By Marshall Mecham
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — The New Mexico State men’s basketball team’s 2025-26 season will be defined by its inconsistencies.
After starting 6-0 for the first time since the 1969-70 campaign, the Aggies went just 10-16 the rest of the year to finish with a .500 record of 16-16 (8-12 Conference USA). This is one game worse than last season.
The Aggies ultimately fell in the quarterfinals of the CUSA Tournament to No. 2 Sam Houston State 69-61 Wednesday, March 11, to end their season. They still managed to pull out their first-ever CUSA Tournament win in the first round against No. 7 Jacksonville State 68-63 Tuesday, March 10. NMSU defeated the Gamecocks three times this season.
While the offense was much improved from last year, defensive issues resulted in many of the Aggies’ losses. They averaged 75.1 points per game, but allowed their opponents to average 72 points. This was the complete opposite issue from last season.
The challenge of winning close games also hurt the Aggies, as they went just 2-6 in games decided by three points or fewer. NMSU also only lost four games by double figures.
Despite this and not living up to the expectations of being picked to finished third in the conference standings, the Aggies had a strong surge to end the season.
After a heartbreaking 86-85 overtime road loss to Middle Tennessee Feb. 28 and falling to a disappointing 13-15 record, it was not looking good for the Aggies. However, they snagged two consecutive tight victories at home to secure a spot in the CUSA Tournament.
When fans think of a player who had a huge impact, senior Jemel Jones is probably the first that comes to mind. The 6’4″ guard averaged a team-high 17.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and a team-high 1.3 steals per game. He also shot 43% from the field, 37% from three-point range and 83% from the free-throw line. He scored over 20 points 10 times, including a 34-point outing in the road loss to MTSU. He also finished in double-figure scoring in 29 of the 32 games. Jones earned All-CUSA Second Team Honors as well.
Despite combining for just six points and eight rebounds across two conference tournament games, graduate student Julius Mims still proved to be the Aggies’ clear second option. The 6’9″ versatile forward put up averages of 10.6 points and a career-high 8.4 rebounds per game on an efficient 58% shooting from the field. He also led all of Conference USA in rebounds.
Even with all the offensive improvement and talent the Aggies had, these were the only two players to average double figures in scoring for the year.
After missing the NCAA Tournament for a fourth consecutive season, head coach Jason Hooten and his staff will have their hands full looking to make improvements to get NMSU back to consistent postseason runs like the program is used to.
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