CHADRON, Neb. – After competing with two of the top teams in the league, Chadron State enters its final road trip of the season in the thick of the postseason chase. 

The Eagles (12-12, 8-8 RMAC) will face Western Colorado (6-17, 4-12 RMAC) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. before facing off with Westminster (12-12, 6-10 RMAC) in a key clash for RMAC Tournament qualification on Saturday at 3 p.m.

The Eagles previously beat Westminster 71-59 at home on January 23, a win which kicked off a run of five wins in six games for CSC prior to last week's contests. Chadron State and Western Colorado have not faced each other yet this season.

Both games will be streamed by CSC Live on the RMAC Network. Double Q Country and doubleqcountry.com will carry both games on 97.5 and 105.9 FM, with Dave Collins on the call. Fans can also follow along via live stats.

Looking Back
Chadron State came up short in two contests against Denver-area schools in the top three of the RMAC standings, suffering a 73-71 setback against MSU Denver and a 104-77 loss to No. 8/10-ranked Colorado School of Mines. 

RECAPS: MSU Denver | Colorado School of Mines

The MSU Denver loss was not without controversy, as CSC's Jalen Thomas banked in a halfcourt shot at the buzzer that would have given the Eagles a one-point win, but the basket was overturned after the fact by video replay. Two days later, Colorado School of Mines became the first team to score 100 points on the Eagles this season while the Orediggers themselves have topped the century mark four times.

Back-to-Back
For the second straight week, Amarillo, Texas guard Jalen Thomas earned the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week award from the league office.

STORY: Thomas Wins Second Straight RMAC Award

Despite Chadron State's 0-2 week on the court, Thomas's offensive prowess shone through as the grad student averaged 20 points per game and shot 60 percent from the field across both contests. 

Thomas scored 22 points and added five rebounds, five assists and five steals against MSU Denver. The five steals are the most in a game by any CSC player this year. Thomas added 18 points against Colorado School of Mines, shooting 5 of 7 from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. 

Thomas has been one of the most well-rounded players in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference this season. The guard ranks fourth in the league with a .504 field goal percentage, is third with 4.0 assists per game and ranks within the league's top 20 in scoring, rebounding and steals per game. 

Wright Stuff
Senior guard Zy Wright continues to be the team's leading scorer (13.4 points per game) and rebounder (6.2 rebounds per game). The Georgia native has scored in double figures 15 times this season and has done so in 10 of CSC's last 11 games. 

Wright also recorded his second double-double of the season against MSU Denver, pulling down 11 rebounds to go with 10 points. Wright's 11 rebounds (which he also achieved on January 28 against South Dakota Mines) are the most in a single game by a Chadron State player this season. 

RMAC Update
With two weeks to go in the season, Chadron State is in eighth place in the league standings and in possession of the final RMAC Tournament spot as things stand. The Eagles have a two-game lead on a pair of teams tied for ninth but face one of them head-to-head this week.

Here is how the standings stack up: 
 

School	RMAC Record
xColorado School of Mines	16-1
xRegis	13-3
xMSU Denver	12-5
*Fort Lewis	10-6
Black Hills State	10-6
UCCS	10-6
Colorado Mesa	9-7
Chadron State	8-8
*Westminster	6-10
Colorado Christian	6-10
CSU Pueblo	5-11
*Adams State	5-11
*Western Colorado	4-12
South Dakota Mines	4-12
New Mexico Highlands	3-13

 
*= remaining CSC opponents
X= clinched RMAC Tournament berth

The top eight teams out of the 15-team conference will qualify for the RMAC Tournament. Seeds No. 1-No. 4 will host seeds No. 5-8 in home quarterfinals while the four semifinal teams will congregate at the highest remaining seed to play out the rest of the tournament. 

If the season ended today, Chadron State would rematch with Colorado School of Mines in the first round of the league tournament. The Eagles are seeking to qualify for the third consecutive season, having lost in the quarterfinal round as the No. 8 seed last year and as the No. 5 seed two years ago. 

Around the league, Colorado School of Mines defeated MSU Denver on Tuesday. The Orediggers face second-place Regis on Thursday and would clinch the regular season title with a win, moving three-and-a-half games ahead of the Rangers. 

Among teams jockeying with CSC for playoff position, Colorado Mesa hosts South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State, Colorado Christian is on the road against New Mexico Highlands and Fort Lewis while Westminster hosts Black Hills State before hosting the Eagles.  

Home/Road Splits
Chadron State has defended its home court throughout the season, as the Eagles are 8-3 in the Chicoine Center. That record includes a 6-2 record in home RMAC games and an active five-game home win streak. 

The Eagles are the exact opposite on the road, however, with a 3-8 record away from Chadron this season. They are 2-6 in road RMAC games and have lost their last four away from home. 

Chadron State's opponents this week have similar home/road discrepancies. Western Colorado is 4-6 at home compared to 2-11 on the road, while Westminster is 7-4 at home and 4-7 away from Salt Lake City. 

Wright Stuff
Senior guard Zy Wright continues to be the team's leading scorer (13.4 points per game) and rebounder (6.2 rebounds per game). The Georgia native has scored in double figures 15 times this season and has done so in 10 of CSC's last 11 games. 

Wright also recorded his second double-double of the season against MSU Denver, pulling down 11 rebounds to go with 10 points. Wright's 11 rebounds (which he also achieved on January 28 against South Dakota Mines) are the most in a single game by a Chadron State player this season. 

1K Club
Both Jalen Thomas and Zy Wright have eclipsed 1,000 points in their career this season across all NCAA/NJCAA/NAIA levels. 

Thomas crossed the 1,000-point barrier against CSU Pueblo on February 8. The fifth-year senior recorded 698 in two seasons at Oklahoma Panhandle State (NAIA) before transferring to Division I Tarleton State, where he scored 35 points in two seasons. Thomas has recorded 314 points and counting this season with Chadron State, giving him 1,047 for his career.

Zy Wright was the first Eagle this season to reach the milestone. Wright scored 528 points at the junior college level with Gordon State before putting up 285 points in 2023-24 with Lone Star Conference member Texas-Permian Basin. 

Wright has recorded 321 points and counting this season with Chadron State, giving him 1,134 entering this weekend. Wright's 1,000^th career point came in the midst of his career-high 34-point game in an overtime loss to New Mexico Highlands earlier this year.

Historic Wins
Chadron State has snapped a couple of long program losing streaks this season.

Against Colorado Mesa on January 25, the Eagles' 69-67 win broke a streak of CMU having won 13 straight games against the Eagles prior to Chadron State's breakthrough. The win is the first by Chadron State over Colorado Mesa since December 5, 2014. 

On January 16, CSC beat Adams State on the road 91-86, making history as the first win for the Eagles in Alamosa since 2009. 

Lights Out
Chadron State had historical offensive output on December 16 in their 107-50 win over Central Christian.  

The Eagles made 43 of 64 field goal attempts (.672) and were even better, percentage-wise, from three-point land, sinking 16 of 23 attempts for a .696 percentage, which is the best single-game percentage by an RMAC team this season. 

Chadron State's 16 made three-pointers are just two off the single-game school record of 18, set on November 21, 2021 against Haskell Indian Nations. That game also featured the single-game program record for assists (35). 

The 57-point margin of victory is the second highest in school history, trailing only a 103-45 CSC win over South Dakota Mines in November of 1998. Ironically, the Hardrockers had defeated Chadron State by 10 points just 11 days before that 58-point blowout. 

In the Polls
The NCAA released its first regional rankings this week, which are the official determining factor for selection to the NCAA Tournament. This week, the NCAA releases 10 teams in alphabetical order under consideration for each region's eight qualifying spots. Beginning next week, the committee will release numbered rankings. 

In the South Central region, the 10 teams included in the NCAA's first release are, alphabetically: Colorado School of Mines, Dallas Baptist, Eastern New Mexico, Fort Lewis, Lubbock Christian, Midwestern State, MSU Denver, Regis, St. Mary's and West Texas A&M. 

Colorado School of Mines continues to be the RMAC's only nationally ranked program, with the Orediggers at No. 7 nationally in the NABC Coaches Poll and No. 10 in the D2CSC Media Poll. 

The D2CSC South Central regional rankings include five RMAC teams among the region's top 10. Colorado School of Mines is slotted as the No. 2 team in the region, while MSU Denver is No. 6, Regis is No. 7, Fort Lewis is No. 9 and UCCS is tied for No. 10.

With a new coaching staff and predominantly new players, Chadron State men's basketball was picked 15^thin the preseason RMAC Coaches Poll for the 2024-25 campaign. 

Colorado School of Mines, who finished third in the league last season, were picked first for this year, receiving 11 of 15 first-place votes. MSU Denver received two first-place votes to come second, followed by Regis in third, which received one first-place vote. 

Black Hills State was fourth in the poll, while Colorado Mesa received the final first-place vote and finished fifth. The rest of the poll includes CSU Pueblo, UCCS and New Mexico Highlands in the final RMAC Tournament positions, followed by Fort Lewis, South Dakota Mines, Western Colorado, Westminster, Adams State, Colorado Christian, and the Eagles. 

Scouting the Mountaineers
Western Colorado is currently 4-12 in RMAC play and 6-17 overall. The Mountaineers are currently mired in an eight-game losing streak but have wins over Colorado Christian, Regis, New Mexico Highlands and Westminster over the course of the season.

Last week, the Mountaineers fell on the road to Adams State (90-81) and Fort Lewis (76-61). They score 70.0 points per game (13^th in the RMAC) and allow 74.6 (12^th in the RMAC).

Senior Kade Juelfs leads the team with 13.0 points per game and scored 20 points last week against Fort Lewis. Amar Rivers averaged 11.3 points per game and scored a season-high 29 against Adams State. Junior forward Jamel Hollins leads with 6.4 rebounds per game. 

Mountaineers Head Coach Zac Claus is in his second season at Western Colorado. Prior to Gunnison, Claus was a head coach at the University of Idaho for four seasons.

Scouting the Griffins
Westminster is 12-12 with a 6-10 record in RMAC play. The Griffins are currently tied for ninth place in the RMAC standings, two games behind CSC, and should be highly motivated to try to catch the Eagles for the final RMAC Tournament position. 

Last week, the Griffins lost on the road to New Mexico Highlands 79-76 before rebounding to beat Adams State 103-98. In an interesting quirk, the Griffins are 3-1 when they allow over 90 points this season, winning games previously by scores of 113-108 (over Fort Lewis) and Adams State (107-95 and 103-98). 

The Griffins have two players averaging 13.8 points per game, senior guard Chase Potter and junior Simon Akena. Graduate guard Donaval Avila averages 12.1 points, 1.3 steals and 0.5 blocks per contest. 
Veteran head coach Norm Parrish is in his 10^th season at Westminster and led the Griffins during their transition into Division II. Parrish won an RMAC Coach of the Year award in 2017-18.

Coach's Corner
Chadron State Head Coach Chris Francis is in his first season leading the Eagle men's basketball program. Francis comes to Chadron after serving as the head coach at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (NAIA) since 2015. 

At USAO, Francis put together a career record of 176-94. 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.