4 Things to Watch: CSI basketball opens SWAC play against North Idaho

College of Southern Idaho’s basketball teams open Scenic West Athletic Conference play Saturday with home games against North Idaho College.

No. 8 CSI women will play at 1 p.m., with the No. 15 CSI men at 3 p.m.

The CSI women seek their fifth straight conference championship, while the men look to return to the top of the SWAC after finishing runner-up to Salt Lake Community College in 2023-24.

Here are four things to watch as the Golden Eagles open conference play.

Will CSI women continue to dominate series?

CSI women’s head coach Randy Rogers’ squad has had the upper hand against the Cardinals for more than a decade.

CSI enters Saturday with 11 straight wins against NIC and 19 wins in the past 20 meetings.

The Golden Eagles played NIC four times in 2023-24 as they cruised in early season matchups before they played much tighter games in SWAC play.

CSI won 75-53 and 81-41 in nonconference play. Fast forward nearly three months later, when the Golden Eagles escaped Coeur d’Alene with a 73-66 win before they beat the Cardinals 73-63 in their regular season finale.

NIC returns only two players from 2023-24 and enters Saturday at 8-6.

Sophomore guard Kylani Rookstool (15.4 points per game) and freshman guard Esmeralda Galindo (14.3 ppg) are the only Cardinals scoring in double figures but three other players average at least eight points per game.

Staying hot on offense CSI women defeated Treasure Valley Community College 82-60 Thursday in their first game in 15 days. The Golden Eagles scored 80 points or more for the second straight game and the first time they have that done that in consecutive games this season.

CSI scored 104 points in a win over Southwestern Community College on Dec. 18.

Rogers puts an emphasis on defense and rebounding, and his team has been solid in those areas. CSI has only allowed three teams to score 60 or more points and has won the rebounding battle in 12 of its 15 games.

But a more telling statistic lies on the offensive end. The Golden Eagles are 1-3 in games in which they score less than 60 points and 11-0 when they score 60 or more.

Conference home games could set tone for CSI men

Like 2023-24, CSI men’s basketball gets to start its conference slate at home.

After playing NIC, the Golden Eagles welcome No. 4 Salt Lake Community College on Wednesday and then Colorado Northwestern Community College on Jan. 11. CSI is 10-2 at home so far this season with those losses against ranked opponents.

The Golden Eagles trounced Blue Mountain Community College 116-73 on Monday, a game head coach Jeff Reinert said his team needed to settle in before diving headfirst into conference play.

All six teams in the conference boast winning records. No. 1 Snow College is narrowly defeated No. 4 Salt Lake Community College on Thursday. CNCC is 14-1 as it surpassed its win total from 2023-24. Reinert said he thinks NIC is a top 25 team despite a 9-5 record.

“It’s a tough league,” Reinert told the Times-News. “And we need everybody on this team to play well to be successful.”

In 2023-24, CSI opened conference play with four home games and won those as part of a seven-game winning streak.

A similar stretch in the three home games to start this year’s league slate would be a big boost for a team chasing its first conference title since 2021.

Can CSI handle Weems?NIC’s Vaughn Weems, a 6-foot-5 sophomore guard is the NJCAA Division I leader in scoring, averaging 29.5 points per game while shooting 55% from the field and 40% on 3-pointers. He also averages nine rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

“Coming out of high school, he was positionless,” NIC head coach Corey Symons told the media ahead of the Battle of the Boot Tournament, which CSI hosted. “He went under the radar because nobody knew what kind of position he could play. He’s going to play the wing for us, he’s shooting the ball better, handling it better. Big time athlete, a high major athlete.”

Weems has scored at least 15 points in every game he has played this season and scored 30 or more points eight times. He boasts nine NCAA Division I offers, including Eastern Washington University, Ball State University and New Mexico State University.

The Golden Eagles got an up close look at Weems when he scored a combined 97 points in three games at the Battle of the Boot. He also scored a combined 41 points and 21 rebounds on 52% shooting in two games against CSI in 2023-24.

Weems will probably be productive again Saturday. The key will be making sure his teammates aren’t. In a 91-73 loss at North Idaho last season, the Cardinals shot 53% from the field and hit 12 of 19 3-point attempts. In a 92-73 win over NIC last season, the Cardinals shot 29% from the field and hit only 6 of 25 3-point attempts.

“They’re a team that if you give them space, they’re going to play well,” Reinert said. “If the floor’s spread they’re going to do well. If we compact it and we keep it in front of us and we rebound well, we’ll be in good shape.”