Independent file photo SMSU’s Steven McNease rises up for a shot during their game against the University of Sioux Falls on Saturday. The Mustangs will face Minnesota State Mankato and Concordia-St. Paul this weekend.

MARSHALL – The Southwest Minnesota State University men’s basketball team (5-2, 0-1 NSIC) concludes its nine-game season-opening homestand with a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference games at the R/A Facility.

•On Friday, SMSU will take on Minnesota State University (4-2, 1-0 NSIC) with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.

•SMSU wraps-up the weekend on Saturday, battling Concordia-St. Paul (4-2, 0-1 NSIC) with game time slated for 6 p.m.

•SMSU had its five-game winning streak snapped last Saturday with a home loss to Sioux Falls to open NSIC play.

•SMSU continues to rank first in Division II (Dec. 3) in 3-point field goal pct. at 49.1 percent.

BROADCAST INFO

•Both games will be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL.

•Friday’s game will be broadcast live regionally on Midco Sports Network.

•Live stats and video can be found at SMSUmustangs.com.

SERIES HISTORY VS. MINNESOTA STATE

•SMSU and Minnesota State meet for the 60th time on Friday with MSU leading 42-17.

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

•MSU leads 17-9 in games played in Marshall, but SMSU has won the last three games played in the R/A Facility.

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

•MSU has won 10 of the last 14 games overall since the 2012-13 season, but SMSU’s four victories have come in the last seven games.

•The teams split two regular season games last season, but MSU defeated SMSU in the NCAA Central Region semifinals in Maryville, Mo.

•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 7-14 all-time versus MSU.

SERIES HISTORY VS. CSP

•SMSU and Concordia-St. Paul meet for the 40th time on Saturday with SMSU leading 29-10.

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

•CSP joined the NSIC during the 1999-2000 season.

•SMSU is 17-3 all-time in games played in Marshall and have won seven of the last eight played at the R/A Facility.

•SMSU has won four straight and 12 of the last 15 since Feb. 11, 2011.

•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 12-6 all-time versus CSP.

MUSTANG

TIP-OFF TIDBITS

•Senior Michael Lee played in his 100th career game last Saturday night. Fellow seniors Ryan Bruggeman and Taylor Schafer have each appeared in 103 career games.

•SMSU scored a season-low 72 points in the loss to USF on Saturday.

•SMSU shot 54 percent or higher from the field in each of its five victories, but have shot 44 percent (ESU) and 36 percent (USF) in its two losses.

•SMSU has scored 100 or more points twice this season. The last time SMSU reached 100 twice in a season came in 2015-16. The last time SMSU scored 100 or more three times in a season occurred during the 2000-01 season.

•SMSU made a season-high with 39 field goals versus Crown College on Nov. 24.

•Schafer reached the 1,000 career points mark on Nov. 20 vs. Northland. He is the 24th player in program history to reach 1,000 points and currently ranks 22nd all-time with 1,014.

•SMSU shot 60 percent from the field versus Bethany Lutheran on Nov. 19. It was the second time SMSU shot 60 percent or higher in a game this season.

SCOUTING

MINNESOTA STATE

•MSU is 4-2 overall, 1-0 NSIC, after earning a 91-72 home victory over Concordia-St. Paul to open league play on Saturday.

•MSU was picked as the co-favorite to win the NSIC overall title in the preseason coaches’ poll.

•Junior guard Kevin Krieger is averaging 16.8 ppg with a team-leading 9.5 rpg.

•Junior forward Cameron Kirksey averaged 19 points through three games but has not played the last three games.

•Senior guard Carlos Anderson is scoring 14.8 ppg with 6.2 rpg.

•Junior guard Juwan McCloud is averaging 11.3 ppg with a team-leading 19 assists.

•McCloud scored 24 points with four 3-pointers in the win over CSP on Saturday, while freshman guard Tre Baumgardner came off the bench to score 18 points with four 3-pointers.

•MSU is shooting 45 percent from the field, 35 percent from 3-point range, 72 percent from the free throw line and is plus-0.8 in rebound margin.

•MSU is averaging 83 points per game, while opponents are averaging 79 points per game.

•Matt Margenthaler is in his 18th season with a record of 379-155. MSU has qualified for the NCAA tournament in 12 of the last 14 seasons.

SCOUTING CSP

•CSP (4-2, 0-1 NSIC) opened the season with four victories, but have dropped its last two games, including 91-72 at Minnesota State on Saturday. CSP plays at Sioux Falls on Friday.

•Guard Isaiah McKay, a senior transfer from Nebraska-Kearney, leads the squad averaging 23.2 ppg with 24 3-pointers.

•Senior guard Bryndan Matthews is scoring 22.2 ppg and averaging a team-high 10 rpg, while shooting 59 percent.

•Freshman guard Hayden Baughman is averaging 10.8 ppg with 18 3-pointers.

•CSP is shooting 50 percent from the field, 44 percent from 3-point range, 66 percent from the free throw line and is plus-1.2 in rebound margin.

•CSP is averaging 89 points per game, while opponents are averaging 85 points per game.

•Joey James is in his fifth season as head coach with a record of 47-78. He was the head coach at South Dakota in 2013-14, finishing with a 12-18 record.

BRUGGEMAN MOVES INTO TOP 4 IN SCORING

•Ryan Bruggeman ranks fourth in the SMSU career scoring list with 1,544 points in 103 games. He is 21 points from tying Jordan Miller (2009-13) for third in team history.

•Jacob Fahl (1999-2003) is the program’s all-time scoring leader with 1,638 points.

MUSTANG

20-POINT GAMES

•A total of five Southwest Minnesota State players have scored 20 or more points in a game during their careers, including five times this season.

•Senior Ryan Bruggeman has 28 career 20-point games, including two this season, which includes a 33-point game versus Mayville State and a 31-point game versus Sioux Falls.

•Senior Taylor Schafer has six, senior Michael Lee and Nick Dufault each have two, while sophomore Kenny Byers has one during their careers.

SMSU TRUE “ROAD

WARRIORS” LAST FEW SEASONS

•SMSU finished 13-7 away from Marshall last season, including 8-5 in “true” road games and 5-2 in neutral site games.

•SMSU finished 12-3 in “true” road games during the 2016-17 season, recording the most road wins in team history.

Content courtesy

of SMSU Athletic

Communications