Independent file photo SMSU’s Carter Kirk goes up for a shot during their game against the University of Mary last Saturday. The Mustangs will wrap up the regular season against MSU Mankato and Concordia-St. Paul this weekend.

MARSHALL – The Southwest Minnesota State University men’s basketball team (19-7, 15-5 NSIC), currently riding a five-game winning streak, concludes the regular season this Friday and Saturday with a pair of games at the R/A Facility.

•SMSU will face NSIC South Division leading Minnesota State University (20-6, 16-4 NSIC) on Friday, with tip-off set for 8 p.m.

•SMSU concludes the weekend with a 7 p.m. match-up versus Concordia University St. Paul (5-21, 4-16 NSIC) on Saturday.

•SMSU begins the weekend in second place in the NSIC South Division standings and fourth place overall.

•SMSU can clinch at least a share of its second straight NSIC South Division championship with a pair of victories.

•MSU opens the weekend in first place in the NSIC South standings and tied for second overall, while CSP is seventh in the South standings and tied for 14th overall.

SENIOR NIGHT SET FOR SATURDAY

•Southwest Minnesota State will honor its three seniors, KJ Davis, Carter Kirk and Turner Moen prior to Saturday’s night game.

•Davis, a junior college transfer, is a two-year letter winner and has played in 60 games with 57 starts. He has scored 592 points with 83 steals.

•Kirk is a four-year letter winner, having played in 116 games with 71 starts. He ranks 12th in program history with 1,210 points and is second with 813 rebounds. He is the program’s all-time leader in field goal percentage (58.8) and also ranks sixth in free throws attempted (402), sixth in blocked shots (84) and eighth in field goals made (488).

•Moen has played in 116 games with 91 starts during his four-year career. He has scored 779 points while dishing out 249 assists and ranks sixth in team history with 129 steals. He also ranks fifth in team history in 3-point field goal percentage (42.0).

NSIC/SANFORD HEALTH

TOURNAMENT

SCENARIOS

•To secure the No. 1 seed in the South Division, SMSU must win both games this weekend and have Minnesota State lose both games.

•If SMSU and MSU tie atop the division standings, MSU will earn the No. 1 seed via either head-to-head (if MSU wins on Friday) or by recording a better division record. MSU is 11-1 in South Division games entering the weekend, while SMSU is 8-4 in division games.

SERIES HISTORY VS. MINNESOTA STATE

•Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota State meet for the 58th time with MSU leading 41-16.

•The two teams first met during the 1969-70 season.

•MSU leads 17-8 in games played in Marshall, but SMSU has won the last two games in Marshall.

•MSU’s last win in Marshall came on Feb. 21, 2015.

•MSU has won nine of the last 12 games overall in the series since the 2012-13 season, but SMSU’s three victories have come in the last five games.

•MSU won earlier this season, 72-70, in Mankato on Jan. 20.

•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 6-13 all-time versus MSU.

SERIES HISTORY VS. CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL

•Southwest Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul meet for the 39th time on Saturday with SMSU leading 28-10.

•The two teams first played during the 1980-81 season.

•CSP joined the NSIC prior to the 1999-2000 season.

•SMSU is 16-3 all-time in games played in Marshall and have won six of the last seven played at the R/A Facility.

•SMSU has won three straight in the series, including 79-64 on Jan. 19 in St. Paul.

•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 11-6 all-time versus CSP.

SCOUTING

MINNESOTA STATE

•MSU is 20-6 overall, 16-4 NSIC, and is currently in first place in the NSIC South standings. MSU is coming off a loss to Winona State last Saturday night.

•Charlie Brown is averaging a team-high 16.2 ppg with 36 3-pointers and a team-high 100 assists.

•Kevin Krieger is scoring 16.1 ppg with a team-high 55 3-pointers.

•Chris Kendrix leads the team with 7.0 rpg and is averaging 12.3 ppg.

•Cameron Kirskey is averaging 11.8 ppg with a team-high 27 blocked shots.

•MSU is shooting 48 percent from the field, 43 percent from 3-point range, 76 percent from the free throw line and is plus-2.0 in rebound margin.

•MSU is scoring 84 points per game, while opponents are averaging 75 per game.

•Matt Margenthaler is in his 17th season with a record of 370-149. MSU has qualified for the NCAA tournament in 11 of the last 13 seasons.

SCOUTING

CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL

•CSP is 5-21 overall, 4-16 NSIC, and is currently seventh place in the NSIC South standings.

•CSP, which plays at Sioux Falls on Friday, lost at home last weekend to Winona State and Upper Iowa.

•Bryndan Matthews leads the team averaging 17.1 ppg and also paces the club with 7.4 rpg.

•Avan Ward is scoring 15.6 ppg with a team-leading 66 3-pointers.

•Tad Brown is averaging 8.0 ppg and is second on the team with 5.0 rpg.

•CSP is shooting 45 percent from the field, 34 percent from 3-point range, 69 percent from the free throw line and is plus-4.1 in rebound margin.

•CSP is scoring 69 points per game, while opponents are averaging 80 per game.

•Joey James is in his fourth season as head coach with a record of 43-73. He was the head coach at South Dakota in 2013-14, finishing with a 12-18 record.

Content courtesy

of SMSU Athletic

Communications