The RMAC basketball seasons for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams at Colorado State University Pueblo are coming to a close with just four games left on the regular season Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) calendar.
The ThunderWolves will begin a two-game road trip starting tonight (Feb. 20) against Fort Lewis and Adams State on Saturday. They will return home to finish the season against MSU Denver on Feb.27 and Colorado School of Mines on March 1.
Both teams find themselves in different positions down the stretch of the season. The women’s team sits at 4th place in the RMAC with a 15-8 overall record and a 10-6 record in conference play.
“We have a legitimate chance to be Top 2 in the conference,” Plinske said.
Colorado Mesa sits atop the RMAC with a conference best 14-2 record in RMAC play. The Pack are 2.5 games back of second place Western Colorado with four conference games to go for each team.
Third-place Black Hills state also occupies a one-game lead over the ThunderWolves with an 11-5 conference record.
If the season ended today, the ThunderWolves would qualify for the RMAC tournament and earn a first round home game in the quarterfinals round, which will be played on March 4.
“They have the talent to make some noise in the regular season and make a deep playoff run,” Plinske said.
The ThunderWolves superstar forward Alisha Little continues to be a dominant factor on the court for the Pack this season. Little is averaging a double-double this season with 25.5 points per game, along with 11.8 rebounds.
Little also has continued to be a strong force on the defensive end, averaging 3.8 blocks and 2.8 steals per game.
“Our women’s team has the best player in America; you have to game-plan for Alisha or she will score 25-30 points on you,” Plinske said.
The ThunderWolves also have received strong production from other contributors on the roster this season. Experience from senior starting point guard Tomia Johnson has fared well for the Thunderwolves as a second scoring option. Johnson is second on the team in scoring, averaging 8.5 points per game.
Tosjanae Bonds has been a great contributor off the bench for the Pack. Bonds has tallied 45 points, 31 rebounds, and 13 assists the last six games.
“They have talent on the bench; coach Johnson does a good job of getting everyone playing time,” Plinske said.
The women’s team will look to bounce back on the road after a tough home loss against rival UCCS 63-59, which trails them in the RMAC standings by only half a game.
“They’ve won some good games; they continue to be a very strong opponent for people to play. I’m excited to see them finish out the year,” Plinske said.
The ThunderWolves are 5-5 on the road this season.
The ThunderWolves men’s team continues to search for answers after dropping their sixth straight game this last weekend with their postseason hopes quickly diminishing. The Pack started the season 8-2 but since have gone just 2-12 overall, falling to 12th in the RMAC with a 10-14 overall record and a 5-11 conference record.
Adams State, Colorado Christian and Westminster join the Pack in the hunt for the eighth spot in the RMAC tournament. Chadron State currently occupies the final playoff spot with an 8-8 RMAC record.
The task becomes harder for the ThunderWolves men as they will be on the road to take on Fort Lewis and Adams State. The Pack road record is 2-8 where they have just a 2-8 record away from home this season.
“I would like to see them qualify for the conference tournament. It was very promising at the beginning of the year. Now, we are just trying to figure out how we can win a couple of games,” Plinske said
Deshaun Cooper, Brevin Walter and Armon Muldrew have been strong contributors for the Pack offensively this season, each averaging double figures in the scoring column.
The ThunderWolves have to win their four remaining games and receive help from other teams in order to qualify for the RMAC tournament. The Pack made the tournament last season where they narrowly lost to defending conference champion Fort Lewis Skyhawks.
Plinske also provided budgeting and revenue details from both basketball programs.
“Just for operations, both teams are at about $220,000,” Plinske said.
Operations include travel costs, transportation, uniforms, game officials, etc. Both teams also have a scholarship budget and a coaching budget.
The basketball teams also generate revenue through ticket sales and corporate sponsors.
“Single-game ticket and season ticket sales is approximately $50,000 total”, Plinske said.
The programs also get revenue contributions from sponsorships.
“We generate a significant amount of corporate sponsorship support. Our sponsors want to be in two primary places: the Thunderbowl and Massari Arena. Basketball is our second-leading revenue generator,” Plinske said.
The home game attendance also is something athletics has had their eye on this season.
“The men are anywhere between 800-1,200 fans per game, with the women between 600-900 fans per game,” Plinske said.
The men and women’s teams do double-headers at Massari arena with a short break in between games.
“Winning matters, consistent winning matters, winning basketball will keep fans. I would like to see each team build their own clientele of sponsors and season ticket holders and fanbase like you see in Div. I,” Plinske said.
