First Scouting Report: UK will open basketball season vs. mystery team New Mexico State
A look ahead to the Kentucky Wildcats’ 2023-24 men’s basketball season opener:
The opponent
No. 16 Kentucky (0-0) will face New Mexico State (0-0) on Monday (Nov. 6) at Rupp Arena (capacity 20,545) at Central Bank Center in downtown Lexington.
The game will tip off at 8 p.m. and be telecast by the SEC Network.
UK went 22-12 overall and 12-6 in the SEC last season and lost 75-69 to Kansas State in the NCAA Tournament round of 32.
New Mexico State went 9-15 overall and 2-10 in the WAC last year before its season was shut down prematurely in February due to an alleged hazing scandal within the program.
Series history
Kentucky leads the all-time series with New Mexico State 1-0.
Most recent meeting
Heshimu Evans had 15 points, Wayne Turner 14 and Scott Padgett 11 as Kentucky broke away from a 34-34 halftime tie to roll to an 82-60 victory over New Mexico State on March 12, 1999, in the NCAA Tournament round of 64 at the Superdome in New Orleans.
Know your foe
1. A 2022-23 season filled with turmoil cost first-year NMSU head man Greg Heiar his job. To reestablish a tradition-rich men’s basketball program, New Mexico State turned to ex-Sam Houston State head coach Jason Hooten.
Hooten, 54, went 261-169 in 13 seasons at Sam Houston State. He led the Bearkats to Southland Conference regular-season championships in 2010-11 and 2018-19.
Last season, Hooten’s final Sam Houston State team went 26-8 and, defensively, held opponents to 59.3 points a game and 39.1% field-goal shooting.
2. Former Western Kentucky Hilltoppers guard Jordan Rawls, a super-senior, is part of an NMSU roster that has been entirely revamped since last season.
Rawls played his freshman and sophomore seasons at WKU; transferred and played as a junior for Georgia State; and then returned and played his senior campaign last year at Western Kentucky.
Last season, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound Rawls averaged 7.5 points and 2.6 assists but made only 40.9% of his shot attempts.
3. The state of Kentucky will be a familiar playing location for New Mexico State in 2023-24. After facing UK, the Aggies will return to the commonwealth almost three weeks later to play Louisville at the KFC Yum Center on Nov. 26.
On Feb. 17, NMSU will again be in Kentucky to face Western Kentucky at Diddle Arena in Bowling Green in what will be a Conference USA matchup.
New Mexico State is playing in C-USA for the first time this season after making 10 NCAA Tournament appearances in the prior 18 seasons as a member of the WAC.
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