PREVIEWING THIS WEEKEND
•The Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team (4-2, 0-0 NSIC) opens Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play on Saturday at 6 p.m. facing the University of Sioux Falls (4-1, 0-0 NSIC) at the Stewart Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.
•SMSU, the defending NSIC South Division champions, have won three straight games heading into conference play.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler has 140 career victories and is one win shy of tying Greg Stemen (2001-09) for the program's all-time leader in coaching victories at 141.
•Following Saturday's game, SMSU will return home to face Upper Iowa on Friday, Dec. 1, and Winona State on Saturday, Dec. 2.

    BROADCAST INFO
•All SMSU games will be broadcast all season on 105.1 FM KARL.
•Live stats and video can be found at SMSUmustangs.com.

    SERIES HISTORY VS. SIOUX FALLS
•Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls meet for the 30th time on Saturday with SMSU leading 19-10.
•SMSU has won the last four meetings in the series, including three times last season.
•USF's last victory came on Dec. 8, 2015, in Sioux Falls.
•USF leads 10-4 in games played at USF.
•SMSU leads the series 6-4 in conference games (7-4 overall) since USF joined the NSIC prior to the 2012-13 season.
 •SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 7-4 all-time versus USF.  
•Game-by-game results of the series on page 19.

    SMSU HEAD COACH BRAD BIGLER
•Brad Bigler is in his ninth season as head coach and has compiled an overall record of 140-103, ranking second in team history for wins.
•Greg Stemen holds the all-time record with 141 wins in eight seasons from 2001-09.
•Bigler has a record of 95-79 in NSIC play.
•The 2016-17 and 2012-13 NSIC Coach of the Year, Bigler has now led SMSU to five winning seasons, including one 20-plus win season and a pair of 19-win seasons.
•In 2011-12, SMSU won 19 games, captured the NSIC tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament.
•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 18.

    SMSU CRUISES PAST CROWN TO CLOSE NON-LEAGUE PLAY
•SMSU picked up a pair of victories last weekend in Moorhead, defeating Michigan Tech, 65-52, before earning an 85-78 victory over Northern Michigan.
•SMSU limited MTU to 24 percent shooting in the final half, while SMSU shot 50 percent in the second half.
•Ryan Bruggeman led the Mustangs with a game-high 17 points on 7 of 14 shooting. He also recorded five steals, four rebounds and three assists.
•Taylor Schafer poured in 13 points with three 3-pointers, while Nick Dufault scored a career-high 11 points on 5 of 8 shooting.
•SMSU finished the game shooting 46 percent (25 of 55), which included 8 of 22 from 3-point range. SMSU closed the game with a 34-28 rebound advantage with Turner Moen and Carter Kirk each pulling down seven rebounds for the Mustangs.
•In the win over NMU, Ryan Bruggeman scored 20 points while Carter Kirk added 17 points and 17 rebounds.
•Both Bruggeman and Kirk were named to the five-person all-tournament team.
•Turner Moen (14) and KJ Davis (10) both scored double figures as well to aid the Mustang offense. Davis also dished out a team-high four assists and added two steals.
•SMSU finished the game making 33 of 41 free throws, while NMU was 6 of 7 from the foul line.

    ABOUT SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE
•SMSU is 4-2 overall this season.
•SMSU has two players averaging double figure scoring this season.
•Ryan Bruggeman is averaging a team-high 14.7 ppg with a team-high 26 assists.
•Carter Kirk is scoring 14.5 ppg with a team-high 8.8 rpg.
•KJ Davis is scoring 9.8 ppg with four 3-pointers.
•Michael Lee has made a team-leading 13 3-pointers while Taylor Schafer has connected on nine 3-pointers.
•SMSU averaging 78 points per game, while opponents are average 74.
•SMSU is shooting 50 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3-point range and 74 percent from the free throw line.



    MUSTANG TIP-OFF TIDBITS
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler has 140 career victories and is one win shy of tying Greg Stemen (2001-09) for the program's all-time leader in coaching victories at 141.
•SMSU's 116 points on Tuesday night was the second highest point total in school history.
•SMSU's 64 percent shooting versus Crown was its highest since shooting 62 percent versus Northern State on Nov. 15, 2016.
•SMSU shot 72 percent in the first half on Tuesday night. It marked the first time shooting over 70 percent in a half since Feb. 5, 2016, versus Bemidji State.
•SMSU connected on a season-high 14 3-pointers in the win over Crown.
•SMSU made 33 free throws in the win over Northern Michigan last Saturday. It was the first time SMSU made more than 30 in a game since connecting on 33 versus Wayne State on Dec. 7, 2013.
•SMSU limited Michigan Tech to just 15 points in the second half on Nov. 17. It was the first time SMSU has held an opponent to less than 20 points in a half since Feb. 8, 2014, when Concordia-St. Paul scored 17 first half points.
•Carter Kirk's 17 rebounds versus Northern Michigan was the highest total by an SMSU player since Scott Roehl had 18 versus Minnesota State on Feb. 26, 2011.
•Carter Kirk ranks first in school history in career field goal pct. (58.1) and is ninth in rebounds (594).
•Ryan Bruggeman has moved into a tie for ninth in school history with 241 free throws made.
•Bruggeman ranks fourth in team history with 318 assists. He is three shy of tying Jordan Miller (2009-13) for third all-time with 321. Andrew Peschong (2006-10) is second with 342, while Vinard Birch (2010-14) is the all-time leader with 396.
•Taylor Schafer ranks tied for 11th in team history with 124 3-pointers made.  
•SMSU shot just 29.6 percent from the field in the second half in the loss to Fort Hays State in the season opener. It was the first time SMSU shot less than 30 percent in a half since Nov. 29, 2016, versus Sioux Falls.
•SMSU finished 26-3 last season when committing 15 or fewer turnovers, but 2-3 when committing more than 15.  

    SCOUTING SIOUX FALLS
•USF is 4-1 overall after beating Waldorf on Tuesday night.
•USF's only loss was at Minnesota Crookston (79-74) in non-conference play last Saturday.
•Drew Guebert leads the team averaging 23 ppg with 14 3-pointers.
•Trevon Evans is averaging 18.6 ppg with 11 3-pointers, while leading the squad with 7.4 rpg.
•USF is shooting 51 percent from the field, 45 percent from 3-point range and 73 percent from the free throw line.
•USF is scoring 89 points per game, while opponents are averaging 74 per game.
•Head coach Chris Johnson, the school's all-time leader in victories, is in his 10th season with a record of 176-138.

    SMSU DROPS OUT OF D2SIDA REGIONAL POLL
•SMSU was not ranked among the top 10 in the second regular season D2SIDA Central Region poll released on Monday, Nov. 20.
•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 towards the end of the regular season and determine the NCAA Tournament teams.

    SMSU RANKED IN THREE PRESEASON POLLS
•SMSU opened the regular season ranked in three separate preseason polls.
•SMSU was ranked No. 15 by the NABC, No. 14 by D2Bulletin and No. 13 in the D2SIDA poll.
•SMSU closed the 2016-17 regular season ranked No. 18 in the final NABC Top 25 poll.

    SMSU TRUE "ROAD WARRIORS" LAST TWO SEASONS
•SMSU is 3-1 away from Marshall this season, including 1-0 in "true" road games and 2-0 in neutral site games.
•SMSU finished 12-3 in "true" road games last season, recording the most road wins in team history.
•SMSU closed the season 19-3 in away/neutral site games setting a new program record. The 2000-01 team that advanced to the Elite Eight held the previous record of 16 away/neutral site victories.






    NCAA 2017-18 STATISTICS
•A complete listing of SMSU and Mustang individuals in the latest NCAA statistics (Nov. 21) can be found on page 17.
•Carter Kirk ranks 16th in total rebounds (53) and 67th in rebounds per game (8.8).
•Ryan Bruggeman is 42nd in total assists (26) and sixth in steals (16).

    2017-18 NSIC PRESEASON POLL; BRUGGEMAN PRESEASON POY
•SMSU was picked to finish second overall and first in the South Division in the annual 16-team NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll released in October.
•Northern State was chosen as the overall favorite earning 213 points, including all eight first-place votes.
•SMSU earned 211 points and seven first place votes in the overall poll.  
•SMSU earned 45 points and four first place votes in the NSIC South Division poll.
•SMSU junior guard Ryan Bruggeman was named the NSIC South Division Preseason Player of the Year.

    SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE IN 2016-17
•SMSU finished the 2016-17 season 28-6 overall and won the NSIC South Division with a 17-5 conference record.
•SMSU also won the NSIC Tournament championship and advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Central Region Tournament.
•SMSU's 28 victories a season ago tied the 2000-01 and 2008-09 teams for the program single-season record. SMSU won region titles in both 2001 and 2009 and finished as region runner-up in 2017.
•SMSU scored 2,749 points in 2016-17, the second highest output in team history. The 2000-01 team scored 2,897 points.
•SMSU had a season-high eight-game winning streak heading into the NCAA region title game last season. SMSU also had one winning streak of seven games and two streaks of six straight wins during the season.  
 
    SMSU REACHES 28 VICTORIES IN 2016-17
•SMSU's 28 victories last season tied the 2000-01 and 2008-09 teams for the most in team history.
•SMSU has recorded 20 or more victories five times in team history.

    2016-17 NSIC SOUTH CHAMPIONS
•Last season SMSU earned the program's first NSIC South Division title since divisions were formed prior to the 2012-13 season.
•SMSU tied with Northern State for second place overall in the 16-team conference.

    2017 NSIC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS
•SMSU captured the program's second NSIC tournament championship last season defeating Upper Iowa, 71-58, in Sioux Falls, S.D.
•SMSU won its first NSIC tournament in 2012 in Rochester, Minn.

    BRUGGEMAN NAMED ALL-NSIC; BIGLER EARNS TOP HONOR
•Ryan Bruggeman was the lone SMSU player to be named first team All-NSIC in 2016-17.
•In the final NSIC stats (conference games only), Bruggeman finished fourth in the league in assists (4.5), fourth in free throw pct. (.843), fifth in steals (1.4), 11th in assist/turnover ratio (2.2) and 20th in scoring (15.0).
•Bruggeman is the first SMSU player to earn first team All-NSIC honors since Jordan Miller in 2012-13.
•Brad Bigler was named NSIC Coach of the Year for the second time during his tenure (2012-13). Tim Miles (2000-01) and Greg Stemen (2008-09) are the only other coaches to earn the award in team history.
    
    CURRENT MUSTANGS IN THE RECORD BOOK
•To see where 2017-18 Mustangs rank in the SMSU career record book, go to page 4.

    KOLIN BARTLETT NOTES
•Has played in six games averaging 4.3 ppg and 3.5 rpg.
•Scored 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting vs. Crown.
•Played in just two games last season due to an injury.
•Has played in nine career games.
•Younger brother of teammate Joey.

    VYDAL BRADFORD NOTES
•Has played in two games this season.
•Scored 11 points on 5 of 6 shooting vs. Crown.
•Sat out last season as a redshirt.

    RYAN BRUGGEMAN NOTES
•Averaging 14.7 ppg and leads team with 26 assists.
•Scored season-high 20 points vs. Northern Michigan.
•Had a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists vs. Emporia State.
•Ranks first in team history averaging 4.7 assists per game.
•Ranks fourth in team history with 318 assists.
•Ranks fourth in team history with 83.7 career free throw pct.
•Has started all 68 games in his career.
•Led the team in scoring, field goals and assists last season.
•Named MVP of the 2017 NSIC Tournament.
•Named to the 2017 NCAA Central All-Tournament team.
•Scored 528 points last season, ranking 12th highest in team history and highest since 2000-01.

    KENNY BYERS NOTES
•Has played in six games during his first season at SMSU.
•Scored six points with three field goals and five rebounds vs. Crown.

    KJ DAVIS NOTES
•Averaging 9.5 ppg and has connected on four 3-pointers.
•Scored season-high 16 points vs. Emporia State.
•Led the team with 47 steals last season.

    NICK DUFAULT NOTES
•Has played six games and is averaging 7.2 ppg.
•Scored season-high 23 points vs. Crown on 8 of 12 shooting with five 3-pointers.
•Sat out last season as a redshirt.

    BRAEDAN HANSON NOTES
•Has played in two games this season.
•Sat out last season as a redshirt.

    CARTER KIRK NOTES
•Averaging 14.5 ppg and team-high 8.8 rpg while shooting 61 percent from the field.
•Grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds and added 17 points vs. Northern Michigan.
•Tied a career-high with 20 points vs. Emporia State and Northern State.
•Ranks first in team history with career 58.1 field goal pct.  
•Ranks ninth in team history with 594 rebounds.
•Shot a team-high 61.7 percent from the field a season ago.

    MICHAEL LEE NOTES
•Averaging 8.0 ppg with team-high 13 3-pointers.
•Scored career-high 17 points vs. Crown with four 3-pointers.
•Tied for second on the team last season with 52 3-pointers.
•Shot 44.4 percent from 3-point range last season, ranking seventh highest in team history.
•Tied a career-high with 14 points three times, including versus Arkansas Tech (3/11/17).

    TURNER MOEN NOTES
•Averaging 6.8 ppg and 4.7 rpg.
•Scored a season-high 14 points vs. Northern Michigan.
•Second on the team with 16 assists.
•Ranked second on the team last season with 73 assists.

    TAYLOR SCHAFER NOTES
•Averaging 9.8 ppg with nine 3-pointers.
•Scored season-high 14 points vs. Crown.
•Ranks 11th in school history with 124 3-pointers.
•Scored a career-high 25 points at Concordia-St. Paul (2/18/17).
•Connected on a team-high 58 3-pointers last season.







    WINS VERSUS NATIONALLY RANKED TEAMS LAST SEASON
•SMSU's win over No. 16 Augustana (D2SIDA) on Dec. 30, 2016, was its first over a nationally ranked team since defeating No. 16 Winona State on Jan. 17, 2014.
•SMSU also defeated No. 21 (NABC) MSU Moorhead on Jan. 27, 2017.

    MUSTANG 20-POINT GAMES  
•Southwest Minnesota State has five players who have scored 20 or more points in a game during their careers, including four this season.
•SMSU had a player score 20 or more points 21 times during the 2016-17 season.
•Junior Ryan Bruggeman led the team with nine 20-point games last season which included one 30-point game. He has 13 career 20-point games.
•Junior Taylor Schafer has six 20-point games, senior Carter Kirk  has three, Turner Moen has two 20-point games and redshirt freshman Nick Dufault has one.
20 or More Point Games - 2017-18 Season
    23    Nick Dufault    Crown, 11/21/17
    20     Ryan Bruggeman    Northern Michigan, 11/18/17
    20    Carter Kirk    Northern State, 11/15/17
    20    Carter Kirk    Emporia State, 11/11/17

    HOME AND AWAY
•SMSU is 1-1 at home this season after finishing 9-3 last season. SMSU is a combined 99-38 at home since the 2007-08 season.
•The Mustangs finished 19-3 in road/neutral site games last season and are a combined 76-71 in 137 road/neutral site games since 2009-10, including 3-1 this season.
•The following is a statistical comparison of the Mustang team averages for home and away/neutral games in 2017-18:
        W-L    FG%    3-FG%    FT%    REB    PTS    TO    
Home    1-1    .548    .432    .714    34.5    92.0    8.5        
Away    3-1    .469    .391    .744    31.0    71.5    12.5    
         
    HOME SWEET HOME
•This season marks the 22nd year the R/A Facility has served as the home arena for SMSU men's basketball.
•SMSU has a record of 206-80 (.720) in 286 games with just two losing 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    9-3    8-3    1-0
    2017-18    1-1    0-0    1-1    
    Totals    206-80    134-56    72-24

    CONSECUTIVE 3-POINT GAMES
•Southwest Minnesota State has connected on at least one 3-point field goal in 551 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.

    MUSTANGS REACH 100 AND THEN SOME
•Southwest Minnesota State reached 100 points once last season in a 113-105 overtime win over MSU Moorhead on Jan. 27. It was the second highest point total in team history.
•SMSU is 36-8 all-time when scoring 100 points in a game.

    WORKING OVERTIME
•SMSU is 45-38 all-time in overtime games.
•SMSU finished 2-1 last season in overtime games, losing 99-96 to Upper Iowa (1/7), before defeating MSU Moorhead, 113-105 (1/27) and Augustana, 97-89 in double overtime (2/27).
•SMSU is 7-6 all-time in double overtime games and 0-2 in triple overtime games.

    NSIC SOUTH VS. NSIC NORTH
•SMSU finished 6-2 versus teams from the NSIC North Division in conference games this season last season. (SMSU beat Northern State in a non-conference game on Nov. 15).
•SMSU is 25-15 versus NSIC North Division teams in conference play since divisions were introduced prior to the 2012-13 season (five seasons).
•SMSU finished 3-5 versus North teams in 2015-16; 5-3 in 2014-15; 5-3 in 2013-14; and 6-2 in 2012-13.
•The NSIC South holds a 196-124 advantage over NSIC North teams in regular season play since divisions were formed in 2012-13, including finishing 35-29 last 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.

    SMSU ALL-TIME IN THE NSIC
•The 2017-18 campaign marks the 49th season SMSU has competed in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
•SMSU has an all-time record of 344-380 in 724 conference games, finishing in the top half of the final standings 24 times in 48 seasons.
•SMSU has finished in the top half of the NSIC standings in 16 of the last 21 seasons since 1997-98.

    SMSU IN THE NSIC TOURNAMENT
•SMSU is 20-15 all-time in the NSIC tournament since it began in 2000 with two championships.
•The Mustangs are 9-2 at home, 1-7 on the road and 10-6 in neutral sites games.
•SMSU has advanced to the semifinals 10 times and have played in seven championship games (2001, 2002, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2017), winning championships in both 2012 and 2017.    

    SMSU ALL-TIME IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
•SMSU made its fourth appearance in the NCAA tournament last season and first since 2012. SMSU is 8-4 in 12 all-time tournament games.
•SMSU has appeared in three region championship games in team history winning titles in both 2001 and 2009.  

    2017-18 NCAA RULES CHANGES
•The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel announced several slight rule changes ahead of the 2017-18 men's basketball season, most notably extending the coach's box to 38 feet.
•The coach's box in previous years was 28 feet, but NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee members believe this will allow coaches to improve communication with their teams, especially when the teams are at the opposite end of the court.
•The panel also approved a rule permitting a reset of the shot clock to 20 seconds when the ball is inbounded in the frontcourt after a foul by the defense. If more than 20 seconds remains on the shot clock, the shot clock will not be reset.

     SEASON OPENERS
•SMSU is now 28-23 all-time in season opening games following Friday's loss to FHSU.
•SMSU has won seven of its last 12 season openers and 15 of its last 22.
•SMSU has not played a season opener at home since Nov. 17, 2009.

    MUSTANG HISTORY
•Southwest Minnesota State is in its 51st season of men's basketball in 2017-18.
•SMSU has played 1,387 games compiling an all-time record of 632-755.
•SMSU has won two NSIC regular season championships (2001 & 2009), one NSIC South Division championship (2017), two NSIC tournament championships (2012, 2017), two NCAA region championships (2001 & 2009) and has appeared in four NCAA tournaments (2001, 2009, 2012, 2017).
•SMSU has recorded 22 winning seasons in program history with 15 coming in the last 19 years.