MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team opens the 2016-17 season this weekend with a pair of games in Sioux Falls, S.D., at the Stewart Center on the campus of the University of Sioux Falls.
 
SMSU will face Fort Hays State (Kan.) on Saturday night with tip-off slated for 6 p.m., before taking on Emporia State (Kan.) on Sunday afternoon with game time set for 3 p.m.
 
SMSU head coach Brad Bigler begins his eighth season on the sidelines with a career record of 108-95. He has 14 players on this year's roster with 10 returning letterwinners, including three players who started all 28 games last season and two other players who started 13 or more games a season ago. SMSU returns its top four scorers and top four rebounders from last season's team that finished 13-15 overall, including 9-13 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.
 
The 2016-17 roster features three seniors, three juniors, five sophomores and three true freshmen.
 
FHSU, picked to finish third in the 14-team Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA), is coming off a 20-11 season in 2015-16, while advancing to the first round of the NCAA Central Region Tournament.
 
ESU was selected to finish 11^th in the MIAA and is coming off a 13-16 season in 2015-16.
 
SMSU lost 76-75 at Fort Hays State last season, but rebounded the following day to defeat Emporia State, 80-75, in Hays, Kan. SMSU is 1-2 all-time versus FHSU and is 2-1 all-time versus ESU.