Photo by Jake McNeill Southwest Minnesota State forward Cliff Cofield (2) attempts a layup during the second half of a mens basketball game against St. Cloud State in the first round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament at SMSU’s R/A Facility on Feb. 28. The mustangs will open their NCAA tournament run against Northwest Missouri State today at the Taylor Center in Mankato.

MARSHALL – The NCAA Tournament is beginning to become familiar territory for the Southwest Minnesota State University men’s basketball program. SMSU opens the NCAA Tournament today in Mankato as the No. 7 seed, facing the No. 2 seed Northwest Missouri State University. The opening tip from the Taylor Center is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

The Mustangs will be making their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, and the fourth appearance since coach Brad Bigler took over the program in 2009. SMSU is 9-5 all-time in tournament games and has appeared in three region championship games with region titles in both 2001 and 2009.

“I’ll never take the NCAA experience for granted,” Bigler. “It is absolutely amazing how hard it is to get to this point. Being back now in this third cycle with this group, I have much more appreciation and am thankful for all the work the guys have put in, and have a better awareness of how hard it is to get here. It’s been a fun year and I don’t want it to stop.”

The Bearcats (27-4) are regular-season and tournament champions of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. NWMSU has received a bid to 11 straight NCAA Division II men’s basketball tournaments.

Seeing Northwest Missouri State as the first-round opponent is familiar territory for the Mustangs. It was the Bearcats that ended the Mustangs’ run to the region championship during the 2016-17 season. The two teams also met on opening weekend this season, as SMSU came away with a 63-56 win on Nov. 11. In total, Bigler is 4-2 in head-to-head meetings against NWMSU coach Ben McCollum.

“We know how disciplined they are and how difficult it will be to get them out of their rhythm,” Bigler said. “We are looking forward to the challenge.”

The NWMSU offense is centered around its offensive efficiency. The Bearcats are ranked No. 6 in Division II in field goal percentage at 50.6%. They are also eighth in the nation in 3-point shooting at 39.6%. NWMSU also averages 1.085 points per possession, according to Synergy Sports Technology, which leads Division II and is No. 3 among all NCAA programs.

The first meeting between the teams in November is one of just two games in which NWMSU was held under 60 points this season. The Bearcats are 0-2 in those games. Meanwhile, the Bearcats are 16-0 when scoring 75 or more points in a game this season. They hit that mark in every game of the MIAA Tournament.

“With their pace and offensive decision-making of shot selection, it is not a surprise that they are No. 1 in the country in offensive efficiency,” Bigler said. “For us to disrupt that and to take advantage of certain schemes and situations, we’ll have to be creative. I don’t know if we’ll be able to go play man-to-man and think it will work out. I don’t think it works out that easy. A lot of teams have tried that and they’re No. 1 in the country in that category for a reason.”

Leading the way for the Bearcats is senior Wes Dreamer, who is among the NWMSU program leaders in multiple categories. Dreamer enters the NCAA Tournament with 1,829 career points, 811 career rebounds and 315 made three-pointers in his career. All three marks rank top five in Bearcats history.

As a senior, Dreamer is averaging 18.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg and has made 60 3-pointers. He was held to 10 points and eight rebounds in the Nov. 11 game against SMSU.

Sophomore guard Bennett Stirtz is second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.2 points per game. The 29 points he scored in the first meeting against the Mustangs were his career high.

“Our gameplan the first time around of not allowing them layups and making them knock down contested perimeter shots, it gave us a chance,” Bigler said. “Now offensively we have to be much better than we were last time, but we’ve grown as a team as well.”

As the No. 7 seed in the region, SMSU will be looking up at the rest of the field. The Mustangs have been situated as a No. 4 seed or higher in each of their previous tournament appearances.

SMSU is one of four programs from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Minnesota State-Mankato is the No. 1 seed and will host No. 8 seed and Great American Conference champion Arkansas Tech. Minnesota-Duluth is the No. 3 seed and will face No. 6 Fort Hays State (Kan.) out of the MIAA, while No. 4 Minnesota State-Moorhead will face No. 5-seeded Pittsburg State (Kan.).

“You look at that NSIC group, it’s a powerhouse of NSIC teams and it could be a final four of NSIC teams,” Bigler said. “But that also means we need to take care of our own business and get the upset.”

The Mustangs are led by an experienced starting lineup, with veteran center Jake Phipps leading the team in scoring (15.3 ppg) and rebounding (6.7 rpg). He will play in the 127th game of his career today, which is third-most in program history and just one game behind both Ryan Bruggeman and Taylor Schafer for most all-time. Fellow senior Cliff Cofield has started 29 games this season and is averaging 11.2 ppg with a team-high 106 assists. The third senior starter is Kyle Luedtke, who is averaging 7.3 ppg. He is entering the NCAA Tournament playing well, as he has scored double figures in four of his last five games. Junior guard Dunwa Omot is averaging 11.3 ppg with a team-high 55 3-pointers.

“Historically, [the Bearcats] are a team that will defend us more personnel-based, so our guys will have to win their 1-on-1 matchups inside of five feet,” Bigler said. “That’s where Jake Phipps being a big body inside is going to have some opportunities, and hopefully he can take advantage of them.”

As the two teams combined for just 119 points in the first meeting, Bigler understands that points will be at a premium. The game could ultimately be decided by a single play or two going either way.

“I think one of the keys to this game will be capitalizing on momentum plays because it’s going to be so hard to score for both teams,” Bigler said. “That means any time there’s a steal, trying to score off the steal. Offensive rebounds are huge in the playoffs. And then also the one people forget is when a team misses a layup, the ability to turn that into points as well is kind of like a turnover. Those momentum plays in the playoffs, whether it’s three or four of those possessions, a lot of times they can be the difference in the game.”

Neutral site or not, Bigler knows the impact the crowds can make on a game. With the region tournament taking place just 100 miles down the road from Marshall, Bigler hopes the Taylor Center will be filled with fans cheering on the Brown & Vegas Gold.

“It’d be really cool to see a lot of fans over at the game,” Bigler added. “I know Northwest Mo is going to travel. Even earlier this year, we had Northwest Mo fans sitting behind our bench being… very loyal to Northwest Mo, I’ll put it that way. It was fun. It’s fun to play in those games when there’s an excitement and an energy. Whether the crowd is for you or against you, it’s just fun to play in front of people.”