MARSHALL – The Southwest Minnesota State wheelchair basketball team will finally open its delayed 2020-21 season this Saturday hosting a pair of games inside the PE Gym on the campus of SMSU.

SMSU will take on Nebraska-Omaha with games starting at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. SMSU holds a 21-2 advantage in the series since 2015-16, including winning four times last season.

The two games will be a tune-up for the 2021 National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament set for March 12-13 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. This year’s tournament will feature just five teams competing for the championship. The official bracket will be announced following all games played this weekend.

Joining SMSU in the national tournament include Alabama, Auburn, Eastern Washington and UT Arlington.

The Mustangs last competed on March 7, 2020, with last season’s national tournament canceled due to COVID-19.

SMSU head coach, Derek Klinkner, in his eighth season, has 12 players on the 2020-21 roster with three seniors, four sophomores and five freshmen.

The 2019-20 team finished 14-9 overall with Walter Johnson, one of this season’s seniors, averaging 25 points per game and shooting 61 percent from the field. Ezekiel Ramudzi also returns from last season after scoring 5.9 ppg.

— Content courtesy

of SMSU Athletic

Communications