SLU vs. New Mexico State, NCAA Second Round Preview

The University News’ coverage of the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship is brought to you by Humphrey’s Restaurant and Tavern.

Saint Louis University vs. New Mexico State University

The Billikens return to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship for the second consecutive year after posting a 27-6 record and winning the Atlantic 10 Conference title in both the regular season and the conference tournament.

In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Billikens take on the Aggies of New Mexico State. SLU received a 4 seed in the Midwest Region, and face the 13-seeded Aggies (24-10). This is the highest SLU has been seeded in program history. The game will be broadcast to a national audience on Thursday at 1:10 CT on TNT.

The winner advances to take on the victor of (5) Oklahoma State / (12) Oregon. Despite holding the title of in the “Midwest Region,” all the weekend’s contests will take place in the HP Pavilion of San Jose, Calif.

The Scoop on the Aggies:

New Mexico State earned an automatic bid to the dance by claiming the Western Athletic Conference Tournament title. Despite possessing a mammoth frontcourt – NMSU touts the tallest roster in all of college basketball – the Aggies receive contributions from all over the hardwood.

Sim Bhullar (7-5, 350 lbs.) headlines the roster with his circus-worthy size, but guard Daniel Mullings paces the Aggies with 14 points per game. Similar to the Billikens, NMSU exhibits a balanced scoring attack, with five players averaging at least 10 ppg.

It will also be interesting to see how the Aggies fare away from home, as they managed only a .500 record (9-9) in road or neutral games.

Common opponents:

New Mexico – SLU toppled the Aggie’s cross-state rival on New Year’s Eve (60-46), for one of their season’s marquee wins. NMSU fell to the Lobos of New Mexico on two occasions.

How will SLU win

While outside shooting has been shaky during stretches throughout the season, the Billikens will need to establish their perimeter offense early and often against the Aggies. Guards Kwamain Mitchell and Mike McCall Jr. seemingly got to the rim at will during regular season play, but the towers of New Mexico State expect to retard their driving game. Expect big men Rob Loe and Cody Ellis to hit a few early open outside shots to spread things out for the Billikens. Speed has always been an overlooked weapon of this year’s SLU squad, and they will utilize this advantage against the Aggies in the open court and on defense if they hope to secure a victory.

How will New Mexico State win

The sheer size of the Aggies is their calling card. Rebound. Rebound. Rebound. If the Aggies control the boards, it could spell trouble for the Billikens. SLU’s first team all-conference forward Dwayne Evans will have his praised fundamental positioning techniques put to the test against the Aggie frontline.

Racking up the Frequent Flyer Rewards

SLU traversed three time zones and 3,019 miles en route to San Jose in less than 24 hours. Yowzers! After claiming the A-10 Tournament Championship late Sunday afternoon, the Billikens made a pit stop at a local Best Buy for the NCAA Selection Show, and arrived back on campus later that evening. After barely having the time to wash their dirty uniforms, the Bills took off for San Jose at 1:30 p.m. Monday. Keep an eye on the fatigue level of some of these players as the weekend progresses.

The Aggies are no strangers to world traveling either. Their roster spans the globe, featuring players from South Africa, France, Canada, and Croatia.

Official SLU Watch Party

The official Saint Louis University watch party will be held at Chaifetz Arena so local Billiken fans can gather together to cheer the team on to victory. The game will be shown on the arena’s 45-by-14-foot screens, which will be lowered for better viewing.

The party is free for all fans, and concession stands will be open for food items. Everyone attending is encouraged to wear their best SLU blue.

Doors open at 12:00 p.m., and the game begins at 1:10 p.m. CT.

What the experts are saying:

Brad Stevens, Butler Head Coach– “[The Billikens] will go as far as they want to go.”

Colin Cowherd, ESPN Radio Personality: “I have SLU as this year’s Cinderella Final 4 team.”

Joe Orf, New Mexico State beat reporter: “Don’t count the Aggies out just yet. They have the interior strength necessary to rattle this Billiken team.”

Statistical Matchup:

Points per game:                   SLU – 68.7               68.0 – NMSU
Field goal pct:                        SLU – 44.8%           46.1% – NMSU
3-pt pct:                                  SLU – 34.7%            32.0% – NMSU
Rebounds per game:            SLU – 32.8               37.6 – NMSU
Turnovers:                              SLU – 11.5                11.5– NMSU