#5 Mines vs. St. Mary's, Friday, 8 p.m. CT [Live Video PPV] [Live Stats]
#5 Mines at #9 Lubbock Christian, Saturday, 7 p.m. CT [Live Video PPV] [Live Stats]

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A NEW SEASON OPENS
It's a new season - and a welcome return to some normalcy - for #5 Colorado School of Mines as they head to Texas to open their season with two games at #9 Lubbock Christian University. Mines takes on St. Mary's Friday evening to start things off before playing the host Chaps on Saturday in a top-10 clash. Live video (pay-per-view) is available on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network.

IN THE POLLS
The Orediggers enter the season ranked #5 by the NABC preseason coaches' poll coming off their 18-3 campaign and NCAA Elite Eight appearance a season ago. The Orediggers were also selected #2 in the RMAC preseason poll. 

WHERE WE LEFT OFF
Mines made the most of the most unusual season in program history, overcoming starts and stops during the COVID-19 pandemic to go 18-3 and make a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight. Mines hosted and won the NCAA West regional, soundly defeating Biola and Northwest Nazarene, before falling the Elite Eight to Lincoln Memorial in Indiana. 

AT THE HELM
The 2020-21 season will mark the 21st on the bench for Mines head coach Pryor Orser. Under Orser, Mines has gone 379-201, won five RMAC regular-season championships and two RMAC Tournament titles, and qualified for 11 NCAA Tournaments. His 268 RMAC wins (268-140 overall) are the second-most in conference history, and he has the chance to reach two milestones this season. His overall wins are currently seven behind Mines all-time leader Jim Darden (386 wins), and he could become only the second RMAC coach to reach 400 career victories as well. 

SULLY'S SUPERLATIVES
NABC National Player of the Year finalist. All-America. Academic All-America. RMAC Player of the Year. The list of superlatives from Brendan Sullivan's junior season could fill up this article, and deservedly so. Sullivan returns after leading Mines with 18.1 points per game a year ago and was the RMAC's only player to rank in the top 10 in scoring, shooting percentage (.550), steals (1.4 spg), and blocks (0.8 bpg). He finished the season dropping in 19 in the NCAA West regional final, then 21 in the Elite Eight against Lincoln Memorial. 

AT THE POINT
Kobi Betts returns for a final season at point guard, coming off a fantastic 2020-21 season that saw the dynamic guard earn NABC Second-Team All-West and First-Team All-RMAC honors. Betts scored 12.4 points per game and added 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists, upping his shooting slash line to .446/.448/.784 in the process. 

BOONE LEADS ELITE DEFENSE 
Joining Betts in the backcourt is another senior, Ben Boone, who had a breakout junior season. Boone was named the NCAA West Regional's Most Outstanding Player, scoring 16.0 points per game during that tournament above his 9.9 for the season. But it was Boone's defense that shined the most as he averaged 1.1 steals and 0.4 blocks per game against opposing team's top scorers, leading a Mines defense that held opponents to 61.9 points per game and .406 overall shooting. 

OFF THE BENCH
Mines' bench play blossomed during the 2020-21 postseason led by the trio of Titus Reed, Trent Dykema, and Kai Barr. Reed was Mines' sixth man and bench spark all season long averaging 7.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, but the emergence of Dykema and Barr helped put Mines into the Elite Eight as Dykema averaged 12.0 ppg in the regional , and Barr had successive scoring highs including nine points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks in the West final against Northwest Nazarene. That experience will pay off this season as Reed and Barr look to form Mines' starting frontcourt and Dykema will be a primary scoring option off the bench.

MOVING ON UP
One storyline to watch through the 2021-22 season will be Brendan Sullivan's ascent up the Mines all-time scoring list. The senior has 1,104 career points coming off an 18.1 ppg junior campaign in which the team played only 21 games due to the COVID-shortened season, and he did it with career-high efficiency sinking 55 percent of his overall shots and 78.6 percent of his free throws. 

YOU LOOK FAMILIAR…
Justin Engesser is a new face in a Mines jersey, but hardly unfamiliar to anyone who has watched RMAC basketball over the past few years. Engesser was a standout player for Colorado Christian over the last four seasons, and now comes across town to Mines as a graduate transfer with one season of eligibility. A versatile player who can handle multiple positions, Engesser scored 987 points and grabbed 472 rebounds over his CCU career, averaging 9.7 ppg/5.8 rpg/2.6 apg as a senior last year.

IT'S BEEN AWHILE
This weekend will be Mines' first non-conference regular-season games against teams outside of the RMAC since the 2019-20 season, since last season was restricted to conference-only play until the NCAA Tournament. In 2019-20, Mines hosted these same two opponents, St. Mary's and Lubbock Christian, at Lockridge Arena to start the season, falling 85-84 in overtime to StMU before throttling Lubbock Christian 75-47. 

MINES VS. ST. MARY'S
Mines is 5-1 all-time against St. Mary's, hoping to avenge that overtime loss the last time they met in 2019-20. The Rattlers went 4-8 in limited play last winter and return veterans in Tyler Caron, Kobe Magee, and Caleb Jordan.

MINES VS. LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN
Mines and LCU are meeting for the eighth time with the Orediggers leading a close series 4-3. This will only be the second ORedigger visit to Lubbock, however, winning there 78-74 in 2016-17. The Chaps are coming off a fantastic 2020-21 season that saw them go 18-3 before losing to eventual national finalist West Texas A&M in the NCAA South Central regional final. They are ranked #9 preseason by the NABC and return nearly their entire team including two First-Team All-LSC players in Parker Hicks and Lloyd Daniels.