Chicago State Welcomes New Mexico State to JCC in Saturday WAC MBB Opener

Senior Glen Burns

New Mexico State (12-3, 0-0) at Chicago State (2-15, 0-0)
Date	Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018
Time	2:05 p.m.
Location	Jones Convocation Center - Chicago, Wis.
Video	WAC Digital Network
Radio	CSU Radio Network
Live Stats	CSU Live Stats
Social Media	@ChiStateCougars (Twitter)

CSU-NM State MBB Game Notes

CHICAGO -

OPENING TIP: The second season begins for Chicago State men's basketball as it opens Western Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon at the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center against defending league-leading New Mexico State with a start time of 2:05 p.m. The game will be broadcast live online via the WAC Digital Network and the Chicago State Radio Network.

SCOUTING CSU: Following its tough non-conference schedule, Chicago State heads into Saturday's battle with NM State sitting at 2-15 on the season. The Green and White closed out the year 2017 on Dec. 30 after finishing a three-game road swing falling at Western Michigan by a score of 92-71 with three players producing double figure scoring efforts. CSU is led in scoring by junior guard Fred Sims, Jr. (Chicago, Ill./North Lawndale) with an average of 14.2 points per game which also ranks him fifth in the WAC. Sims also sits second in the league with a team-best 87 percent from the free throw line. Senior forward/center Deionte Simmons (Detroit, Mich./Lewisville (Texas)) [10.4 ppg] and senior guard Glen Burns (West Memphis, Ark./West Memphis Christian) [8.8 ppg] rank second and third behind Sims in scoring with Simmons grabbing a team-best 5.4 rebounds a game and Burns leading the team in assists at 3.9 per contest.

SCOUTING NMSU: New Mexico State enters conference play with a 12-3 record while claiming wins in seven of its last eight games since Dec. 9. The Aggies, who are receiving votes in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches' Polls while sitting fifth in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll, were last in action on Dec. 28 when they captured a close 65-60 victory at UC Irvine. NM State has three players that are averaging double figure scoring this season with graduate student guard and three-time WAC Player of the Week Zach Lofton leading with 19 points per game. Senior forward Jemerrio Jones is producing a double-double with a WAC-leading 11.1 rebounds and 10.3 points a game in addition to posting team highs of 3.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Redshirt sophomore guard AJ Harris is averaging 10.1 points a game.

SERIES HISTORY: New Mexico State holds a 12-1 advantage in the all-time series with Chicago State and has won the last eight contests between the two teams since 2014. The Aggies posted wins in all three meetings last season, including a 67-53 victory at the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas on March 9, 2017.

DOING FINE FROM THE LINE: Burns has been on fire from the charity stripe over CSU's last five game by connecting on 85 percent (23-of-27) of his attempts which included going 10-of-11 on Dec. 30 at Western Michigan.

WAC TOP-FIVE SCORING BATTLE: Saturday's game will pit two of the WAC's top five scorers against each other in Lofton (second) and Sims (fifth).

UP NEXT: The Cougars travel Northwest for a pair of WAC games next week that starts on Thursday, Jan. 11 in Seattle at the Connolly Complex against the host Redhawks which begins at 9 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#0 Glen Burns: G; 6' 3"; Senior

#3 Deionte Simmons: F/C; 6' 8"; Senior

#14 Fred Sims, Jr.: G; 6' 4"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#0 Glen Burns
: 6' 3"; Senior
: G

#3 Deionte Simmons
: 6' 8"; Senior
: F/C

#14 Fred Sims, Jr.
: 6' 4"; Junior
: G

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

#0 Glen Burns

#3 Deionte Simmons

#14 Fred Sims, Jr.

Players Mentioned

#0 Glen Burns

#3 Deionte Simmons

#14 Fred Sims, Jr.