Independent file photo SMSU’s Cliff McCray shoots a jumper during their game against the University of Sioux Falls on Dec. 21. The Mustangs will face Concordia-St. Paul and MSU Mankato this weekend.

MARSHALL — The Southwest Minnesota State University men’s basketball team (5-9, 2-6 NSIC) will have its first home games of the 2020 calendar year this Friday and Saturday, with a pair of rematches versus Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division opponents inside the R/A Facility.

•SMSU will open the weekend on Friday facing Concordia University-St. Paul (5-7, 3-5 NSIC) with game time set for 7:35 p.m., while on Saturday, SMSU concludes the weekend versus Minnesota State University Mankato (7-7, 5-3 NSIC) with tip-off slated for 6 p.m.

•This will be the second time SMSU has faced both opponents this season. In early December, CSP won 75-70 in St. Paul, while MSU earned a 67-57 victory in Mankato.

•SMSU returns to the R/A Facility after splitting a pair of road games last weekend, losing 64-61 to No. 24 Augustana, before snapping a two-game losing streak with a 62-59 victory over Wayne State.

Broadcast info

•Friday’s game will be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL, while Saturday’s will be on 94.7 FM KKCK with Ryan Rohlik providing play-by-play.

•Friday’s game will be broadcast live regionally on Midco Sports Network with David Brown and Brad Newitt.

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

Series history vs.

Concordia-St. Paul

•SMSU and CSP meet for the 43rd time with SMSU leading 30-12 in a series that began during the 1980-81 season.

•SMSU has won 13 of the last 18 games since Feb. 11, 2011, but CSP has won the last two games, including 75-70, earlier this season on Dec. 7 in St. Paul.

•SMSU is 18-3 all-time in games played in Marshall, including winning the past four games. CSP’s last victory in Marshall came on Feb. 20, 2015.

•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 13-8 all-time versus CSP.

Series history vs.

Minnesota State

•SMSU and MSU meet for the 63rd time with MSU leading 45-17 in a series that started during the 1969-70 season.

•MSU leads 18-9 in games played in Marshall, which includes a 75-67 victory last season on Dec. 7, 2018.

•MSU has won 13 of the last 17 games overall since the 2012-13 season, which includes winning the previous four and five of the last six games since Jan. 20, 2018. SMSU’s lone victory in that span was on Feb. 26, 2018, in Marshall.

•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 7-17 all-time versus MSU.

Scouting

Concordia-St. Paul

•CSP is 5-7 overall, 3-5 NSIC, and is coming off a home sweep last weekend, defeating UMary, 79-65 and Minot State, 71-68.

•Junior guard Lee Higgins was named the NSIC South Division Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 20.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and shooting 81 percent (17 of 21) from the field.

•Junior guard Jordan Coblin is averaging 17.8 ppg and 5.5 rpg, while shooting 48 percent from the field. He has made a team-high 19 3-pointers. Coblin scored 26 points and added eight rebounds in the win over Minot State.

•Junior forward Cody Carlson is averaging a team-high 6.1 rpg and scoring 13.1 ppg with 15 3-pointers. Carlson scored 17 points with five 3-pointers in the win over UMary.

•Sophomore guard Noah Kannegiesser is scoring 11.4 ppg with 18 3-pointers.

•Interim head coach Eric Johnson was named to his current position on Nov. 14, 2019. He served as an assistant coach at CSP since the 2014-15 season.

•CSP is shooting 46 percent from the field, 39 percent from 3-point range, 68 percent from the free throw line and is plus-2.8 in rebound margin.

•CSP is averaging 74 points per game, while opponents average 75 points per game.

Scouting

Minnesota State

•MSU, winners of four straight games, are 7-7 overall, 5-3 NSIC, heading into Friday’s game at Sioux Falls.

•Senior forward Cameron Kirksey is averaging 19.8 ppg and 5.8 rpg, while shooting 52 percent from the field. He scored 23 points in a win over Minot State last Friday and poured in 27 points in a victory over UMary last Saturday.

•Freshman forward Ryland Holt is scoring 15.5 ppg and is shooting 59 percent from the field.

•Senior guard Kevin Krieger has a team-high 28 3-pointers and is averaging 12.3 ppg. He connected on five 3-pointers and scored 23 points in the win over Minot State.

•Head coach Matt Margenthaler is in his 19th season at MSU with a record of 400-172. He has led the Mavericks to 13 NCAA Tournaments.

•MSU is shooting 46 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3-point range, 68 percent from the free throw line and is plus-4.7 in rebound margin.

•MSU is averaging 7973 points per game, while opponents average 74 points per game.

— Content courtesy

of SMSU Athletic

Communications