Following a two game split with Dixie State in Utah, the Redhawks (8-7, 1-2 WAC) will host conference powerhouse New Mexico State (4-4, 1-3 WAC) on Friday and Saturday in the Redhawk Center. Both games will be set for a 6 p.m. tip off in the Emerald City and will be the
Home Cooking
This will be the first home games for Seattle U since they hosted Utah Valley back on January 15th. The rematch, the following day, was cancelled due to COVID Protocols that would also lead to games vs Tarleton State to be cancelled as well.
The Redhawks did have Chicago State on the schedule and were planning to host them on Jan. 29th & 30th, but they shut down their program before the conference season which led to Seattle nearly having a month off between their game vs the Wolverines and opening matchup with the Trailblazers.
Homecourt has been a big advantage for SU in the modern D-1 era, they have gone 246-154 (.617) at home since 2008.
Trammell is a Bad Man
Darrion Trammell has been everything anyone could have hoped for and then some when he was announced as a transfer. He secured his second WAC Player of the Week award last week when he had back-to-back 30-point games vs Dixie State. That scoring output raised his average to the top inside of league play (19.7 per game).
He has also been tremendous in the league guard role as his 5.7 assists per game and 2.1 steals per game are also the top marks in the WAC. The assists are also good enough for the 22nd best in the nation.
Let us not forget, he is just a sophomore.
Guess Who’s Back
After missing the last two games in Utah, Riley Grigsby will reportedly be back in the lineup this weekend for the Redhawks.
Before missing the last two games, Grigsby was the leading scorer on the team and in the WAC. Now that his partner in crime Trammell has taken over that mark, Grigsby comes in at second in the league. Riley is averaging 18.7 points per game and his presence will be obvious when SU hits the floor tomorrow.
Grigsby or Trammell have been the leading scorer for the Redhawks in every game except for one this season. They have become the best 1-2 punch in the conference.
Know Thy Opponent
The Aggies have been nothing short of dominant in the Western Athletic Conference. New Mexico State has won the conference regular season three years in a row and have been the conference tournament champs nine times since 2007.
With that being said, no team in the WAC has been thrown more of a curveball by the virus more than the Aggies.
They had to relocate out of not only their campus, but the entire state of New Mexico due to local regulations. They have been in several temporary homes and have had eight games either cancelled or postponed. No matter how good you are, it is hard to build chemistry or have any amount of a rhythm when you are constantly unsure of when or where your next game will be.
The roster is still stacked with great talent, including Jabari Rice and Donnie Tillman. The Aggies currently have six player averaging eight points or better this year. They’re also led by one of the best coaches in the league with Chris Jans. So, this team is still extremely dangerous. Their 4-4 record is more of an indictment on the strangeness of the year and not of how good this team is.
The Series
This has been all Aggies. NMSU is 18-3 vs Seattle U all-time and have only lost twice to them since the Redhawks joined the WAC. Last season, despite both games being extremely close battles, the Aggies were able to get both wins on their way to another regular season title.
SU’s last win in the series came in 2018 at KeyArena, when a big night by Jordan Hill helped end a seven-game drought vs NMSU.
For Your Viewing Pleasure
Per usual, Friday and Saturday’s games will be set for a 6 p.m. tip off in the Redhawk Center. Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+ for those inside the States and the WAC Digital Network for those outside the country. Brandon Brown will be on play-by-play duties for both of the streams. All Redhawk games continue to also be broadcast on 770 KTTH and mynorthwest.com with the ever talented Doug Greenwald calling the action.
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Russell is the Content Director for the Eli Network. He studied broadcast journalism at Eastern Oregon and North Dakota State University. Mostly covers soccer and basketball in the Seattle area and is the current play-by-play voice for Seattle Redhawks basketball. You can follow him @brussbrwn.
