No. 4 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (1-0) vs.
No. 5 COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES0 (0-1)
Saturday, November 13 – 7 PM
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
All-Time Series: Mines leads 4-2
 
TIPOFF
After a win in Friday night's season-opener against Regis, the Lubbock Christian University men's basketball team faces a quick turnaround, as they host nationally-ranked Colorado School of Mines. The Chaps will look to close out their weekend with a win at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
 
FIVE THINGS TO FOCUS ON
1 | The preseason iteration of national top-25 polls is nothing more than a guess based off what the team's did last season, but the two polls that cover Division II men's basketball have Saturday 's game pegged as a top-five matchup. Lubbock Christian is ranked No. 4 in the D2SIDA Poll, which is voted on by sports information directors throughout the country. In that same poll, Mines is ranked No. 17. In the NABC poll, voted on by the coaches, the Orediggers check in higher at No. 5, while the Chaps are ranked No. 9.
 
2 | Sophomore guard Aamer Muhammad led all scorers on Friday night with 23 points on 7-15 shooting. It was a career-high for the New Mexico native, who's previous high was 19, which he had done four times. During the 2020-21 season he averaged 9.3 points per game in 21.3 minutes on the floor. Muhammad also led the team in assists with six.
 
3 | Lubbock Christian shot the ball well in their season-opener, hitting on 30 of their 57 shots from the field, but they did not shoot particularly well from outside the arc. The Chaps were 6-17 on three-pointers in the first half and 4-10 in the second half for an overall shooting percentage of .370, well below their 2020-21 season average of .438. Freshman Aaron Gonzales – making his first collegiate appearance – had the best three-point shooting night of any Chap by hitting on two of his three attempts.
 
4 | The nationally-ranked Orediggers did not start the season off on the right foot, committing 15 turnovers and losing 82-59 against St. Mary's. The Rattlers hit eight first half three-pointers and went on a 7-0 run to start the second half to pull away while the Orediggers shot just 21.4 percent from behind the arc.
 
5 | The Chaps forced Regis into 12 turnovers on Friday and scored 20 points off those miscues. Muhammad led the team with a pair of steals, while Jalen Brattain and Karhan Jones each recorded a block.
 
THE SERIES WITH THE OREDIGGERS
Colorado School of Mines leads the all-time series between the two teams, which began in 2015. The Orediggers won the first three matchups before LCU finally got a win in 2018. The Chaps have probably the most important win in the series as well, as they took down Mines 82-73 on March 15, 2019 in the first round of the NCAA South Central Regional. Mines hosted the last meeting between the teams, which was on Nov. 9, 2019, and they won 75-47.