THIS WEEK - The Southwest Minnesota State University (9-5, 6-2 NSIC) men's basketball team plays a pair of road games this weekend versus NSIC North Division teams. SMSU will take on St. Cloud State University (9-3, 5-3 NSIC) on Friday, Jan. 10, with game time set for 8 p.m. at Halenbeck Hall, before facing the University of Minnesota Duluth (5-7, 3-5 NSIC) on Saturday, Jan. 11, with tip-off slated for 6 p.m. at Romano Gym. SMSU carries a season-long four-game winning streak into the weekend and has won seven of its last eight games. Following this weekend SMSU will host Winona State and Upper Iowa on Jan. 17-18.
MUSTANG QUICK HITTERS -
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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 42nd in Division II with 23 blocked shots and is ranked seventh among active Division II players with 144 career blocked shots.
•Smith played in his 100th career games last Saturday versus MSU Moorhead.
•Smith now ranks ninth in school history with 579 rebounds.
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Joey Bartlett scored a career-high 20 points versus Northern State on Jan. 3.
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Vinard Birch ranks second in the NSIC in assists, fifth in field goal pct., fifth in assist/turnover ratio and 10th in steals.
•Birch will play in his 100th career game on Friday night at St. Cloud State.
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Matt Zager ranks third in the NSIC in field goal pct., fifth in steals and sixth in 3-point field goal pct. •Zager ranks 20th in school history with 928 career points.
•Junior guard
Cole Martin appeared in both games last weekend after missing seven games due to an injury.
•SMSU ranks 30th in Division II in field goal pct. (49.8), 47th in steals (100) and 54th in rebound margin (+5.4).
•SMSU made 10 3-pointers versus Northern State on Jan. 3, marking the first time SMSU made 10 in a single-game since Feb. 11, 2011, versus Concordia-St. Paul.
•SMSU opponents have shot 40 percent or lower from the field in the last four games.
•SMSU has held a lead at halftime in 11 of 14 games.
•SMSU has held a rebound advantage in 12 of 14 games.
•SMSU has shot 50 percent or better from the field in 10 of 14 games.
•SMSU has shot 60 percent or higher in a half six times this season.
•SMSU has shot 70 percent or higher in the second half three times this season.
•Opponents have shot 50 percent or higher from the field four times through 14 games. Only four teams shot 50 percent or better from the field all of last season.
