It will be a battle between Western Athletic opponents when the Texas-Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros (8-20) welcome the New Mexico State Aggies (21-9) to UTRGV Fieldhouse. The game gets underway at 8:00 pm ET on Saturday, Mar. 5.
The Vaqueros were victorious over Chicago State 89-79 the last time they played. Dakota Slaughter had 20 points, five rebounds, and four assists for Texas-Rio Grande Valley. The Aggies, meanwhile, are coming off a 62-61 win over UMKC in their last outing. Pascal Siakam played well and claimed his 24th double-double of the season, posting 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The inefficient offense of Texas-Rio Grande Valley (299th in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 98.8) will square off against the top-notch defense of New Mexico State (seventh in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 94.5). The Aggies figure to have the advantage on that end of the court.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Aggies won the first game 92-68. Siakam played a huge role in the victory by recording a double-double with 24 points and 16 rebounds.
Notes
New Mexico State won its last game by a one-point margin. In games decided by a margin of three points or less, Texas-Rio Grande Valley is 1-0. New Mexico State is 3-3 in close games this season.
Texas-Rio Grande Valley averages 68.6 possessions per game, scoring .988 points on each possession. While New Mexico State averages fewer possessions per game with 67.4, they score more points per possession with 1.065.
Texas-Rio Grande Valley has an average effective field goal percentage of 48.7%. New Mexico State is a poor 4-7 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, Texas-Rio Grande Valley attempts 20.0 three pointers and New Mexico State attempts 15.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Texas-Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros have a 7-12 record while the New Mexico State Aggies have a winning 4-1 record.
Texas-Rio Grande Valley ranks 58th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.27. New Mexico State is ranked lower at 192nd with an A/TO of 1.02.
The New Mexico State Aggies average 41.0 rebounds per game and are ranked 16th. The Texas-Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros average 33.6 rebounds per game, ranked 296th.
The New Mexico State Aggies rank 89th in offensive rebounds. The Texas-Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros rank 218th in the nation in defensive rebounds.
On average, Texas-Rio Grande Valley forces a turnover rate of 15.1%. When New Mexico State turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 16-6 record.
