TWIN FALLS, Idaho — The College of Southern Idaho (CSI) men's basketball team resumes its season after Thanksgiving coming in with a top five national ranking and a perfect record.
The Golden Eagles are 8-0, hoping to continue their host streak with a 'Black out' game on Black Friday. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. and CSI knows the pressure of having no losses.
“We all love the pressure of having that target on our back because it just makes us play harder,” said CSI Power Forward Rob Whaley.
🚨 Indian Hills takes over at the #⃣1⃣ spot in this week's DI Men's #NJCAABasketball rankings!
— NJCAA Basketball (@NJCAABasketball) November 21, 2022
Salt Lake and Odessa move up to round out the top-3 while Vincennes is welcomed in at the #8 spot. 👀https://t.co/dvLHvJyoos pic.twitter.com/pdTvUyXPWS
Entering his fourth year as head coach, Jeff Reinert says CSI always has extra pressure being the winningest junior college in the country and that his players love the high expectation placed on their shoulders.
“When you coach at CSI, there is a high expectation so with that you always have a target on your back whether you're rated or not rated,” said Reinert.
Many Juco players know Southern Idaho's reputation and meeting a standard of excellence is a part of CSI's culture.
“The athletes that come here, they understand that it’s a winning junior college. They come here to win and with that mentality it only helps,” said CSI Power Forward Garrett Hawkes. “I think a lot of our guys, we thrive for that. We like to know that we are up there, and people are coming for us.”
For more information on CSI men's basketball, click here.
