Aggies can’t make the trip to Wichita
No makeup date rescheduled yet
LAS CRUCES — New Mexico State’s men’s basketball game at Wichita State, originally scheduled for Monday night, has now been postponed indefinitely.
The schools are working to identify potential makeup dates later this season, but no decisions have been made.
Winter storms played havoc on New Mexico State’s original travel itinerary, canceling the team’s Sunday flight from El Paso to Wichita, Kan. Continued attempts Sunday and Monday to book a replacement flight, commercial or charter, were unsuccessful.
The Aggies and the Shockers agreed Monday morning to postpone the game at least one day to Tuesday. By Monday evening, both sides had given up on the possibility of playing Tuesday, either.
The Wichita Eagle reports that NMSU gets $125,000 if the game is played, but that the contract includes a $50,000 penalty if the team cancels or fails to appear.
“We are continuing to work with the Wichita State administration to identify potential dates to reschedule the game,” said NMSU athletic director Mario Moccia. “It is one of our signature nonconference games for this season and an important game for our program. We are grateful to Wichita State for their understanding and cooperation on this issue.”
The 7-6 Aggies will return to action Wednesday night at 7 p.m. against Arizona Christian at the Pan American Center. Wichita State (6-5) will open Missouri Valley Conference play against Drake on Thursday at 1 p.m. at Koch Arena.
SIAKAM REPEATS: For the fourth time this season, NMSU’s Pascal Siakam was selected Western Athletic Conference men’s player of the week.
The 6-foot-9 sophomore from Douala, Cameroon, averaged 30.5 points on 55 percent shooting, with 10.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game as the Aggies went 1-1 for the week, beating Oral Roberts and losing at No. 23 Baylor.
In a win over Oral Roberts last Monday, Siakam matched his career high in scoring with 35 points, the most in the WAC this season, to go with 11 rebounds and two blocks.
Siakam leads the nation in field goals (119) and ranks sixth nationally in scoring per game (23.8), and leads the WAC and ranks 62nd nationally in blocks per game (1.92).
NMSU WOMEN: The Aggies are in the Bronx to play Vanderbilt today at 1 p.m. in the Fordham Holiday Classic. Both teams are 9-2. Vanderbilt’s streak of 15 consecutive NCAA appearances was snapped last season — the same time New Mexico State landed in the NCAAs for the first time since 1987-1988.
NMSU and Vandy have played only once, a 90-77 Commodores win in 1987 at the Wahine Classic.