PREVIEWING THIS WEEKEND
•The Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team (4-3, 0-1 NSIC) prepares for its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference home games of the season this Friday and Saturday at the R/A Facility in Marshall.
•SMSU takes on Upper Iowa University (6-3, 0-1 NSIC) on Friday night with tip-off set for 6:05 p.m. The game was moved ahead two hours due to SMSU hosting the NCAA Central Region Volleyball Tournament.
•Friday's game will be televised live regionally on Midco Sports Network as part of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's "Game of the Week".
•SMSU closes the weekend facing Winona State University (4-1, 1-0 NSIC) on Saturday night with game time set for 7 p.m.
•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 this weekend, SMSU will play at Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 8 and at St. Cloud State on Dec. 9.

    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. UPPER IOWA
•Southwest Minnesota State and Upper Iowa meet for the 28th time on Friday with SMSU leading 17-8.
•The teams first met during the 1979-80 season.
•SMSU leads 8-4 in games played in Marshall, but have lost the last four played in Marshall.
•SMSU's last win over UIU in Marshall was on Jan. 25, 2013.
•UIU has won six of the last eight games.
•UIU won both games played during the regular season last season, but SMSU defeated UIU, 71-58, in the NSIC tournament championship game.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 9-7 all-time versus UIU.
•Game-by-game results of the series on page 20.

    SERIES HISTORY VS. WINONA STATE
•Southwest Minnesota State and Winona State meet for the 106th time on Saturday with WSU leading 68-37.
•The teams first met during the 1968-69 season.
•SMSU won both games last season, sweeping the season series for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
•WSU leads 25-6 in the series since 2004-05, but SMSU has won four of the last seven meetings.
•WSU hold a 27-22 advantage in games played in Marshall.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 6-11 all-time versus WSU.
•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 140-104, 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 95-80 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 DROPS NSIC OPENER IN OVERTIME AT SIOUX FALLS
•The University of Sioux Falls rallied from a late second half deficit to force overtime and then pulled away in the extra frame to earn a 91-85 victory over SMSU in the NSIC opener for both teams last Saturday in Sioux Falls.
•Free throws proved to be the difference in the game as USF connected on 20 of 24 for the game, including making a combined 18 of 21 in the second half and overtime.
•SMSU, which held a seven-point lead with less than five minutes remaining in regulation, finished the game making 17 of 28 free throws, but made just 15 of 23 in the second half and overtime.
•Ryan Bruggeman led the Mustangs with 28 points, six rebounds and four assists with zero turnovers.
•Carter Kirk and KJ Davis each scored 11 points, while Kirk grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
•SMSU shot 41 percent (31 of 75) from the field with six 3-pointers on 18 attempts.

    ABOUT SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE
•SMSU is 4-3, 0-1 NSIC this season.
•SMSU has two players averaging double figure scoring this season.
•Ryan Bruggeman is averaging a team-high 16.6 ppg with a team-high 30 assists.
•Carter Kirk is scoring 14 ppg with a team-high 8.9 rpg.
•KJ Davis is scoring 9.7 ppg with five 3-pointers.
•Michael Lee has made a team-leading 15 3-pointers while Taylor Schafer has connected on 10 3-pointers.
•SMSU averaging 79 points per game, while opponents are average 76.
•SMSU is shooting 49 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 71 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 is 0-1 in overtime games this season after finishing 2-1 a season ago.  
•SMSU's 116 points on Nov. 21 versus Crown was the second highest point total in school history.
•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 on Nov. 18. 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 second in school history in career field goal pct. (57.5) and is ninth in rebounds (603).
•Ryan Bruggeman has moved into eighth place in school history with 252 free throws made.
•Bruggeman ranks third in team history with 322 assists. Andrew Peschong (2006-10) is second with 342, while Vinard Birch (2010-14) is the all-time leader with 396.
•Taylor Schafer ranks 11th in team history with 125 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 UPPER IOWA
•USF is 6-3 overall, 0-1 NSIC, following a 90-80 home loss to Winona State to open NSIC play last Saturday.
•Carson Parker leads the team averaging 16 ppg with 15 3-pointers. He also ranks second the squad with 6.0 rpg.  
•Dennis Austin is averaging 13.6 ppg with 24 3-pointers, while leading the squad with 7.4 rpg.
•Munachiso Okonkwo leads the club with 7.8 rpg and has 17 blocked shots.
•UIU is shooting 46 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3-point range and 76 percent from the free throw line.
•UIU is scoring 77 points per game, while opponents are averaging 77 per game.
•Head coach Brooks McKowen is in his fifth season at UIU with a record of 77-58. He led the Peacocks to the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
•McKowen was an assistant coach at SMSU from 2011-13.

    SCOUTING WINONA STATE
•WSU is 4-1 overall, 1-0 NSIC, after recording a 90-80 road victory over Upper Iowa last Saturday.
•WSU plays at Sioux Falls on Friday night before facing SMSU.
•Corey Jeffs leads the team averaging 16 ppg with seven 3-pointers. He also ranks second on the team with 6.4 rpg.  
•Devin Whitelow is averaging 14.2 ppg with 4.6 rpg.
•Connor Flack is scoring 13.2 ppg with a team-high 6.6 rpg.
•WSU is shooting 48 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 79 percent from the free throw line.
•WSU is scoring 85 points per game, while opponents are averaging 73 per game.
•Head coach Todd Eisner is in his third season with a record 31-30. He recorded 417 career victories as a head coach at Midland (Neb.), Benedictine (Kan.), Bellevue (Neb.) and Viterbo (Wis.) prior to WSU.






    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 3-2 away from Marshall this season, including 1-1 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. 27) can be found on page 17.
•Carter Kirk ranks 27th in total rebounds (62) and 55th in rebounds per game (8.9).
•Ryan Bruggeman is 23rd in free throw made (38), 62nd in total assists (26) and 15th in steals (17).

    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 seven games averaging 4.3 ppg and 3.3 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 16.6 ppg and leads team with 30 assists.
•Scored season-high 28 points at Sioux Falls.
•Had a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists vs. Emporia State.
•Has scored double figures in every game this season.
•Ranks first in team history averaging 4.7 assists per game.
•Ranks third in team history with 322 assists.
•Ranks fifth in team history with 83.4 career free throw pct.
•Has started all 69 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 seven games during his first season at SMSU.
•Scored six points at Sioux Falls.
•Scored six points with three field goals and five rebounds vs. Crown.

    KJ DAVIS NOTES
•Averaging 9.7 ppg and has connected on five 3-pointers.
•Has scored double figures in four games this season.
•Scored season-high 16 points vs. Emporia State.
•Led the team with 47 steals last season.

    NICK DUFAULT NOTES
•Has played seven games and is averaging 6.9 ppg.
•Scored season-high 23 points vs. Crown on 8 of 12 shooting with five 3-pointers.
•Scored 11 points vs. Michigan Tech.
•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 ppg and team-high 8.9 rpg while shooting 55 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.
•Has seven or more rebounds in six of seven games this season.
•Ranks second in team history with career 57.5 field goal pct.  
•Ranks ninth in team history with 603 rebounds.
•Shot a team-high 61.7 percent from the field a season ago.




    MICHAEL LEE NOTES
•Averaging 7.9 ppg with team-high 15 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 7.0 ppg and 5.1 rpg.
•Scored a season-high 14 points vs. Northern Michigan.
•Second on the team with 19 assists.
•Ranked second on the team last season with 73 assists.

    TAYLOR SCHAFER NOTES
•Averaging 9.1 ppg with 10 3-pointers.
•Scored season-high 14 points vs. Crown.
•Ranks 11th in school history with 125 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 five 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 14 career 20-point games, including two this season.
•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
    28    Ryan Bruggeman    Sioux Falls, 11/25/17
    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 76-72 in 138 road/neutral site games since 2009-10, including 3-2 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    3-2    .455    .378    .709    32.4    74.2    10.4           
    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 552 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 45-39 all-time in overtime games, including 0-1 this season after losing 91-85 at Sioux Falls on Nov. 25.
•SMSU finished 2-1 last season in overtime games.
•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 last season.
•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 344-381 in 725 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.  

    MUSTANG HISTORY
•Southwest Minnesota State is in its 51st season of men's basketball in 2017-18.
•SMSU has played 1,388 games compiling an all-time record of 632-756.
•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.