Yesterday evening the 12 seeded New Mexico State Aggies defeated the UConn Huskies 70-63 to advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Teddy “Buckets” Allen led the way for State scoring 37 points to secure the entry into the next round.  

The theme within the game’s first minutes was defense. On both ends of the court the teams showed the intensity anticipated in a tournament matchup but the nerves of a big game were  prevalent. The game would only see a total of four points in the first five minutes of competition.  

UConn battled their way to a 16-15 lead thanks to the help of sophomore guard Andre Jackson, but this was the turning point for the Aggies. A possession later, Sir’ Jabari Rice nailed a triple to give NM State the lead, which they would ultimately hold for the remainder of the game.  

With only 1:29 minutes remaining in the first frame, hometown hero Johnny McCants would give the Aggies their first double digit lead (30-20) after draining a shot from behind the arc. Allen scored seven of the Aggies final 13 points of the half to ride a ten-point lead heading into halftime.  

To open up the second half, this Crimson squad came out firing with back-to-back threes to push their lead to a game high fourteen points. Desperate to answer, the Huskies would answer by sinking two consecutive threes of their own. Trading baskets for the next several minutes, Rice would find Will McNair Jr. in the paint for a one-handed slam to give State a nine-point lead with a second over 11 minutes left to go in the game.  

The number five seeded UConn was far from going down easy making the final minutes of a game a true March Madness contest. After a pair of free throws and a pair of threes, the Huskies found themselves down by one. The next few minutes was a display of each team ceasing the moment, but with a pair of made free throws by Tyrese Martin the Huskies would tie the game at 52 with five minutes left.  

As he has done all year, WAC Player of the Year and WAC Tournament MVP, Teddy Allen carried the rest of the way for the Aggies. He closed the game by scoring the final 15 points for New Mexico State, recording 23 of his 37-point performance in the second half. It was only right Allen scored his final points at free throw line where he remained a perfect 13-13 for the game.  

“Players make plays. Players make plays and that’s why he’s (Teddy Allen) earned all the honors and awards and reputation that he’s earned because of his abilities to make plays. Our kids have done an excellent job of understanding that and trying to get him the ball in the right spots to let him do his thing at times … that play was not only a game-changer, but it was a heck of a play,” head coach Chris Jans said.  

With their first tournament win since 1970, led by Allen and Jans the Aggies will face #4 seeded Arkansas wanting to continue the upsets. Look forward to seeing the match Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in round two of the NCAA Tournament as NM State will hope to prove anything can happen in March Madness.