The 2023–24 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team represented

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...

in the

2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 6, 2023. The regular season ended on March 17, 2024, with the 2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament beginning with the First Four on March 19 and ending with th ...

. The Aggies were led by first-year head coach

Jason Hooten Jason Trey Hooten (born April 20, 1969) is the head coach of the New Mexico State University men's basketball program as of March 2025. Hooten was previously head coach at Sam Houston State University for 13 seasons. And was an assistant coach ...

and played their home games at the

Pan American Center Pan American Center is a multi–purpose arena in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Las Cruces, New Mexico, located on the campus of New Mexico State University. The arena has a current seating capacity of 12,515 people. The arena serves as home of the Ne ...

Las Cruces, New Mexico Las Cruces (; ; lit. 'the crosses') is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico and the county seat, seat of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, Doña Ana County. As of the 2020 United States ce ...

as first-year members of the

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

. They finished the season 13–19, 7–9 in C-USA play to finish in a four-way tie for fourth place. As the No. 6 seed in the C-USA tournament, they lost to

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

in the quarterfinals.

Previous season

The Aggies finished the 2022–23 season 9–15, 2–16 in

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

play to finish in last place. On February 10, 2023, the school announced the men's basketball program's season would be cancelled based on new reports of violations of university policies. The rest of the team's games were canceled and were deemed forfeits by the WAC. The NCAA does not recognize the forfeited games as part of the team's overall record. They did not take part in the WAC Tournament. On November 19, 2022, there were reports of a shooting between a student attending the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

and a New Mexico State basketball player, leaving the student dead. The basketball player was later identified as Mike Peake, who was wounded on the UNM main campus in Albuquerque. A day later, on November 20, 2022, the

New Mexico State Police The New Mexico State Police (NMSP) is the law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of New Mexico. Administered by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, it has jurisdiction anywhere in the state, often working in tandem with local and federal ...

released details of the shooting, including the arrest of 17-year old Mya Hill. The next day, the New Mexico State Police confirmed a second arrest relating to the shooting, arresting 19-year old Jonathan Smith. The Aggies and Lobos were slated to renew the

Rio Grande Rivalry The Rio Grande Rivalry is the name given to the New Mexico–New Mexico State rivalry and known as the Battle of I-25. It is an intercollegiate rivalry between The University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University. The rivalry began in 189 ...

on the night of the shooting, but the game was postponed. Three days later, both schools decided to cancel the Rio Grande Rivalry for the season due to safety concerns. On December 5, NM State Athletic Director

Mario Moccia Mario Moccia is the former director of athletics for New Mexico State University. He previously served as athletic director for Southern Illinois University Carbondale from 2006 to 2014, as an associate athletic director at the University of Missou ...

announced the indefinite suspension of the 21-year old Mike Peake. No charges have been filed against Peake in what was called a "self-defense situation", but there are two investigations surrounding the shooting. On February 10, New Mexico State University announced the men's basketball program's season would be cancelled based on new reports of violations of university policies. Its entire coaching staff was placed on administrative leave as a result. KTSM reported that the season was suspended because of allegations of hazing by at least three different players multiple times. On February 14, head coach Greg Heiar was officially fired by NMSU. On March 24, the school named

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...

head coach Jason Hooten the team's new head coach. The season marked the school's last in the Western Athletic Conference. The school joined Conference USA in 2023.

Offseason

Departures

Incoming transfers

2023 recruiting class

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=12 style=, Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=12 style=, Conference USA regular season , - !colspan=12 style=, Conference USA Tournament Sources

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2023-24 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball seasons

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a Public university system, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution ...

New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...