(7) West Texas A&M (19-11, 13-9 LSC) vs. (2) #7 Colorado School of Mines (27-4, 18-2 RMAC)
Date & Time	Saturday, March 15th at 2:30 p.m.
Location	Dallas, Texas | The Burg Center
Live Statistics	Live Stats
Live Video (Pay Per View)	FloCollege
Other Links	Game Notes | Championship Central

 
CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M men's basketball team returns to the NCAA tournament for the ninth consecutive year as the Buffs earned No. 7 seed in the South Central Regional tournament. WT will square off against No. 2 seed Colorado School of Mines at 2:30 inside the Burg Center on the campus of Dallas Baptist.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The Athletic Communications office from Dallas Baptist will provide live stats and a pay-per-view web stream. Fans will need to purchase a monthly ($19.99) or annual ($107.88) subscription with FloSports, the official streaming provider of the Lone Star Conference. The subscription allows fans access to any content available on FloSports.
 
A LOOK AT THE BUFFS
The Buffs are led by junior guard Ahamed Mohammed who averages 19.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while tallying 74 assists. Noah Pagotto follows Mohammed with 13.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Narit Chotikavanic also averages double-digit scoring with 11.3 points per contest. Jailyn Sledge paces the team with 52 steals and 29 blocks.
 
SCOUTING (2) #7 COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
The Orediggers claimed the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships to enter the NCAA tournament with an overall record of 27-4. Colorado School of Mines is led by head coach Pryor Orser who is in his 24^th season in Golden and 24^th overall. Orser has produced a 472-231 record in his career as the head coach of the Orediggers.
 
On the season, Colorado School of Mines averages 82.3 points per game on 50.2 percent shooting from the field while giving up 68.3 points per game to opponents. Three players for the average double-digit scoring for the Orediggers paced by Majok Deng's 15.2 per contest. Riley Schroeder (11.9) and Markus Pastorcic-Straun (10.8) also average double-figures. Alex Romack paces Mines with 4.8 rebounds per game while Grant Pressly has 118 assists and 34 steals. 
 
THE SERIES
WT leads the all-time series with Colorado School of Mines 10-2 including 1-0 at neutral sites and 1-1 in NCAA Tournaments. The last meeting saw the Buffs defeat the Orediggers 79-65 at the 2018 NCAA Regional Tournament in Canyon. Brown is 1-1 against Colorado School of Mines in his tenure at the helm of the Buffs.
 
W, 79-65 – Canyon (NCAA), 2018
L, 63-88 – Golden (NCAA), 2017
L, 75-89 – Golden, 2003
W, 51-39 – Golden, 1938
W, 48-41 – Denver, 1938
 
BUFFS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
West Texas A&M returns to the NCAA tournament for the 23^rd time in its program history and ninth straight. The Buffs are 25-23 overall in the NCAA tournament and 20-7 under Tom Brown. Since 2017, WT has reached the National Championship game, three Final Fours, four Elite Eights, and six Sweet Sixteens.
 
A LOOK AT THE BRACKET
No. 3 seed Lubbock Christian opens the bracket at 12 p.m. against No. 6 St. Mary's followed by No. 2 Colorado School of Mines and No. 7 West Texas A&M at 2:30 p.m. In the second session, top-seeded DBU will host No. 8 Regis with No. 4 Midwestern State taking on No. 5 St. Edward's in the finale at 7:30 p.m.
 
The LCU/StMU winner will take on the CSM/WT winner at 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 16 in the first regional semifinal game with the winners of DBU/Regis and MSU/SEU following at 7:30 p.m. The South Central Regional Championship game is scheduled for Tuesday, March 18 at 7 p.m.
 
The winner of the South Central Regional will advance to the Elite Eight/Final Four, which will be held March 25-29 at Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.
 
 
THE BROWN ERA
Head coach Tom Brown enters his 11th season at the helm of Buffalo Basketball, building the program into one of the elite NCAA Division II schools in the nation.  He has guided the Buffs to seven consecutive NCAA Tournaments including the Buffs first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship game in 2021. Under Brown, the Buffs are 285-73 since he took the reins in 2014 for an incredible winning percentage of 79.6%.  Brown registered his 250^th career victory on Jan. 13, 2024, after the Buffs defeated UT Permian Basin, 77-69, to become just the second coach in program history to reach the 250-win plateau. 


 
NABC TOP 25 POLL
The top three remained the same from last week as Daemen (11 fpv, 393), Nova Southeastern (5 fpv, 388), and Alabama Huntsville (371) occupy the top three spots. Dallas Baptist jumped into the No. 4 spot with 335 points followed by Washburn (332), West Liberty (303), Colorado School of Mines (298), Columbus State (275), Point Loma (248), and Lenoir-Rhyne (232)
 
The South Central Region is represented by three teams in the poll with DBU leading the way at No. 4. Colorado School of Mines (7^th), and Lubbock Christian (21^st) earned spots in the poll. Midwestern State received votes.
 
LSC AWARDS
West Texas A&M's Narit Chotikavanic and Noah Pagotto earned Lone Star Conference Player of the Year awards as announced by the league office at the men's basketball award banquet on Wednesday. Chotikavanic was named the league's Freshman of the Year while Pagotto earned Academic Player of the Year.
 
Ahamed Mohammed earned First-Team accolades after leading the league in scoring at 18.7 points per game. In addition to the All-Academic team honor, Pagotto earned Second Team All-Conference honors.Chotikavanic led WT's All-Freshman team honorees. Joining Chotikavanic on the All-Freshman team were Amarillo, Texas native Jailyn Sledge and Geraldton, Australia native Bob Griechen.
 
LAST TIME OUT
West Texas A&M men's basketball couldn't preserve a halftime lead as the Buffs fell to No. 22 Lubbock Christian 76-67 in overtime. The Buffs fall to 19-11 on the season while the Chaps improve to 25-7. Two Buffs reached double-digit scoring on Saturday night led by a team-high 28 from Ahamed Mohammed. Narit Chotikavanic ended his day in double figures with 19 points. Chotikavanic also brought in a game-high eight rebounds and team-high two steals while Mohammed dished out two assists.

ON THIS DAY: MARCH 16
Saturday's game marks the seventh time the Buffs have played on this date after playing on this date last season. WT is 3-3 in games on March 16 including 3-0 under Tom Brown. The Buffs are 3-1 in NCAA tournament games on this date.  
 
W, 81-66 – Angelo State (NCAA), 2024
W, 101-92 – #10 Lubbock Christian (NCAA), 2021
W, 77-61 – Texas A&M-Commerce (NCAA), 2019
L, 71-73 – Missouri Western (NCAA), 1990
L, 37-50 – Arkansas State Teachers (AAU), 1936
L, 31-40 – Southern Kansas Stage (AAU), 1932
 
BEVO FRANCIS TOP 100 WATCH LIST
West Texas A&M junior Ahamed Mohammed was named to the Top 100 Watch List for the 2024-2025 Bevo Francis Award presented to the top player in Small College Basketball, awarded by SmallCollegeBasketball.com. The honor is awarded to a deserving player whose university is affiliated within NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA Division I, NAIA Division II, USCAA and NCCAA.
 
The Clarence "Bevo" Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character, and team achievements. This is an incredibly prestigious award, as this award will only be given to one player within Small College Basketball per season.
 
2023-24 REVIEW
The Buffs returned to the Final Four in the 2023-24 season, capturing the program's fifth regional title. Despite seeing its run of consecutive Lone Star Conference tournament titles come to an end, WT earned the top seed in the South Central region, hosting the regional tournament for the second consecutive year. The Buffs swept their way through the regional tournament, defeating eight-seeded Angelo State and fourth-seeded and No. 12-ranked Dallas Baptist to reach the championship game. Facing off against third-seeded and No. 6-ranked Colorado Mesa, a big second half lifted the Buffs to the regional title with Larry Wise earning Tournament MVP honors. At the Elite Eight, WT defeated fifth-seeded and No. 14-ranked North Georgia 90-76 to advance to the Final Four where top-seeded Minnesota State outlasted the Buffs, 79-72.
 
HOME SWEET HOME

West Texas A&M is home to one of the finest multi-purpose facilities in the country as the First United Bank Center has served as the home of the Buffaloes since January 26, 2002. The Buffaloes are a staggering 277-60 inside of the FUBC during that time for a winning clip of 82.2%. The Buffs are an astounding 156-19 at the First United Bank Center under Tom Brown including three undefeated seasons at home. 
 

 
HOME OF CHAMPIONS

West Texas A&M is home to one of the most successful athletic programs in all of NCAA Division II. The Buffs and Lady Buffs finished third in the 2023-24 Division II LEARFIELD Director's Cup standings. It marked the sixth straight and eighth overall time that WT finished inside of the Top 10 including the fifth straight inside of the Top 5.
 
UP NEXT
A win would advance the Buffs to the Regional Semifinals for the eighth consecutive NCAA tournament excluding the tournament canceled in 2020.
 
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