THE GAMES
•The Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team (14-3, 9-3 NSIC), which received votes in both NABC and D2SIDA Top 25 polls this week, opens a four-game homestand this Friday and Saturday taking on Concordia-St. Paul (4-15, 1-11 NSIC)  and Minnesota State (12-6, 7-5 NSIC) at the R/A Facility. Friday night's game versus CSP begins at 8 pm., while Saturday's game is scheduled for 7 p.m.

    BROADCAST INFO
•Both games will be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL.
•The game can also be viewed online at SMSUmustangs.com.

    BEST START IN TEAM HISTORY
•SMSU opened the season with a program best 6-0 record.
•SMSU's 14-3 record is the best after 17 games in school history.  
    
    SERIES HISTORY VS. CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL
•Southwest Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul meet for the 36th time with SMSU leading 25-10.
•The teams first met during the 1980-81 season.
•CSP joined the NSIC during the 1999-2000 season.
•SMSU is 15-3 all-time in games at Marshall.
•CSP has won three of the four games the past two seasons.
•The teams split last season with each team winning at home.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 8-6 all-time versus CSP.
•Game-by-game results of the series on page 17.

    SERIES HISTORY VS. MINNESOTA STATE
•Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota State meet for the 55th time with MSU leading 40-14.
•The teams first met during the 1969-70 season.
•MSU leads 17-7 in games played in Marshall.
•MSU has won eight of the last nine games since the 2012-13 season.
•The teams split last season with SMSU winning in Marshall.
•The win snapped a seven-game winning streak in the series for MSU.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 4-12 all-time versus MSU.
•Game-by-game results of the series on page 18.

    GAME DAY STORYLINES
•SMSU's 14 victories already surpasses the win totals for the last two seasons. SMSU won 13 last season and 12 in 2014-15.
•SMSU was outrebounded 40-27 in the loss at BSU last Saturday. Prior to the loss, SMSU had held a rebound advantage in nine of its previous 12 games.
•Joey Bartlett needs 14 points to pass current SMSU assistant coach Nick Smith, and move into sole possession of 10th place on the SMSU all-time scoring list.
•Mitch Weg needs eight more rebounds to reach 700 in his career.
•SMSU is 12-1 when committing 15 or fewer turnovers, but 2-2 when committing more than 15.
•SMSU is 8-2 in games decided by four or less points.
•SMSU opponents made 10 or more 3-pointers in 11 games  last season and averaged 8.8 per game. In 17 games this season, opponents are averaging 7.1 per game and have reached double figures four times.
•SMSU has recorded a pair of six-game winning streaks this season with both winning streaks ending with losses to Upper Iowa.
•The last time SMSU won seven straight games was in 2008-09, when the team won 15 in a row.

    NCAA NATIONAL STATISTICS
•A complete listing of SMSU and Mustang individuals in the latest NCAA statistics (Jan. 16) can be found on page 16.
•SMSU ranks among the top 50 in three categories.
•SMSU ranks 24th in won-lost pct.
•SMSU ranks 34th in field goal pct.
•SMSU ranks 46th in rebound margin.

    NSIC STATISTICS
•A complete listing of SMSU in this week's NSIC statistics (NSIC games only) can be found on pages 14-15.
•SMSU ranks second in rebound margin.
•SMSU ranks fourth in field goal pct. defense.
•SMSU ranks fifth in field goal pct.
•SMSU ranks fifth in scoring offense.
•SMSU ranks sixth in scoring defense.
•Carter Kirk ranks second in field goal pct., fourth in rebounding and sixth in blocked shots.
•Ryan Bruggeman ranks fourth in steals, seventh in assists and ninth in free throw pct.
•Mitch Weg ranks third in field goal pct. and eighth in rebounding.
•Joey Bartlett ranks fourth in free throw pct.

    SMSU IN THE NABC NATIONAL POLL
•SMSU has received votes the past two polls.
•SMSU was ranked No. 22 in the Jan. 3 poll.
•SMSU debuted at No. 25 on Dec. 20.
•SMSU has been ranked 20 times all-time in the NABC poll.

    SMSU RANKED EARLIER IN D2SIDA NATIONAL POLL
•SMSU received votes in this week's poll.
•SMSU was ranked No. 16 in the Jan. 10 poll.
•The poll is voted on by Sports Information Directors.
•This season is the first time in the three-year existence of the poll SMSU has been ranked.

    SMSU FOURTH IN D2SIDA REGIONAL POLL
•SMSU is ranked fourth in the latest D2SIDA Central Region poll released on Monday, Jan. 16.
•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.
•The D2SIDA 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 (Jan. 16)
    Rank    (First-Place Votes)                   W-L    Pts.    Prev.
    1    Northwest Missouri State (6)    16-0     60    1
    2    Arkansas-Monticello    12-0    54    3
    3    MSU Moorhead    15-3    46    4
    4    Southwest Minnesota State    14-3    44    2
    5    Augustana    13-5    30    5
    6    Nebraska-Kearney    12-4    27    8
    7    Henderson State    11-3    24    T6
    8    Upper Iowa    12-6    18    T6
    9    East Central    10-4    17    RV
    10    Washburn    12-4    6    NR

    SMSU HEAD COACH BRAD BIGLER
•Brad Bigler is in his eighth season as head coach and has compiled an overall record of 122-98.
•The 122 victories ranks second in team history.
•Bigler has a record of 87-77 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 19.

    ROAD WARRIORS
•SMSU is 8-2 in "true" road games this season, recording its most road victories since the 2008-09 team won 11.
•The eight road wins is tied for the fourth highest in team history.
•The 2008-09 team won 11 road games, the 2000-01 team won 10 games, the 1995-96 team won nine games, while the 2001-02 squad won eight games.

    ABOUT SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE
•SMSU is 14-3 overall, 9-3 NSIC, following a road split last weekend, defeating Minnesota Crookston, before losing to Bemidji State.
•Taylor Schafer led SMSU with 22 points with three 3-pointers in the loss at BSU.
•Carter Kirk recorded his team-leading fifth double-double of the season in the  at UMC with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
•SMSU has six players averaging double figures in scoring.
•Ryan Bruggeman leads the team in scoring at 13 ppg and has dished out a team-high 74 assists.
•Taylor Schafer is scoring 12.4 ppg with a team-high 29 3-pointers.
•Carter Kirk is averaging a team-high 7.8 rpg and scoring 10.7 ppg
•Mitch Weg is averaging 10.2 rpg and 6.6 ppg.  
•SMSU is averaging 82 points per game, while opponents are averaging 75.
•SMSU is shooting 49 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3-point range and 74 percent from the free throw line.

    ABOUT CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL
•CSP is 4-15 overall, 1-11 NSIC, and are coming off two home losses to U-Mary (87-75) and Minot State (744-70) last weekend.
•CSP is 0-6 in road games this season.
•CSP has lost nine straight and 12 of its last 13 games.
•Bryndan Matthews is scoring a team-high 14.6 ppg and averaging a team-high 7.4 rpg.
•Diallo Powell is averaging 11.5 ppg with 29 3-pointers.
•Matt Ambriz is scoring 10.3 ppg with a team-high 43 3-pointers.
•CSP is shooting 46 percent from the field, 38 percent from 3-point range and 67 percent from the free throw line.
•CSP is scoring 70 points per game, while opponents are averaging 79 per game.
•Joey James is in his third season as head coach with a record 36-42. He was the head coach at South Dakota in 2013-14, finishing with a 12-18 record.

    ABOUT MINNESOTA STATE
•MSU is 12-6 overall, 7-5 NSIC, had won three straight and seven of its last eight games before losing at home to U-Mary on Saturday.  
•MSU plays at Sioux Falls on Friday night.
•Jon Fuqua is scoring 16.7 ppg and leads the team with 6.7 rpg.
•Joey Witthus is scoring 15.9 ppg with 42 3-pointers to lead the Mavericks.
•Aarias Austin averages 11.2 ppg and has connected on 33 3-pointers.
•MSU is shooting 48 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3-point range and 76 percent from the free throw line.
•MSU is scoring 82 points per game, while opponents are averaging 77 per game.
•Matt Margenthaler is in his 16th season with a record of 475-336. MSU has qualified for the NCAA tournament in 11 of the last 12 seasons.  

    BRUGGEMAN EARNS WEEKLY AWARD
•Sophomore Ryan Bruggeman was named the NSIC South Division Player of the Week on Jan. 3.
•Bruggeman averaged 26 points on 57 percent shooting, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals in road victories over Augustana University (78-76) and Wayne State College (85-73).

    WIN VERSUS NATIONALLY RANKED TEAM
•SMSU's win over No. 16 Augustana (D2SIDA) on Dec. 30 was its first over a nationally ranked team since defeating No. 16 Winona State on Jan. 17, 2014.

    BARTLETT AND WEG REACH 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, 2016.
•Senior Mitch Weg became the 21st member of the 1,000 point club in a victory at Augustana on Dec. 30, 2016.
•The all-time scoring list is located on page 3.

    JOEY BARTLETT NOTES
•Averaging 11.9 ppg and 5.1 rpg.
•Ranks second on the team with 25 3-pointers.
•Has made three starts this season.
•Ranks ninth in team history with 155 3-pointers.
•Scored season-high 26 points vs. Minnesota Duluth.
•Older brother of teammate Kolin.
SMSU Career 3-Point Field Goals
    1.     305    Matt Fletcher (118 games) - 2004-08
    2.     268    Adam Tesch (112 games) - 1998-02
    3.     253      Jordan Miller (115 games) - 2009-13
    4.    210    Travis Krenske (86 games) - 2005-08
    5.    173    Jacob Fahl (120 games) - 1999-03
    6.    162    Brian Wiersma (109 games) - 1999-03
        162    Chad Ostermann (101 games) - 1993-97
        162    Andre Beasley (72 games) - 1990-93
    9.     155    Joey Bartlett (105 games) - 2013-17

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

    RYAN BRUGGEMAN NOTES
•Has started 17 games and leads the team with 74 assists.
•Averaging 13 ppg, ranking first on the team.
•Career-high 27 points at Augustana on Dec. 30.
•Scored 25 points in victory at Wayne State on Dec. 31.
•Ranks eighth in team history with an 81.5 career free throw pct.
•Led team with 126 assists last season.

    KJ DAVIS NOTES
•First season with SMSU.
•Has started 17 games and is averaging 10.6 ppg, ranking fifth on the team.
•Scored a season-high 18 points vs. Emporia State.
•Has made 17 3-pointers ranking fourth on the team.

    CARTER KIRK NOTES
•Has started 14 games and is averaging 10.7 ppg and a team-leading 7.8 rpg.
•Has five double-doubles this season.
•Ranks fourth in team history with career 57 field goal pct.  
•Finished second in the NSIC in field goal pct. last season.  

    MICHAEL LEE NOTES
•Has played in 15 games this season.
•Averaging 6.2 ppg and 2.6 rpg.
•Third on the team with 22 3-pointers.
•Career-high 14 points at Winona State (12/3/16).

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

    TURNER MOEN NOTES
•Has started 17 games.
•Averaging 5.6 ppg and 3.9 rpg.
•Ranks second on the team with 41 assists.
•Season-high 13 points at Winona State.
•Career-high seven assists vs. Minnesota Duluth (12/9/16)

    DREW OSMUNDSON NOTES
•Has played in 17 games.
•Scored a season-high six points twice versus Sioux Falls.
•Has recorded 33 assists ranking third on the team.

    TAYLOR SCHAFER NOTES
•Has played in 17 games.
•Scored a season-high 22 points at Northern Michigan and at Bemidji State.
•Second on the team in scoring at 12.3 ppg.
•Has made a team-high 29 3-pointers.
•Has scored 19 or more points in five games.
•Ranks eighth in team history with 40.6 career 3-point pct.
•Led team with 57 3-pointers last season.

    MITCH WEG NOTES
•Has started 17 games this season.
•Averaging 10.1 ppg and 6.7 rpg, ranking second on the team in rebounding and fifth in scoring.
•Shooting team-high 66 percent from the field.
•Scored season-high 20 points at Northern State.
•Ranks first in team history shooting 58.8 percent (406 of 690) from the field.
•Ranks seventh in team history with 692 rebounds.
•Ranks seventh in team history with 248 free throws made.
•Named CoSIDA Academic All-District in 2015-16.  
•Led team in both scoring and rebounding last season.
SMSU Career Rebounds
    1.     848         Frank Belmont - 1971-75
    2.     733         Ross DeMasi  - 2005-09
    3.     717         Mike Tobin  - 1982-86
    4.     713         Mike Lang  - 1968-72
    5.     712         Nick Smith  - 2010-14
        712         Scott Roehl  - 2007-11
    7.     692         Mitch Weg - 2013-17

    MUSTANGS REACH 100 AND THEN SOME
•Southwest Minnesota State reached 100 points in two games last season, beating 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 11 this season.
•Senior Joey Bartlett leads all current players having reached the 20-point mark 13 times (three times this season).

20-Point Games - ACTIVE Players
    28    Joey Bartlett    Sioux Falls, 12/20/14
    27    Ryan Bruggeman    Augustana, 12/30/16
    27    Joey Bartlett    Fort Hays State, 11/14/15
    26    Joey Bartlett    Minnesota Duluth, 12/9/16
    26    Joey Bartlett    East Central, 11/14/14
    25    Ryan Bruggeman    Wayne State, 12/31/16
    25    Joey Bartlett    Augustana, 2/12/16
    25    Turner Moen    Wayne State, 2/14/15
    24    Joey Bartlett    Upper Iowa, 1/7/17        
    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    Bemidji State, 1/14/17
    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    Taylor Schafer    Winona State, 1/6/17
    20    Joey Bartlett    Upper Iowa, 12/2/16
    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 is 4-1 at home this season and 93-35 at home since the 2007-08 season.
•The Mustangs, 10-2 in road/neutral site games this season, are a combined 64-69 in 123 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    4-1    .476    .407    .738    39.2    85.4    12.2        
Away    10-2    .502    .344    .746    35.3    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.
•SMSU has a record of 200-77 (.722) in 277 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    4-1    4-1    0-0    
    Totals    200-77     130-54    70-23

    CONSECUTIVE 3-POINT GAMES
•Southwest Minnesota State has connected on at least one 3-point field goal in 538 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 43-38 all-time in overtime games.
•SMSU is 0-1 this season, losing 99-96 to Upper Iowa (1/7/17).
•SMSU has struggled in overtime games in recent seasons, going 4-12 since 2006-07.
•SMSU is 6-6 all-time in double overtime games and 0-2 in triple overtime games.

    NSIC SOUTH VS. NSIC NORTH
•SMSU is 3-1 versus teams from the NSIC North Division in conference games this season. (SMSU beat Northern State in a non-conference game on Nov. 15).
•SMSU is 22-14 versus NSIC North Division teams in conference play since divisions were introduced prior to the 2012-13 season.
•SMSU finished 3-5 versus North teams in 2015-16, 5-3 in 2014-15, went 5-3 in 2013-14, and finished 6-2 in 2012-13.
•The NSIC South holds a 179-109 advantage over NSIC North teams in regular season play since divisions were formed in 2012-13, including 18-14 this season.
•In 2015-16, the South led the North 37-27; in 2014-15, the South finished 35-29; in 2013-14, the South finished 42-22, while in 2012-13, the South went 47-17.

    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 335-377 in 712 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 1,362 games compiling an all-time record of 613-749.
•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.