#13/24 Colorado School of Mines (1-0) vs. South Dakota Mines (0-0), Friday, 6:30 p.m. [RMAC Network] [Live Stats]
 

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OREDIGGERS OPEN AT HOME
Coming off an emphatic season-opening win at MSU Denver, #13/24 Colorado School of Mines hosts South Dakota Mines this Friday in their home and RMAC opener. The game will be the back end of a doubleheader with the women's game tipping at 4 p.m. and the men at 6:30 p.m. No spectators will be admitted but all games stream live on the RMAC Network.

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. Tuesday's game at Regis was postponed with no makeup yet set, and this weekend's game with South Dakota Mines was flipped from being in Rapid City; the Orediggers will now make the return trip on Jan. 16. Be sure to follow @minesmbb on Twitter for the latest schedule changes.

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
In late November, 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.

OREDIGGERS UNSTOPPABLE AT MSU DENVER
Mines was simply unstoppable in their season opener, racing away from MSU Denver in the first half on the way to an 82-48 win on Saturday. The Orediggers compiled their most lopsided win over the Roadrunners (0-1) in 42 years by shooting an impressive 63.6 percent for the game including 9-of-18 downtown. Kobi Betts led a balanced scoring effort with 18 points. Michael Glen had 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds while Brendan Sullivan and Titus Reed each scored 11. Mines' defense held the Roadrunners to just 29.5 percent shooting.

BETTS, MEANS EARN RMAC AWARDS
Guard Kobi Betts and center Austin Means were named the RMAC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, on Wednesday for their play at MSU Denver. Betts led Mines' offensive outburst with 18 points (16 in the first half) including a 3-for-5 night from three and 7-for-8 night at the line. He added two steals, two assists, and three rebounds, and hit a buzzerbeater three heading into halftime. Means recorded three blocks in the game, helping hold the Roadrunners to just .295 shooting for the game and under 50 points. Means was a team-best +67.12 per 40, and +29 overall as he added three rebounds and five points to his night.

MINES-MSU DENVER NOTABLES
The 34-point win was Mines' largest over MSU Denver since a 121-62 win in 1978 ... Mines out-rebounded Metro 37-24 ... Eleven different Orediggers scored points, including first career buckets for Ben Grusing, Anthony Giliberto, and Riley Schroeder ... Grusing, Giliberto, Schroeder, Grant Pressly, and Kai Barr made their collegiate debuts off the bench ... Thurman Knowles' six bench points marked a career-high. Reed led all bench scorers with 11 ... Betts sank the RMAC's first buzzer-beater of 2020-21 with a three-point look to end the first half.

SHOOTING THE LIGHTS OUT
With a 63.6 percent shooting clip at MSU Denver, Mines enjoyed its best shooting night since the 2015-16 season when it also sank 63.6 percent of its shots in a win over Chadron State. The Orediggers shot 24-of-44 overall, 9-of-18 (.500) for three and 17-of-24 (.708) at the line.

MINES VS. SOUTH DAKOTA MINES SERIES
The Orediggers lead the series against the Hardrockers 15-9 all-time in a series dating back to 1958, and lead 5-4 since SDM entered the RMAC in 2016-17. South Dakota Mines won both regular-season meetings last year, 84-69 in Rapid City and 78-73 in Golden, but the Orediggers exacted revenge in the RMAC Tournament semifinals, sending the Hardrockers packing with a 76-59 win. In that game, Michael Glen scored 21 points and was 10-for-10 at the line while Ben Boone added 13 points and the bench combined for 26.

TWO DECADES AT THE HELM
The 2020-21 season marks the 20th on the bench for Mines head coach Pryor Orser. Under Orser, Mines has gone 362-198, 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.