New Mexico State is looking to find its way back to the NCAA Tournament, a place where it used to be almost yearly. The Aggies also have a proud history of success in conference tournaments, especially in the Western Athletic Conference, where they won 10 of 16 possible titles before joining Conference USA.
From the glory days of Lou Henson to the WAC dynasty under coaches like Marvin Menzies and Chris Jans, NM State has plenty of March Madness moments to fondly look back on. Overall, the Aggies have 26 NCAA Tournament appearances (three of which are officially vacated) and 13 conference tournament championships.
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Perhaps one day, the Aggies will return to being a consistent NCAA Tournament contender. They’ll aim for that as coach Jason Hooten enters his fourth season. But for now, let’s look back on some of the best March Madness moments in NM State men’s basketball history. A separate list for women’s basketball will be put together in the near future.
Here are the five moments that will live on in Aggies lore forever:
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The run to the Final Four (1970)
1970 was Henson’s masterpiece.
Having already guided the Aggies to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including two Sweet 16 runs in 1968 and 1969, Henson brought them all the way to the Final Four in 1970. Led by guard Jimmy Collins and center Sam Lacey, two NM State Athletics Hall of Famers (the latter is also in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame), NM State downed Drake 87-78 in the Midwest Regional finals to reach college basketball’s storied stage. The win was preceded by victories over Rice and Kansas State in the Midwest quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.
This remains NM State’s only Final Four appearance to date, and the 1969-70 squad is remembered as one of the university’s best-ever teams in any sport.
(Left to right) Jimmy Collins, New Mexico State head coach Lou Henson and Sam Lacey pose for a photo during the 1969-1970 season.
A blowout for win No. 30 (2019)
NM State ran through its schedule in the 2018-19 season, and it resulted in a historic season.
Devin Bermudez (right) poses for a photo with New Mexico State head coach Chris Jans (left) following the Aggies’ win over Grand Canyon in the 2019 WAC Tournament championship in Las Vegas, Nevada, on March 16, 2019.
Winning the Western Athletic Conference had become routine to the Aggies by this point, as 2019 brought an eighth WAC Tournament championship in 10 seasons. This one was special, though. After earning a single-season program-record 29th win over UTRGV in the WAC Tournament semifinals, NM State destroyed Grand Canyon 89-57 in the championship game to record 30 wins for the first time in school history.
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The Aggies nearly earned an upset win over eventual Final Four team Auburn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. However, Trevelin Queen’s 3-pointer as time expired rimmed out in a narrow 78-77 defeat.
Down goes UConn (2022)
NM State had spent 29 years searching for an NCAA Tournament win entering 2022, but finally got over the hurdle that year.
The Aggies upset Connecticut 70-63 in the first round for their first NCAA Tournament win in the 21st century. NM State was up 32-22 at halftime and held on in the second half to secure the victory.
Teddy Allen played a massive role in the victory with 37 points on 10-for-24 shooting. No other Aggie scored in double figures. NM State would go on to hold a unique streak as the Huskies’ last NCAA Tournament loss when UConn won consecutive national championships in 2023 and 2024 before losing in the second round of the 2025 edition.
Teddy Allen did it all for New Mexico State, pouring in 37 points in a first-round upset of fifth-seeded UConn.
Aggies do it again with Henson (1999)
Henson made his triumphant return to NM State on an interim basis in 1997 after Neil McCarthy was fired amid emerging academic scandals, famously accepting a salary of just $1 a month. When he was hired permanently ahead of the 1998-99 season, the Aggies made it back to the NCAA Tournament.
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The Aggies won 89-79 over Boise State in the 1999 Big West Tournament championship game to break a five-year absence from the NCAA Tournament. NM State fell to Kentucky in the first round, but the season had already been added to Henson’s loaded legacy in Las Cruces.
NM State is sweet (1992)
The 1970 Final Four run remained the last time the Aggies had won an NCAA Tournament game entering 1992. Not only did they snap the streak that year, but they also made it to the second weekend.
The Aggies won the Big West Tournament for the first time in 1992, and then upset DePaul as a No. 12 seed in the first round. NM State faced another low seed in the second round, No. 13 seed Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana or Louisiana-Lafayette), and won 81-73 to advance to the Sweet 16.
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The aforementioned academic scandals forced the Aggies to vacate their NCAA Tournament games from that season, but the moment still happened.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: New Mexico State basketball’s five best March Madness moments
