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The Hilltoppers enter the matchup with the Aggies standing at 16-12 overall with a 7-8 mark in CUSA and coming off an 80-73 road victory over UTEP on Thursday. The win saw five Hilltoppers finish with double figures in the scoring column, with Tyrone Marshall Jr. leading the team's scoring efforts charting 16 points on a 6-of-9 shooting clip from the field and nine rebounds. Khristian Lander posted a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double to lead the team on the boards, and Braxton Bayless led the Tops in assists with three while charting 14 points and six rebounds.Â
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Don McHenry finished with 15 points, five rebounds and a pair of assists, surpassing 1000 career points at WKU following the performance. Jack Edelen rounded out the Tops to reach double figures, charting 11 points on a 4-of-5 clip from the field and tying a career high for scoring previously set on Feb. 20 facing Sam Houston. As a team, WKU shot the ball at a .500% clip (27-for-54) while holding UTEP to just .295% (18-for-61) from the field and .160% (4-for-25) from beyond the arc. WKU outscored UTEP 44-28 in the paint and 14-5 on fast breaks, and the Tops' defense limited the league's ninth-leading scorer in Otis Frazier III to just four points on the night.
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New Mexico State enters Saturday's game at 15-13 overall with an 8-7 mark in league play and coming off a 71-66 loss facing Middle Tennessee last time out. Christian Cook led the team in scoring with 24 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the field with a 3-of-5 clip from range. Cook currently charts as the league's 12th leading scorer at 13.4 points per contest while averaging the sixth-most made threes per game at 2.3 and a total of 65 for the season.
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GAME INFO
WKU (16-12, 7-8 CUSA) vs. New Mexico State (15-13, 8-7 CUSA)
Saturday, March 1 | 5 p.m. CT
Pan American Center | Las Cruces, N.M.
Watch:Â ESPN+Â (Adam Young & Rus Bradburd)
Listen: Hilltopper Sports Radio Network | 100.7-FM (WKLX)/Varsity Network (Randy Lee & Hal Schmitt)
Live Stats:Â StatBroadcast
Tickets: Purchase | WKUTickets.com | 1-800-5-BIG RED
Game Notes:Â Media Center
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ABOUT THE TOPS
- WKU currently leads CUSA in scoring at 76.8 points per gameÂ
- WKU holds a 12-4 record at home this season with a 4-3 home record in league play, while standing at 4-8 in road games with a 3-5 mark in league play on the road
- WKU is currently eighth in the nation in adjusted tempo with an average of 72.5 possessions per 40 minutes
- WKU ranks ninth in the nation in defensive rebounding with 28.21 per game
- The Tops rank 51st in the nation in steals with 8.2 per contest and a total of 230 on the year
- WKU ranks 45th in the nation in team FG% defense, limiting opponents to a .410% clip from the field
- WKU ranks 58th in the nation in team 3PT% defense, limiting opponents to a .311% clip from rangeÂ
- Don McHenry leads the Hilltoppers and charts as the fifth-leading scorer in CUSA at 17.5 points per contest; McHenry's 41 steals (1.5/G) are 11th most in CUSA
- McHenry holds the conference's eighth-highest FG% (min # attempts) at .406%
- McHenry touts the third-highest free throw percentage in CUSA with a .836% (107-of-128) mark from the stripe
- McHenry has scored in double figures in 24-of-28 outings for the Tops this season, with 20+ point efforts in a total of 12 games
- Khristian Lander charts as the Tops' second-leading active scorer and ranks 18th in CUSA with 11.8 points per contest
- Lander has scored in double figures in 15 total contests on the season
- Tyrone Marshall Jr. leads WKU and ranks second in CUSA in defensive rebounding with 159 (5.6/G) on the year, good for 77th most in the nation; the graduate forward also leads the team and charts sixth in the league in total rebounds with 183 (6.5/G) on the year
- Marshall Jr. charts second on the team and 18th in CUSA in total blocks with 17 on the year
- Marshall Jr. charts 15th in the league in steals with 35 total for the year, and ninth in steals within league play with 21Â
- Leeroy Odiahi leads WKU and ranks 12th in CUSA in total blocks with 24 on the year and sixth within league play with 18
- Jalen Jackson leads the team and ranks 18th in CUSA in assists with a total of 62 (2.2/G) on the year
- Jackson's 35 steals are good for 14th most in CUSA with 21 coming in league contests, good for eighth most in CUSA
SERIES INFORMATION
Saturday will mark the 15th meeting between the programs with WKU holding a 12-2 all-time advantage over New Mexico State in a series dating back to 1956. WKU previously defeated the Aggies, 101-69, earlier in the season on Feb. 1. The Hilltoppers posted a split with the Aggies in regular season play in 2023-24, falling on the road in Las Cruces, 72-70, on Jan. 18, then securing a 72-58 win at home in Diddle Arena on Feb. 17. The teams met a third time in the CUSA Championship Quarterfinal in Huntsville, Ala. on March 14, with the Tops posting an 89-69 victory over the Aggies to advance to the 2024 CUSA Tournament Semifinal. The teams met for the first time on Dec. 10, 1956, with the Hilltoppers posting a 95-74 win over the Aggies in Bowling Green.
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SCOUTING THE AGGIES
- Christian Cook leads the Aggies and ranks 12th in CUSA in scoring with an average of 13.4 points per contestÂ
- Cook averages the sixth most three-pointers per game at 2.3 and a total of 65 on the year
- Peter Filipovity currently stands as the second-leading rebounder in CUSA with a total of 203 on the year and 8.1 per gameÂ
- Filipovity's 2.3 offensive boards per game are good for seventh most in the league
- Zawdie Jackson holds the eighth-highest free-throw mark in CUSA at .800% (84-of-105)
- Jackson charts 10th in CUSA in assists per contest with an average of 3.4 and a total of 95 on the year
- Jackson's assist/turnover ratio of 2.3 stands as the fourth best in CUSA
- Robert Carpenter ranks 17th in the league in three-pointers per game at 1.5 and a total of 41 on the year
- NM State has held opponents to the second-lowest point-total average in CUSA at 66.1 per contest
- The Aggies have limited opponents to .398% shooting from the field for the season, the second-lowest mark in CUSA
- NM State averages the second-most offensive boards in CUSA at 12.2 per game
Follow the team on social media (@wkubasketball) and visit wkusports.com for the latest news and updates on all things Hilltopper Basketball as the team continues its 2024-25 campaign.
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