OPENING TIP: The Snow College men's basketball team begins its 2024-25 campaign at the Snow College Classic Friday and Saturday in Ephraim.  The Badgers will take on Harcum College Friday at 7:30 p.m. before hosting Western Nebraska Community College Saturday at 1:15 p.m.  Both games will take place inside the Horne Activity Center.
 
The Snow College Classic will play host to four total games across the two-day event.  Salt Lake Community College will also be participating in the four-team, round-robin tournament. 
 
The Badgers begin their 2024-25 season after concluding the previous year with a 21-7 overall record and a 6-6 mark within Scenic West Athletic Conference play.  With their .500 mark in conference play, the Badgers fell short of the Region 18 tournament, finishing in fifth place within the SWAC.
 
Snow College started the season winning each of its first 13 games and eventually climbed as high as fifth in the NJCAA Men's Basketball Division I Poll.  Despite the best start to a season in five years, the Badgers finished the year going just 2-5 to fall short of the postseason.
 
WHO'S WHO?  The 2024-25 Badgers team consists of 14 players, including six sophomores, seven freshmen, and one redshirt freshman returning from last year's team. They bring back two starters from last season including Isaac Finlinson and Mark Brown Jr.
 
Finlinson and Brown Jr. highlight the returners as the only two members of the team who played in all 28 games from a season ago.  Finlinson was third on the team in scoring during the 2023-24 season, averaging 13.3 points per game on 53 percent shooting and 40 percent shooting from beyond the arc. 
 
Brown Jr. is coming off a season during which he averaged 7.8 points on 44 percent shooting from the field and 2.5 assists per game.  He also led the team with 1.3 steals per game.
 
The Badgers also return three other contributors including Isaac Garrett, Coleman Ford, and Donaven Davis.  Garrett averaged 8.5 points per game on 54 percent shooting from the field and 34 percent from 3.  He was also second on the team in rebounding with 5.7 per game.
 
Ford and Davis combined to play in all but three games for the Badgers last season and together added 8.3 combined points and 4.0 assists per game. 
 
BREAKING DOWN THE SCHEDULE: The Badgers will play a full 30-game schedule during the 2024-25 season.  They will play a total of 10 games inside the friendly confines of the Horne Activity Center while playing 20 road games during the year.
 
Their longest stretch away from home will be an eight-game swing between Nov. 6 and Nov. 23 before returning home for a standalone game against Central Wyoming College Nov. 30.  The Badgers will kick off SWAC play against Salt Lake Community College Jan. 2 in Taylorsville.
 
The Badgers will wrap up the regular season with a pair of home games against the College of Southern Idaho and North Idaho College Feb. 27 and March 1.  The Region 18 Tournament, should the Badgers qualify, will begin March 7^th and will be hosted by the winner of the regular season championship.
 
WHO'S LEADING IN THE POLLS? NO, NOT THOSE POLLS: The Snow College men's basketball team was ranked 24^th in the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, the Association unveiled last Monday.  The Badgers were ranked as high as fifth during the 2023-24 season.
 
South Plains College claimed the top spot in the nation followed by the 2023-24 national champion Cougars from Barton Community College.  Daytona State College came third while last year's runner-up Triton College was fourth.  Trinity Valley Community College rounded out the top five. 
 
Two other members of the Scenic West Athletic Conference also fell within the top 25.  Salt Lake Community College was the highest ranked of the three conference teams, coming in at 7^th.  The College of Southern Idaho fell just outside the top ten at 12^th.
 
Snow College will have a schedule loaded with preseason-ranked teams. In addition to the six total matchups with SLCC and CSI during the regular season, the Badgers will also play games against No. 11 Indian Hills Community College, No. 13 Odessa College, and Harcum College, which is receiving votes.
 
The Badgers were ranked throughout the majority of the 2023-24 season and, as mentioned, climbed as high as 5^th following their 12-0 start. They eventually dropped out of the rankings following a 3-game losing streak near the end of the regular season.
 
Snow College will open its 2024-25 campaign at home in the Snow College Classic, where it will take on Harcum College Friday, Nov. 1 and Western Nebraska Community College Saturday Nov. 2.  For tournament info, video streaming, and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.
 
UP NEXT: The Badgers will head to Arizona and play four games over the course of six days, beginning with Central Arizona College Nov. 6.  They will face Arizona Western and Eastern Arizona College in the Region 1/Region 18 showdown in Thatcher, Arizona.  They will then wrap up the road trip against Yavapai College Nov. 11 in Prescott.  For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.