CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State men's basketball will hope a weekend in the confines of its home gym, as well as a break from facing opponents that appear in the national polls, can provide better results on Thanksgiving weekend. 

Chadron State has back-to-back home games, matching up with Northern State (1-4, 1-0 NSIC) on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Colorado Christian (2-3, 0-0 RMAC) on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

The Eagles are off to a 1-4 start but have faced No. 15-ranked West Texas A&M twice and have also matched up with a Minnesota State program which was receiving votes in the poll this year and won a national championship in 2023-24. 

Chadron State is 0-4 on the road, but the Eagles have won their only home game of the season, an 83-82 win over UMary, and will be hoping for more home success against both opponents this weekend.

Both games will be streamed on the RMAC Network. Tickets and live stats will also be available.

Promotional Notes
This Thanksgiving weekend, Chadron State Athletics is looking to pack the stands and stock the shelves!

For both Saturday and Sunday's games, members of the general public can receive FREE admission with a donation of any non-perishable food item, hygiene product or pantry essential. All donations will go to the Chadron State food pantry. 

RMAC Network Reminder
As a reminder, RMAC Network games this season now require a pay-per-view subscription to watch. Revenue generated by the network will be redistributed to the league's membership to enhance their broadcast systems and programs.
 
NEWS: RMAC Network Moves To Pay-Per-View Model
 
RMAC fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network, including both home and away RMAC contests for Chadron State. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription (for all sports) costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $10, which grants the viewer access to a single game for 24 hours. Subscriptions can be purchased through Hudl at rmacnetwork.com. 
 
RMAC Network subscriptions apply to any game that is hosted by an RMAC institution, regardless of whether or not Chadron State is playing in the game. CSC's home nonconference games are included in monthly and annual subscriptions. 
 
Fans will technical support issues can contact Hudl, visit the RMAC email the RMAC Network FAQ page, or directly email the RMAC at rmac@rmacsports.org.

Looking Back
Chadron State won its home opener in dramatic fashion over UMary in a mid-week Education Day game, then struggled in a pair of games as part of the Sioux Falls Classic this past weekend.

RECAPS: UMary | Sioux Falls | Minnesota State

A raucous Education Day crowd of 850 local elementary and middle school children brought the energy and CSC delivered by coming out on top on a contest that featured 12 ties and 16 lead changes, the last of which occurred when Zach Smith made a three-pointer with 9.5 seconds left to give CSC an 83-82 win.

Contests on Friday and Saturday in Sioux Falls followed to give the Eagles a three-game-in-four-day stretch. Over the weekend, the Eagles fell 84-57 to hosts Sioux Falls and 81-52 to Minnesota State. 

All five of Chadron State's opponents have shot 40 percent or better from the field against the Eagles while CSC shot a season-low 31.6 percent against Minnesota State on Saturday.

Senior Moment
Despite being the only returning player on this year's roster who saw court time for the 2024-25 Eagles, the game-winning basket last Wednesday was easy the biggest moment of Zach Smith's Chadron State career. 

Smith, a senior guard from Hartford, Connecticut who played junior college basketball in Baltimore, has taken advantage of his familiarity with Coach Chris Francis's system to carve out an increased role in season two at CSC. 

After scoring in double figures just once in 29 games last season, Smith has cleared 10 or more points in three of Chadron State's first five games in 2025-26, scoring 10 and 14 during CSC's back-to-back contests against West Texas A&M and 11 against Minnesota State. 

Smith's 2025-26 points-per-game average (8.6 to 2.7), field-goal percentage (.444 to .342), rebounds per game (2.6 to 1.1) and assists per game (2.0 to 1.7) are all above his 2024-25 numbers. 

Smith's comfort in the Chicoine Center also likely contributed to his confidence in taking the final shot against UMary. Smith has yet to miss a shot in the Chicoine Center this season, going 2-for-2 from three-point range and also making all free throw attempts.

Home Cooking
Chadron State is far from the only RMAC basketball team to have significant home/road splits, but the Eagles have been much better in the Chicoine Center of late. 

In a limited sample size, CSC is 1-0 at home and 0-4 away from Chadron this season. The Eagles had similar splits last year, when the Eagles went 10-3 in the Chicoine Center (including rivalry wins over Nebraska-Kearney, South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State and wins over top-tier RMAC programs Colorado Mesa and Fort Lewis) but were only 5-11 away from CSC, including 4-10 in true road games.

On the flip side, CSC's upcoming opponents have also been better at home and struggled on the road. Like Chadron State, Northern State has won its only home game but is 0-4 thus far in road or neutral-site contests. Colorado Chrisitan is 2-1 in Lakewood, Colorado and 0-2 away from home. 

In the Polls
Chadron State was picked seventh out of 15 teams in the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll, receiving one first-place vote. 

Black Hills State was picked to win the league, receiving 10 of 15 first place votes, while reigning champs Colorado School of Mines were second, receiving three first-place votes. Colorado Mesa received the final first-place vote and finished third while UCCS and Fort Lewis rounded out the top five. 

The remainder of the RMAC tournament positions were filled by MSU Denver, the Eagles and Colorado Christian. The poll was rounded out by Adams State, Westminster, New Mexico Highlands, CSU Pueblo, Western Colorado, Regis and South Dakota Mines. 

Scouting the Opposition
Northern State
The Wolves are 1-4 and like CSC played significant competition to open the season. Northern State fell by 11 to Oklahoma Baptist, by just six to now-No. 7 Southern Nazarene, by 19 to receiving-votes Northern Michigan and by eight to Northwest Missouri State. Northern got on the board this past Wednesday with a three-point home win over Jamestown that also served as the Wolves' NSIC opener. 

The Wolves have been rolling seven deep all season, with seven players above 23 minutes per game and nobody else above 9.5, with only 10 players seeing the court in any capacity. True freshman and IMG Academy grad Cameron Mercadel is averaging 14.4 points per game to lead the Wolves. Ty Rogers averages 12.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.

Northern State has a new head coach in Matt Wilber. Prior to NSU, Wilber coached for 11 seasons at Dakota Wesleyan, going 224-145 in his time in charge with six consecutive NAIA tournament trips and a national runner-up finish in 2015. Wilber spent one season on staff with the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, working closely with women's basketball legend Diana Taurasi.

Colorado Christian
For the second straight year, Chadron State and Colorado Christian will battle in a nonconference contest before meeting each other as part of the RMAC season later in the year. The Cougars are 2-3 and 0-3 against Division II opponents, but have faced a pair of nationally ranked foes. 

CCU lost 80-52 to now-No. 14 St. Edward's and 90-51 to then-No. 3 Dallas Baptist, a reigning Elite Eight participant. The Cougars recorded a pair of wins by five and 36 points against NAIA opponents, then dropped an 85-79 decision at home to Western New Mexico on Wednesday. 

Brothers Pierce Bazil and Porter Bazil, of Lincoln, Nebraska and previously from Houston Christian University, lead CCU statistically. Pierce is averaging 13.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while Porter is averaging 13.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest. Joshua Reid averages 12.8 points per game, the other Cougar in double figures. 

Colorado Christian is coached by Liam Simmons, who is in his sixth season. Simmons, a native of Australia, is the half-brother of NBA All-Star Ben Simmons.

Coach's Corner
Chadron State Head Coach Chris Francis is in his second season leading the Eagle men's basketball program. In his first season, Francis put together a 15-14 overall record with an 11-9 record in RMAC play. The Eagles qualified for the RMAC tournament as the No. 8 seed.

Francis comes to Chadron after serving as the head coach at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (NAIA) where Francis compiled a record of 176-94 in nine seasons. Francis led the Drovers to five NAIA National Tourney appearances, a Sooner Athletic Conference Championship, and a Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Championship, also taking USAO to an NAIA Elite Eight. Francis is a two-time Sooner Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, winning the award in 2017 and 2022. 

A former student-athlete, Francis was a starting guard and captain of the men's basketball team at Rogers State University. In 2011, he helped lead Rogers State to the NAIA Elite Eight and a 30-2 record. Following that season, Francis was named the Sooner Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He was recently inducted into the Rogers State Athletic Hall of Fame.