THE GAME
•The Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team (5-0, 0-0 NSIC), off to its best start in team history, will open Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play on Tuesday, Nov. 29, hosting the University of Sioux Falls (2-2, 0-0 NSIC) with tip-off slated for 7 p.m. at the R/A Facility in Marshall.

    SMSU'S BEST START IN TEAM HISTORY
•SMSU is off to its best start in program history at 5-0.
•All five victories have come away from Marshall.

    BROADCAST INFO
•Tuesday's game will be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL.
•The game can also be viewed online at SMSUmustangs.com and clicking on the schedule link.
    
    SERIES HISTORY
•Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls meet for the 27th time on Tuesday with SMSU leading 16-10.
•The teams first met during the 1968-69 season.
•SMSU is a perfect 13-0 in games played in Marshall.
•The teams have split eight games since USF joined the NSIC prior to the 2012-13 season.
•The teams split last season with USF winning 78-72 in Sioux Falls, before SMSU earned a 62-60 win in Marshall.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 4-4 all-time versus USF.
 
    GAME DAY STORYLINES
•SMSU is on a three-game road winning streak, its longest since winning three in a row during the 2013-14 season.
•SMSU earned its first-ever victory at Michigan Tech in 13 games on Nov. 18. SMSU and MTU were members of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference from 1968-80.
•After being outrebounded in its first three games this season, SMSU outrebounded both Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan.
•Taylor Schafer scored a season-high 22 points on 9 of 11 shooting in the win at Northern Michigan on Nov. 19.
•Carter Kirk scored a career-high 20 points and had his first career double-double grabbing 13 rebounds versus MTU.
•Ryan Bruggeman has his first career double-double at Northern Michigan with 11 points and 10 assists.
•Mitch Weg has his fifth career 20-point scoring game on Nov. 15 at Northern State.
•SMSU opponents made 10 or more 3-pointers 11 times last season. In five games this season, opponents have made just 18 total 3-pointers.

    NCAA NATIONAL STATISTICS
•A complete listing of SMSU in this week's NCAA statistics can be found on pages 10-11.
•SMSU ranks 20th in 3-point field goal pct. defense.
•SMSU ranks 28th in total steals.
•SMSU ranks 34th in field goal pct.
•Taylor Schafer ranks 42nd in 3-point field goal pct. and 49th in total field goals made.

    SMSU RECEIVES VOTES FOR NABC TOP 25
•SMSU received 10 points in the first NABC Top 25 national poll released on Tuesday, Nov. 22.
•Augustana, with 40 points, is ranked No. 25 and is the only NSIC team ranked.

    SMSU SIXTH IN D2SIDA REGIONAL POLL
•SMSU is ranked sixth in this week's D2SIDA Central Region poll.
•The D2SIDA poll is in its third year of existence.
•Each of the eight regions has six representatives from D2SIDA that coordinate the regional committee, with a regional poll that will be released every Monday during the regular season.
•These weekly rankings are independent of the official NCAA Regional Rankings that will be released closer to the end of the season.

D2SIDA Central Region Poll
    Rk.    (First-Place Votes)                   W-L    Pts.    Prev.
    1.    NW Missouri State (5)    4-0    60    1
    T2.    Augustana (1)    3-1    49    2
    T2.    Washburn    3-0    49    3
    T4.    Minnesota State    3-1     39    4
    T4.    Missouri Southern    3-0    39    5
    6.     Southwest Minnesota State    5-0    31    9
    7.    MSU-Moorhead    3-1    17    7
    8.    Harding    3-1    15    RV
    9.    Ouachita    2-1    9    6
    10.    Arkansas Tech    2-0    7    NR

    SMSU HEAD COACH BRAD BIGLER
•Brad Bigler is in his eighth season as head coach and has compiled an overall record of 113-95.
•The 113 victories ranks second all-time in team history.
•Bigler has a record of 78-74 in NSIC play.
•The 2012-13 NSIC Coach of the Year, Bigler has led SMSU to four winning seasons, including a pair of 19-win seasons.
•In 2011-12, SMSU won 19 games, captured the NSIC tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the third time in program history.
•SMSU's 11th head coach, Bigler spent six seasons (2003-09) as an assistant coach at SMSU, including the last three as associate head coach. Bigler's complete bio is found on page 9.

    ABOUT SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE
•SMSU is 5-0 on the season for the first time in team history.
•SMSU defeated Michigan Tech (73-69) and Northern Michigan (87-69) on Nov. 18-19.
•Taylor Schafer leads the team in scoring at 16 ppg with a team-high 13 3-pointers.
•Carter Kirk is averaging a team-high 6.6 rpg, while Weg is averaging 5.8 rpg.  
•Ryan Bruggeman has dished out a team-high 25 assists.
•SMSU is averaging 81 points per game, while opponents are averaging 71.
•SMSU is shooting 51 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3-point range and 77 percent from the free throw line.

    ABOUT SIOUX FALLS
•USF is 2-2 on the season with victories over Presentation College and Concordia (Wis.).
•USF will play three games during the Thanksgiving weekend in Puerto Rico prior to facing SMSU.
•Drew Guebert is scoring 21.3 ppg with 10 3-pointers to pace the Cougars.
•Mack Johnson is averaging 17.3 ppg with six 3-pointers.
•Clint Thomas is scoring 14.7 ppg and averaging 6.3 rpg.
•USF is shooting 52 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 70 percent from the free throw line.
•USF is scoring 86 points per game, while opponents are averaging 79 per game.



    BARTLETT REACHES 1,000 CAREER POINTS
•Senior Joey Bartlett became the 20th player in team history to reach 1,000 career points in SMSU's win over Emporia State on Nov. 13.
•Bartlett has scored 1,026 points in 93 career games ranking tied for 16th in team scoring history.

    WEG CLOSING IN ON 1,000 POINTS
•Senior Mitch Weg is close to becoming the next member of the 1,000 point club in team history.
•Weg has scored 953 points in 93 games and is currently 23rd in team history.  

    JOEY BARTLETT NOTES
•Averaging 9.8 ppg and 5.6 rpg. Ranks third on the team in rebounding.
•Reached 1,000 career point mark vs. Emporia State on Nov. 13.
•Scored season-high 13 points vs. Fort Hays State.
•Second on the team in scoring last season with 11.8 ppg.
•Older brother of teammate Kolin.

    KOLIN BARTLETT NOTES
•Played in five games last season.
•Currently out with an injury.
•Younger brother of teammate Joey.

    RYAN BRUGGEMAN NOTES
•Has started five games and leads the team with 1254 assists.
•Averaging 10.4 ppg, ranking fourth on the team.
•First career double-double at Northern Michigan on Nov. 19 with 11 points and 10 assists.
•Started all 28 games last season averaging 10.5 ppg.
•Led team with 126 assists and with 49 steals last season.

    KJ DAVIS NOTES
•First season with SMSU.
•Has started five games and is averaging 12.2 ppg.
•Scored a season-high 18 points vs. Emporia State.
•Has made five 3-pointers ranking third on the squad.

    CARTER KIRK NOTES
•Has started five games and is averaging 9.9 ppg and a team-leading 6.6 rpg.
•Recorded first career double-double with career-highs in both points (20) and rebounds (13) at Michigan Tech.
•Finished second in the NSIC in field goal pct. last season.  •Shot 64.7 percent from the field overall last season.

    MICHAEL LEE NOTES
•Has played in five games this season.
•Averaging 6.8 ppg and 1.4 rpg.
•Second on the team with eight 3-pointers.
•Season-high nine points at Michigan Tech.
•Played in all 27 games with 14 starts last season.
•Only true freshman to play last season.


    JAKE MAIERS NOTES
•Played in four games and scored four points last season.
•Currently out with an injury.

    TURNER MOEN NOTES
•Has started five games.
•Averaging 1.8 ppg and 3.6 rpg.
•Season-high four points at Michigan Tech.
•Played in 27 games with 13 starts last season.
•Averaged 5.7 ppg and 3.3 rpg last season.

    DREW OSMUNDSON NOTES
•Has played in five games scoring a total of four points.
•Has recorded eight assists.
•Played in 16 games last season averaging 2.8 ppg.

    TAYLOR SCHAFER NOTES
•Has played in five games.
•Scored a season-high 22 points at Northern Michigan.
•Has scored 19 or more points in three games.
•Leads team in scoring at 16.0 ppg.
•Team-high 13 3-pointers.
•Played in all 28 games with two starts last season.
•Led team with 57 3-pointers last season.

    MITCH WEG NOTES
•Ranks first in team history shooting 58.4 percent (364 of 623) from the field.
•Has started five games.
•Averaging 13.2 ppg and 5.8 rpg, ranking second on the team in both categories.
•Scored season-high 20 points at Northern State.
•Shooting 71 percent from the field.
•Started all 28 games last season.
•Named CoSIDA Academic All-District in 2015-16.  
•Led team in both scoring (12.5) and rebounding (7.2)  last season.

    MUSTANGS REACH 100 AND THEN SOME
•Southwest Minnesota State reached 100 points in two games last season.
•SMSU beat Northern State, 111-105 in overtime and defeating Minnesota Crookston 100-68.
•SMSU is 35-8 all-time when scoring 100 points in a game.

    MUSTANG 20-POINT GAMES  
•Southwest Minnesota State has six current players who have scored 20 or more points in a game during their careers, including four this season.
•Senior Joey Bartlett leads all current players having reached the 20-point mark 10 times. Senior Mitch Weg has reached the mark five times (once this season), sophomore Ryan Bruggeman has done it three times, sophomore Taylor Schafer has done it four times (twice this season), junior Carter Kirk has done it once (this season), while junior Turner Moen scored 20 or more points twice.



20-Point Games - ACTIVE Players
    28    Joey Bartlett    Sioux Falls, 12/20/14
    27    Joey Bartlett    Fort Hays State, 11/14/15
    26    Joey Bartlett    East Central, 11/14/14
    25    Joey Bartlett    Augustana, 2/12/16
    25    Turner Moen    Wayne State, 2/14/15
    24    Joey Bartlett    Northern State, 1/16/15
    24    Joey Bartlett    U-Mary, 12/12/14
    23    Ryan Bruggeman    Bemidji State, 2/5/16
    23    Taylor Schafer    Minnesota Duluth, 1/30/16
    23    Mitch Weg    Winona State, 1/10/15
    22    Taylor Schafer    Northern Michigan, 11/19/16
    22    Ryan Bruggeman    Northern State, 2/24/16
    22    Ryan Bruggeman    Northern State, 11/19/15
    22    Joey Bartlett    Concordia-St. Paul, 1/24/15
    22    Mitch Weg    Minot State, 12/13/14
    21    Taylor Schafer    Fort Hays State, 11/12/16
    21    Mitch Weg    Bemidji State, 2/5/16
    21    Mitch Weg    Northern State, 11/19/15
    21    Joey Bartlett    Minnesota State, 1/23/15
    21    Turner Moen    Jamestown, 11/21/14
    20    Carter Kirk    Michigan Tech, 11/18/16
    20    Mitch Weg    Northern State, 11/15/16    
    20    Joey Bartlett    Upper Iowa, 1/9/15
    20    Joey Bartlett    Northern State, 1/3/14
Bold indicates 2016-17 season

    HOME AND AWAY
•SMSU finished 8-4 at home last season and is a combined 89-34 at home since the 2007-08 season.
•The Mustangs, 5-0 in road/neutral site games this season, finished 5-11 in road/neutral site games last season and are a combined 49-67 in 116 road/neutral site games since 2009-10.
•The following is a statistical comparison of the Mustang team averages for home and away/neutral games in 2016-17:
        W-L    FG%    3-FG%    FT%    REB    PTS    TO    
Home    0-0    -    -    -    -    -    -    
Away    5-0    .514    .368    .772    32.4    80.8    12.8     

    HOME SWEET HOME
•The 2016-17 season marks the 21st year the R/A Facility has been the home arena for SMSU men's basketball.
•The facility has proven to be a tough place for opponents with SMSU compiling a record of 196-76 (.720) in 272 all-time games with just two losing seasons.
•SMSU has recorded double figure home victories in eight of the past 11 seasons.

SMSU in the R/A Facility
    Year    Overall    NSIC    Non
    1996-97    6-4    3-2    3-2    
    1997-98    8-5    4-2    4-3    
    1998-99    10-3    5-1    5-2    
    1999-00    12-3    7-2    5-1    
    2000-01    12-1    9-0    3-1    
    2001-02    12-2    7-2    5-0    
    2002-03    9-5    7-2    2-3
    2003-04    9-5    5-3    4-2    
    2004-05    6-8    3-4    3-4
    2005-06    10-5    3-4    7-1    
    2006-07    13-2    8-1    5-1
    2007-08    12-2    7-2    5-0
    2008-09    13-3    8-2    5-1
    2009-10    12-3    7-3    5-0
    2010-11    10-3    8-3    2-0
    2011-12    10-2    9-2    1-0
    2012-13    7-4    7-4    0-0
    2013-14    11-4    8-3    3-1
    2014-15    6-8    4-7    2-1
    2015-16    8-4    7-4    1-0
    2016-17    0-0    0-0    0-0    
    Totals    196-76     126-53    70-23

    NSIC SOUTH VS. NSIC NORTH
•SMSU finished 3-5 versus teams from the NSIC North Division during the conference play last season.
•SMSU is 19-13 versus NSIC North Division teams in conference play since divisions were introduced during the 2012-13 season.
•SMSU finished 5-3 versus teams North teams in conference play in 2014-15, recorded a 5-3 mark in 2013-14, and finished 6-2 in 2012-13.
•The NSIC South holds a 161-95 advantage over NSIC North teams in regular season play since divisions were formed in 2012-13, including 37-27 last season.
•In 2014-15, the South finished 35-29 versus the North, in 2013-14 the South finished 42-22, while in 2012-13, the South went 47-17.

    CONSECUTIVE 3-POINT GAMES
•Southwest Minnesota State has connected on at least one 3-point field goal in 526 straight games.
•The last time SMSU failed to score a 3-pointer was on Dec. 11, 1998, versus MSU Moorhead at the North Dakota State Classic in Fargo, N.D.

    WORKING OVERTIME
•SMSU is 43-37 all-time in overtime games, including 1-0 last season.
•SMSU has struggled in overtime games in recent seasons, going 4-11 since 2006-07.
•SMSU is 6-6 all-time in double overtime games and 0-2 in triple overtime games.

    WEG NAMED NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK IN 15-16
•SMSU senior forward Mitch Weg was the only SMSU player to earn  NSIC South Division Player of the Week honors last season when he earned the award on Nov. 23, 2015.
•Weg was the first SMSU player to earn the conference weekly award since the 2012-13 season.

    COSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
•Senior Mitch Weg was named to the 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 team last season.
•Weg was one of just five student-athletes named to the first team.
•He was the first SMSU player to earn first team CoSIDA Academic All-District honors since Nick Smith in 2014.

    2016-17 NSIC PRESEASON POLL
•SMSU was picked to finish eighth overall and fifth in the South Division in the annual 16-team NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll released in October.
•Minnesota State was chosen as the overall preseason favorite earning 220 points, including all 11 first-place votes and was also picked to win the South Division.
•SMSU senior Mitch Weg was named a "Player to Watch"

    SMSU ALL-TIME IN THE NSIC
•This year marks the 48th season SMSU has competed in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
•SMSU has an all-time record of 327-375 in 702 conference games, finishing in the top half of the final standings 23 times in 47 seasons.
•SMSU has finished in the top half of the NSIC standings in 14 of the last 19 seasons since 1997-98.

    MUSTANG HISTORY
•Southwest Minnesota State is in its 50th season of men's basketball in 2016-17.
•SMSU has played 1,352 games compiling an all-time record of 605-747.
•SMSU has won two NSIC regular season championships (2001 & 2009), one NSIC tournament championship (2012), two NCAA region championships (2001 & 2009) and appeared in three NCAA tournaments (2001, 2009, 2012).
•SMSU has recorded 21 winning seasons in program history with 14 coming in the last 18 years.