Story by Matt Morris

The banner hanging in the Pan Am displays the years Men's Basketball advanced to the NCAA Tournament. (Photo by Matt Morris)

Of the approximate 340 division I men’s college basketball teams in the United States, only 65 make it to the NCAA Tournament each year. Out of those 65, 31 teams are given automatic bids by winning their respective conference or championship game and the rest are decided by the NCAA Selection Committee.

That leaves 282 teams that do not make it each year, which means the odds of making it to the tournament consecutive years highly unlikely unless, of course, you’re a major conference team. But the New Mexico State Aggies made the trip to the big dance not once, not twice, but three years in a row in 1990, 1991 and 1992 – and the third time would seem to be the charm.

As the 2009-2010 Aggies look for motivation upon entering this year’s Western Athletic Conference Tournament in March – and most likely needing to win the tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament – remembering that 1992 Aggies team that danced its way to the Sweet Sixteen might be a great place to start since the 1970 Aggies made an appearance in the Final Four under the legendary head coach, Lou Henson.

What’s the Difference?

One of the Men's Basketball Big West Champions Trophies is displayed in the conference room. (Photo by Matt Morris)

So what is it that separates the Aggies then from the Aggies now? Former Aggie guard and one of two seniors on the 1992 team, William Benjamin, thinks that it has something to do with the way the game has evolved over the years.

“I think that teams are more offensive oriented today because there are better offensive players and defense just isn’t stressed as much” Benjamin said.

“Our main focus and top priority was defense. Our goal each game was to create 20 turnovers. We wanted to create our offense off of our defense. When the focus is defense that means everyone has to do their part defensively in order for the team to be successful which in turn makes it more team oriented,” he observed.

In the 1992 Big West conference championship game, the Aggies faced the No. 5 ranked team in the conference, Pacific, in what turned out to be a nail-biter of a game for both players, coaches and spectators alike. The Aggies put on a 15-2 surge at the beginning of the second half that ultimately won the game for the Aggies with a score of 74-73 and gave them their first Big West Championship and the motivation that they needed to face the 24^th ranked team in the nation, the DePaul Blue Demons.

“It felt great winning that game, and that’s how you want to go out,” Benjamin said. 

Having been to three, Benjamin was used to going to the tournament, but unlike the previous two years, he went in as a Big West champion, and there was another surprise at hand that not only Benjamin, but also the entire team, had yet to experience.

Third Time is the Charm

In 1990, the Aggies had returned to the NCAA tournament as a 6^th seed in the West Region after an 11-year absence, but were upset in the first round by 11^th seed team, Loyola Marymount by a score of 111-92. The Aggies returned the following year, again as the 6^th seed only to suffer another upset to the 11^th ranked Creighton Blue Jays, but 1992 would be a little different for the New Mexico State Aggies.

When the Aggies entered the 1992 tournament, they were put in the underdog position as they were placed as the 12^th seed in the West, while DePaul was the 5^th seed. The Aggies already had their backs against the wall. They needed someone to shine big for them in this match-up if they wanted to snap the two-game losing-streak that they were on in NCAA tournament play. That hero was the junior guard, Sam Crawford.

“Sam Crawford was an absolutely incredible ball player,” Benjamin said. “He was an amazing passer. The best passer I had ever seen.”

In the Aggies 81-73 first-round win over DePaul, Crawford scored a game high 21 points and got plenty of his teammates involved as he dished out 11 assists, but this game was a little personal for him. Crawford’s favorite college team while he was in high school was the Blue Demons of DePaul. He thought he would be going to play at DePaul after he graduated high school, but he did not qualify academically and attended Moorpark Junior College before he signed to New Mexico State for the 1991-1992 season. 

Sweet Sixteen

The win against DePaul was the first win in the tournament for the Aggies since 1970 when they advanced to the Final Four, and they were hoping history would repeat itself. With an 81-73 second-round win over the 13^th seed in the West Region Southwest Louisiana, the Aggies were on the right pace to repeat history. The win advanced them to the Sweet Sixteen round of the tournament where they would return to New Mexico and play the number 4^th ranked team in the nation, UCLA, at The Pit in Albuquerque. It seemed that the entire state was there to support them.

“The whole state was going nuts,” Benjamin said. “They actually had a billboard in Albuquerque that said ‘Go Aggies!’ you know? That is unheard of. It was absolutely nuts when we came back from Tempe.”

The Pit is, of course, is the home of the Aggies long-time bitter in-state rivals, the UNM Lobos, but for that one game in 1992, it would seem like home. When the Aggies entered the Pit that day during the first half of the Florida State versus Indiana Sweet Sixteen game, the whole arena erupted. 

In the game, the Aggies were down by 16 points at the end of the first half of play because of a crushing 24-6 run late in the half by the Bruins. Coming into the second half, the Aggies went on a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to only six points and fulfill their hopes of making it to the Elite Eight round and that much closer to the National Championship game.

But in the end, the powerhouse UCLA Bruins team was just too much for the underdog Aggies. They never got closer than six points and the Bruins went on to win the game with a score of 85-78. They then lost to Indiana in the Elite Eight round 106-79.

“That was a tough year for us because we had all new people,” Benjamin said. “I was the only returning starter on that team so we had four new guys and they were all former junior college players. We struggled throughout the whole year but just got it together and played together at the right time,” he explained.  ”During the Big West Tournament was when we got hot and went on to win three games there and two games in the NCAA tournament to play in the Sweet Sixteen.”

This award was given to the Aggie Men's Basketball team for participating in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. (Photo by Matt Morris)

As the 2010 NCAA Tournament prepares to start up in mid-March, there are over 100 teams that have made it to the NCAA tournament at least once and have never won a single game since it was created in 1939. The Aggies all-time record in the tournament is 10-19.