CHADRON, Neb. – With a four-games-in-eight-days stretch and a mini-bye of seven days in the rearview mirror, Chadron State men's basketball enters the finishing push of the RMAC season with two Colorado road games this week.

The Eagles (5-15, 3-9 RMAC) have an opportunity to make up ground in the RMAC race when they battle Colorado Christian (9-11, 4-8 RMAC) on Thursday at 8 p.m. and CSU Pueblo (13-7, 7-5 RMAC) on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Both games will be streamed live on the RMAC Network, accessible through daily, monthly or annual subscription options, or follow along for free via live stats. 
 
For this week only, there will not be a Double Q Country radio livestream on Thursday or Saturday.
 
Looking Back
The Eagles fell to nationally ranked Black Hills State 77-59 at home on Tuesday before recording a road win over South Dakota Mines last time out by a score of 88-79.
 
RECAPS: Black Hills State | South Dakota Mines

In the win over the Hardrockers, Chadron State shot a season-best 56.9 percent from the field, including a 70 percent clip (21-30) in the second half and 57.1 from three-point range. The trio of Isaiah Randolph (22 points), Mack Keighran (22 points) and Jadon Cool (18 points) combined for 62 of CSC's 88 points on the day. 

Hot Shooting
The Eagles' 12-for-21 night from behind the arc worked out to 57.1 percent from the field, which is the third-best single-game percentage from deep by any RMAC team this season (and the second-best by an RMAC team against another RMAC opponent). 
 
The Eagles had four players make multiple threes in the game – Mack Keighran (4-5), Jadon Cool (3-5), Zach Smith (2-3) and Blessing Adesipe (2-2). By volume, CSC's 12 threes against SDM are the second-most for the Eagles in a game this year behind 15 made the week prior against Westminster on January 22.
 
The prolific output from three-point range continued a trend for Chadron State – in CSC's five biggest losses this season (by margin of victory), the Eagles have hit five threes or less four times – in all five of CSC's wins, they have made eight threes or more.
Last Thursday's game was the first time that Chadron State had recorded better than 50 percent from either the field or three-point range in 2025-26.
 
Road Warriors
Despite the road trip, an argument can be made that this week's games are exactly where Chadron State wants them. The Eagles enter the week 0-6 at home but 3-3 on the road in RMAC games (the Eagles' other two wins came at home, but were non-conference). 
 
Chadron State is one of only five RMAC teams with a conference road winning percentage of .500 or better (joining 2-0 Fort Lewis, 5-1 Black Hills State, 3-2 Colorado Mesa and 3-3 South Dakota Mines). Fort Lewis, Black Hills State and Colorado Mesa hold the top three spots in the conference standings.
 
The Eagles defeated CSU Pueblo on the road in Massari Arena last season, 66-62. They will be hoping to avenge a home loss to Colorado Christian, who topped CSC 61-57 in a nonconference game on November 30 in the Chicoine Center. 
 
Agent Zero
Senior and Long Island, N.Y. native Isaiah Randolph recorded his fourth and fifth 20-point games of the season last week. 

Randolph tallied a game-high 21 points in the loss to BHSU, making 4 of 9 threes. He tied for the team lead with 22 points against the Hardrockers, shooting 60 percent from the field (9-for-15) and also grabbing eight rebounds.

Randolph has been one of the league's most efficient shooters. He ranks fourth in the RMAC in field-goal percentage at 53.9 percent (89-165) and is third in the conference with a .903 free-throw percentage (84-93).

Dynamic Duo
Chadron State has two players averaging over 14 points per game in Jadon Cool (14.7 ppg, 12^th in RMAC) and Isaiah Randolph (14.3 ppg, 16^th in RMAC). 

The Eagles are one of four RMAC programs (alongside Fort Lewis, MSU Denver and Regis) with two players ranked in the top 16 of the league's scoring.

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. 

Black Hills State is the only ranked program in the RMAC at No. 13. 

Scouting the Opposition
Colorado Christian
Colorado Christian is 9-11 and 4-8 in the RMAC. After an 0-4 start to RMAC play, they will enter on a two-game winning streak having beaten Westminster 74-65 and Western Colorado 79-68 last week, both on the road. 

CCU's leading scorers are brothers and Lincoln, Nebraska natives Pierce Bazil and Porter Bazil. Pierce, a senior, ranks sixth in the RMAC in scoring at 16.7 points per game and poured in 28 points, his second-highest total of the season, against Western Colorado. Porter, a junior, averages 11.8 points per game and hit a memorable buzzer beater to beat UCCS 88-87. 

The Cougars keep point totals low, as they rank 14^th in the RMAC in scoring offense (69.8 points scored per game) but rank third in scoring defense (72.9 points allowed per game). 

Liam Simmons is in his sixth season at CCU and has an overall record of 55-96. His best record was in his most recent campaign, when the Cougars went 13-15 and finished ninth in the RMAC. Simmons, an Australian, is the half-brother of NBA All-Star Ben Simmons.

CSU Pueblo
Picked 12^th in preseason, the ThunderWolves are firing on all cylinders under a first-year coach as they enter this week at 13-7 overall and tied for fifth in the RMAC standings at 7-5. However, Pueblo has lost three in a row and dropped road games to Colorado Mesa (70-66) and Westminster (79-71) last week. 

Jordan Blair is CSUP's leading scorer at 14.6 points per game (15^th in RMAC). Blair has four 20-point games this season, including against Chadron State during Pueblo's victory in Chadron in December. The ThunderWolves feature multiple on their second RMAC team, with MSU Denver transfer Jaden Kennis averaging 11.9 points per game and South Dakota Mines transfer Mac Terry scoring a season-high 15 against the Eagles last time out.

CSU Pueblo has the top-ranked scoring defense in the RMAC, allowing a league-low 65.4 points per game while scoring 73.5 per game (12^th in RMAC). The ThunderWolves hold opponents to just 40.8 percent shooting. 

First-year head coach Zach Ruebesam came to CSUP from the staff of the University of Colorado. He also coached under current MSU Denver head coach Dan Ficke on Ficke's staff at Belmont Abbey, a Division II school in North Carolina.

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.