#13/24 Colorado School of Mines at MSU Denver, Saturday, 4 p.m. [RMAC Network] [Live Stats]
#13/24 Colorado School of Mines at Regis, Tuesday, 8 p.m. [RMAC Network] [Live Stats]
 

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THE SEASON BEGINS
Two-hundred and sixty-six days after last playing in the RMAC Tournament championship game and navigating an offseason and preseason unlike any other, Colorado School of Mines basketball returns to the court Saturday when they visit MSU Denver and Tuesday at Regis. The Orediggers (22-10 in 2019-20) hold high hopes with a veteran-laden roster that includes all five starters returning. Saturday's game at MSU Denver will not count towards RMAC play, while Tuesday's tilt at Regis will mark the conference opener.

NO SPECTATORS THROUGH THE END OF 2020
Spectators will be not allowed to attend any Mines game – home or away – at least through the end of December due to local and state guidelines in Jefferson and Denver counties. Mines Athletics will continue to re-evaluate this policy for home games in the future as conditions allow. In the meantime, all games home and away are streamed live and for free on the RMAC Network, which is also available on the AppleTV, Roku, and AmazonFire app stores.

SCHEDULE CHANGES
The mantra for this season is "be prepared for anything." That certainly has been the case even before Mines has begun play as several schedule changes have occurred. The Orediggers' originally scheduled opening weekend at Chadron State and Black Hills State has been rescheduled for Jan. 3-4, as well as the MSU Denver game being added.

IN THE POLLS
Mines has received plenty of preseason love, appearing in three different national rankings and topping the RMAC coaches' poll. The Orediggers sit #13 in the NABC D-II Top 25, #24 in the D2SIDA media poll, and #11 in the Basketball Times poll. On Nov. 17, Mines was announced as the near-unanimous #1 team in the RMAC preseason poll with 13 first-place votes, ahead of Black Hills State, UCCS, and Colorado Mesa.

GROUND RULES
Earlier this week, the RMAC released information about the season structure and return-to-play guidelines for basketball. All teams will have a 22-game conference schedule (non-conference play being optional), and any game that is not played due to COVID-19 issues will be declared a "no contest." All student-athletes and team support staff must test negative within 72 hours of the game, and in the state of Colorado, everyone in the arena will wear a mask except for the 10 active players on the court. An RMAC champion will be declared if at least five teams complete 50 percent of their originally approved schedule (11 games). The champion and RMAC Tournament qualifiers will be determined by use of the NCAA Division II RPI system.

WHERE WE LEFT OFF
Mines went 22-10 last season and made a run to the RMAC Tournament championship game. The Orediggers had been selected for a seventh straight NCAA appearance and were set to take on Dixie State in the first round, but the tournament was cancelled while the Orediggers were en route to Canyon, Texas. All told, Mines won eight of its last 10 games a year ago and went 16-6 in RMAC play.

WHO'S BACK
In short, just about everyone. Mines brings back all five of its starters and its top eight scorers, led by a trio of returning all-RMAC stars in Brendan Sullivan, Mason Baker, and Michael Glen. Sullivan earned first-team honors last year at small forward with averages of 13.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game while shooting .517/.440/.778. Baker, a senior point guard, continued to shoulder the scoring load leading Mines with 14.6 points and 3.0 assists per game to earn second-team honors in an injury-limited junior campaign. Glen continued his frontcourt dominance at center, leading the RMAC in blocks (1.7 per game) while scoring 12.3 points and grabbing a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game.

The Orediggers also return starters at guard with Ben Boone (8.7 ppg/3.7 rpg/2.0 apg) and at forward with Titus Reed (9.5 ppg/4.6 rpg/1.2 apg), as well as bench sparkplugs Kobi Betts (10.1 ppg/2.8 rpg/1.6 apg), Paul O'Leary (4.9 ppg/3.0 rpg) and Austin Means (2.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg). Mines also brings back bench contributors in Thurman Knowles (4.5 mpg) and Trent Dykema (3.4 mpg) with Tylor Trinh (4.0 mpg in 2018-19) coming off a redshirt.

WHO'S NEW
They're not new to the program, but Ben Grusing, Kai Barr, and Noah Honetschlager will be lineup options coming off redshirt seasons in 2019-20. Grusing was a high-scoring combo guard at Mountain Vista HS, while Barr (Pottsboro HS, Texas) and Honetschlager (Tesoro HS, Calif.) provide welcome frontcourt depth at the 4 and 5 spots. Mines also brings in a four-member true freshman class with forward/center Anthony Giliberto, guards Taylor Spurlock and Grant Pressly, and forward Riley Schroeder joining the roster.

MINES VS. MSU DENVER
Mines leads the all-time series with the Roadrunners 43-36, and has won five in a row and nine of the last 10. Last year, the two teams met twice and Mines won 61-52 in Golden and 73-61 in Denver. In the first game, Titus Reed erupted for 21 points and Brendan Sullivan had 11 with nine boards as Mines held MSUD to 33 percent shooting for the game. The return match saw four Oredigger starters scored in double figures led by Kobi Betts' 19 and Ben Boone's 18 as Mines never relinquished a huge early lead.

MINES VS. REGIS
Mines and Regis meet for the 134th time dating back to 1925, the second-oldest continuous series in the Mines record book (a week younger than their series against Western Colorado). The Rangers hold a 68-65 advantage in what has been a historically competitive series. Mines has won the last two meetings but they've split the last four. In their only game last year, Kobi Betts' floater with 0.4 seconds remaining helped Mines escape Regis Fieldhouse with a 70-68 win as Betts capped a career-high 20-point night and Brendan Sullivan pitched in 16.

TWO DECADES AT THE HELM
The 2020-21 season will mark the 20th on the bench for Mines head coach Pryor Orser. Under Orser, Mines has gone 361-198, won five RMAC regular-season championships and two RMAC Tournament titles, qualified for 10 NCAA Tournaments, and currently is on a seven-season 20+ win streak.

THE BEST OFFENSE…
Mines returns every component of a defense that ranked #1 in the RMAC last year allowing just 67.6 points per game. The Orediggers held opponents to .432 shooting overall and were the #2 defensive rebounding team (31.2 drpg) and the leading shot-blocking team (4.66 bpg) in the league.

A COUPLE THOUSAND
Mines has the unusual distinction of having two returning 1,000-point scorers on its roster, with Mason Baker (1,086 points) and Michael Glen (1,075 points) having crossed the threshold late last season. Brendan Sullivan will be one to watch for the honor this year as he enters his junior season with 723 career points.