# 1969–70 New Mexico State Aggies basketball team

The 1969–70 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team represented New Mexico State University during the 1969–70 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. The Aggies were independent and not a member of a conference. They were led by fourth year head coach Lou Henson and three future NBA players – consensus second-team All-American Jimmy Collins, big man Sam Lacey, and Charlie Criss. The team reached the Final Four of the NCAA tournament, losing to eventual champion UCLA before defeating St. Bonaventure in the national third-place game. To date, it is the only Final Four appearance in program history. The Aggies had three win streaks of at least eight games during the season and finished with a 27–3 record.

## Schedule/results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| Dec 1, 1969* | No. 6 | Oklahoma Christian | W 93–58 | 1–0 | – | – | – | Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM |
| Dec 4, 1969* | No. 6 | Wichita State | W 108–76 | 2–0 | – | – | – | Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM |
| Dec 6, 1969* | No. 6 | Baylor | W 102–83 | 3–0 | – | – | – | Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM |
| Dec 8, 1969* | No. 6 | at New Mexico | W 90–83 | 4–0 | – | – | – | The Pit/Bob King Court Albuquerque, NM |
| Dec 11, 1969* | No. 3 | at Brigham Young | W 80–78 $^{OT}$ | 5–0 | – | – | – | George Albert Smith Fieldhouse Provo, UT |
| Dec 13, 1969* | No. 3 | at Arizona State | W 94–88 | 6–0 | – | – | – | Sun Devil Gym Tempe, AZ |
| Dec 16, 1969* | No. 3 | New Mexico | W 91–73 | 7–0 | – | – | – | Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM |
| Dec 19, 1969* | No. 3 | at Hardin–Simmons Cowboy Classic | W 110–80 | 8–0 | – | 27 – Lacey | – | Rose Fieldhouse Abilene, TX |
| Dec 20, 1969* | No. 3 | vs. Baylor Cowboy Classic | L 73–87 | 8–1 | – | – | – | Rose Fieldhouse Abilene, TX |
| Dec 26, 1969* | No. 7 | Idaho State Roadrunner Invitational | W 88–80 | 9–1 | – | – | – | Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM |
| Dec 27, 1969* | No. 7 | Creighton Roadrunner Invitational | W 93–78 | 10–1 | – | – | – | Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM |
| Dec 30, 1969* | No. 7 | Sul Ross State | W 95–75 | 11–1 | – | – | – | Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM |
| Jan 2, 1970* | No. 7 | Arizona | W 95–76 | 12–1 | – | – | – | Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM |
| Jan 5, 1970* | No. 7 | at Texas-El Paso | W 75–66 | 13–1 | – | – | – | Memorial Gym El Paso, TX |
| Jan 10, 1970* | No. 6 | Montana State | W 106–68 | 14–1 | – | – | – | Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM |
| Jan 17, 1970* | No. 5 | Hardin–Simmons | W 83–75 | 15–1 | – | – | – | Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM |
| Jan 24, 1970* | No. 5 | Texas-El Paso | W 90–77 | 16–1 | – | – | – | Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM |
| Jan 27, 1970* | No. 5 | at West Texas A&M | W 88–62 | 17–1 | – | – | – | WT Fieldhouse Canyon, TX |
| Jan 29, 1970* | No. 5 | at Creighton | L 68–72 | 17–2 | – | – | – | Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, NE |
| Feb 7, 1970* | No. 5 | at Utah State | W 95–90 | 18–2 | – | – | – | Nelson Fieldhouse Logan, UT |
| Feb 9, 1970* | No. 5 | at Montana State | W 92–73 | 19–2 | – | – | – | Worthington Arena Bozeman, MT |
| Feb 14, 1970* | No. 5 | Air Force | W 99–81 | 20–2 | 42 – Collins | – | – | Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM |
| Feb 21, 1970* | No. 5 | West Texas A&M | W 87–73 | 21–2 | – | – | – | Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM |
| Feb 23, 1970* | No. 5 | Boise State | W 105–79 | 22–2 | – | – | – | Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM |
| Feb 28, 1970* | No. 5 | No. 20 Utah State | W 104–92 | 23–2 | – | – | – | Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM |
| NCAA Tournament |||||||||
| Mar 7, 1970* | No. 5 | vs. Rice | W 101–77 | 24–2 | – | – | – | Daniel–Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, TX |
| Mar 12, 1970* | No. 5 | vs. Kansas State | W 70–66 | 25–2 | 23 – Collins | 11 – Lacey | – | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS |
| Mar 14, 1970* | No. 5 | vs. No. 14 Drake | W 87–78 | 26–2 | 26 – Collins | 24 – Lacey | – | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS |
| March 19, 1970* | No. 5 | vs. No. 2 UCLA National semifinal | L 77–93 | 26–3 | 28 – Collins | 16 – Lacey | – | Cole Field House College Park, MD |
| Mar 21, 1970* | No. 5 | vs. No. 3 St. Bonaventure Consolation | W 79–73 | 27–3 | 18 – Collins, Lacey | 19 – Lacey | – | Cole Fieldhouse College Park, MD |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Mountain Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Final |
| AP | 6 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Coaches | 5 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 |

## Awards and honors

* Jimmy Collins – Consensus Second-Team All-American

## Team players in the 1970 NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 5 | Sam Lacey | Cincinnati Royals |
| 1 | 11 | Jimmy Collins | Chicago Bulls |