UTRGV, NMSU meet in conference play

Published Mar. 1, 2021 3:30 p.m. ET

Associated Press

Texas Rio Grande Valley (9-6, 2-2) vs. New Mexico State (7-7, 4-6)

Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas; Tuesday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: WAC foes meet as Texas Rio Grande Valley faces New Mexico State. Texas Rio Grande Valley came up short in a 73-64 game at Utah Valley in its last outing. New Mexico State lost 64-55 to Tarleton St. in its most recent game.

SENIOR STUDS: New Mexico State has relied heavily on its seniors this year. Jabari Rice, Johnny McCants, Donnie Tillman and Clayton Henry have combined to account for 54 percent of the team's scoring this year and 56 percent of all Aggies points over the last five games.

WAC IMPROVEMENT: The Vaqueros have scored 73 points per game and allowed 66.3 points per game across four conference games. Those are both solid improvements over the 67.9 points scored and 72.1 points given up per game to non-conference foes.JUMPING FOR JOHNSON II: Quinton Johnson II has connected on 33.9 percent of the 62 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 3 of 15 over his last three games. He's also made 66.7 percent of his free throws this season.

SCORING THRESHOLDS: New Mexico State is 5-0 when it limits opposing offenses to 60 or fewer points, and 2-7 when opponents exceed 60 points. Texas Rio Grande Valley is 9-0 when holding opponents to 68 points or fewer, and 0-6 on the year when teams score any more than 68.

STREAK STATS: Texas Rio Grande Valley has lost its last three road games, scoring 71 points, while allowing 76 per game.

PACE OF PLAY: The upbeat Texas Rio Grande Valley offense has averaged 75.4 possessions per game, the seventh-most in Division I. New Mexico State has not been as uptempo as the Vaqueros and is averaging only 65.9 possessions per game (ranked 317th, nationally).

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