New Mexico State coach realistic about playing Kansas

The question was about his team’s strength of schedule, and Marvin Menzies thought it over. Menzies, in his seventh season at New Mexico State, has always tried to push his teams during the nonconference season. It’s something he learned as an assistant coach under Rick Pitino, Lon Kruger and Steve Fisher, and one reason he has taken his team to play road games at Baylor, Gonzaga and Arizona during the last two seasons.

But on Monday afternoon, as Menzies pondered how those tests would help his Aggies deal with No. 2 seed Kansas in an NCAA Tournament opener, he was as honest as he could be.

“Well, if we get blown out by 40,” Menzies said, “it didn’t help us too much.”

Menzies is 53 years old, accomplished in his craft, and in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five years. After a long career as an assistant at top programs, he has built New Mexico State into a consistent participant in the NCAA Tournament. But he also knows reality: In the last 30 years, 15-seeds have defeated two-seeds just less than 6 percent of the time in the NCAA Tournament.

So if you want anything other than a little modesty and realism from Menzies in the days leading up to the opening round in Omaha, you won’t be getting it.

“They’re a big-time team, obviously a big-time program,” Menzies said of Kansas. “Great coaching, great coaching staff; it’s an honor to be able to play in this environment.”

In other ways, though, Menzies perhaps has reasons to feel confident. The Aggies, for one, are not your typical No. 15 seed. They have been in the NCAA Tournament in four of the last five years and were never ranked worse than a 13 seed. Menzies was mildly surprised to see his team on the 15 line, especially after New Mexico State won the WAC regular-season title by five games and cruised to the tournament title with two dominating victories.

“Would you have liked to have been a 13?” Menzies asked. “Yeah, but for what? What’s the difference between a 13, a 14 and a 15? Or a 16 for that matter.

I’m OK with where we’re at. It’s not brain surgery at this stage.”

Based on efficiency rankings at KenPom.com, Menzies and New Mexico State may have had an argument for better treatment from the selection committee. The Aggies enter the NCAA Tournament ranked 88th in the country at KenPom, which is better than 12-seeds Wyoming and Wofford and seven spots behind Kansas State, which beat Kansas in Manhattan on Feb. 23.

The Aggies also possess experience and size. New Mexico State features four seniors in the rotation, including leading scorer Remi Barry, a 6-foot-8 small forward from Paris. Alongside Barry, the Aggies also start 6-foot-10 center Tshilidzi Nephawe, a native of South Africa, and 6-foot-9 forward Pascal Siakan, who hails from Cameroon.

The Aggies feature nine international players. And utilizing the roster’s size and length, New Mexico State terrorized WAC opponents with a mix of zone and man-to-man defense.

“We’ve played them in the past,” Kansas coach Bill Self said, referencing a 100-79 victory over New Mexico State on Dec. 3, 2008, at Allen Fieldhouse. “And they have given us a handful when we’ve played them.”

Menzies, as you might expect, has concerns about Kansas as well. On Monday afternoon, he had just begun a deep study of Kansas’ personnel and film. But after a couple of hours of film, Menzies said a couple of things jumped out.

“From a basketball standpoint, their ability to transition and finish in transition, and their fastbreak basketball,” Menzies said. “There’s a lot of things that jumped out. Their ability to pressure the ball. They really guard you, (and) great man-to-man defense has always been one of Bill’s signatures.”

In his seven seasons at New Mexico State, Menzies has kept returning to the NCAA Tournament. But he is still waiting for his first tourney breakthrough. Not that there haven’t been close calls. In 2010, the 12th-seeded Aggies fell 70-67 to a Michigan State team that advanced to the Final Four. As a 13 seed last season, they fell in overtime to No. 4 San Diego State.

Now the Aggies get a crack at Kansas, the high-seeded and tradition-rich program. And Menzies gets an opportunity to match wits with Self and KU assistant Kurtis Townsend, two old friends from the coaching business. For both coach and program, the chance to dance again is reason enough to be motivated.

“They’re guys, like us,” Menzies said of Self and Townsend. “We hang out together in the summer, and we recruit together, and usually the team with the better players win. That’s usually how it shakes out.”

This story was originally published March 17, 2015 at 1:43 PM with the headline "New Mexico State coach realistic about playing Kansas."