THE GAME - Texas A&M-Kingsville

• Friday will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools, with tipoff at 6:30 p.m. MST.
• The Javelinas went 11-15 last season and 3-11 in the Lone Star Conference. They earned a preseason pick of No. 6 in the league this year.
• Chris Boleware is the top returner, having scored 8.5 points and dished 3.1 assists per game in 2015-16.

THE GAME - Texas A&M International

• Texas A&M International and Black Hills State meet on the hardwood for the first-time with a 5 p.m. tipoff.
• The Dustdevils enter the weekend with a 1-2 record after playing as part of the CCA Division II Tip-Off Classin in Anaheim, California. TAMIU played RMAC foe MSU Denver in the season opener, falling 71-60.
• Texas A&M International was picked Seventh in the Heartland Conference coaches poll after completing an 18-11 season and 13-7 record in conference.

THE COACHES

• Jeff Trumbauer enters his third season with the Yellow Jackets and owns a 22-33 record at BHSU. Overall, he owns a 117-116 record in his ninth season as a head coach. Trumbauer coaced the first First Team All-RMAC performer from BHSU in Nick Ongarato last season.
• Johnny Estelle enters his third season at the helm of Texas A&M - Kingsville. He has tallied 19 wins over two seasons, and improved the team by three wins in his second year. Estelle spent time at the University of Houston and Navarro Junior College. Estelle is a former player for TAMKU, helping the Javelinas to the NCAA Divison II National Tournament.
• Brian Weakley is the all-time wins leader at Texas A&M International after taking over the Dustdevils in the 2012-13 season. Prior to being the head coach, Weakley served as the Associate Head Coach since 2012.

Yellow Jacket Returners
Black Hills State returns two starters from 2015-16 in Wyatt Krogman and Patrick Mendes. Krogman averaged 9.6 points and 4.6 assists per game. Mendes scored 7.1 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. Other returners include Joe Cameron, Max Mueller and Fraser Malcolm.
 
New Year, New Team
Black Hills State returns just five players that saw action for the Yellow Jackets last season and welcome 10 new faces, not including two redshirts. Jonas Anderson and Sam McCloud sat out the 2015-16 season but are poised to play a role in the Yellow Jacket 2016-17 season.
 
Ten Additions Welcomed on 2016-17 Squad
Head coach Jeff Trumbauer added 10 new faces to the squad, quite possibly highlighted by Zach McLemore, a transfer from Colorado Christian. The junior from Tallahassee, Florida, led the Cougars with 15.2 points per game. He scored a career-best 29 points against UCCS. The other nine newcomers are true freshman.
 
Thanksgiving is around the corner, but tis' the season for giving
Wyatt Krogman returns as the leader in assists as he led the league with 4.5 assists per game. He tallied a total of 113 assists over 25 games. Eimer Lopez of Colorado Mesa totaled 133 assists over 30 games for an average of 4.4 per contest.
 
1,000-point watch
Although he won't join the Yellow Jacket 1,000-point club until he reaches the milestone in a Yellow Jacket uniform, Zach McLemore has a chance to reach 1,000 post high school points as he tallied 787 points at Colorado Christian, including 441 points as a sophomore.
 
Point Margin Make-Up
The Yellow Jackets averaged 74.8 points per game in 2015-16 but must find a way to make up 46.4 points from departures from that squad, including First Team All-RMAC Nick Ongarato who scored 19.3 points per game. Within that is Honorable Mention All-RMAC Riley Ryan, who averaged 14.0 points per game. Part of the void could be filled by Zach McLemore who averaged 15.2 points per game last season at CCU.
 
BHSU Picked 10th by RMAC Coaches
Black Hills State was tabbed 10th in the RMAC Coaches' Poll with 92 points. Colorado Mines earned the coaches' nod with 186 points followed by Fort Lewis with 180 points and MSU Denver 178 points. All three of those teams received first place votes.
 
International Relations
The Yellow Jacket men's basketball team has four players from across the oceans. Jonas Anderson comes to the Black Hills from Denmark, while Patrick Mendes made his way from Sweden. Fraser Malcolm traveled across the pond from Scotland while Stefan Desnica came from Serbia with a pit stop at San Gabriel Academy in California.
 
Redshirt Outlook
Head coach Jeff Trumbauer looks to redshirt a trio of players for the 2016-17 season. Within the group is Logan Dreier, Spencer Ederhoff and Kain Morehead.
 
Career Assists
Wyatt Krogman has tallied 219 assists over his first two seasons, and could be staring down the school record for assists in a career. With his 219, he already ranks sixth all-time and is chasing Lonnie Stover who tallied 474 assists from 1982-86.
 
National Team Representation
Fraser Malcolm received extra playing time over the summer as a member of the Great Britain U20 National Team as he represented his home country in the FIBA U20 European Championship. Malcolm has now represented his country on four different occasions and has averaged 13.2 points and 7.9 rebounds over the four events.
 
Most Wins in NCAA Era
Black Hills State tallied its most wins in the NCAA era in the 2015-16 season with 12 victories, including its first victory over Colorado Mesa. The Green and Gold also notched one of its only victories against UCCS on the season. The 12 wins eclipsed the 11 wins of the 2011-12 season, and 10 conference victories last year topped the previous best of eight wins, which happened twice.