#18 Mines vs. UCCS, Friday, 8 p.m. [Live Video] [Live Stats]
#18 Mines vs. MSU Denver, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. [TV: CET] [Live Video] [Live Stats]
 

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READY FOR OUR CLOSE-UP
Saturday night's rivalry game against MSU Denver will be televised live on CET Sports. The channel is available on Comcast systems in the Front Range on channels 105 and 900HD.

NUGGETS' MASCOT ROCKY TO APPEAR SATURDAY
The Denver Nuggets' supermascot Rocky will appear at Saturday's game against MSU Denver. Rocky will show off his famous acrobatic skills and hilarious skits throughout the game and at halftime.

TWO WINS AWAY
#18 Colorado School of Mines ends the regular season at home this weekend with a chance to capture the fifth RMAC Championship in program history with two wins. The Orediggers (22-4, 17-3 RMAC) are currently tied for first in the standings with Fort Lewis, but own the head-to-head tiebreak over the Skyhawks thanks to their 94-82 overtime win last Friday. FLC can clinch at least a share of the title with a win over Westminster on Friday in their final regular-season game; should the two end up tied, they would share the title and Mines would get the #1 seed for the RMAC Tournament.

THE POSTSEASON HUNT
While Mines and Fort Lewis battle for the title, five of the eight RMAC Tournament spots have been secured with Mines, FLC, CSU-Pueblo, Regis, and MSU Denver in. The remaining three spots will be from among Colorado Christian, UCCS, Adams State, and South Dakota Mines, with CCU and UCCS safe with a win. Mines is assured of at least a home quarterfinal and will play Tuesday at 7 p.m. against a to-be-determined opponent.

IN THE POLLS
After upsetting #11 Fort Lewis on the road, Mines moved up to #18 in both the NABC coaches' and the D2SIDA media polls.

SENIOR NIGHT
Saturday's game will be senior night as Mines' five seniors play their final home regular-season game. Murphy Gershman, Ruben Jackson, Kaan Korkmaz, Gokul Natesan, and Caleb Waitsman will be honored before the game for their contributions to Mines basketball. This year's senior class has presided over four consecutive 20-win seasons and NCAA Tournament appearances with a combined record of 94-22 and the 2014-15 RMAC regular-season championship.

WAITSMAN GARNERS RMAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD
Caleb Waitsman earned his first career RMAC Offensive Player of the Week award on Monday after averaging 21.5 points and 7.5 rebounds off the bench for Mines last weekend. Against #11 Fort Lewis in a battle for first place in the league, Waitsman came off the bench for a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double shooting 8-for-12 from the floor and adding two blocks and a steal; at NMHU he tied his career high with 23 points and snagged four rebounds in 22 minutes.

WAITSMAN NEARS 1,000
Waitsman enters the weekend with 995 career points. He has a chance to be the second active Oredigger to hit 1,000, joining Gokul Natesan. Waitsman also ranks seventh all-time at Mines in rebounding with 640.

MOVING ON UP
Speaking of Natesan's scoring, the senior is approaching the upper echelon of the Mines career points list. With 1,855 points, Natesan ranks sixth all-time, and could catch Jim Swan (1,884 from 1974-78) for fifth this weekend. Natesan also ranks third in assists (367), second in steals (225), and second in free throws made (522).

WHEN WE FIRST MET
Mines won the first match-ups against MSU Denver and UCCS back in December, both on the road. Mines beat the Roadrunners 73-51 in convincing fashion on Dec. 16 as Luke Schroepfer scored 19 and Ben Clare scored 15 with eight boards. The next night at UCCS, Mines outscored the Mountain Lions 44-20 in the second half to win 81-60. Natesan scored 27 points including a 7-for-7 three-point shooting night.