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By Joel Welser
jwelser@collegehoops.net
New Mexico State Aggies
Western Athletic Conference (25-8, 11-5)
Seed: #13
East Region
RPI: 69
Big Wins:
1/20 Nevada (80-73), 2/13 at Hawaii (71-68), 3/10 vs Utah State (72-70)
Bad Losses:
11/17 at Loyola Marymount (69-71), 11/28 at New Mexico (76-79), 1/17 at
Louisiana Tech (71-73)
Last NCAA
Appearance: 1999, First Round loss to Kentucky
Coach:
Reggie Theus (First NCAA appearance)
Probable
Starters:
Elijah Ingram,
Senior, Guard, 10.4 ppg, 2.5 apg
Fred Peete,
Junior, Guard, 9.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.6 apg
Justin Hawkins,
Junior, Guard, 15.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.3 apg
Tyrone Nelson,
Junior, Forward, 11.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg
Hatila Passos,
Junior, Center, 8.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg
Key
Roleplayers:
Shaun Davis,
Senior, Guard, 6.4 ppg, 2.0 apg
Ted Knauber,
Senior, Guard, 5.4 ppg, 1.1 rpg
David Fisher,
Senior, Forward, 6.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg
Martin Iti,
Junior, Center, 6.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.3 bpg
Why They Can
Surprise:
Scoring 15.7
points per game, small forward Justin Hawkins is the leader of the New
Mexico State high octane offense. The Utah transfer has a nice mid-range
game and will use his size and speed to get to the basket. He is also a
great rebounder and will use his athleticism to grab some boards over taller
opponents.
In the post,
NMSU has a couple scoring options in Tyrone Nelson and Hatila Passos. Nelson
has been inconsistent, but is a double-double threat every night. Passos has
a handful of double-doubles of his own and the duo can dominate the paint.
They can also disappear for long stretches, but it is nice to have an option
like 7-0 center Martin Iti available off the bench.
Why They Can
Disappoint:
The Aggies
commit 16.8 turnovers per game and point guard Elijah Ingram is responsible
for 3.3 of those. Ingram, who has battled injury problems this season, is
back in full force, but spends a lot of time forcing passes and playing out
of control. It is easier to play out of control in the NMSU offense, but
Ingram still needs to play smarter. In his absence, Shaun Davis, one of the
few players with a positive assist to turnover ratio on the team, took over
the point guard duties. Davis is not as explosive of a player as Ingram and
Ingram is the guy who can create and who NMSU needs to lead the offense.
Who To
Watch:
Wing Fred Peete
headed to Las Cruces from Kansas State and immediately made an impact. The
6-4 junior has the size and strength to get to the basket and is a decent
outside shooter. Not counting the two losses he missed, Peete has scored
under ten points in five of the six New Mexico State defeats, with the
exception being at Arizona, where he could have scored 30 and the Aggies
would have still lost. If Peete has a poor shooting outing, somebody else
needs to step up or NMSU is in trouble.
Joel’s
Bracket Says: First Round loss to Texas
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2007 NCAA Tournament Bracket
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