Game Notes: Wichita State (PDF) | New Mexico State (PDF)

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NEW MEXICO STATE (18-8, 9-1 WAC) at #25/24 WICHITA STATE (18-7, 12-2 MVC)
Monday, Feb. 15, 2016  |  7 p.m. CT
Wichita, Kan. / Charles Koch Arena

Telecast --
On Air: Cox Channel Kansas (Cox HD 2022), Time Warner SportsChannel 2 (TWC Kansas City)
Streaming: ESPN3 (Link)
Announcers: Bruce Haertl & Bob Hull

Radio --
On Air: KEYN 103.7 FM
Online: goshockers.com/watch
Announcers: Mike Kennedy & Dave Dahl

 Live Stats --
www.shockerstats.com (Link)

Social Media ---
Twitter: @GoShockers, @GoShockersLive
Facebook: facebook.com/WichitaStateUniversityAthletics
Instagram: instagram.com/goshockers
Exposure: goshockers.exposure.co
 

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Scene Setter // Missouri Valley Conference leader Wichita State (18-7, 12-2 MVC) meets Western Athletic Conference front-runner New Mexico State in a rare February non-conference matchup.
 
Do-Over // Monday's night's game is a makeup of the Dec. 28 matchup, which was postponed when winter weather left the Aggies stranded in Las Cruces.
 
About WSU // The Shockers have dropped two of the last three and saw a school-record 43-game home winning streak come to an end with Saturday's 53-50 loss to UNI. They lead Illinois State by two games with four to play and are in search of the first MVC three-peat in school history.
 
About NMSU // NMSU has won nine-straight coming in. The Aggies are  working toward their second-consecutive regular season WAC title and hold a one-game lead over CSU-Bakersfield and Grand Canyon with four games to play. NMSU hosts a key matchup against the former on Feb. 18.
 
Series Snapshot // NMSU was a member of the MVC for 11 seasons. This two-game arrangement, which began last year, marks the first meeting between the programs since the Aggies left the Valley in 1983. WSU defeated the NMSU in the 2014-15 season opener, 71-54, behind a school-record tying seven-steal performance from Fred VanVleet to take a 15-14 lead in the all-time series.
 
Keeping the Home Fire Burning //  WSU will look to protect another nationally-relevant home streak on Monday night. Its 36-consecutive non-conference home wins rank second behind Duke (125). The Shockers haven't dropped a home game outside of league play since falling to Final Four bound VCU on Feb. 18, 2011 in Bracket Busters matchup.
 
Milestones //  Ron Baker seeks his 100th win as a Shocker. WSU is 99-15 when he appears in the boxscore. Baker would be the fifth WSU player to reach the century mark, joining current teammates Wessel (101-12) and VanVleet (112-19)... Baker is also 10 points shy of becoming WSU's 12th 1,500-point scorer.
 
Watch Out //  WSU will have to account for stat sheet stuffer Pascal Siakam. The 6-foot-9 sophomore leads the nation in double-doubles (21) and field goals made (228) and ranks 12th in scorting (21.7) and seventh in rebounding (11.7).
 
Trending //
.833 -- Winning percentage vs. non-conference regular season opponents from 2011-16. The Shockers are a combined 50-10 over that four-year span.
17 -- Consecutive years that WSU has posted a winning non-conference record. A win Monday night would put them at 7-5 and up the streak to 18 years.
21 -- WSU NCAA non-conference strength of schedule rank (out of 351 teams) heading into Sunday.
60.4 -- Points per game allowed by WSU's defense - 6th lowest nationally. No Shocker opponent has topped 65 points since Dec. 19.
+5.2 -- WSU's turnover margin (2nd nationally)
 
A High Five //  Fred VanVleet is one of only five active players in Division I with the combo of 550 career assists and 200 steals.
 
Juan'Ya Green (Hofstra) – 705 assists, 219 steals
Kyle Collinsworth (BYU) – 619 assists, 211 steals
Jalan West (BYU) – 614 assists, 219 steals
Alex Caruso (Texas A&M) – 586 assists, 254 steals
Fred VanVleet (Wichita State) – 581 assists, 209 steals
 
Series Notes //
• This is the 30th all-time meeting in a very evenly-matched series between the two former Missouri Valley Conference rivals.
• NMSU was a member of the MVC for 11 seasons (1972-73 through 1982-83). WSU won 12 of the 22 conference games staged over that period, and NMSU claimed the lone MVC Tournament game between the two on its home floor in the 1979 semifinals.
• WSU looks to finish out a sweep of the two-game series, which began last fall. Both games are in Wichita.
• Though split up by some three decades, WSU's current threegame winning streak over the Aggies is the longest by either side. Previously, WSU had posted back-to-back wins four times, and NMSU had managed consecutive victories on five-different occasions, but neither had managed to extend their runs past two games.
• WSU leads 12-4 all-time in Wichita, helped by an active streak of seven-consecutive home wins over the Aggies. NMSU's last Wichita win came in January of 1977.
• Following their Nov. 14 meeting last year, WSU and NMSU crossed paths again at Omaha's CenturyLink Center during the NCAA Tournament. Minutes after the 15th-seeded Aggies fell to second-seeded Kansas (75-56), WSU took the floor and defeated No. 10 seed, Indiana. Two days later, the Shockers also downed Kansas to reach the Sweet 16.
 
Scouting the Aggies//
• New Mexico State is the defending WAC Champion and has won four-consecutive WAC Tournament titles.
• Now in his 10th season, heads coach Marvin Menzies has led the Aggies to five NCAA Tournament appearances in the past six years.
• The Aggies fell 85-70 at Bo. 23/22 Baylor in their last action before the break.
• 6-9 forward Pascal Siakam, a 22-year old sophomore out of Cameroon, is having a monster year with 17 20-point games. He's twice topped out at 35 points and logged an ultra-rare 20-20 game against UTEP earlier this year, finishing with 24 points and 23 rebounds. He's finished with double-digit rebounds in all but five contests this year.
• NMSU leads the WAC by one game with four to play. It hosts at crucial game against second-place UC Bakersfield on Thursday night. The Aggies won the first meeting of that series in double-overtime, 68-67, on Ian Baker's buzzer-beater three-pointer.
• Siakam is the team's leading scorer at 21.7 points. Baker is the only other Aggie averaging in double-figures at 14.4.
• Six Aggies average more than 4.0 rebounds per game, led by Siakam's 11.7, and the team ranks fourth nationally in rebound margin at +11.1.
• NMSU is one of the nation's least penalized teams, averaging just 15.4 fouls per game (third-lowest nationally).
 
A Shocker Win Would… // improve them to 19-8 ...give Ron Baker his 100th career victory... give the Shockers a winning non-conference mark for the 18th-straight year (7-5)... extend their non-conference home winning streak to 37...be their fourth-straight over NMSU (which includes two wins during the 1982-83 MVC season before the Aggies left the conference).
 
A Shocker Loss Would… // drop them to 18-8... be their second-straight and third in the last four games... give them back-to-back home losses for the first time since the 2008-09 season... be less good than a win.
 
Up Next //  Missouri State comes to town Thursday night for an early 6 p.m. start on CBS Sports Network.