Fort Hays State Men's Basketball plays its first two home games of the 2018-19 season this weekend in Hays. On Saturday (Nov. 17) the Tigers face Colorado School of Mines at 4 pm, then return to the court on Sunday (Nov. 18) to take on UC-Colorado Springs at 4 pm. The Tigers are looking for their first win of the season going into the weekend after opening 0-2 in Minnesota last weekend.
 
Fort Hays State holds a strong 35-7 advantage in the all-time series with Colorado School of Mines. However, the Orediggers won the last two meetings over the last two years. CSM held a national ranking in both meetings. Two years ago in Hays, the Orediggers banked in a 3-point shot at the buzzer from the right wing to win by three, 70-67. Last year, the Orediggers erased a 10-point Tiger lead in the final minute of the game to force overtime. They went on to win 109-101 in double overtime.
 
Colorado School of Mines is off to a 1-1 start to the season after playing in San Antonio last weekend. The Orediggers fell in their season opener to Lubbock Christian 70-62 before defeating St. Mary's (Texas) 61-56.
 
Fort Hays State holds an 11-0 advantage in the all-time series with UC-Colorado Springs, going perfect against the Mountain Lions back when both were members of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The teams have not met since the 2005-06 season, the last year the Tigers were in the RMAC. UCCS has found success under seventh-year head coach Jeff Culver, who owns an overall record of 98-80 guiding the Mountain Lions. UCCS has two appearances in the NCAA Tournament under Culver, occurring back in 2014 and 2015.
 
UC-Colorado Springs is off to a 1-1 start to the season after opening its season in Stephenville, Texas last weekend. The Mountain Lions defeated Tarleton State in the season opener 87-77, but fell to Angelo State 84-74.
 
Fort Hays State took a pair of losses this past weekend in the MIAA/NSIC Challenge in Marshall, Minnesota. The Tigers ran into a pair of blazing hot shooting teams in both games, falling to Sioux Falls 89-70 and Southwest Minnesota State 96-85. Sioux Falls shot 58.9 percent from the field and hit 12 three-point field goals, while Southwest Minnesota State shot 66 percent from the field and hit 19 three-point field goals.
 
Marcus Cooper is leading the way in scoring for the Tigers at 18 points per game. Devin Davis (12.5) and Aaron Nicholson (12.0) are also averaging double figures. Kyler Kinnamon is averaging 4.5 assists per game. The Tigers shot 50 percent from the field last weekend despite the two losses.