HUNTSVILLE, Ala.—Jax State will face New Mexico State for the third time this season and for the second time in five days when it opens the 2026 Air National Guard Conference USA Men's Basketball Championship Tuesday night at Propst Arena.
 
The Gamecocks are the No. 7 seed in the tournament and will face the No. 10 seed Aggies which beat Jax State in overtime by two, then beat Kennesaw State on Saturday by three to secure the last spot in the tournament.
 
Freshman Jacoby Hill had his first career double-double against NM State with career highs in points (24) and rebounds (15). The Phenix City native has shot 53.1% from the field against the Aggies.
 
The league's leading scorer and newcomer of the year, Mostapha El Moutaouakkil had 32 points and 13 rebounds against the Aggies between the two games. The senior from Rabat, Morocco has had at least 20 points in six straight games. He became the third straight Gamecock to lead Conference USA in scoring, finishing the regular season with an average of 19.4 points per game.
 
For New Mexico State, Julius Mims has averaged a double-double against the Gamecocks with 29 total points and 24 total rebounds between the two games. Jemel Jones has averaged 22.5 points per game against Jax State with 15 of his 45 total points coming from the free throw line. In Friday's game, Jones had 29 points on 9-of-18 shooting.
 
The winner will advance to play second-seeded Sam Houston on Wednesday in the quarterfinal round at 8 p.m. On the other side of the bracket, FIU will take on Missouri State at 5:30 on Tuesday with the winner facing top-seeded Liberty on Wednesday at 5:30.
 
Games in the first and quarterfinal rounds will air on ESPN+ with the semifinals and final moving to CBS Sports Network.