SMSU MEN’S BASKETBALL: SMSU opens NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament versus UMD
MARSHALL - The No. 24 (D2SIDA) ranked Southwest Minnesota State University men’s basketball team (22-5, 17-5 NSIC) opens the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament tonight hosting the University of Minnesota Duluth (4-24, 3-19 NSIC) at the R/A Facility in Marshall with tip-off slated for 7 p.m.
SMSU is the No. 1 seed from the South Division, while UMD is the No. 8 seed from the North Division. The winner of Wednesday’s game will advance to the quarterfinals on Sunday to face either Sioux Falls or Minot State at 5:30 p.m. at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. Wednesday’s game will be SMSU’s first NSIC tournament home game since Feb. 26, 2014.
NSIC SOUTH
CHAMPIONS
•SMSU captured the program’s first NSIC South Division title since divisions were formed prior to the 2012-13 season.
•SMSU tied with Northern State for second place overall in the 16-team conference.
•SMSU won overall NSIC championships in 2001 and 2009.
BROADCAST INFO
•Wednesday’s game will be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL.
•The game can also be viewed online at SMSUmustangs.com.
GAME DAY
STORYLINES
•SMSU’s 22 victories is the third highest in team history and highest win total since recording 28 during the 2008-09 season.
•SMSU is 10-0 when holding opponents to less than 70 points.
•Carter Kirk’s 7.7 per game rebound average would be the highest since Scott Roehl averaged 10.2 in 2010-11.
•Joey Bartlett ranks eighth on the SMSU all-time scoring list with 1,304 points.
•Bartlett needs four 3-pointers to move into sole possession of fifth place in team history with 174 and passing Jacob Fahl.
•Mitch Weg has 746 career rebounds and is in sole possession of second all-time in team history.
•SMSU is 20-2 when committing 15 or fewer turnovers, but 2-3 when committing more than 15.
•SMSU is 12-2 in games decided by four or less points or played in overtime.
•SMSU has recorded a pair of six-game winning streaks this season with both winning streaks ending with losses to Upper Iowa.
SMSU IN THE NSIC TOURNAMENT
•SMSU is 16-15 all-time in the NSIC tournament since it began in 2000.
•The Mustangs are 8-2 at home, 1-7 on the road and 7-6 in neutral sites games.
•SMSU’s last home tournament game was on Feb. 26, 2014, earning an 82-65 victory over U-Mary.
•SMSU has advanced to the semifinals nine times and played in five championship games (2001, 2002, 2007, 2010, 2012), including winning its lone tournament championship in 2012.
•SMSU last played in the semifinals in 2014.
SERIES HISTORY VS. MINNESOTA DULUTH
•Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota Duluth meet for the 83rd time on Friday with UMD leading 51-31.
•The teams first met during the 1972-73 season.
•SMSU leads 21-16 in games played in Marshall.
•SMSU has won 13 of the last 15 games since the 2005-06 season.
•UMD won on Jan. 20, 2012, and Jan. 30, 2016, both in Duluth.
•UMD’s last win in Marshall came on Dec. 12, 2004.
•SMSU defeated UMD, 99-92, in the first round of the 2012 tournament in Marshall.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 9-2 all-time versus UMD.
EARLIER THIS
SEASON VS.
MINNESOTA
DULUTH
•SMSU defeated UMD, 94-76, in Marshall on Dec. 9.
•Joey Bartlett scored a game-high 26 points with five 3-pointers.
•Carter Kirk and Taylor Schafer each added 16 points, while Kirk tied a school record with six blocked shots.
•Luke Harris led UMD with 25 points on 9 of 13 shooting.
FINAL NSIC
STATISTICS
•SMSU ranked first in steals.
•SMSU ranked third in rebound margin.
•SMSU ranked third in field goal pct.
•SMSU ranked fifth in scoring offense.
•SMSU ranked fifth in field goal pct. defense.
•SMSU ranked sixth in scoring defense.
•SMSU ranked seventh in free throw pct.
•Carter Kirk ranked second in field goal pct., fifth in rebounding and sixth in blocked shots.
•Ryan Bruggeman ranked fourth in free throw pct., fourth in assists, fifth in steals and 11th in assist/turnover ratio.
•Mitch Weg ranked fifth in field goal pct. and 12th in rebounding.
ABOUT MINNESOTA DULUTH
•UMD is 4-24 overall and finished 3-19 in NSIC play.
•UMD has lost 14 straight games since beating Minnesota Crookston on Jan. 6 and is 1-11 in road games.
•Luke Harris is averaging 10.7 ppg with 42 3-pointers.
•Logan Rohrscheib is scoring 10.1 ppg with 59 3-pointers.
•Brandon Myer leads the team with 4.0 rpg.
•UMD is shooting 43 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3-point range and 73 percent from the free throw line.
•UMD is scoring 70 points per game, while opponents are averaging 76 per game.
•Matt Bowen is in his fifth season as head coach with a record of 55-86. He was the head coach at Bemidji State for six seasons prior to UMD.
Content courtesy
of SMSU Athletic
Communications