The Abilene Christian men's basketball team tries to make it a December to remember when the Wildcats host New Mexico State on Saturday for the annual Christmas Slam game, presented by Chick-FI-A North Abilene. Tipoff is at 3 p.m. from Moody Coliseum.
ACU (6-3) is coming off Tuesday's impressive win over Pepperdine in which the Wildcats led by as many as 21 points toward game's end and held off the Waves for a 71-63 final score.
Bradyn Hubbard was held scoreless in the first half, but still finished with a team-high 15 points.
Yaniel Rivera poured in 14, including a new career-high four made 3-pointers.
Saturday's game completes a home-and-home series scheduled after New Mexico State left the Western Athletic Conference for Conference USA. The two schools played twice as members of the WAC, including in the 2022 WAC Tournament Championship with NMSU winning 66-52 in Las Vegas.
Last season, ACU's 78-70 win over the Aggies was its first ever in Las Cruces, N.M.
The Matchup
- Both teams pride themselves on defense with ACU ranked 34th and NMSU ranked 21st in points allowed per game.
- In five of their six wins this season the Wildcats have held their opponent to 83 points or fewer.
- Statistically, the Wildcats have an edge on the glass with an average rebound margin of +9.7, which is 34th in the NCAA. The Aggies are also solid with a +7.4 margin (ranked 63rd).
- NMSU head coach Jason Hooten was the longtime coach at Sam Houston State when the Bearkats and Wildcats were members of the Southland Conference.
- The Aggles stated the season 6-0 but suffered their first loss on Tuesday to South Alabama in Houston.
