1969–70 New Mexico State Aggies basketball team

The 1969–70 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team represented New Mexico State University during the 1969–70 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. The Aggies were independent and not a member of a conference. They were led by fourth year head coach Lou Henson and three future NBA players – consensus second-team All-American Jimmy Collins, big man Sam Lacey, and Charlie Criss. The team reached the Final Four of the NCAA tournament, losing to eventual champion UCLA before defeating St. Bonaventure in the national third-place game. To date, it is the only Final Four appearance in program history. The Aggies had three win streaks of at least eight games during the season and finished with a 27–3 record.

1969–70 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball
Midwest Regional Champions
NCAA tournament, Final Four
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 5
Record27–3
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaPan American Center
Seasons
← 1968–69
1970–71 →
1969–70 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 4 Jacksonville   27 2   .931
No. 5 New Mexico State   27 3   .900
No. 8 Marquette   26 3   .897
No. 3 St. Bonaventure   25 3   .893
No. 11 Florida State   23 3   .885
No. 12 Houston   25 5   .833
Army   22 6   .786
No. 17 Niagara   22 7   .759
No. 16 Utah State   22 7   .759
Villanova   22 7   .759
No. 9 Notre Dame   21 8   .724
St. John's   21 8   .724
Georgetown   18 7   .720
Duquesne   17 7   .708
Dayton   19 8   .704
Manhattan   18 8   .692
Hardin–Simmons   17 9   .654
Holy Cross   16 9   .640
Long Island   16 9   .640
Georgia Tech   17 10   .630
Creighton   15 10   .600
Seattle   15 10   .600
Boston University   14 10   .583
Butler   15 11   .577
Oklahoma City   17 13   .567
Fairleigh Dickinson   13 10   .565
Southern Illinois   13 10   .565
Colgate   14 11   .560
Providence   14 11   .560
Denver   13 11   .542
Loyola (IL)   13 11   .542
Penn State   13 11   .542
Rutgers   13 11   .542
Saint Peter's   13 11   .542
Northern Illinois   13 12   .520
Air Force   12 12   .500
Fairfield   12 12   .500
Iona   12 12   .500
NYU   12 12   .500
Pittsburgh   12 12   .500
Saint Francis (PA)   12 12   .500
Syracuse   12 12   .500
DePaul   12 13   .480
West Texas State   12 13   .480
Loyola (LA)   12 14   .462
Boston College   11 13   .458
Virginia Tech   10 12   .455
St. Francis (NY)   9 12   .429
West Virginia   11 15   .423
Canisius   9 13   .409
Fordham   10 15   .400
Seton Hall   10 15   .400
Marshall   9 14   .391
Miami (FL)   9 17   .346
Centenary   8 16   .333
Pan American   8 16   .333
Detroit   7 18   .280
Tulane   5 18   .217
Xavier   5 20   .200
Navy   4 19   .174
Portland   4 22   .154
Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

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1969–70 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 14 Charlie Criss 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Sr Yonkers, New York
G 22 Jimmy Collins 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Syracuse, New York
C 44 Sam Lacey 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Indianola, Mississippi
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

[1]

Schedule/results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular Season
Dec 1, 1969*
No. 6 Oklahoma Christian W 93–58  1–0
                     Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, NM
Dec 4, 1969*
No. 6 Wichita State W 108–76  2–0
                     Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, NM
Dec 6, 1969*
No. 6 Baylor W 102–83  3–0
                     Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, NM
Dec 8, 1969*
No. 6 at New Mexico W 90–83  4–0
                     The Pit/Bob King Court 
Albuquerque, NM
Dec 11, 1969*
No. 3 at Brigham Young W 80–78 OT 5–0
                     George Albert Smith Fieldhouse 
Provo, UT
Dec 13, 1969*
No. 3 at Arizona State W 94–88  6–0
                     Sun Devil Gym 
Tempe, AZ
Dec 16, 1969*
No. 3 New Mexico W 91–73  7–0
                     Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, NM
Dec 19, 1969*
No. 3 at Hardin–Simmons
Cowboy Classic
W 110–80  8–0
        27  Lacey         Rose Fieldhouse 
Abilene, TX
Dec 20, 1969*
No. 3 vs. Baylor
Cowboy Classic
L 73–87  8–1
                     Rose Fieldhouse 
Abilene, TX
Dec 26, 1969*
No. 7 Idaho State
Roadrunner Invitational
W 88–80  9–1
                     Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, NM
Dec 27, 1969*
No. 7 Creighton
Roadrunner Invitational
W 93–78  10–1
                     Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, NM
Dec 30, 1969*
No. 7 Sul Ross State W 95–75  11–1
                     Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, NM
Jan 2, 1970*
No. 7 Arizona W 95–76  12–1
                     Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, NM
Jan 5, 1970*
No. 7 at Texas-El Paso W 75–66  13–1
                     Memorial Gym 
El Paso, TX
Jan 10, 1970*
No. 6 Montana State W 106–68  14–1
                     Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, NM
Jan 17, 1970*
No. 5 Hardin–Simmons W 83–75  15–1
                     Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, NM
Jan 24, 1970*
No. 5 Texas-El Paso W 90–77  16–1
                     Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, NM
Jan 27, 1970*
No. 5 at West Texas A&M W 88–62  17–1
                     WT Fieldhouse 
Canyon, TX
Jan 29, 1970*
No. 5 at Creighton L 68–72  17–2
                     Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, NE
Feb 7, 1970*
No. 5 at Utah State W 95–90  18–2
                     Nelson Fieldhouse 
Logan, UT
Feb 9, 1970*
No. 5 at Montana State W 92–73  19–2
                     Worthington Arena 
Bozeman, MT
Feb 14, 1970*
No. 5 Air Force W 99–81  20–2
 42  Collins                Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, NM
Feb 21, 1970*
No. 5 West Texas A&M W 87–73  21–2
                     Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, NM
Feb 23, 1970*
No. 5 Boise State W 105–79  22–2
                     Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, NM
Feb 28, 1970*
No. 5 No. 20 Utah State W 104–92  23–2
                     Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, NM
NCAA Tournament
Mar 7, 1970*
No. 5 vs. Rice W 101–77[2]  24–2
                     Daniel–Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, TX
Mar 12, 1970*
No. 5 vs. Kansas State W 70–66  25–2
 23  Collins   11  Lacey         Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
Mar 14, 1970*
No. 5 vs. No. 14 Drake W 87–78  26–2
 26  Collins   24  Lacey         Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
March 19, 1970*
No. 5 vs. No. 2 UCLA
National semifinal
L 77–93[3]  26–3
 28  Collins   16  Lacey         Cole Field House 
College Park, MD
Mar 21, 1970*
No. 5 vs. No. 3 St. Bonaventure
Consolation
W 79–73[4]  27–3
 18  Collins, Lacey   19  Lacey         Cole Fieldhouse 
College Park, MD
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest.
All times are in Mountain Time.

[5]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
Week
PollPre12345678910111213Final
AP633776555665555
Coaches533786555555554

Awards and honors

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Team players in the 1970 NBA draft

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Round Pick Player NBA Club
1 5 Sam Lacey Cincinnati Royals
1 11 Jimmy Collins Chicago Bulls

[6]

References

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  1. ^ "1969-70 New Mexico State Aggies Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  2. ^ "THE WEEK". Sports Illustrated. March 9, 1970. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  3. ^ "Bruins Top Ags in NCAA". Albuquerque Journal via newspapers.com. March 20, 1970. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  4. ^ "Aggies Whip Bonnies for Third". Albuquerque Journal via newspapers.com. March 22, 1970. p. 45. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  5. ^ "2019–20 NM State Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). New Mexico State Athletic Department. p. 73. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  6. ^ "1970 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 26, 2020.