The Aggie men's basketball team is back in action tonight in Boise, ID. The Broncos are 12-5 overall and 3-2 in conference play but lost back-to-back road games at Utah State and Nevada last week. The last time the Aggies ventured to Boise Jahmar Young had his breakout game scoring 33 points to lead the Aggies to a 76-73 victory. In this week's interview with Aggie men's basketball coach Marvin Menzies we talked about the matchup with the Boise State bigs and also got his take on Mark Sanchez. Tonight's game will present a good challenge for the Aggie big men as they do battle with Boise State's Kurt Cunningham (and possibly Sanchez but more on that in a minute). Cunningham is hitting 69% of his shots from the field this season. The status of the aforementioned Sanchez who is the Broncos' leading scorer and rebounder is still up in the air. Sanchez rolled an ankle when running the baseline as he stepped on a cameraman at Utah State.
The Aggies are 3-4 against Boise State in Boise and prior to the triple-overtime championship game loss the Aggies had won the previous six meetings. This week the Aggies have a chance to solidify their position in the top half of the league if they can come out of the state of Idaho with a pair of victories. At 3-2 the Aggies are tied with Boise State and one game ahead of a group of three teams at 2-3 (Idaho, Lousiana Tech and San Jose State).
The keys for tonight's game will of course be rebounding. The Broncos are being out rebounded by about two rebounds per game and the Aggies are being out rebounded by about 4.5 rebounds per game. These two teams also are two of the higher scoring teams in the league during conference play. The Aggies are averaging 77 points per game while Boise State is averaging almost 72 points per game. Given that stat you can expect this to be a shootout. Also look for Jonathan Gibson to bounce back from his 3-13 and 4-11 performances against Utah State and Idaho. And can Jahmar Young light up Taco Bell Arena again in his sophomore season? He's the Aggies' leading scorer averaging 17 points per game and had a 30 point earlier this season (Loyola Marymount).
The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. and will be aired on AggieVision as well as ESPN Full Court.
Who said good sportsmanship is dead? The folks at Deadspin report a story of a 100-0 loss by the Dallas Academy to The Covenant. And just a few days earlier a 94-1 victory by a team in Colorado in which the winning head coach said, "I've had 100 points scored on me before, and I think it's important to respect the game and to respect your opponent." Ummm. Yeah.
And don't forget to check out The Aggie Wire throughout the day for the latest up to date news from around Aggie Country
On to today's links...
Aggie Men's Basketball
Jason Groves of the Las Cruces Sun-News has a fantastic piece on Wendell McKines becoming a fan favorite.
Nick Jezierny of the Idaho Statesman writes that Boise State senior Mark Sanchez is making up for lost time.
Dave Southorn of the Idaho Press-Tribune writes that Boise State is hoping for some consistency.
Nick Jezierny of the Idaho Statesman shares his WAC notebook.
Chris Murray of the Reno Gazette Journal ranks the WAC teams this week. The Broncos and Aggies come in at No. 3 and No. 4.
Chris Murray also did a little research and shares the WAC's record against other conferences.
Jake Alger of the Idaho Press-Tribune writes that the Idaho/NM State game on Saturday is a crucial one for the Vandals.
Our friends at Rush The Court take their daily look around the college hoops landscape.
Aggie Women's Basketball
Korey Middleton of The Round Up writes that the Aggie women's basketball team, despite being undersized, has the pieces to be a contender in the WAC.
Aggie Football
Felix Chavez of the Las Cruces Sun-News blogs that Rio Rancho's Troy Harris is scheduled to visit NM State.
Felix Chavez also updates Joe Lee Dunn's status. Dunn hopes to return to coaching, though it won't be with the Aggies.
Aggie Athletics
Jack Nixon talks about NM State's diversity in the latest edition of Jack's Corner. (Thanks Vic)
Pete talks about the academic achievements of the fall sports teams in the latest Pete's Ponderings (Thanks Vic)
Aggie Swimming and Diving
David Chavez of The Round Up recaps the weekend results from Colorado State.
Aggie Track and Field
Korey Middleton of The Round Up recaps last weekend's track and field meet in Albuquerque.
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