THIS WEEK

•The Southwest Minnesota State University men’s basketball team (2-1) opens the 22-game Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference season on Tuesday, Nov. 22, hosting the University of Sioux Falls (3-1) inside the R/A Facility starting at 5:30 p.m.

•On Saturday, Nov. 26, SMSU returns to non-conference play hosting Mount Marty University (3-5) with tip-off slated for 2 p.m. inside the R/A Facility.

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

BROADCAST INFO

•Both games 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.

SERIES HISTORY VERSUS SIOUX FALLS

•SMSU and Sioux Falls meet for the 40th time on Tuesday with SMSU leading 23-16 in a series that started in 1968-69.

•SMSU has won eight of the 15 games since the 2015-16 season.

•The teams split a pair of games last season with SMSU winning, 70-69 in Sioux Falls, before USF earned a 72-71 overtime victory in Marshall.

•SMSU leads the series 16-4 in games played in Marshall, but USF has won four of the last six inside the R/A Facility.

•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 11-10 all-time versus Sioux Falls.

•Game-by-game results of the series is located on page 18.

MUSTANGS BY THE NUMBERS

•For the season, SMSU has five players averaging double figures in scoring with sophomore Dunwa Omot leading the way at 15 ppg while connecting on a team-high six 3-pointers.

•Senior Anthony Costello is averaging 12.3 ppg and shooting 59 percent (17 of 29) from the field.

•Junior Cliff McCray is scoring 11.3 ppg and has dished out a team-leading 18 assists.

•Freshman Mason Lund has made five 3-pointers and is averaging 10.3 ppg.

•Junior Jake Phipps is scoring 10 ppg and leads the club pulling down 6.7 rebounds per game..

•SMSU is shooting 50 percent from the field, 38 percent from 3-point range, 81 percent from the free throw line and is plus-4.3 in rebound margin.

•SMSU is averaging 70 points per game, while opponents are averaging 61 points per game.

SCOUTING SIOUX FALLS

•USF enters the game 3-1 overall and is coming off 69-68 road victory over Chadron State on Saturday. Noah Puetz scored the game-winning field goal on a tip-in with 1.1 seconds remaining.

•Senior Matt Cartwright, a second-year transfer from Augustana, is averaging a team-high 21.3 points with 17 3-pointers this season. He also leads the team in rebounding with 6.8 per game. Cartwright led the Cougars on Saturday with 27 points on 9 of 18 shooting with six 3-pointers.

•Sophomore Jake Kettner (10.8) and junior Jack Thompson (10.3) both are scoring in double figures. Kettner is second on the team with five 3-pointers.

•USF is shooting 43 percent from the field, 36 percent from 3-point range, 73 percent from the free throw line and is plus-6.0 in rebound margin.

•USF is averaging 73 points per game, while opponents are averaging 71 points per game.

•Head coach Chris Johnson is in his 15th season at USF with a record of 246-174. He was also head coach at Culver-Stockton for one season (2004-05).

SMSU PICKED 7TH IN NSIC PRESEASON POLL

•SMSU was picked to finish eighth overall and fifth in the South Division in the 16-team NSIC Preseason Coaches’ Poll.

•SMSU junior forward Jake Phipps was named a “Player to Watch”.

•Wayne State was chosen as the South Division favorite, while Minnesota Duluth was selected as the North Division and overall preseason favorite.

PHIPPS EARNS NSIC WEEKLY AWARD IN 2021-22

•Sophomore Jake Phipps was named the NSIC South Division Player of the Week twice during the 2021-22 season on Nov. 22 and Dec. 20.

NSIC SOUTH VS. NSIC NORTH

•SMSU finished 3-3 versus NSIC North Division teams in 2021-22.

•SMSU is a combined 43-27 versus North teams in conference play since divisions were introduced prior to the 2012-13 season.

SEASON OPENERS

•SMSU is 30-26 all-time in season openers having won nine of its last 17 and 17 of its last 26 season lid-lifters following this season’s victory at Rogers State.

MUSTANG HISTORY

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

•SMSU has played 1,517 games compiling an all-time record of 699-818.

•SMSU has won two NSIC regular season championships (2001 & 2009), two NSIC South Division championships (2017 & 2018), two NSIC Tournament championships (2012, 2017), two NCAA Region championships (2001 & 2009) and has appeared in five NCAA Tournaments (2001, 2009, 2012, 2017, 2018).

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