ODESSA, Texas. – The Western State Colorado University men's basketball team begins the regular season this week with two road games in Texas. On Friday, the Mountaineers will play University of Texas – Permian Basin in Odessa, Texas before travelling to Canyon on Saturday for a game against West Texas A&M.

In UTPB the Mountaineers face the #11 ranked team in the National Association of College Basketball (NACB) DII Coaches Poll. Coming off of a 26-6 season and Lone Star Conference Championship in 2016, the Falcons will open their 2017 campaign against the Mountaineers. This year, UTPB was voted first in the Lone Star Conference preseason poll and guard Daeshon Francis was selected as preseason Player of the Year.

After a tough test in Odessa, the Mountaineers head up the Panhandle to play West Texas A&M. Like the Falcons, the Buffs also found themselves in the NACB Preseason Poll, checking in at #21. In 2016, the Buffs were 26-9 and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the Division 11 tournament. Lead by guard David Chavlovich, West Texas will have one game in the books by Saturday as they face Adams State on Friday night.

The Mountaineers enter the weekend after an exciting exhibition season loss 77-84 to Division I Weber State University. At Weber State, the Mountaineers scored 51 points in the second half, led by a 31 point effort from Preseason All-RMAC selection Ben Beauchamp. Three other Mountaineers scored in double figures on the night – Brady Subart, Michael Hill, and Monroe Porter.

Both games will be broadcast live or you can catch the live stats. For the UTPB game, check here. And for West Texas A&M, here.