Gonzaga hosts injured New Mexico State in Saturday matchup

Scheduling Realities in the NET Era

Getting high-major programs on the schedule has turned into an uphill battle for New Mexico State coach Jason Hooten. During the offseason, Hooten routinely reaches out to major-conference programs to pitch nonconference games, only to receive polite rejections, spokesman.com reported.

The reluctance comes down to the NCAA’s NET rating system. The metric rarely rewards power-conference programs for soundly defeating capable mid-major opponents, while a tight victory or an outright loss can wreck an NCAA Tournament resume. Consequently, major-conference programs prefer to schedule opponents projected between 200 and 350 in the NET rather than mid-majors lingering in the 100 to 200 range.

Since taking over the Aggies program in the 2023-24 season, Hooten has managed to schedule just three high-major opponents. Last season, the team failed to secure even a single matchup against a power-conference foe. That drought ended unexpectedly when Gonzaga agreed to squeeze the Aggies into their slate, setting up just the second meeting between the two schools.

“We were at a point in time where we needed a game like this financially,” Hooten said, as quoted by spokesman.com. “I want to thank those guys for playing us, because it’s been really hard for us over the last two years since things have changed with the NET.”

Financial incentives still drive mid-major scheduling. Programs lean heavily on buy games to turn an athletic department profit and generate revenue-sharing dollars.

Injuries and Roster Shifts for the Aggies

New Mexico State arrives in Spokane carrying significant personnel losses following a narrow 73-66 season-opening win over Division II Western New Mexico on Tuesday. Senior guard Gabe Warren, identified during preseason practices as the team’s most consistent player, suffered a season-ending ACL tear just nine minutes into the opener.

Compounding the backcourt trouble, seventh-year senior guard KK Robinson played under a strict minutes restriction against Western New Mexico. Robinson brings experience from stops at Arkansas, Texas A&M, and Arkansas-Little Rock, but missed consecutive seasons with double ACL injuries. He remains on a minutes limit heading into Saturday’s clash.

“We have so much to work on and improve on,” Hooten said, according to spokesman.com. “I knew it was going to be a tough game… just because in our scrimmages we had a little bit of everything but still we just hadn’t had our whole team together.”

Frontcourt Matchups in Spokane

Gonzaga faces at least 10 high-major opponents during its nonconference slate, but outside of those marquee fixtures, Saturday presents a formidable test. The Aggies sit at No. 131 in KenPom ratings, placing them ahead of opponents like Montana State at No. 132 and Cornell at No. 205. New Mexico State projects to start a frontcourt featuring 6-foot-8 forward Mark Lavrenov and 6-foot-9 forward Leopold Levillain. Levillain arrived via transfer from Long Beach State after playing for the U-21 team at Cholet Basket in France. Lavrenov comes off a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double against Western New Mexico, building on a campaign at Sacramento State where he averaged 9.9 points and 7.0 rebounds. Lavrenov will likely match up against Gonzaga’s Braden Huff, who looks to rebound after shooting 4 of 11 from the field in Gonzaga’s opening win over Purdue. “Guys that are very established on that level. I know Mark though. Mark’s a tough kid and he plays really, really hard and passionate.”

Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at the McCarthey Athletic Center, with television coverage provided by KHQ.