TexKid -- If you are referring to GM, I totally agree that he is one to listen to....I really like New Mex here too and acutally just picked them up at -4....
For those of you out there that put emphasis on the emotional make-up of the teams when capping, here is an interesting little piece on this game tonight...GL
A belligerent New Mexico State Aggies fan with a lip full of chewing tobacco spit in the face of New Mexico guard Jeff Hart 19 days ago after the Lobos lost in Las Cruces.
Another Aggies fan spat on Lobos forward Danny Granger as he entered a tunnel headed for the locker room during the first meeting this season between the two in-state rivals at the Pan American Center.
Granger was in street clothes that night, unable to play because of NCAA transfer rules.
This time Granger, and fellow transfer Troy DeVries, will be in uniform as the Lobos seek a measure of redemption. The rematch is likely to be a more competitive game filled with short tempers.
The Aggies come to Albuquerque with a three-game winning streak over the Lobos, including a 19-point whipping three weeks ago at Las Cruces.
Granger said he came away from the last encounter with the Aggies frustrated and counting the days until the second matchup.
"I really did," he said. "We were walking, and they were just spitting on us."
Granger also said some fans were yelling obscenities directed at him, something he won't forget when he faces the Aggies for the first time.
"It's going to be different when they come here," he said.
The Lobos are coming off an impressive 74-56 win Sunday afternoon against Coppin State in the debuts of Granger and DeVries.
Granger finished with 18 points and nine rebounds. DeVries had a team-high 12 assists and added 11 points.
With those two in the lineup tonight, Lobos coach Ritchie McKay should have a better chance of getting his first win over the Aggies. McKay hasn't beaten NMSU in three tries.
As for the way his team was treated in Las Cruces, McKay said he hopes Lobos fans will return the favor with noise instead of slobber.
"It's a rivalry, and the Aggies fans let us know how passionate they are about it," McKay said. "I hope our fans will show them how passionate we are about it, in a tasteful manner."
Hart, who nearly enrolled at NMSU before last season and was invited by Aggies coach Lou Henson to join the team as a nonscholarship player, said he is a target in Las Cruces because he spurned the offer.
Hart said he couldn't imagine a more disrespectful act than being spit upon.
"To single you out after you lost and spit on you, that's pretty bad," he said.
