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NORMAL, Ill. – The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team (5-2) travels to Illinois State for the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge on Saturday at 6 p.m. MST/7 p.m. CST. The game will be available on the ESPN3 and also on 770 KKOB.
The Lobos celebrated the 50th year of The Pit on Wednesday with a 64-55 win over Abilene Christian, who was the first-ever opponent played in The Pit. It was the Lobos fourth straight win inside WisePies Arena and the ninth straight win over the Wildcats.
New Mexico comes into the game with a 5-2 record. The Lobos are averaging 78.0 points per game which is third among the Mountain West. They are shooting 50 percent from the field which ranks first in the league and 20th in the nation.
Tim Williams continues to lead the Lobos with 19 points per game. He is shooting 62.7 percent from the field, which leads the conference. He is averaging 6.1 rebounds per game. Elijah Brown is also a huge factor in the Lobos offense. He is putting up 15 points per game. He led the team in rebounds on Wednesday with nine.
Illinois State comes into the matchup with all five starters averaging double-figures. Deontae Hawkins leads the Redbirds with 16 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game. He is shooting 50.8 percent from the field and 45.8 percent (11-24) from 3-point range. Paris Less, who led the Redbirds in their most recent game with 18 points, is shooting 55.6 (10-18) from the three. He averages 13.8 ppg and is 15-for-17 from the free-throw line.
The Redbirds were picked to finish second in the Missouri Valley behind Wichita State. They received four first place votes and a total of 356 points.
COACHES
Head coach Craig Neal is now 64-40 in his career after Wednesday’s win over Abilene Christian. Over his first three years as head coach he became one of two coaches in Lobo history to win more than 20 games on the road over their first three seasons. Neal’s total in those three seasons was 24. Dan Muller is the head coach of the Illinois State Redbirds. He owns a 79-60 record and is in his fifth season.
SERIES HISTORY
New Mexico and Illinois State will face off for the first time in program history on Saturday. This is the sixth year that the Mountain West has been a part of this challenge and the Lobos are 4-0 when playing in the challenge. Overall against, MVC teams, the Lobos are 10-8. Last year, they face Loyola-Chicago and came away with a 75-51 win in WisePies Arena – The Pit.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
The game will be available to watch on ESPN3 Saturday night at 6 p.m. MST/7 p.m. CST. For fans tuning in on the radio, Robert Portnoy will give the play-by-play action alongside analyst and Lobo great Hunter Greene on 770 KKOB, the flagship station of the New Mexico Lobos. This feed will also be available via the TuneIn Radio App.