THIS WEEKEND - The Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team (8-4, 4-2 NSIC) opens the new year with a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference home games at the R/A Facility this Friday and Saturday. SMSU will face Wayne State College (3-9, 0-6 NSIC) on Friday, Jan. 2, with game time set for 8 p.m., before taking on No. 13 Augustana College (11-1, 5-1 NSIC) on Saturday, Jan. 3, starting at 7 p.m. SMSU will have 13 days off between its last game at Sioux Falls on Dec. 20 and its matchup versus Wayne State on Jan. 2.
RADIO - Both games will be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL with Ryan Rohlik handling play-by-play and Anthony Rohlik serving as analyst.
SERIES HISTORY - Southwest Minnesota State and Wayne State meet for the 62nd time in a series dating back to 1969-70. WSC leads the series 36-25, SMSU holds an 18-13 lead in games played in Marshall. SMSU has won the last seven meetings in the series and 12 of the last 14 since Feb. 16, 2008. SMSU has won the last 15 games played in Marshall, with WSC's last victory coming during the 1999-2000 season. SMSU defeated WSC three times season, including twice in the regular season and once in the quarterfinals of the NSIC tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D. SMSU head coach
Brad Bigler is 9-2 versus WSC. A game-by-game listing of the series is located on page 17.
Southwest Minnesota State and Augustana meet for the 26th time in a series dating back to 1972-73. Augustana leads the series 14-11, but SMSU holds an 8-5 lead in games played in Marshall. SMSU won both games last season, 85-84 in Marshall and 77-75 in Sioux Falls, snapping a five-game losing streak in Sioux Falls. The series is tied 5-5 in NSIC games since Augustana joined the conference in 2008-09. SMSU head coach
Brad Bigler is 4-5 versus Augustana. A game-by-game listing of the series is located on page 18.
GAMEDAY STORYLINES -•SMSU's last victory over a nationally-ranked team was on Jan. 17, 2104, versus No. 16 Winona State in Marshall, 73-71.
•SMSU made a season-low four 3-pointers at Sioux Falls on Dec. 20.
•Sophomore
Joey Bartlett ranks 10th in the NSIC in scoring with 15.2 ppg.
•Sophomore
Mitch Weg ranks sixth in the NSIC in rebounding with 6.8 rpg and is sixth in free throw pct. (93.1).
•Redshirt freshman
MJ Delmore leads the NSIC in free throw pct. (1.000).
•Head coach
Brad Bigler is two wins shy of tying Pierre duCharme (1981-90) for second on the career victories list at SMSU with 93.
•SMSU has made 10 or more 3-pointers in five games this season. The Mustangs made 10 or more 3-pointers twice all of last season.
•SMSU shot a season-high 64.6 percent (31 of 48) at the University of Mary on Dec. 12.
•SMSU has shot 50 percent or higher from the field six games.
•SMSU has held a lead or has been tied at halftime in 10 of 12 games.
•SMSU has shot 50 percent or higher from the field in 12 of the 24 halves this season.
•SMSU has held a rebound advantage in seven of 12 games.
•The SMSU 2014-15 roster features three seniors, three sophomores, two redshirt freshmen and seven true freshmen.
