LAS CRUCES – New Mexico State head men’s basketball coach Chris Jans unveiled the much anticipated 2018-19 schedule on Thursday that features a handful of marquee games inside the Pan American Center as well as games that’ll challenge the Aggies.
“Our upcoming schedule is very difficult and filled with many terrific programs,” Jans said in a news release. “We felt it necessary to reward our fan base with premiere matchups considering the Pan American’s 50th Anniversary. We are thrilled to host a top-25 program in Saint Mary’s and a Power 5 program in Washington State.”
The two-time defending Western Athletic Conference Tournament Champions open the season with three-straight home contests that features North Dakota State, Battle of I-10 rival UTEP and a 30-game winner in Saint Mary’s.
NM State’s season-opener against North Dakota State is set for Nov. 6, at 7:30 p.m. in the Pan American Center. The atmosphere continues to get vamped up as the Aggies entertain rival UTEP three days later on Friday, Nov. 9, before entertaining Saint Mary’s (Nov. 14) out of the West Coast Conference – who went 30-6 overall last season and advanced to the quarterfinals of the National Invitational Tournament.
There’s no rest for the weary as NM State travels to Albuquerquefor the Battle of I-25 against New Mexico on Saturday, Nov. 17. Eastern New Mexico (Nov. 21) is sandwiched in between two rivalry matches as the Aggies make a short trip to the Don Haskins Center to wrap up the yearly home-and-home swing with UTEP on Nov. 28.
Washington State will be the first Pac-12 team to step foot on Lou Henson Court since Arizona came to the City of Crosses on Nov. 29, 2011. The Aggies and Cougars are slated to play on Dec. 1 before Battle of I-25 rival New Mexico (Dec. 4) rolls into town.
A tough stretch then ensues for NM State as it travels to Kansas City for a neutral site match against perennial blue-blood Kansas at the Sprint Center on Dec. 8 in a nationally televised game on the ESPN Family Network. The Jayhawks head into the 2018-19 season after making a Final Four run last season that saw them lose to eventual champion Villanova.
New Mexico State then returns home for another tough battle against Colleginsider.com Tournament Champion Northern Colorado (Dec. 17) as part of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic. The Aggies then face off against CSUN two days later on Dec. 19 to wrap up the on-site portion of the tournament before heading to a familiar place in the Orleans Arena.
NM State battles Drake on FS2 at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 22. The Bulldogs advanced to the CIT second-round last season before falling to the eventual champions in Northern Colorado. The Aggies will then face Washington State or San Diego on Sunday, Dec. 22, depending on the result from Saturday’s contest.
The team will get a quick breather for Christmas break before making their return to Fort Collins, Colo., for a Dec. 30 match-up against Colorado State.
NM State kicks off WAC play on the road against newly added member California Baptist on Thursday, Jan. 3, before flying back home for its conference home-opener against Grand Canyon (Jan. 10) and CSU Bakersfield (Jan. 12).
Back-to-back weekends on the road then follows for NM State as it travels to Seattle (Jan. 17), Utah Valley (Jan. 19) and UT Rio Grande Valley (Jan. 26). The team will get a weekend back at home with the Aggie faithful as they entertain Kansas City (Jan. 31) and Chicago State (Feb. 2).
New Mexico State hits the road once more for a much anticipated meeting against CSU Bakersfield (Feb. 7) and GCU (Feb. 9). The Aggies return home for a much-needed four-game homestand that includes Utah Valley on Valentine’s Day, Seattle U (Feb. 16), Texas A&M International (Feb. 19) and UT Rio Grande Valley (Feb. 23).
The final road swing of the conference slate begins with Kansas City on Feb. 28 followed by a March 2 date against Chicago State. New Mexico State then returns home for a 7 p.m. contest against California Baptist on senior day as it honors a trio of seniors in Eli Chuha, Keyon Jones and JoJo Zamora.
New Mexico State 2018-19 men's basketball schedule
Nov. 6 North Dakota State, 7:30 p.m.#
Nov. 9 UTEP, 7 p.m.
Nov. 14 Saint Mary's, 7 p.m.
Nov. 17 at New Mexico, TBD
Nov. 21 Eastern New Mexico, 6p.m.
Nov. 28 at UTEP, 7 p.m.
Dec. 1 Washington State, 7 p.m.
Dec. 4 New Mexico, 7 p.m.
Dec. 8 vs.Kansas (at Kansas City, Missouri), TBD
Dec. 17 Northern Colorado, 7p.m.$
Dec. 19 Cal State Northridge, 7 p.m.$
Dec. 22 vs. Drake (at Las Vegas, Nevada), 5:30 p.m.$
Dec. 23 vs. WashingtonState or San Diego (at Las Vegas, Nevada), TBD$
Dec. 30 at Colorado State, TBD
Jan. 3 at California Baptist, 8 p.m.*
Jan. 10 Grand Canyon, 7 p.m.*
Jan. 12 Cal State Bakersfield, 7 p.m.*
Jan. 17 at Seattle, TBD*
Jan. 19 at Utah Valley, TBD*
Jan. 26 at Texas-Rio Grande Valley, TBD*
Jan. 31 Missouri-Kansas City, 7 p.m.*
Feb. 2 Chicago State, 4 p.m.*
Feb. 7 at Cal State Bakersfield, TBD*
Feb. 9 at Grand Canyon, 7 p.m.*
Feb. 14 Utah Valley, 7 p.m.*
Feb. 16 Seattle, 7 p.m.*
Feb. 19 Texas A&M International, 7 p.m.
Feb. 23 UTRGV, 4p.m.*
Feb. 28 at UMKC, TBD*
March 2 at Chicago State, TBD*
March 9 California Baptist, 7 p.m.*
March 14-16 WAC Tournament (at Las Vegas, Nevada)
* - Western Athletic Conference game
$ - Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic
# - WAC-Summit League Challenge
