets as we can, said Aggie head basketball coach Chris Jans Dec. 5.<\/p>\n
The Aggies are off to an 8-2 start and are finishing a tough stretch of three contests against archrivals and four straight road games.<\/p>\n
NMSU lost to the University of New Mexico 101-94 on Nov. 30 at the Pan Am, in a game most fans will remember for a 40-minute power outage. It was also the second straight game that Jans missed because of Covid protocols.<\/p>\n
Jans returned to the bench Dec. 3 for a 72-69 road win over I-10 rival UTEP. NMSUs Jabari Rice hit the game-winning shot with 1.6 left in the game.<\/p>\n
Three nights later, the Aggies got revenge on the Lobos, beating them 78-76 in overtime at The Pit in Albuquerque. This time, Nate Pryor converted a reverse layup as time expired in overtime for the win.<\/p>\n
Making this stretch even more challenging, the Aggies went on the road against two quality opponents on the West Coast. NMSU beat Loyola Marymount 63-58 in Los Angeles Dec. 11 despite making a season-high 26 turnovers.<\/p>\n
After that, the Aggies took on Washington State on Dec. 15 in Pullman, Washington. The Cougars are usually one of the better programs in the Pac-12 and held Arizona State to just 29 points in a conference game in Tempe, Arizona, Dec. 1.<\/p>\n
This game was past our deadline so I dont have any results to report.<\/p>\n
Jans said Washington State is projected to have a good season and they have a great coach (Kyle Smith).<\/p>\n
Obviously, they have some good players, Pac-12, etc., Jans said.<\/p>\n
Jans said his team will learn a lot about itself during this stretch.<\/p>\n
There arent many teams in the country that look at themselves as a finished product, he said. We are like everybody else. There are some things we are getting better at. There a lot of things and areas we have to shore up. We have to get it right heading into the holidays.<\/p>\n
The Aggies will host Northern New Mexico at 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 18 and will follow that up with a home game against UT Permian Basin at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 20. That game was recently added to the schedule and will replace a home game with Cal State Fullerton that was canceled shortly after the schedule was released. <\/p>\n
One area the Aggies could improve is their rebounding.<\/p>\n
Rebounding is part of the game, Jans said. But at the end of the day, what they keep track of for the win-loss column is how many points you score and give up. The most important stat is the final score.<\/p>\n
Certainly, there are all sorts of ways to achieve being a good basketball team, Jans continued. Hopefully, we will get better at it (rebounding). I dont think theres a chance we will get the numbers we had the first three years we were here, but we definitely need to get better.<\/p>\n
The Aggies will open WAC play at Seattle U Thursday, Dec. 30. The game is scheduled to be televised at 8 p.m. on ESPN+. NMSU will then play its conference home opener at 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 1, against Chicago State at the Pan Am.<\/p>\n
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Read more from the original source:<\/p>\n
Aggies a 'work in progress' as conference play nears - Las Cruces Bulletin<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Dave Burge The New Mexico State University mens basketball team is wrapping up an important nonconference stretch where it will learn a lot more about the type of team it is. And how it may fare in the upcoming Western Athletic Conference season in the new year. Continue reading