LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State men's basketball team looks to pick up its first win in WisePies Arena aka The Pit since 2013 this Friday when the Aggies and Lobos of New Mexico square off in the first installment of the Battle of I-25.
 
David Saltzman will have the call on the ESPN3 broadcast while Bill Herenda serves as the analyst for Friday's rivalry game.
 
GET CONNECTED
Get up to the minute information and news about the NM State men's basketball team all season on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by following @AggieArmy.
 
LISTEN UP!
Aggie fans that can't make it to the game can listen to NM State Athletics/US Bank Hall of Famer Jack Nixon on 99.5 Zia Country or listen to the game live with their mobile or tablet device on the TuneIn app for free. In addition, fans can listen to the game on the following affiliate stations:
 
Alamagordo      103.7 FM KNMZ
Albuquerque     101.7 FM KQTM
Carlsbad              1240 AM KAMQ
Gallup                   1230 AM, 94.9 FM KYVA
Las Vegas            107.1 FM KMDS
 
NOTE: Friday's game will not be aired on ESPN Radio 101.7 FM KQTM in Albuquerque due to prior commitments.
 
AGGIES VS. LOBOS PART I
The first installment of the Battle of I-25 is set to begin at 7 p.m. inside WisePies Arena on Friday, Nov. 18, on ESPN3. New Mexico State trails the all-time series 96-120 with its last win over New Mexico coming in 2013 at The Pit, 62-61. The Aggies have had success against the Lobos at home, owning the series in the Pan American Center 58-46. However, NM State has struggled against UNM historically and trails the Lobos 38-73 when playing at The Pit.
 
New Mexico is led by Elijah Brown, son of Golden State assistant coach Mike Brown, who averaged 21.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists last season. Tim Williams is the only other returner who averaged double-digit points last year. The 6-8 forward scored 16.8 points per game to go with 7.4 boards per game and a team-best 39 blocks.
 
Williams leads the Lobo squad so far through two games with 31 points against Houston Baptist and 18 against Idaho State – both home games. Sam Longwood is second on the team in scoring with 14.5 points per game followed by Brown, who is averaging 10 points and 4.5 rebounds. Coming off the bench for UNM is Xavier Adam, who has scored 8.5 points per game.
 
ALFORD TREE
Besides having faced each other when Paul Weir was on the bench, Friday's contest will be the first time Craig Neal and Weir, both former Steve Alford assistants, will square off as head coaches. Neal served as an assistant coach under Alford at Iowa while Weir served as the Hawkeyes' director of operations from 2005-07.
 
Neal then moved onto UNM with Alford before taking over at the helm in 2013. Weir, like Neal, took over for his predecessor, Marvin Menzies, this past spring when he was named the 25th head men's basketball coach at New Mexico State.
 
IN THE PROS
With the recent signing of Johnathan Gibson to the Dallas Mavericks, this is the first time since the 1999-00 NBA season where two former Aggie basketball alums are on an active NBA roster. Gibson joins Pascal Siakam, who has started all 11 games for the Toronto Raptors this year as a rookie.
 
AROUND THE WAC
Through Wednesday's games, redshirt sophomore Eli Chuha is second in the Western Athletic Conference with 9.3 boards per game and slightly trails Utah Valley's Isaac Nielson (9.5). Matt Taylor's .750 shooting from the floor ties him for second in the league while Chuha checks in right behind him with a .643 shooting clip.
 
Transfer Jemerrio Jones is dominating the league with a 9.0 assist to turnover ratio. The next closes player owns a 3.0 assist to turnover ratio. On the glass, Chuha leads the league with 4.33 offensive boards per game (13) while Jalyn Pennie checks in at No. 2 with 2.67 rebounds on the offensive glass (8).
 
It is no surprise that a team led by Paul Weir leads the league in scoring defense (54.7) while holding opponents to a league low .317 shooting percentage. NM State foes are also shooting a dismal 18-percent from beyond the arc. The Aggies lead the WAC with a plus 18.3 scoring margin on top of a league-best 18 blocks (6.0/game).
 
LAST TIME OUT
After a sluggish start to Wednesday's game, forward Eli Chuha energized the Aggies to a 58-48 victory behind a career-high 16 points and 13 rebounds. The win moved NM State to 2-1 on the year while giving head coach Paul Weir his first win over a Division I team since taking over the program.
 
The Bulldogs cut the NM State lead to two in two different instances in the second half, but the Aggies persevered and used a 10-0 run that spanned 4:35 near the end of the game on top of a 23-11 edge in points off turnovers to pull away from the Bulldogs in the Aggies' opening game of the University of San Diego Classic. Sidy N'Dir added 10 points for NM State while Ian Baker chipped in with nine points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
 
JUNIOR AGGIE DAY
Sunday's game against the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman will be Junior Aggie Day.  For more information about the JAC or to become a member, visit the JAC website by clickin here or contact Nicole Gomez at 575-646-8050.
 
UP NEXT
The tough schedule for NM State continues following Friday's rivalry game. The Aggies will have about 36 hours to prepare for Bethune-Cookman, who comes to the Pan Am Center for a 3 p.m. (MT) clash on Sunday, Nov. 20, for the second game of the University of San Diego Classic. NM State then entertains Nicholls State the following Tuesday (Nov. 22) for the third game of the tournament before flying to sunny San Diego, Calif., for the final game of the tournament against San Diego on Saturday, Nov. 26.