THIS WEEK - The Southwest Minnesota State University (10-6, 7-3 NSIC) men's basketball team returns home to the R/A Facility to battle a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division teams. SMSU will face No. 16 Winona State University (15-2, 10-0 NSIC) on Friday, Jan. 17, with game time set for 8 p.m. SMSU will close the weekend facing Upper Iowa University (7-9, 5-5 NSIC) on Saturday, Jan. 18, with tip-off slated for 7 p.m. WSU begins the weekend in sole possession of first place in both the NSIC South Division and overall standings, SMSU is tied for third in the NSIC South and tied for third overall, while UIU is fifth in the NSIC South and ninth overall. SMSU will be looking to secure its first win over a ranked team since defeating No. 24 St. Cloud State on Feb. 11, 2012.
MUSTANG QUICK HITTERS -
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Mitch Weg scored a career-high 14 points and tied a career-high with nine rebounds in last Saturday's win at Minnesota Duluth.
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Nick Smith became the 18th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points during SMSU's win over MSU Moorhead on Jan. 4.
•Smith ranks 51st in Division II with 25 blocked shots and is ranked seventh among active Division II players with 146 career blocked shots. Smith currently ranks sixth in the NSIC in blocked shots.
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Vinard Birch ranks second in the NSIC in field goal pct., third in assists and fifth in assist/turnover ratio. He also ranks 46th in Division II in assists.
•Birch played in his 100th career game last Friday night at St. Cloud State.
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Matt Zager ranks third in the NSIC in field goal pct., seventh in steals and seventh in 3-point field goal pct. and is 62nd in Division II in steals. He also ranks 20th in school history with 950 career points.
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Shaun Condon ranks fifth in the NSIC in 3-point field goal pct.
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Joey Bartlett ranks fifth in the NSIC in 3-point field goals made.
•SMSU ranks 12th in Division II in field goal pct. (50.9), 50th in rebound margin (+5.7) and 55th in steals (112).
•SMSU opponents have shot 40 percent or lower from the field in five of the last six games.
•SMSU has held a lead at halftime in 12 of 16 games.
•SMSU has held a rebound advantage in 13 of 16 games.
•SMSU has shot 50 percent or better from the field in 12 of 16 games.
•SMSU has shot 60 percent or higher in a half eight times this season.
•SMSU has shot 70 percent or higher in the second half four times this season.
•Opponents have shot 50 percent or higher from the field five times through 16 games. Only four teams shot 50 percent or better from the field all of last season.
