RAPID CITY, S.D. – South Dakota Mines is fighting for a spot in the RMAC playoffs with just under a month to go in the regular season. Things are tight with just a couple of games separating the 4-8 seeds.
 
After falling to Chadron State on Saturday, the Hardrockers sit in the eighth spot but are hoping to improve upon that with a chance to host in the first round still in play.

GAME INFORMATION
MSU Denver
Date/Time: Feb. 9 / 7:00 p.m. MT
Site: Denver, Colo.
Arena: Auraria Event Center
Series Overall: MSU Denver leads 16-8.
Streak: MSU Denver Won 2
Series at MSU Denver: MSU Denver leads 8-2 (Since 2011).
Streak at MSU Denver: South Dakota Mines Won 1
Last Meeting: MSU Denver won in Rapid City, 95-87 (12/9/23).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines/
 
Colorado School of Mines
Date/Time: Feb. 10 / 7:00 p.m. MT
Site: Golden, Colo.
Arena: Lockridge Arena
Series Overall: Colorado School of Mines leads 20-9.
Streak: Colorado School of Mines Won 7
Series at Colorado School of Mines: Colorado School of Mines leads 10-1.
Streak at Colorado School of Mines: Colorado School of Mines Won 3.
Last Meeting: Colorado School of Mines won in Rapid City, 66-65 (12/8/23).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines/
 
PICK YOUR POISON
Cameron Cohn and Alejandro Rama are both difficult guards with both of them capable of hurting you on the offensive end in many ways. Cohn averages 18.7 points per game, while Rama averages 18.1 per game.  
 
ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
Alejandro Rama has scored 1,382 points for his career, 12th in school history. He is just 25 points shy of Hugh Boyle for 11th and around 100 points shy of Chuck Neller for 10th place.  
STEADY SMITH
Keagen Smith is having the best year of his career thus far and has been strong especially as of late. He has scored in double figures in five of his last six contests, averaging 17.33 points per game. He has also stepped up his rebounding rate, tallying two double-doubles in the last three contests, combining for 27 rebounds in that trio of games.
 
RMAC HONORS
Alejandro Rama can do much more on the floor than just score. He has been a defensive menace this season as he averages .9 blocks per game (9th RMAC) and 2.2 steals per game, which leads the conference and is 25th in NCAA Division II. In addition, he averages 3.2 dimes per game, seventh-best in the league. If that wasn't enough, Rama brings down 4.9 rebounds per game. Over the past week, he recorded a total of nine steals, earning him RMAC Defensive Player of the Week.  
 
DEFENDING THE ARC
The Hardrockers allow opponents to hit just 30% from three-point range, the second best mark in the conference.
 
HANDLING THE ROCK
South Dakota Mines takes great care of the ball, turning it over just 10.7 times per game to lead the RMAC and come in the top 40 in NCAA Division II. In turnover margin, the Hardrockers sport a number of +3.05, second in the league.
 
SCOUTING MSU DENVER
The matchup with the Roadrunners on Friday night is an important one for both teams as they are currently tied in the RMAC standings, each sitting at 7-7. MSU Denver has worked to an overall record of 13-7.
 
Baryden Maldonado is one of the better scorers in the conference and leads them, averaging 17.4 points per game. Caleb McGill is a great second and he also scores 14.4 points per game.
 
Those two are an efficient pair, hitting 49.4% and 46.6% of their shot attempts, while Maldonado also hits 37.8% of his three-pointers.
 
McGill grabs over 5 rebounds a game to sit in the top 15 in the RMAC.
 
The Roadrunners' offense averages 77.2 points per game and allows just 71.4 on the defensive end for a margin of +5.9, fourth best in the league.
 
They are in the top five in the conference in shooting percentage and opponent field goal percentage, while they lead the league in opponent three-point percentage.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
Colorado School of Mines has home court in the opening round virtually locked up and are fighting for a regular season conference championship as they currently sit 19-4 overall and 13-2 in league play.
 
For their efforts, they are currently ranked #17 in the NABC Coaches' Poll and #22 in the CSC Media Poll.
 
Majok Deng is their leading scorer in his first year as an Oredigger after transferring from Division I Pepperdine University.
 
Alex Romack and Sam Beskind are solid on the boards, averaging over six per game to lead one of the better rebounding units in the RMAC. They average 38.3 rebounds per game and allow just 29.2 per game as a team for a margin of +8.3, second best in the RMAC.
 
Defensively, the Orediggers are strong, allowing just 68 points per game, the best mark in the conference. They allow opponents to hit just 42.1% of their shots.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Following this weekend, South Dakota Mines is back at home for a pair of matchups against Regis and UCCS on Friday and Saturday.
 
Fans can find the latest on South Dakota Mines men's basketball all year long on X and Instagram (@hardrockermbb), while also following on Facebook at South Dakota Mines Men's Basketball. The latest on South Dakota Mines athletics can be found by following us on X at @GoHardrockers, hardrockerathletics on Instagram and Hardrocker Athletics on Facebook.
 
ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA MINES
South Dakota Mines is a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and NCAA Division II offering 13 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic programs. The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a premier NCAA Division II conference with 15 members, as well as four associate members, located in the states of California, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah.