New Mexico State has size and it is ready to use it against Kansas

Tshilidzi Nephawe has always used his size to his advantage.

The 6-foot-10, 268-pound senior forward, who wears colossal size-19 shoes, grew up playing goalkeeper on soccer fields in Johannesburg, South Africa and now patrols the post for New Mexico State. He towers over most of his peers in the Western Athletic Conference and averages 10.4 points and 7.6 rebounds.

Kansas, and its frontcourt of Perry Ellis, Jamari Traylor, Landen Lucas and Hunter Mickelson, presents the most difficult challenge of the season, a lineup that is comparably sized and deep. But Nephawe is not intimidated.

“I think I’m bigger and stronger than everybody,” Nephawe said. “So I think I will have an advantage over them.”

That confidence stems from a regular season in which Nephawe recorded six double-doubles and created matchup problems throughout the WAC. In his past four games, he averaged 17.3 points and 11 rebounds, guiding the Aggies to their fourth straight NCAA Tournament.

It also stems from the support of frontcourt mates Pascal Siakam and Johnathon Wilkins, as well as Tanveer Bhullar, a 7-foot-3 freshman from Toronto.

If you had to describe New Mexico State in one word, it would be big.

“We are bigger than most teams,” Siakam said. “We want to go inside. It is a good advantage. We have got to go inside all the time and try to rebound the basketball. That is what we have been doing, and what we are good at.”

The Aggies average 35.5 rebounds, 2.4 fewer than Kansas, but they are best at limiting opponents on the glass. They rank 19th in rebounding margin, averaging nearly seven more rebounds than the opposition.

The Jayhawks are inconsistent rebounders. Can the Aggies play to their strengths while exposing a KU weakness?

They are going to try.

“When you match up with guys in different conferences, higher-level talent, it really is going to come down to game day,” New Mexico State coach Marvin Menzies said. “Who is going to hit first? Who is going to get to the proper places on the floor offensively when a shot goes up? Are they going to get to the weak side?

“Are our guys going to step up? We’ll see.”

It has been a while since New Mexico State played a team with similar size. Nephawe says Cal State Bakersfield has a forward “just as big as me,” but he lacked support. In nonconference play, New Mexico State faced Wichita State, New Mexico and Baylor. They all have size. But the Aggies lost all three games.

Still, Nephawe does not seem concerned. He would rather face players his size than go up against a 6-foot-5 stretch forward.

On Friday at CenturyLink Center, he will get his wish.

“I like playing against guys who are my size,” Nephawe said. “It is just easier for me, because they are not as fast and everything. Playing small guys, I just don’t like it. I would rather play somebody big. If a team has a big that you can match up with, they will go one on one. It is more fun.”

This story was originally published March 19, 2015 at 6:06 PM with the headline "New Mexico State has size and it is ready to use it against Kansas."