New Mexico (4-1) vs. New Mexico State (2-2)
Pan American Center, Las Cruces, New Mexico; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: New Mexico State looks for its sixth straight win in the head-to-head series over New Mexico. In its last five wins against the Lobos, New Mexico State has won by an average of 15 points. New Mexico's last win in the series came on Nov. 18, 2016, a 72-59 victory.
STEPPING UP: New Mexico State's Trevelin Queen has averaged 16.8 points and 5.5 rebounds while Ivan Aurrecoechea has put up 9.3 points. For the Lobos, JaQuan Lyle has averaged 19 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists while Carlton Bragg has put up 11.4 points and 10.6 rebounds.LEAPING FOR LYLE: Lyle has connected on 44.4 percent of the 27 3-pointers he's attempted and has gone 9 for 20 over his last three games. He's also converted 81.8 percent of his foul shots this season.
ACCOUNTING FOR ASSISTS: The Lobos have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Aggies. New Mexico State has 32 assists on 61 field goals (52.5 percent) across its past three contests while New Mexico has assists on 47 of 78 field goals (60.3 percent) during its past three games.
PACE OF PLAY: The upbeat New Mexico offense has averaged 78.4 possessions per game, the 19th-most in Division I. New Mexico State has not been as uptempo as the Lobos and is averaging only 66.3 possessions per game (ranked 305th, nationally).
