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Who? The Aggies of New Mexico State.
When do they play in the first round? The Aggies play Maryland on Saturday, March 21 at 1:30 p.m. ET.
What? Like many Western schools, New Mexico State taps into the history of the American West. Their mascot is named not for Pete Maravich (that would be rather confusing), but for the implacable Frank Eaton.
Where? Las Cruces, New Mexico, not far from a majestic organ... the Organ Mountains, that is.
Why? They won the Western Athletic conference tournament.
How? The Aggies rode a big first half and their three scorers to an easy win over UT-Pan American, 70-52. Sasha Weber led all scorers with 19 points, with New Mexico State getting 17 from Brianna Freeman and 14 Shanice Davis.
Surprise? Predicted to finish third in the conferenceby the media and fifth by the coaches, they defied all expectations by finishing first, two games ahead of CSU Bakersfield.
RPI: 139
SOS: 319
Record: 22-7 (13-1 WAC)
Good wins: New Mexico.
Bad losses: Cal State Fullerton.
Who runs the show? Mark Trakh, since 2011; you might know him from such places as USC and Pepperdine.
Extra, Extra! The Sun-News.
Junior guard Sasha Weber leads a three-pronged attack for the Aggies at 14.8 points per game, many of them from deep (64 threes on 189 attempts). Junior guard Shanice Davis and sophomore forward Brianna Freeman have also been crucial pieces, each scoring over 13 points on average, with Davis leading the team in assists (4.0) and Freeman in rebounds (8.0).