Mid-Major Basketball Focus: New Mexico State Aggies of the WAC

We head west for our Mid-Major focus this week. The New Mexico State Aggies of the Western Athletic Conference will be the topic of conversation.

The Western Athletic Conference is an odd one, to say the least. It formerly housed mid-major powerhouses like Nevada, BYU, Utah, and even UNLV. However, all of those teams have moved on to bigger and brighter conferences. Now, the WAC is left with an array of teams that do not follow a pattern. There are teams like Chicago State and UMKC, located in Kansas City. I think most would consider both Chicago and Kansas City to be midwestern cities, not western.

That leaves me puzzled, how a team like UMKC can be in the Western Athletic, but Denver, a program in the Western United States, is in the Summit League. One has to wonder why those teams are not flip-flopped. It’s even more peculiar that UMKC left the Summit League for the WAC. Anyway, the point is that the WAC is a very diverse conference if we look at locales only.

One thing has remained consistent in the WAC over the past decade though. The New Mexico State Aggies have controlled this conference for a better part of the decade. Since 2007, the Aggies have been the WAC’s automatic bid seven times. Five of those qualifying seasons have come in the last six years. So, it is safe to say the Aggies are a staple in this league. This season shows no sign of them relenting either.

While their conference opponents are far more formidable than in past seasons, New Mexico State is still the favorite. Utah Valley, Grand Canyon, and Seattle are the other team’s that are legitimate threats to the Aggies currently. However, with a perfect conference record of 3-0 and a 15-3 overall record, New Mexico State is still in the driver’s seat.

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One thing that sets the Aggies apart this season is their incredible run in the non-conference. While they suffered losses to Saint Mary’s, USC, and San Diego, they evened themselves out with terrific wins too. They have defeated New Mexico twice and they have also collected wins over Illinois and Davidson. However, their greatest win this season came over Miami, who was ranked No. 6 in the AP poll at the time.

They began their conference season with victories over Chicago State, Grand Canyon, and Cal State Bakersfield. All of those triumphs came by at least 11 points as well. Now, they must prove if they are the real deal in the WAC with games against Seattle and Utah Valley this week. Those two are arguably the second and third best in the Western Athletic, so this will be a good litmus test to show how good New Mexico State really is.

The experience of the Aggies is also an advantage they hold over the rest of the WAC. They are led by senior Zach Lofton, who is averaging 19.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. For a guard, Lofton is as efficient as it gets. He shoots 50% from the field and 39% from three. Those clips are astoundingly high for a perimeter player, regardless of the league they play in.

New Mexico State also has a solid post presence in senior Jemerrio Jones. Despite being listed at only 6-foot-5, Jones is eighth in the NCAA in rebounds per game at 11.4. He also chips in 10 points per game, which is second on the team. Both Lofton and Jones lead the team on both ends of the floor.

However, the Aggies feature a deadly combination of team skills that make them truly dangerous. They shoot 46% from the field, a very high number for a cumulative team. They also only surrender 63 points per game each night. That number is top-20 in the country (19th to be exact) which is wildly impressive given the opponents they have played. Say what you will about their conference opponents, but that is an eye-popping number.

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That collection of efficient offense and stifling defense makes the New Mexico State Aggies extremely menacing in 2018. In my opinion, it is not a matter of if they pull off an upset the NCAA Tournament, it is a matter of how many. Not only will they win a game in March, they may be the Cinderella team of the NCAA Tournament.

Barring an epic meltdown, I think the New Mexico State Aggies will coast to the Western Athletic Conference title. That will make it their sixth tournament championship in seven years. As far we can see, they will continue to dominate the WAC for the foreseeable future.