The Aggie men's basketball team and the Aggie football team both face similar daunting tasks today. Be competitive and try to win in a places where they've been not very competitive in recent years. The Aggie football team faces BCS No. 6 Boise State on the blue turf in Boise. Since joining the WAC the Aggies have faced Boise State twice in Boise, neither game ended very favorably for the Aggies. Two visits, two blowout losses. In fact, the Aggies are 0-4 all-time in Boise and have lost by scores of 52-10, 45-26, 56-6 and 58-0.
The Aggies' struggling offense will be without one of it's key playmakers, wide receiver Marcus Anderson, according to a report from Teddy Feinberg of the Las Cruces Sun-News.
Head coach DeWayne Walker was the defensive coordinator at UCLA for the season finale between UCLA and USC in 2006 when then BCS No. 2 USC came calling with their high powered offense. The Bruins won the game 13-9 and kept the Trojans from reaching the BCS Championship Game. While the Aggie defense is certainly not on par with the Bruins' defense, the situation is similar. A high powered Boise State offense guiding a team looking to go to a BCS bowl versus a team that nobody expects to win. Perhaps history can repeat itself today in Boise.
The game is set for a 1:00 p.m. MT kickoff and can be seen on ESPN360.com as well as ESPN Game Plan. The game will be broadcast on the radio on the Aggie Sports Network across New Mexico. Streaming audio will also be available for tonight's game via Aggie Access (subscription required).
As for the men's basketball team, they will also be facing an undefeated team in New Mexico. The Aggies have not won a game at The Pit since 2002 and four of the six games have been blowout losses of 16, 19, 14 and 14 (the 14 point loss in 2007 saw the Aggies trail by as many as 19 in the second half).
The men's team must quickly find a way to inject some hustle into their play. The Aggies being outrebounded by an average of 4.3 rebounds per game and are giving up an average of 41 rebounds per game including 12.5 offensive rebounds per game. The Aggies themselves are only averaging 9.7 offensive rebounds per game. That means on average the Aggies are giving up almost three possessions on the opponent's offensive end and one possession on the Aggies' offensive end which equates to the Aggies' -8.0 scoring margin (given the opponent scoring a two-point basket on those four extra possessions).
In their four losses they have given up an average of 90 points. The Aggies are getting a little better on the defensive end in terms of opponent field goal percentage. The first loss the Aggies allowed a field goal percentage of 52.3 percent, in the next loss (against New Mexico) it was 49.2 percent, in the third loss it was 46.7 percent and against the Miners it was 44.3 percent.
The Aggies must also find a way to stop UNM's Roman Martinez. Martinez scored 24 points against the Aggies in the first game and has been a thorn in the Aggies' side in each of the past three games.
Tonight's rivalry battle is set for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off and can be seen on The Mtn. Radio coverage can be heard on the Aggie Sports Network with Kyle Doperalski calling the action. Streaming audio will also be available for tonight's game via Aggie Access (subscription required).
On to today's links...
Aggie Football
The Scott Slant talks about the season finale.
One Bronco Nation Under God breaks down the Aggie fight song.
The Associated Press previews today's game.
Teddy Feinberg of the Las Cruces Sun-News previews today's season finale.
The Magic Valley Times-News previews today's season finale in Boise.
Aggie Men's Basketball
Jason Groves of the Las Cruces Sun-News previews today's game.
Jason Groves writes that the Aggies need to hustle.
Richard Stevens previews tonight's rivalry game.
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