THIS WEEKEND - The Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team (8-7, 4-6 NSIC) will look to snap a season-long three-game losing streak this weekend with a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference road games. SMSU will face Northern State University (9-7, 5-5 NSIC) on Friday, Jan. 15, with tip-off slated for 8 p.m. at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen, S.D. It will be the second meeting between the two teams this season. SMSU earned a 111-105 overtime non-conference victory in Marshall on Nov. 19. SMSU will close the weekend on Saturday, Jan. 16, taking on No. 10 ranked MSU Moorhead (17-2, 9-1 NSIC) at Alex Nemzek Hall with tip-off set for 6 p.m.

    BROADCAST INFO - Both games can be heard on 105.1 FM KARL. Live stats and webcast can be found at SMSUmustangs.com

    GAME DAY STORYLINES -
•SMSU's last win over a Top 25 team came on Jan. 17, 2014, versus No. 16 Winona State. SMSU's last win over a Top 10 team came against No. 8 Minnesota State on March 3, 2010.
•SMSU attempted a season-high 35 free throws last Saturday versus Winona State, but made a season-low 19 field goals and tied a season low with four 3-pointers in the game.
•SMSU opponents have made 10 or more 3-pointers in four straight games and seven times this season.
•SMSU's 40.4 percent shooting in the loss to Winona State last Saturday was its second lowest output this season.
•SMSU's current three-game losing streak is its longest this season.
•Sophomore Carter Kirk recorded his first career double-double last Saturday versus Winona State with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
•Redshirt freshman Ryan Bruggeman is averaging 4.2 assists per game--ranking as the highest per game average in a single-season at SMSU since LaRon Dawn in 2004-05.
•SMSU has allowed 80 or more points in six of its 10 NSIC games.
•SMSU has trailed at halftime in 10 of 15 games this season.
•SMSU has outrebounded its opponents in 12 of 15 games this season and were tied in two other games.
•SMSU has shot 51 percent or higher in seven of 15 games this season and has shot 50 percent or higher in 14 of 30 halves.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler recorded his 100th career victory on Dec. 5 at Upper Iowa. His 103 victories ranks second in program history. Greg Stemen (2001-09) is the all-time leader with 141 victories.
•Junior Mitch Weg ranks third in school history in career field goal pct. (56.8, 274 of 482).
•Sophomore MJ Delmore ranks first in school history in career 3-point field goal pct. (48.9, 65 of 133).
•Following its loss at No. 2 Augustana on Jan. 3, SMSU is now 3-22 all-time versus Top 25 opponents since Brad Bigler became head coach in 2009-10.  

    SMSU IN THE NCAA STATS - SMSU ranks high in several categories in the latest Division II stats (through Jan. 10). SMSU ranks 50th field goal pct. (48.4), 58th in rebound margin (4.7), 67th in assists (223) and 71st in free throw pct. (74.0). Mitch Weg ranks 12th in offensive rebounds (3.8), while Ryan Bruggeman ranks 76th in total assists (63). A complete listing of the NCAA stats are found on page 16.

    SMSU IN THE NSIC STATS - In the conference stats (NSIC games only), SMSU ranks fifth in field goal pct., sixth in rebounding, eighth in scoring and 13th in scoring defense. Carter Kirk is third in field goal pct., Ryan Bruggeman is fifth in assists per game, while Mitch Weg ranks 10th in rebounding. A complete listing of the NSIC stats are found on page 14-15.