# 2016–17 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team

The 2016–17 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team represented New Mexico State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Aggies, led by first-year head coach Paul Weir, 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, 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.

## Previous season

The Aggies finished the 2015–16 season 23–11, 13–1 in WAC play to win the WAC regular season championship. They defeated UMKC to advance to the championship game of the WAC tournament where they lost to Cal State Bakersfield. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Saint Mary's.
On April 16, 2016, head coach Marvin Menzies left the school to accept the head coaching position at UNLV. On April 26, the school hired Paul Weir, an assistant coach under Menzies, as head coach.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Harold Givens | 1 | F | 6'7" | 200 | RS Freshman | Norcross, GA | Transferred to Pearl River CC |
| Rashawn Browne | 10 | G | 6'1" | 170 | RS Freshman | Toronto, ON | Transferred to California (PA) |
| Jose Campo | 14 | F | 6'11" | 206 | RS Freshman | Riohacha, Colombia | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Rene Esparza | 15 | G | 6'3" | 175 | Junior | Ciudad Juárez, Mexico | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Pascal Siakam | 43 | F | 6'9" | 230 | Sophomore | Donala, Cameroon | Declare for 2016 NBA draft |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Chance Ellis | 3 | G | 6'3" | 223 | Sophomore | New York, NY | Junior college transferred from New Mexico Military Institute |
| Jemerrio Jones | 10 | F | 6'6" | 190 | Junior | Memphis, TN | Junior college transferred from Hill College |
| A. J. Harris | 12 | G | 5'9" | 157 | Sophomore | Dayton, OH | Transferred from Ohio State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Harris will have to sit out for the 2016–17 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| Marlon Jones | 23 | F | 6'7" | 218 | Junior | Chicago, IL | Junior college transferred from South Plains College |

### 2016 Recruiting Class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Johnny McCants F | Las Cruces, NM | Oñate High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Jun 7, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Chance Ellis G | New York, NY | New Mexico Military Institute | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 223 lb (101 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| A.J. Harris G | Dayton, OH | Ohio State | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | 157 lb (71 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 84 ||||||
| Jemerrio Jones F | Memphis, TN | Hill JC | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 62 ||||||
| Marlon Jones F | Chicago, IL | South Plains JC | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 218 lb (99 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 73 ||||||
| 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: "2016 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 |
| Regular season |||||||||
| 11/11/2016* 7:30 pm | | Arizona Christian | W 100–52 | 1–0 | 14 – N'Dir | 12 – Chuha | 4 – 2 Tied | Pan American Center (5,803) Las Cruces, NM |
| 11/13/2016* 2:00 pm, RTRM | | at Colorado State | L 61–64 | 1–1 | 16 – Baker | 9 – J. Jones | 3 – N'Dir | Moby Arena (2,264) Fort Collins, CO |
| 11/16/2016* 7:00 pm | | Samford San Diego Classic | W 58–48 | 2–1 | 16 – Chuha | 13 – Chuha | 4 – J. Jones | Pan American Center (3,373) Las Cruces, NM |
| 11/18/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at New Mexico Rio Grande Rivalry | L 59–72 | 2–2 | 25 – Baker | 10 – Bhullar | 3 – N'Dir | The Pit (13,892) Albuquerque, NM |
| 11/20/2016* 3:00 pm | | Bethune-Cookman San Diego Classic | W 89–73 | 3–2 | 28 – Huggins | 7 – Bhullar | 4 – N'Dir | Pan American Center (4,323) Las Cruces, NM |
| 11/22/2016* 7:00 pm | | Nicholls State San Diego Classic | W 86–74 | 4–2 | 24 – J. Jones | 9 – J. Jones | 4 – 3 Tied | Pan American Center (3,301) Las Cruces, NM |
| 11/26/2016* 3:00 pm | | at San Diego San Diego Classic | W 56–51 | 5–2 | 15 – Baker | 9 – 2 Tied | 2 – Huggins | Jenny Craig Pavilion (1,008) San Diego, CA |
| 11/30/2016* 7:30 pm | | Air Force | W 78–70 | 6–2 | 15 – 2 Tied | 7 – J. Jones | 7 – 2 Tied | Pan American Center (4,382) Las Cruces, NM |
| 12/03/2016* 7:00 pm | | Long Beach State | W 93–85 | 7–2 | 26 – Huggins | 13 – J. Jones | 3 – 2 Tied | Pan American Center (3,679) Las Cruces, NM |
| 12/10/2016* 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | New Mexico Rio Grande Rivalry | W 84–71 | 8–2 | 26 – Baker | 14 – Chuha | 3 – 2 Tied | Pan American Center (6,298) Las Cruces, NM |
| 12/13/2016* 7:00 pm | | at UTEP Battle of I-10 | W 79–68 | 9–2 | 20 – Baker | 13 – J. Jones | 3 – 2 Tied | Don Haskins Center (6,815) El Paso, TX |
| 12/17/2016* 6:00 pm, P12N | | at Arizona State | W 81–70 | 10–2 | 24 – Huggins | 11 – Chuha | 7 – Baker | Wells Fargo Arena (5,426) Tempe, AZ |
| 12/19/2016* 7:00 pm | | UC Irvine | W 85–79 $^{OT}$ | 11–2 | 24 – Huggins | 18 – J. Jones | 8 – Baker | Pan American Center (3,794) Las Cruces, NM |
| 12/27/2016* 7:00 pm | | Eastern New Mexico | W 84–50 | 12–2 | 18 – Baker | 9 – 2 Tied | 5 – J. Jones | Pan American Center (3,912) Las Cruces, NM |
| 12/30/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UTEP Battle of I-10 | W 79–70 | 13–2 | 24 – Baker | 11 – J. Jones | 4 – 2 Tied | Pan American Center (5,639) Las Cruces, NM |
| 01/05/2017 5:00 pm, ASN | | at UMKC | W 77–64 | 14–2 (1–0) | 31 – Huggins | 10 – Chuha | 10 – Baker | Municipal Auditorium (1,024) Kansas City, MO |
| 01/07/2017 1:05 pm | | at Chicago State | W 78–62 | 15–2 (2–0) | 27 – Huggins | 10 – Chuha | 6 – Baker | Jones Convention Center (1,636) Chicago, IL |
| 01/12/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Grand Canyon | W 81–69 | 16–2 (3–0) | 19 – J. Jones | 13 – Chuha | 5 – Baker | Pan American Center (4,800) Las Cruces, NM |
| 01/14/2017 7:00 pm | | Cal State Bakersfield | W 63–58 | 17–2 (4–0) | 13 – Baker | 16 – J. Jones | 4 – Baker | Pan American Center (4,295) Las Cruces, NM |
| 01/21/2017 7:00 pm | | UMKC | W 94–71 | 18–2 (5–0) | 20 – Baker | 14 – J. Jones | 6 – Taylor | Pan American Center (9,893) Las Cruces, NM |
| 01/26/2017 8:00 pm | | at Seattle | W 71–56 | 19–2 (6–0) | 19 – Baker | 11 – Baker | 5 – J. Jones | KeyArena (1,267) Seattle, WA |
| 01/28/2017 7:00 pm | | at Utah Valley | W 74–69 | 20–2 (7–0) | 24 – Baker | 13 – J. Jones | 6 – Haley | UCCU Center (6,246) Orem, UT |
| 01/30/2017* 7:00 pm | | vs. Northern New Mexico | W 98–75 | 21–2 | 27 – Baker | 11 – Chuha | 5 – Haley | Santa Ana Star Center (2,033) Rio Rancho, NM |
| 02/04/2017 7:00 pm | | Chicago State | W 86–51 | 22–2 (8–0) | 15 – Taylor | 11 – Chuha | 8 – Haley | Pan American Center (5,445) Las Cruces, NM |
| 02/09/2017 8:00 pm | | at Cal State Bakersfield | L 53–72 | 22–3 (8–1) | 19 – Baker | 16 – J. Jones | 3 – Baker | Icardo Center (3,497) Bakersfield, CA |
| 02/11/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Grand Canyon | L 71–83 | 22–4 (8–2) | 19 – Baker | 11 – Chuha | 6 – Baker | GCU Arena (7,479) Phoenix, AZ |
| 02/18/2017 6:00 pm | | at Texas–Rio Grande Valley | W 107–101 | 23–4 (9–2) | 36 – Baker | 9 – J. Jones | 7 – Baker | UTRGV Fieldhouse (2,234) Edinburg, TX |
| 02/23/2017 7:00 pm | | Utah Valley | L 72–84 | 23–5 (9–3) | 21 – Baker | 10 – Chuha | 3 – Huggins | Pan American Center (4,151) Las Cruces, NM |
| 02/25/2017 7:00 pm | | Seattle | W 86–53 | 24–5 (10–3) | 17 – Chuha | 11 – Chuha | 9 – Baker | Pan American Center (4,744) Las Cruces, NM |
| 03/04/2017 7:00 pm | | Texas–Rio Grande Valley | W 107–81 | 25–5 (11–3) | 28 – Chuha | 10 – J. Jones | 7 – Baker | Pan American Center (5,233) Las Cruces, NM |
| WAC tournament |||||||||
| 03/09/2017 5:30 pm | (2) | vs. (7) Chicago State Quarterfinals | W 67–53 | 26–5 | 15 – Baker | 11 – Chuha | 5 – Baker | Orleans Arena (1,854) Paradise, NV |
| 03/10/2017 9:30 pm, ESPN3 | (2) | vs. (3) UMKC Semifinals | W 78–60 | 27–5 | 18 – 2 Tied | 13 – J. Jones | 4 – 2 Tied | Orleans Arena (2,190) Paradise, NV |
| 03/11/2017 9:00 pm, ESPNU | (2) | vs. (1) Cal State Bakersfield Championship | W 70–60 | 28–5 | 16 – Chuha | 11 – Chuha | 6 – Baker | Orleans Arena (2,444) Paradise, NV |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| 03/17/17* 11:40 am, truTV | (14 E) | vs. (3 E) No. 9 Baylor First Round | L 73–91 | 28–6 | 19 – 2 Tied | 6 – 2 Tied | 7 – J. Jones | BOK Center (13,571) Tulsa, OK |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East Region. All times are in Mountain Time Source. |||||||||