DENVER – If all goes according to plan, the MSU Denver men's basketball team will ring in the new year on a bus ride from Alamosa, Colo., to Pueblo, Colo.
 
Not exactly the most exciting of New Year's Eve festivities, but so it is when the schedule calls for a road trip for games Friday at Adams State and Saturday at CSU-Pueblo.
 
Tip-off each night is at 7:30 p.m.
 
"As a coach, you probably like it because it gets the guys away from any distractions, but I'm not sure they really like it that much," MSU Denver coach Michael Bahl said.
 
One way to create a celebratory mood for the bus ride for the Roadrunners (9-2 overall, 3-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) would be to start things off with a win over Adams State (6-5, 2-3).
 
The Grizzlies, who knocked MSU Denver out of the RMAC Tournament last season with a first-round win in Denver, have been coaching kryptonite for Bahl, who is 0-6 against Adams State but 43-37 against the rest of the RMAC.
 
"Some matchups are hard matchups, and Adams State is a hard place to play – just like every place on the road," Bahl said. "Even when I was playing (for MSU Denver), Adams State beat us a couple of times."
 
Adams State won twice in Denver last season. The Grizzlies returns four of their top six scorers, though the list doesn't include last year's leading scorers Destan Williams and Frederick Jackson, who combined for just over 35 points per game.
 
"They have other guys who were on the team and played a lot last year, and now they are taking over larger roles," Bahl said.
 
CSU-Pueblo is 5-6 and 2-3. The ThunderWolves have lost to Adams State, but also have a road win at Westminster, a team that won at MSU Denver earlier this season.
 
Newcomers for the ThunderWolves include Elijah Moleon, a 6-foot-7 forward averaging 13.3 points and 7.7 rebounds.
 
"They're starting to play much better than earlier in the season when they weren't at full strength," Bahl said. "They have quite a few new guys who joined the program and they are coming together now."
 
MSU Denver won two straight close games before the holiday break and will look to recapture that momentum this weekend.
 
"It's not great when you are off for 10 days and then you have three practices and play again, but everybody has to go through it," Bahl said. "So now it comes down to your depth and which team is in better shape. We have our work cut out for us. But I do think the break was good for us. We came back fresh."