WKU Basketball: CUSA Tournament Round 1 Western Kentucky vs New Mexico State
It's time for Rocket City Hoops as Western Kentucky and New Mexico State face off in the first round of the Conference USA men's basketball tournament! Here's everything you need to know for the game.
Overview
On Thursday, March 14, the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers face off against the New Mexico State University Aggies in the first round of the 2024 Conference USA Tournament. 3-seed Western Kentucky (19-11, 8-8 CUSA) finished the season on a four-game losing streak, most recently losing to Liberty 82-79 in Lynchburg. 6-seed New Mexico State finished the season on a strong note winning their last two games, most recently beating Florida International 77-70 in Las Cruces. Western Kentucky and New Mexico State went 1-1 in their two meetings throughout the conference season with the home team winning both games. As of publication, ESPN’s BPI favors Western Kentucky with an 81.3% chance of winning over New Mexico State.
Notable Statistics
WKU Stat Leaders
PPG: Don McHenry: 15.2 points per game
RPG: Babacar Faye: 5.7 rebounds per game
APG: Don McHenry: 2.5 assists per game
NMSU Stat Leaders
PPG: Christian Cook: 11 points per game
RPG: Femi Odukale: 6.6 rebounds per game
APG: Jordan Rawls: 3.6 assists per game
WKU Team Stats
80.2 PPG
46.7% FG
33.7% 3PT
39.8 RPG
13.4 APG
7.3 SPG
13.8 TO
NMSU Team Stats
67.6 PPG
42.2% FG
32.9% 3PT
33.4 RPG
11.3 APG
6.2 SPG
11.9 TO
Keys to Victory
WKU
Shake off the past and focus on the future. Western Kentucky ended the conference season on a four-game losing streak. Their longest losing streak before this was only two. So what? The end of the season may not have gone how many might have liked it to, but there’s no reason in looking back at it. This is a brand-new season. Win or go home. If WKU can’t get over this hump and get back to playing the type of basketball they were playing at the beginning of the conference season, they won’t make it far into the tournament. Focus on what’s ahead of you and don’t look back.
The Hilltoppers really need to clean up their three-point defense. Their three-point defense is the main reason for their current losing streak. In their last four games, WKU has allowed their opponents to shoot an average of 45% from three-point range. With how many good shooters there are in this league, allowing 45% from three isn’t going to win you very many games. Throughout most of the conference season, WKU has been top 50 in the country in three-point defense but has since fallen out of the top 50 as a result of the poor defensive displays over these last four games. If WKU isn’t able to fix their three-point defense and put in some extra effort on that side of the ball, their chance of winning goes down drastically. Whether it’s the other team going cold or it’s WKU doing a good job, the other team can’t shoot the lights out from deep.
To win their first game, WKU is really going to have to get Don McHenry going. Don is a 6’2” guard for the Hilltoppers and is leading the team in scoring and assists. He recently was honored as a first team all-Conference member. He has done a terrific job in his first year for the Hilltoppers but has really slowed down lately. In the thick of conference play, McHenry was really making his case for Conference USA player of the year, dropping 20+ points multiple games in a row. Lately, however, he is struggling to get past ten points a game. Sure, every player has their slumps and it’s extremely difficult to drop 20+ points every single game, especially in this league, but Don is WKU’s main source of scoring and has tremendous offensive abilities and the Tops should really make an effort to get him back into his mojo if they want to have their best chance of winning this game and beyond. One way another, your best players can’t disappear.
NMSU
New Mexico State needs to rebound the basketball. The Aggies were outrebounded by the Hilltoppers in both meetings throughout the season. In their last meeting, WKU was able to outrebound New Mexico State by 12. If you let your opponent get 12 more rebounds than you, you most likely won’t be winning that game. The thing about Western Kentucky is that every player on the floor contributes on the glass. Whether its Babacar Faye, Brandon Newman, or Tyrone Marshall, everyone on the court crashes the boards for the Tops. Because of this, the Aggies should really make it a point of emphasis for everyone to box out, even the guards. For the majority of the season, Brandon Newman was leading the Hilltoppers in rebounds and he is a 6’5” guard. This shows how much rebounding the ball means to Western Kentucky’s team and that everyone, no matter how big or small, crashes the boards. New Mexico State has to rebound the ball to have their best chance of winning this game.
The Aggies are going to have to try to stop Teagan Moore. Moore is a 6’5” guard for the Hilltoppers and has just earned his second Conference USA Freshman of the Week award. He was also honored on the CUSA All-Freshman Team. Teagan has led the Hilltoppers in scoring in two of their last three games. His career high came on February 28 against Louisiana Tech when Teagan dropped 22 points on the night to lead all scorers. He also led the Hilltoppers in scoring in their last meeting with New Mexico State with 12 points on the night. Teagan has really found his game recently and the Aggies need to watch out for him because he could easily go off again and take the game over.
Finally, New Mexico State needs to win the paint battle. New Mexico State was outscored in the paint both times these two teams played in the conference season. In the last meeting between these two teams, WKU outscored New Mexico State 38-22 in the paint. You have to have a paint presence to be successful in college basketball. Whether it’s driving the ball to the hoop or feeding it inside to the big men, you have to be able to score in the paint. Kaosi Ezeagu is a 6’10” forward for the Aggies and he is capable of having big offensive nights. If the Aggies can get the ball in to Ezeagu and get him going, they will have a much better chance of beating Western Kentucky.
Richards’ Expectations and Predictions
After such a crazy conference season, I’m not really too sure what to expect in the first round. Western Kentucky had a very up and down conference season and looked like the best team in Conference USA up until they lost four games in a row to end the season. On the other hand, New Mexico State had a disappointing season, but possibly exceeded expectations given the fact that they basically had to start from scratch. Neither team wants to go home in the first round and I’m sure both coaches will have their teams fired up as they head into Huntsville.
My prediction for Western Kentucky vs New Mexico State in the first round of the Conference USA tournament is going to be 78-65 WKU. In my opinion, Western Kentucky just has more depth and talent than New Mexico State. New Mexico State isn’t a bad team at all, and I could very well be wrong, but this really seems to be a bad matchup for the Aggies and it’s very hard to see them knocking a motivated Western Kentucky out in the first round. WKU really should’ve won both times these two teams played but ultimately fell asleep in the second half in Las Cruces which led to the 23-point comeback win for the Aggies. Ultimately, it will most likely be a great game and I can’t wait to watch it in person!
Conclusion
It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. The Conference USA tournament is finally here! There isn’t a whole lot better in life than basketball in March. This conference has been super competitive all year long and if you are a fan of any of these teams, I would highly suggest getting tickets because you won’t want to miss the action! This first round match up with Western Kentucky and New Mexico State will be nothing short of exciting. Both teams want to win badly. It’s all going to come down to who wants it more and I can’t wait to watch it all unfold!
For anyone that is not able to make it to Huntsville, the game will be on ESPN+ at 8:00 pm CT. You can also tune into @thetowelrackwku on Twitter/X for build-up, live tweets, and reactions. While you’re at it, go ahead and check out the RedOut Podcast on Twitter/X and on YouTube. Also, for Lady Topper live tweeting, follow RedOut, as RedOut will have live tweets when the men play at the same time. As always, we are your #1 source for unfiltered and honest WKU content!