GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The stakes are simple for Colorado Mesa men's basketball on Saturday night – win, and clinch at least a share of the RMAC title for the second consecutive season.
The No. 7-ranked Mavs took game of business, surviving a three-game road trip gauntlet and breaking an NCAA record in the process. At 20-1 in the RMAC with one game remaining in the regular season, the Mavericks are a half-game ahead of 19-1 Fort Lewis for first place in the standings. The Skyhawks play twice more in the regular season, on Friday and Saturday night.
Colorado Mesa and Fort Lewis shared the RMAC regular season title last season as well, with both schools finishing at 19-3 in RMAC play. Because Colorado Mesa beat Fort Lewis head-to-head last season, the Mavericks hosted the RMAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed via the head-to-head tiebreaker.
The exact opposite could happen this season since Fort Lewis was able to defeat the Mavericks in Brownson Arena by an 87-79 score on January 26. If both schools win out and finish at 21-1 in the RMAC, Colorado Mesa and Fort Lewis would be RMAC co-champions, but Fort Lewis would host the RMAC Tournament and be the No. 1 seed with the Mavericks at No. 2.
The Mavericks will close the regular season with a rivalry clash against Western Colorado on Saturday night, needing a win to clinch at least a share of the RMAC title. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Colorado Mesa will have a Senior Night ceremony for six men's basketball seniors and one women's basketball senior after the conclusion of the women's game and before the men's game.
Looking Back
Colorado Mesa cleared the century mark in two out of three games over a five-day span, defeating New Mexico Highlands 116-108 last Friday, CSU Pueblo 82-80 last Saturday and Westminster 105-82 last Tuesday, all on the road.
RECAPS:
New Mexico Highlands |
CSU Pueblo |
Westminster
Trevor Baskin was the Mavericks' leading scorer in all three games, scoring 43 points against Highlands, 17 against Pueblo and 31 against Westminster. Baskin also came up with a game-winning steal with 12 seconds left to ice the win over CSUP.
Senior Saturday
After completely sitting out Senior Night ceremonies last season, the Mavericks will have six players honored in a pregame ceremony on Saturday night.
Trevor Baskin,
Levi Dombro,
Sam Goulet,
Reece Johnson,
Ethan Menzies and
Mac Riniker will be honored during this weekend's Senior Night. All six players have an extra year of eligibility from the season affected by COVID-19, so they have the option to either return to Colorado Mesa for a fifth season or move on with their basketball careers. Many are still making that decision, but will be honored on Saturday in case they don't return.
This group of Maverick seniors is among the most decorated in program history. Baskin and Johnson, who have been with the program since 2020-21, have a four-year record of 96-24. The other four players have been with the program since the 2019-20 season and have a five-year record of 117-31. All six seniors being honored on Saturday have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in every season of their careers.
Making History
The 2024 Colorado Mesa Mavericks are now the proud owners of an all-time NCAA record.
The Mavs made 58 consecutive free throws during a three-game stretch from February 16-23, shattering the previous Division II record of 37 straight, set by Southern Indiana in 2003. Colorado Mesa's stretch of 58 also is more than the current NCAA Division record of 54 (set by Missouri in 2020).
58 – By The Numbers
| Opponent |
Free Throw Percentage |
| Vs. No. 21 Colorado School of Mines, 2/16/24 |
10/10 |
| Vs. MSU Denver, 2/17/24 |
23/23 |
| @ New Mexico Highlands, 2/23/24 |
28/29, made first 25 |
Player Shooting During the Streak
Even after missing one free throw against New Mexico Highlands, the Mavericks stayed hot from the line, shooting 21-for-22 from the stripe against CSU Pueblo and 13-for-17 against Westminster. In Colorado Mesa's last five games, the Mavericks are a combined 95-for-101 from the free-throw line, a 94.1 percent clip.
The free throw run has vaulted the Mavericks from eighth in the RMAC in free throw percentage at the start of the streak all the way up to third place in the conference with a 74.7 percent team mark. The Mavericks have made 364 out of 487 team attempts and have raised their team average over four percentage points in just two weeks.
Seeding Scenarios
Colorado Mesa can finish no worse than second place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings. They will clinch a share of a conference championship with a win on Saturday against Western Colorado and capture the RMAC regular season title outright with a win plus a Fort Lewis loss in either of FLC's final two games on Friday vs. MSU Denver or Saturday vs. Colorado School of Mines.
Here is a look at the full RMAC standings entering this weekend's games. Colorado Mesa and Western Colorado only have one game remaining this Saturday – every other team in contention for the RMAC Tournament has two games remaining on Friday and Saturday.
| School |
RMAC Record |
Overall |
| #7 Colorado Mesa |
20-1 |
24-3 |
| #2 Fort Lewis |
19-1 |
24-2 |
| #16 Colorado School of Mines |
15-5 |
21-7 |
| MSU Denver |
12-8 |
18-8 |
| Black Hills State |
12-8 |
14-12 |
| Regis |
11-9 |
14-12 |
| South Dakota Mines |
9-11 |
11-15 |
| CSU Pueblo |
8-12 |
12-14 |
| Chadron State |
8-12 |
11-15 |
| Western Colorado |
8-13 |
11-16 |
| UCCS |
7-13 |
11-15 |
| New Mexico Highlands |
7-13 |
10-15 |
| Colorado Christian |
6-14 |
9-16 |
| Adams State |
6-14 |
8-18 |
| Westminster |
4-18 |
8-20 |
Regardless of whether CMU enters the RMAC Tournament as the No. 1 or No. 2 seed, the Mavs' first-round tournament opponent is a long way from being sorted out. Only three games separate seventh through 14
th place in the RMAC standings as the final qualification spots in the eight-team RMAC Tournament are set to go down to the wire.
Clash of Styles
Under first-year head coach Zac Claus, the Mountaineers play at a slower tempo. The lack of pace has contributed to several low-scoring games throughout WCU's season. Western ranks dead last in the RMAC in scoring offense, averaging 66.2 points per game, five points less than any other team. The Mountaineers have a solid defense, however, ranking fifth in the conference by allowing 73.7 points per game.
By contrast, the Mavericks have made waves this season with an incredibly high-paced offense. The Mavericks have the highest scoring offense in the RMAC this season with an 87.6 points per game average. The Mavs have cleared 90 points in five of their last six contests and recorded over 100 points in two of the last three.
The previous meeting between the two teams saw the game slog to a glacial pace, as the teams only managed to score 42 combined points in a first half that saw the Mavericks lead 26-16. CMU eventually won the game 67-45, the second-fewest points that CMU has scored this season and the second-fewest points the Mavs have allowed.
Back-to-Baskin
Trevor Baskin won his second consecutive RMAC Defensive Player of the Week award after maintaining an impressive scoring and rebounding pace over CMU's Friday and Saturday contests.
RMAC Player of the Week Release
Baskin had a pair of incredible stat lines to nab the honor, averaging 30 points, 8.5 rebounds, five rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks. Against New Mexico Highlands, Baskin scored 43 points with nine rebounds, four steals and two blocks before following that up with a 17-point, eight-rebound game against CSU Pueblo.
Regional Rankings
The NCAA released its first seeded regional rankings of the 2024 season, ranking 10 teams in each of Division II's eight regions as a preview of the teams under consideration for the eight spots in the NCAA Tournament regional.
Colorado Mesa is No. 4 in the South Central regional rankings. The Mavericks trail West Texas A&M, Fort Lewis and DBU while RMAC rival Colorado School of Mines is fifth. The final five spots are populated by Eastern New Mexico, Lubbock Christian, MSU Denver, Angelo State and Cameron.
Regional Rankings Release
Alongside CMU's men grabbing a No. 4 regional ranking, the Maverick women received a No. 2 slot in the NCAA regional rankings. Colorado Mesa is just one of four schools in the nation to have both its men's and women's basketball teams ranked in the top four of its region.
In the Polls
Despite going 2-0 last weekend against Highlands and Pueblo, Colorado Mesa slid one spot in the NABC Coaches Poll, dropping from No. 6 to No. 7.
The Mavericks are the second-highest ranked team in the RMAC, trailing No. 2 Fort Lewis, and the third-highest NABC ranked team in the South Central region, trailing Fort Lewis and No. 4 West Texas A&M. Among South Central region teams, No. 12 DBU and No. 16 Colorado School of Mines are behind the Mavericks in the poll.
Colorado Mesa is now in the top 10 of both major voting polls, climbing up four spots to No. 9 in the D2CSC Media Poll. In the media poll, WTA&M is No. 3, Fort Lewis is No. 6, DBU is No. 11 and Mines is No. 21.
The Mavericks were picked to win the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in a preseason poll of the conference's head coaches. The Mavericks received eight of a possible 15 first-place votes and finished with 186 points to top the poll. Fort Lewis, who shared the regular season title with CMU and won the RMAC Tournament last year, got four first-place votes and 177 points. Colorado School of Mines received three first-place votes and 169 points while Black Hills State and Chadron State rounded out the top five.
About Western Colorado
Western Colorado will head into its final regular season game on Saturday with an 8-13 RMAC record and an 11-16 record overall. The Mountaineers played on Thursday night, narrowly defeating Westminster on the road 80-79.
Western needs a win against Colorado Mesa to keep their hopes of qualifying for the RMAC Tournament alive. At 8-13, the Mountaineers are a half-game behind CSU Pueblo and Chadron State, who are tied for the eighth and final RMAC Tournament qualifying spot in the standings currently. The Mountaineers have won two in a row and five of their last seven games to vault themselves back into postseason contention.
Junior guard Kade Juelfs leads the Mountaineers with 13.2 points per game and is their only double-digit scorer. Sophomore forward Jamel Hollins has been a consistent post presence, averaging 5.6 rebounds per game to lead the Mountaineers. Sophomore forward Trevin Lieck leads WCU with a .538 field goal percentage and scored eight points against CMU last time out.
Western Colorado has a new head coach in Zac Claus, who brings Division I experience to Gunnison. Claus spent the last four seasons as the head coach at the University of Idaho in the Big Sky Conference (Division I), compiling a 28-88 record. Claus was a Division I assistant coach from 2015-2019 with Idaho and from 2005-15 with the University of Nevada.
Colorado Mesa is 64-26 all-time against WCU, and the Mavericks have won the previous six matchups. Prior to the 67-45 win earlier in the season, the Mavericks won both matchups in comfortable fashion last year, winning 82-46 in Grand Junction and 83-67 in Gunnison.
Coach's Corner
In his five seasons in Grand Junction,
Mike DeGeorge has transformed the Mavericks into a perennial national and conference contender, winning two RMAC Coach of the Year awards in the process.
From 2018-19 through 2022-23, DeGeorge has compiled a 112-38 record at the helm of the Mavericks, topping the 20-win plateau in four consecutive seasons. He improved the Mavericks from 11 to 19 wins in his first season and crossed the 20-win barrier in 2019-20, leading CMU to an RMAC Tournament Championship from the No. 4 seed.
The 2020-21 campaign saw the Mavericks start the season with 14 consecutive wins on the way to the RMAC Regular Season and Tournament Championships and finishing the regular season ranked No. 1 in the nation. DeGeorge was named RMAC and NCAA West Region Coach of the Year.
In 2021-22, DeGeorge's team won a program-record 26 games, advancing to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time in program history, a run that included a win over regional No. 1 seed Lubbock Christian.
The Mavs won a co-RMAC regular season championship in 2022-23, going 19-3 in the RMAC and 25-6 overall while making their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The team stepped up in tough environments, going 3-0 on the road against top-15 opponents as DeGeorge nabbed his second RMAC Coach of the Year award.
Prior to CMU, DeGeorge was the head coach at Eureka College in Eureka, Ill. from 2000-04, Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa from 2004-09 and Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn. for eight seasons from 2010-2018. He has over 300 career wins as a head coach.
