THIS WEEK

•The Southwest Minnesota State University men’s basketball team (2-0) opens its 14-game home schedule on Saturday facing Truman State University (Mo.) (2-1) inside the R/A Facility with tip-off slated for 12 p.m.

•Truman is a member of Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) and last season finished 20-10 overall and placed third in the 15-team league with a 13-6 record. The Bulldogs have qualified for the NCAA Tournament the past three seasons and five of the last six years.

•Truman defeated Upper Iowa, 91-78, in its home opener on Wednesday.

•Following Saturday’s game, SMSU will open the 22-game Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference season on Tuesday, Nov. 22, hosting the University of Sioux Falls at 5:30 p.m.

•SMSU’s next victory will be the 700th in the 56-year history of the program.

BROADCAST INFO

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

•Live stats, radio and video broadcasts of all games can be found at SMSUmustangs.com.

MUSTANGS BY THE NUMBERS

•For the season, senior Anthony Costello and sophomore Dunwa Omot lead SMSU in scoring at 15.5 ppg with Omot connecting on a team-high four 3-pointers.

•Phipps ranks first in rebounding (6.5), second in field goals made (118), second in scoring (13.4), second in field goal pct. (52.9) and third in 3-pointers (18).

•Junior Cliff McCray has recorded a team-high 10 assists and is scoring 12 ppg.

•Freshman Mason Lund has made three 3-pointers and is averaging 11.5 ppg with a team-high 5.0 rpg.

•SMSU is shooting 53 percent from the field, 36 percent from 3-point range, 77 percent from the free throw line and is plus-4.0 in rebound margin.

•SMSU is averaging 74 points per game, while opponents are averaging 59 points per game.

MUSTANGS OPEN SEASON WITH TWO VICTORIES IN OKLAHOMA

•SMSU opened the 2022-23 season last weekend with a pair of wins at the Rogers State Classic in Claremore, Okla. The Mustangs opened with a 72-62 win over Rogers State on Friday before cruising past Newman (Kan.), 76-56. SMSU held a 22-point second half lead over RSU and led by as many as 37 points in the second half over Newman.

•In the win over Rogers State, Dunwa Omot scored 19 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the field including 4 of 7 from 3-point range, while Cliff McCray added 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Mason Lund scored 11 points on 4 of 6 shooting in his first collegiate game.

•SMSU closed the game shooting 52 percent from the field while making 10 3-pointers.

•In the victory over Newman, Anthony Costello scored 21 points on 10 of 13 shooting to pace the Mustangs. It was his highest point total in two seasons with the Mustangs. He scored 38 points versus Mayville State during the 2019-20 season while playing for Dakota State.

•SMSU used an 18-0 run early in the first half to blow past Newman. SMSU shot 53 percent and limited Newman to 36 percent shooting.

•Lund reached double figures off the bench for the second consecutive game, scoring 12 points and pulling down a team-high seven rebounds, while Omot added 12 points, four rebounds, and four assists. McCray dished out five assists to power the offense, while adding six points and a pair of rebounds. Majok Majouk grabbed six rebounds and added four points in 18 minutes off the bench.

SCOUTING TRUMAN STATE

•Truman is 2-1 on the season after defeating Upper Iowa, 91-78 on Wednesday. The Bulldogs opened the season last Friday losing to Cedarville (Ohio), before earning a victory over Findlay (Ohio) on Saturday.

•Truman was picked to finish fourth in the GLVC preseason poll.

•The Bulldogs return its third leading scorer from last season in junior guard Elijah Hazekamp, who averaged 12.8 points per game and made 66 3-pointers. Hazekamp is averaging 20 ppg with seven 3-pointers in three games this season. He scored 23 points on 9 of 18 shooting with 13 rebounds in the win over UIU.

•Sophomore guard Trey Shearer has made nine 3-pointers and is scoring 11.3 ppg.

•Truman head coach Jeff Horner is in his fifth season with a record of 79-37.

•Truman is shooting 45 percent from the field, 35 percent from 3-point range, 85 percent from the free throw line and is minus-0.3 in rebound margin.

•Truman is averaging 76 points per game, while opponents average 77 points per game.

MUSTANG HISTORY

•Southwest Minnesota State is in its 56th season of men’s basketball in 2022-23.

•SMSU has recorded 25 winning seasons in program history with 18 coming in the last 25 years, including 2021-22.