# 2017–18 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team

The 2017–18 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team represented New Mexico State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Aggies, led by first-year head coach Chris Jans, played their home games at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico as members of the Western Athletic Conference. They finished the season 28–6, 12–2 in WAC play to win the WAC regular season championship. In the WAC tournament, they defeated Chicago State, Seattle, and Grand Canyon to become WAC Tournament champions. They received the WAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Clemson.

## Previous season

The Aggies finished the 2016–17 season 28–6, 11–3 in WAC play to finish in a tie for second place. They defeated Chicago State, UMKC, and Cal State Bakersfield to win the WAC tournament. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Baylor.
On April 11, 2017, head coach Paul Weir resigned to become the head coach at New Mexico. On April 17, the school hired Chris Jans as head coach.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Travon Landry | 0 | G | 6'1" | 184 | RS Junior | San Antonio, TX | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Jermaine Haley | 1 | G | 6'7" | 185 | RS Freshman | Burnaby, BC | Transferred to Odessa College |
| Braxton Huggins | 2 | G | 6'3" | 184 | Junior | Bakersfield, CA | Transferred to Fresno State |
| Chance Ellis | 3 | G | 6'3" | 217 | Sophomore | Queens, NY | Transferred to Prairie View A&M |
| Ian Baker | 4 | G | 6'0" | 190 | Senior | Washington, D.C. | Graduated |
| Matt Taylor | 5 | G | 6'4" | 173 | Junior | Toronto, ON | Declare for 2017 NBA draft |
| Tanveer Bhullar | 21 | C | 7'2" | 285 | RS Junior | Toronto, ON | Graduate transferred to Missouri State |
| Marlon Jones | 23 | F | 6'9" | 222 | Junior | Chicago, IL | Left Program |
| Bollo Gnahore | 34 | C | 6'10" | 258 | RS Freshman | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | Left Program |
| Jalyn Pennie | 35 | G | 6'5" | 185 | Junior | Toronto, ON | Graduate transferred to Cal State Los Angeles |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Keyon Jones | 0 | G | 6'2" | 185 | Junior | Dorchester, MA | Junior college transferred from Odessa College |
| Shunn Buchanan | 1 | G | 6'0" | 165 | Sophomore | Madison, MS | Junior college transferred from NE Mississippi CC |
| Wayne Stewart | 2 | G | 6'5" | 170 | Sophomore | Philadelphia, PA | Junior college transferred from Lamar CC |
| Zach Lofton | 23 | G | 6'3" | 180 | RS Senior | St. Paul, MN | Graduate transferred from Texas Southern. Will be eligible to play immediately, graduated from Texas Southern. |
| Leston Gordon | 24 | C | 6'7" | 225 | Junior | Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago | Junior college transferred from Lee College |
| C. J. Bobbitt | | F | 6'7" | 225 | Junior | Harker Heights, TX | Transferred from Denver. Under NCAA transfer rules, Bobbitt will have to sit out in the 2017–18 season. Will have two years of eligibility left. |
| JoJo Zamora | | G | 6'2" | 170 | Senior | Oakland, CA | Transferred from Utah. Under NCAA transfer rules, Zamora will have to sit out in the 2017–18 season. Will have one year of eligibility left. |

### 2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Robert Brown #52 PF | Dallas, TX | Advanced Prep International | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | N/A | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Gabe Hadley PG | Launceston, Australia | Scotch College | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 177 lb (80 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Jabari Rice SG | Houston, TX | Fort Bend Marshall | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jun 1, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Kortrijk Miles SF | Dallas, TX | Lincoln High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Aug 16, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 New Mexico State Basketball Commits". ESPN.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov 1, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Southeastern Oklahoma State | W 90–83 | | – | – | – | Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM |
| Nov 5, 2017* 12:00 pm | | vs. Texas Tech Charity exhibition benefiting Greater Houston Community Foundation | L 54–84 | | – | – | – | Chaparral Center Midland, TX |
| Regular season |||||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm | | East Central | W 81–55 | 1–0 | 25 – Lofton | 19 – J. Jones | 6 – Harris | Pan American Center (3,920) Las Cruces, NM |
| Nov 13, 2017* 8:00 pm, CHN | | at No. 21 Saint Mary's | L 74–93 | 1–1 | 18 – Lofton | 10 – J. Jones | 4 – Harris | McKeon Pavilion (2,811) Moraga, CA |
| Nov 17, 2017* 7:00 pm | | New Mexico Rio Grande Rivalry | W 75–56 | 2–1 | 28 – Lofton | 16 – J. Jones | 2 – 6 tied | Pan American Center (6,839) Las Cruces, NM |
| Nov 22, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Colorado State | W 89–76 | 3–1 | 30 – Lofton | 8 – Lofton | 5 – Harris | Pan American Center (3,883) Las Cruces, NM |
| Nov 25, 2017* 7:00 pm | | UTEP Battle of I-10 | W 72–63 | 4–1 | 21 – Lofton | 8 – Lofton | 4 – J. Jones | Pan American Center (6,069) Las Cruces, NM |
| Nov 30, 2017* 8:00 pm, Stadium | | at UTEP Battle of I-10 | W 80–60 | 5–1 | 18 – Harris | 13 – J. Jones | 3 – N'Dir | Don Haskins Center (7,078) El Paso, TX |
| Dec 3, 2017* 4:00 pm | | Prairie View A&M | W 69–57 | 6–1 | 18 – J. Jones | 12 – J. Jones | 4 – Harris | Pan American Center (3,591) Las Cruces, NM |
| Dec 6, 2017* 7:00 pm | | San Diego | L 60–65 | 6–2 | 16 – N'Dir | 11 – J. Jones | 3 – Tied | Pan American Center (3,798) Las Cruces, NM |
| Dec 9, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at New Mexico Rio Grande Rivalry | W 65–62 | 7–2 | 22 – Lofton | 10 – Tied | 3 – Harris | Dreamstyle Arena (12,768) Albuquerque, NM |
| Dec 12, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Eastern New Mexico | W 84–62 | 8–2 | 29 – Lofton | 11 – J. Jones | 11 – J. Jones | Pan American Center (3,431) Las Cruces, NM |
| Dec 16, 2017* 6:00 pm, BTN | | vs. Illinois Lou Henson Classic | W 74–69 | 9–2 | 23 – Lofton | 13 – J. Jones | 3 – Chuha | United Center (5,695) Chicago, IL |
| Dec 22, 2017* 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Davidson Diamond Head Classic quarterfinals | W 69–68 | 10–2 | 13 – Tied | 8 – Tied | 3 – Chuha | Stan Sheriff Center (7,669) Honolulu, HI |
| Dec 23, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. No. 6 Miami (FL) Diamond Head Classic semifinals | W 63–54 | 11–2 | 15 – Lofton | 9 – Lofton | 3 – Lofton | Stan Sheriff Center (5,946) Honolulu, HI |
| Dec 25, 2017* 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. USC Diamond Head Classic championship game | L 72–77 | 11–3 | 28 – Lofton | 11 – J. Jones | 8 – J. Jones | Stan Sheriff Center (6,062) Honolulu, HI |
| Dec 28, 2017* 8:00 pm | | at UC Irvine | W 65–60 | 12–3 | 17 – Lofton | 14 – J. Jones | 4 – J. Jones | Bren Events Center (2,036) Irvine, CA |
| Jan 6, 2018 1:00 pm | | at Chicago State | W 97–60 | 13–3 (1–0) | 18 – J. Jones | 16 – J. Jones | 8 – Harris | Jones Convocation Center (563) Chicago, IL |
| Jan 11, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Grand Canyon | W 70–59 | 14–3 (2–0) | 29 – Lofton | 15 – J. Jones | 3 – J. Jones | GCU Arena (7,521) Phoenix, AZ |
| Jan 13, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Cal State Bakersfield | W 66–53 | 15–3 (3–0) | 28 – Lofton | 8 – J. Jones | 6 – Harris | Icardo Center (3,326) Bakersfield, CA |
| Jan 18, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Seattle | W 75–62 | 16–3 (4–0) | 15 – Lofton | 11 – J. Jones | 5 – Harris | Pan American Center (5,035) Las Cruces, NM |
| Jan 20, 2018 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Utah Valley | W 86–59 | 17–3 (5–0) | 24 – Lofton | 10 – J. Jones | 6 – J. Jones | Pan American Center (6,046) Las Cruces, NM |
| Jan 27, 2018 6:00 pm | | at UMKC | W 73–48 | 18–3 (6–0) | 19 – Lofton | 15 – J. Jones | 3 – J. Jones | Municipal Auditorium (1,410) Kansas City, MO |
| Jan 30, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Northern New Mexico | W 71–45 | 19–3 | 14 – J. Jones | 16 – J. Jones | 6 – Buchanan | Pan American Center (4,094) Las Cruces, NM |
| Feb 3, 2018 4:00 pm | | Texas–Rio Grande Valley | W 90–67 | 20–3 (7–0) | 34 – Lofton | 20 – J. Jones | 6 – Lofton | Pan American Center (5,115) Las Cruces, NM |
| Feb 8, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Cal State Bakersfield | W 69–43 | 21–3 (8–0) | 14 – Lofton | 20 – J. Jones | 3 – Tied | Pan American Center (4,206) Las Cruces, NM |
| Feb 10, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Grand Canyon | W 74–70 | 22–3 (9–0) | 27 – J. Jones | 20 – J. Jones | 2 – Harris | Pan American Center (12,989) Las Cruces, NM |
| Feb 15, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Utah Valley | L 79–86 | 22–4 (9–1) | 19 – Lofton | 6 – J. Jones | 6 – N'Dir | UCCU Center (4,271) Orem, UT |
| Feb 17, 2018 2:00 pm | | at Seattle | L 63–73 $^{OT}$ | 22–5 (9–2) | 26 – Lofton | 12 – Lofton | 5 – Lofton | KeyArena (2,270) Seattle, WA |
| Feb 22, 2018 7:00 pm | | Chicago State | W 78–67 | 23–5 (10–2) | 15 – N'Dir | 11 – J. Jones | 4 – J. Jones | Pan American Center (4,404) Las Cruces, NM |
| Feb 24, 2018 7:00 pm | | UMKC | W 82–58 | 24–5 (11–2) | 15 – Tied | 23 – J. Jones | 7 – J. Jones | Pan American Center (5,989) Las Cruces, NM |
| Mar 3, 2018 6:00 pm | | at Texas–Rio Grande Valley | W 86–71 | 25–5 (12–2) | 18 – J. Jones | 13 – J. Jones | 7 – Harris | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,203) Edinburg, TX |
| WAC tournament |||||||||
| Mar 8, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | (1) | vs. (8) Chicago State Quarterfinals | W 97–70 | 26–5 | 21 – Lofton | 15 – J. Jones | 8 – Buchanan | Orleans Arena (1,521) Paradise, NV |
| Mar 9, 2018 9:30 pm, ESPN3 | (1) | vs. (4) Seattle Semifinals | W 84–79 | 27–5 | 31 – Lofton | 22 – J. Jones | 3 – Harris | Orleans Arena (2,739) Paradise, NV |
| Mar 10, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPNU | (1) | vs. (3) Grand Canyon Championship | W 72–58 | 28–5 | 21 – Lofton | 18 – J. Jones | 2 – Harris | Orleans Arena (3,065) Paradise, NV |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| Mar 16, 2018* 7:57 pm, truTV | (12 MW) | vs. (5 MW) No. 20 Clemson First Round | L 68–79 | 28–6 | 29 – Lofton | 14 – Jones | 4 – Jones | Viejas Arena (10,092) San Diego, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest Region. All times are in Mountain Time Source. |||||||||