Independent file photo SMSU’s Andy Stafford shoots a jumper during their game against Northern State University on Feb. 8. The Mustangs will face Augustana and Wayne State this weekend.

MARSHALL — The Southwest Minnesota State University men’s basketball team (7-17, 4-14 NSIC) will look to snap a five-game losing streak this weekend with its final two home games of the 2019-20 season on Friday and Saturday at the R/A Facility.

•SMSU will take on Wayne State College (10-19, 7-13 NSIC) on Friday, with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m., before closing the weekend on Saturday, with a 6 p.m. match-up versus Augustana University (16-10, 11-9 NSIC)

•SMSU begins the weekend in eighth place in the NSIC South standings, while WSC is sixth and AU is in fifth place in the division standings.

•SMSU lost at Augustana in early January, but defeated Wayne State one night later in the first meeting versus both teams.

•SMSU will play on the road for the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament on Wednesday, Feb. 26. The official tournament bracket will be released on Saturday night.

Broadcast info

•Both games will be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL with Ryan Rohlik providing play-by-play.

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

Mustang

tip-off tidbits

•In most seasons, the final regular season home game is “Senior Night”. But that won’t take place this weekend as the 2019-20 roster does not feature any seniors.

•SMSU’s current seven-game home losing streak is its longest since losing 14 straight during the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons. SMSU’s last home victory came on Dec. 14 in triple overtime versus Minnesota Duluth.

•SMSU opponents have made the same or made more 3-point field goals than SMSU in 11 straight games. The last time SMSU made more 3-pointers than their opponent occurred on Jan. 10 versus Concordia-St. Paul.

•The Mustangs dropped a pair of close road games last weekend to Upper Iowa and Winona State. SMSU had the lead in both games with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation.

•In Friday’s loss at UIU, Kenny Byers led the team with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Jake Phipps and Andy Stafford both added 11 points. The Mustangs held the Peacocks to 35 percent shooting, but UIU made 20 of 24 free throws, compared to just 7 of 10 for SMSU.

•In the loss at WSU, SMSU held an eight-point advantage with 11 minutes remaining, but WSU used a 19-3 run to rally for the victory. Cliff McCray scored a career-high 16 points and pulled down five rebounds for the Mustangs.

•Junior Kenny Byers leads the team in scoring (16.7), rebounding (7.0), assists (77), steals (39) and has recorded a team-high seven double-doubles.

•Junior Nick Dufault, who missed two games in early January with an injury, has connected on a team-high 53 3-pointers and is second on the squad in scoring (11.4). He ranks seventh in team history in 3-point field goal pct. (41.5) and 12th in program history with 146 3-point field goals made. He needs 16 more 3-pointers to move into ninth all-time.

•Freshman Cliff McCray ranks third on the team in scoring (8.8) and second with 45 assists.

•Junior Weston Baker Magrath has a team-high 50 blocked shots ranking fifth in team single-season history. The record is 55 set by Mark Ornatek in 1979-80.

•For the season, SMSU is shooting 45 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3-point range, 67 percent from the free throw line and is even in rebound margin. SMSU is averaging 65 points per game, while opponents are averaging 70 points per game.

Series history

vs. Wayne State

•SMSU and Wayne State meet for the 74th time with WSC leading 39-34 in a series that started in 1969-70.

•SMSU leads the series 22-14 in games played in Marshall, but WSC won last season’s game inside the R/A Facility snapping a 19-game losing streak in Marshall.

•SMSU has won 16 of the last 19 games overall since Dec. 3, 2011, including earlier this season on Jan. 4 in Wayne, Neb., 62-59.

•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 18-5 all-time versus WSC.

Series history

vs. Augustana

•SMSU and Augustana meet for the 39th time with Augustana leading 23-15 with the first meeting occurring in 1972-73.

•Augustana holds a 10-8 advantage in games played in Marshall, including winning the past five games. SMSU’s last win in Marshall came on Dec. 6, 2013.

•Augustana is hold a 5-4 advantage since Dec. 20, 2016, including earning a 64-61 victory in Sioux Falls earlier this season on Jan. 3.

•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 8-14 all-time versus Augustana.

Scouting Wayne State

•Wayne State is 10-19 overall, 7-13 NSIC, and has lost its last four games, including two at home in overtime last weekend to Concordia-St. Paul (93-89) and Minnesota State (72-70).

•Sophomore guard Jordan Janssen leads the team in scoring, 17.1 ppg and rebounding, 10 rpg. He is also shooting 51 percent from the field.

•Junior guard Nick Ferrarini is scoring 14.6 ppg and has made 62 3-pointers.

•Junior forward Nate Mohr is averaging 12.1 ppg and has made 64 3-pointers.

•WSC is shooting 45 percent from the field, 36 percent from 3-point range, 71 percent from the free throw line and is minus-1.0 in rebound margin.

•WSC is averaging 73 points per game, while opponents average 78 points per game.

•Head coach Jeff Kaminsky is in his fourth season at WSC with a record of 50-56. He has also been head coach at Valley City State and Wisconsin-Superior.

Scouting Augustana

•Augustana is 16-10 overall, 11-9 NSIC, and will play at Sioux Falls on Friday night. The Vikings have won three straight, including beating Minnesota State (73-66) and Concordia-St. Paul (92-71) at home last weekend.

•Sophomore guard Matt Todd is averaging 13.1 ppg and has made a team-high 58 3-pointers.

•Junior forward Tyler Riemersma is scoring 13 ppg and is averaging a team-high 10.5 rpg. He is shooting a team-high 50 percent from the field.

•Head coach Tom Billeter is in his 17th season with a record of 321-187. He has a 412-229 overall record in 22 seasons as a head coach.

•AU is shooting 43 percent from the field, 35 percent from 3-point range, 75 percent from the free throw line and is plus-8.7 in rebound margin.

•AU is averaging 80 points per game, while opponents average 73 points per game.

— Content courtesy

of SMSU Athletic

Communications