LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Fresh off back-to-back rivalry wins, the @AggieArmy will get its first crack at a Power-5 conference team this Saturday at 6 p.m. when it tips off against the Sun Devils of Arizona State in Wells Fargo Arena.
 
Daron Sutton will have the call on the Pac-12 Networks broadcast while former ASU star Eddie House serves as the analyst. In addition to watching the game on TV, fans can also stream the game by downloading the Pac-12 Networks app on their mobile/table device with a paid cable subscription.
 
WHERE TO WATCH
Fans can watch Saturday's game on the Pac-12 Networks Arizona feed on Dish, Xfinity/Comcast or stream online with a paid cable/TV subscription.
 
DISH: 5438 | Hopper: 406
Xfinity/Comcast: 284
 
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 Saturday night on 99.5 Zia Country and affiliate stations. Fans can also listen to the game live with their mobile or tablet device on the TuneIn app for free. The game will be available on following affiliate stations as well:
 
Alamogordo      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
 
BAKER JOINS AGGIE HISTORY
With 15:10 minutes left in the game, senior guard Ian Baker hit an acrobatic reverse lay-up and then completed the 3-point play to become the 34th player in Aggie history to score 1,000 points. Other Aggies that have recently joined the 1,000 points club include: Pascal Siakam (1,126, 2014-16), Tshilidzi Nephawe (1,087, 2011-15) and Daniel Mullings (1,677, 2012-15).
 
RPI CHECK
After debuting at 94 in the first RPI ranking by the NCAA on Dec. 6, NM State is now sitting at No. 78, good for the highest amongst Western Athletic Conference teams through games on Dec. 14. Utah Valley, who debuted at No. 88 to lead the WAC, is now sitting at No. 131.
 
CHASING HISTORY
Head coach Paul Weir continues to make history in his first year at the helm. He now looks to the first head coach to beat a Power-5 conference team since 2004-05, a 64-61 victory over Northwestern in the BP Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska.
 
The last time NM State beat a Power-5 conference team in a true road game was the first game of the 1994-95 season when Neil McCarthy's squad beat USC 97-84 in the Preseason NIT. That year, the Aggies defeated three Power-5 conference teams – others included Alabama (86-69) and Colorado (97-83). NM State was 0-13 heading into the 94-95 season where it went 3-1. It's only loss that year to a Power-5 team was to Virginia Tech in the third round of the National Invitational Tournament in Blacksburg, Va.
 
NM State vs. Power-5 Teams Last 10 years (2006-07 – Present)
Home: 0-1
Away: 0-7
Neutral: 0-5
 
Weir recently added his name to the list of six coaches who beat UTEP in their first attempt as a first-year head coach at NM State. The last people do it were Ken Hayes (1975-76), Lou Henson (1966-67), John Gunn (1947-48), T.R. Coffman (1927-28) and Robert Brown (1922-23). Hayes and Henson are the only two to go undefeated (2-0) in their first year at the helm against the Miners while Gunn and Coffman played four games against UTEP. Brown was the only coach before the modern era to play the Miners twice.
 
Weir also joined his predecessor, Marvin Menzies, on the list of first-year head coaches who defeated UNM at home in their first year.
 
A FORK IN THE ROAD
When New Mexico State and Arizona State battles it out on Saturday at 6 p.m. in Wells Fargo Arena, it will be the first time the two teams have squared off since March 15, 2000, when ASU defeated NM State 83-77 at home in the opening round of the NIT. Eddie House, Saturday's TV analyst, was on that Sun Devil squad that beat NM State behind a 32 point performance.
 
The Aggies have lost the last two meetings against the Sun Devils, but had won five-straight prior to that (12/15/67 – 12/18/71). NM State's longest win-streak against Arizona State spanned from Jan. 29, 1937, to Jan. 9, 1939.
 
Only three coaches in NM State history have beaten the Sun Devils in their first try. Lou Henson was the head coach to do so on Dec. 15, 1967, an 80-70 affair in favor of the Aggies. Others include John Gunn (1/9/48, 37-34) and Julius Johnston (2/20/41, 61-26).
 
Arizona State currently has four players averaging in double figures with junior Shannon Evans II leading the way with 16.8 points, 4.3 assists and 3.5 boards per game. Chipola JC transfer Torian Graham is right on Evans II's tail, averaging 16.7 points and 4.0 boards. Tra Holder and Obinna Oleka, both starters from last year's team, completes the list of double-digit scorers for ASU.
 
Holder is shooting .455 from the floor and 3.6 boards per game to go with his 15.9 points average while Oleka is nearly averaging a double-double with 11.8 points and 9.7 boards.
 
ASU will be without the services of highly-touted freshman Sam Cunliffe the remainder of the season as the former four-star prospect left the team with the intention to transfer. Cunliffe was averaging 9.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, starting in all 10 games this season.
 
UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
Next Monday's game against UC Irvine on Dec. 19 will be the first opportunity Aggie fans will have to take advantage of the 4 for $40 ticket special – which includes four tickets, four hot dogs and four soft drinks for just $40. In addition, fans in attendance will also get a chance to win free Harlem Globe Trotter tickets. The game against the Anteaters is also the "Christmas" game for NM State with Santa on hand to take pictures with children on the concourse.
 
The following game against Eastern New Mexico on Dec. 27 will also be another opportunity for Aggie fans to purchase the 4 for $40 ticket promotion. That game against the Greyhounds will also serve as Canada Night and a postgame autograph session with the men's basketball team.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Backed by Ian Baker's 20 points, Jemerrio Jones' third-straight double-double and Eli Chuha's 11 points, the NM State men's basketball team pushed its winning-streak to seven with the 79-68 win this past Tuesday night in the Don Haskins Center.
 
The win was also NM State's fourth-straight win over Battle of I-10 rival UTEP (2-6). Head coach Paul Weir also became the first coach since Ken Hayes (1975-76) to beat the Miners in his first try at the helm.
 
Tuesday's victory over UTEP was the first time NM State has started a season 9-2 since the 1994-95 squad did it. On top of NM State hitting team milestones, Baker scored his 1,000th career point in the Crimson and White as well.
 
UP NEXT
NM State now returns home for a three-game homestand to wrap up the 2016 calendar year before opening Western Athletic Conference play in January on the road. First up for the Aggies will be UC Irvine on Monday, Dec. 19, at 7 p.m. The Aggies then battle Eastern New Mexico after Christmas on Dec. 27 at 7 p.m. as well. New Mexico State then concludes 2016 and looks to sweep Battle of I-10 rival UTEP for the second-straight season at 7 p.m. on Dec. 30 in a nationally televised broadcast at home.