Kent State (8-3) vs. New Mexico State (6-4) – 7:30 PM ET
Today’s UTR Game of the Day heads to El Paso, Texas for the opening game of the Sun Bowl Tournament (not an exempt event according to Chad Sherwood) between Kent State and New Mexico State. Kent State comes into tonight’s game having won three of their last four games, but are more noteworthy for the games they did not win; they led at Houston for most of the way before eventually losing 49-44. Ditto Gonzaga; the Golden Flashes narrowly lost that one 73-66 against a team with one of the longest winning streaks against nonconference foes at home.
New Mexico State had a 3-game road trip following the cancellation of their home game against New Mexico; they lost both games in the Bay Area against Santa Clara and Saint Mary’s, but they did manage a win at Duquesne at a time when the Dukes had lost only a pair of games all season. However, the only other wins the Aggies have against D1 competition were against San Diego and I-10 rival UTEP. Deshawndre Washington has averaged 13.5 points a game and 7.8 rebounds a game through the Aggies’ first 10 games.