Utah Tech hosts New Mexico State following Pope's 25-point game

New Mexico State Aggies (7-12, 0-7 WAC) at Utah Tech Trailblazers (9-10, 1-5 WAC)

Saint George, Utah; Saturday, 9 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Utah Tech hosts the New Mexico State Aggies after Isaiah Pope scored 25 points in Utah Tech's 89-85 loss to the Grand Canyon Antelopes.

The Trailblazers are 6-2 in home games. Utah Tech is ninth in the WAC with 29.8 points per game in the paint led by Tanner Christensen averaging 7.0.

The Aggies have gone 0-7 against WAC opponents. New Mexico State has a 5-10 record against opponents over .500.

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Christensen is averaging 10.4 points and 7.2 rebounds for the Trailblazers. Noa Gonsalves is averaging 1.8 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Utah Tech.

Xavier Pinson averages 1.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Aggies, scoring 12.9 points while shooting 34.3% from beyond the arc. Deshawndre Washington is averaging 12.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists over the past 10 games for New Mexico State.

LAST 10 GAMES: Trailblazers: 5-5, averaging 78.3 points, 36.0 rebounds, 15.1 assists, 7.2 steals and 2.9 blocks per game while shooting 46.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.4 points per game.

Aggies: 2-8, averaging 69.8 points, 32.4 rebounds, 11.2 assists, 6.0 steals and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 42.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.1 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.