PREVIEWING THIS WEEKEND
•The Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team (8-3, 4-1 NSIC), riding a four-game win streak and winners of seven of its last eight games overall, returns home this Saturday night to face the University of Sioux Falls (8-2, 4-1 NSIC) with tip-off set for 7 p.m. at the R/A Facility.
•This will be second meeting between the two teams within three weeks as USF earned a 91-85 overtime win in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Nov. 25.
•A win on Saturday would be the 100th career conference victory for SMSU head coach Brad Bigler.
•Following this weekend, SMSU will have two weeks off for Christmas break, before returning to action hosting Augustana on Dec. 30 and Wayne State on Dec. 31.

    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.  

    BRUGGEMAN REACHES 1,000 POINTS; KIRK NEXT ON LIST
•Junior Ryan Bruggeman reached 1,000 career points during SMSU's win at Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 8.
•He currently ranks 20th in team history with 1,018 points in 73 games.
•Senior Carter Kirk currently ranks 25th on the career scoring list with 967 points in 101 games. He is looking to become the 23rd player in team history to reach 1,000 career points.

    TOUGHEST SCHEDULE IN THE NSIC
•SMSU has played a strong schedule through 11 games this season and the latest NCAA statistical numbers back it up.
•SMSU has the 26th toughest schedule in Division II and the toughest among all NSIC schools as of Tuesday, Dec. 12.
•SMSU's eight Division II opponents have a combined record of 51-28 (not including games with SMSU).

    SERIES HISTORY VS. SIOUX FALLS
•Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls meet for the 31st time on Saturday with SMSU leading 19-11.
•USF won earlier this season in overtime, snapping a four-game winning streak in the series for SMSU.
•SMSU leads 14-0 in games played in Marshall.
•The last three games in Marshall have been decided by a total of eight points.
•SMSU leads the series 6-5 in conference games (7-5 overall) since USF joined the NSIC prior to the 2012-13 season.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 7-5 all-time versus USF.  
•Game-by-game results of the series on page 19.

    LAST TIME VERSUS SIOUX FALLS
•Sioux Falls rallied to earn a 91-85 overtime victory earlier this season on Nov. 25 in Sioux Falls.
•SMSU led 65-58 with 4:45 remaining in the second half, but USF scored 33 points in the final 4:30 of regulation and overtime to rally for the victory.
•USF's Trevon Evans tied the game with a field goal with 13 seconds remaining in regulation.
•USF's Drew Guebert scored 36 points with 13 field goals made.
•Austin Slater added 13 points and 17 rebounds for USF.
•Ryan Bruggeman led SMSU with 28 points with three 3-pointers.
•The game box score is located on page 20.

    SMSU HEAD COACH BRAD BIGLER
•Brad Bigler, the all-time wins leader in program history, is in his ninth season as head coach and has compiled an overall record of 144-104.  
•Bigler became the all-time wins leader on Dec. 2, 2017, passing Greg Stemen (141, 2001-09).
•Bigler has a record of 99-80 in NSIC play.
•The 2012-13 and 2016-17 NSIC Coach of the Year, Bigler has led SMSU to five winning seasons, including one 28-win season and a pair of 19-win seasons.
•SMSU won NSIC tournament titles in 2012 and 2017 and also won the NSIC South Division championship in 2017.  
•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 RECORDS TWO ROAD WINS LAST WEEKEND
•Southwest Minnesota State won a pair of NSIC road games last weekend, beating Minnesota Duluth, 68-65, and St. Cloud State, 82-59.
•KJ Davis hit a pair of free throws with 14 seconds remaining to give SMSU a 66-65 lead over UMD.
•Ryan Bruggeman scored a game-high 21 points, including two free throws with three seconds left to give SMSU a three-point advantage.
•Turner Moen scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.
•SMSU won the game despite shooting a season-low 39 percent.
•Carter Kirk poured in 19 points on 9 of 12 shooting and grabbed 14 rebounds to pace SMSU over SCSU.
•Bruggeman added 10 points and 10 assists.
•Michael Lee added 11 points with three 3-pointers.
•Nick Dufault scored 12 points on 4 of 6 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers.
•Kenny Byers added a career-high 10 points on 4 of 5 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers to help the Mustang charge.

    ABOUT SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE
•SMSU is 8-3 overall, 4-1 NSIC.
•SMSU has three players averaging double figure scoring.
•Ryan Bruggeman is averaging a team-high 17.7 ppg with a team-high 59 assists.
•Carter Kirk is scoring 13 ppg with a team-high 9.1 rpg. He also has a team-high 13 blocked shots.
•KJ Davis is scoring 10.5 ppg with six 3-pointers.
•Michael Lee has made a team-leading 21 3-pointers while Taylor Schafer has connected on 17 3-pointers.
•SMSU averaging 80 points per game, while opponents are average 75.
•SMSU is shooting 48 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 75 percent from the free throw line.

    MUSTANG TIP-OFF TIDBITS
•Ryan Bruggeman had his streak of scoring 20 or more points in four straight games snapped on Saturday at St. Cloud State.
•Kenny Byers scored a career-high 10 points on 4 of 5 shooting with two 3-pointers at St. Cloud State.
•SMSU shot a season-low 39 percent in the win at Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 8.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler became the program's all-time leader in victories on Dec. 2 in a win over Winona State.
•Bigler's next NSIC win will be the 100th in his career.
•Ryan Bruggeman has moved into second place in team history with 351 assists. Vinard Birch (2010-14) is the all-time leader with 396.
•Bruggeman ranks first in team history in assists average, fourth in free throw pct. and tied for sixth in free throws made.  
•Taylor Schafer ranks 11th in team history with 132 3-pointers made.  
•Carter Kirk ranks second in school history in career field goal pct. (57.6) and is ninth in rebounds (641).
•SMSU ranks 10th in Division II in fewest turnovers per game.
•SMSU has shot better than 50 percent from the field in three games this season. Last season, SMSU shot 50 percent or higher in 15 games.
•SMSU shot a season-high 89 percent (25 of 28) from the free throw line versus Upper Iowa on Dec. 1.
•SMSU's 116 points on Nov. 21 versus Crown was the second highest point total in school history.
•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.
•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.

    SCOUTING SIOUX FALLS
•USF is 8-2 overall, 4-1 NSIC, following a split last weekend on the road.
•USF lost, 88-82 to St. Cloud State on Friday, before earning a 91-66 victory at Minnesota Duluth on Saturday.
•Drew Guebert leads the team averaging 24 ppg with 26 3-pointers.
•Trevon Evans is averaging 21.2 ppg with 23 3-pointers, while leading the squad with 6.6 rpg.
•Both Guebert and Evans scored 26 points at UMD last Saturday.
•Evans has scored 31, 32 and 26 points the last three games.
•Guebert has scored 20 or more points in eight of 10 games.
•USF is shooting 50 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3-point range and 76 percent from the free throw line.
•USF is scoring 88 points per game, while opponents are averaging 75 per game.
•Head coach Chris Johnson, the school's all-time leader in victories, is in his 10th season with a record of 180-139.

    NCAA STATISTICS
•A complete listing of SMSU and Mustang individuals in the latest NCAA statistics (Dec. 11) can be found on page 17.
•SMSU ranks 10th in fewest turnovers per game (10.1), 39th in assist/turnover ratio (1.34) and 45th in free throws made (168).
•Carter Kirk ranks 17th in total rebounds (100) and 51st in rebounds per game (9.1).
•Ryan Bruggeman ranks 10th in free throw made (65), 22nd in total assists (59), 30th in steals (21) and 45th in assists per game (5.4).

    NSIC STATISTICS
•A complete listing of SMSU and Mustang individuals in the latest NSIC statistics (NSIC games only) can be found on pages 15-16.
•Ryan Bruggeman ranks second in assists (6.6), fourth in assist/turnover ratio (3.3) and fifth in scoring (21.4).
•Carter Kirk ranks second in rebounding (9.4) and ninth in blocked shots (1.2).
•Turner Moen ranks seventh in rebounding (7.0) and 10th in field goal pct. (59.3).

    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 5-2 away from Marshall this season, including 3-2 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.
    
    CURRENT MUSTANGS IN THE RECORD BOOK
•To see where 2017-18 Mustangs rank in the SMSU career record book, go to page 4.

    BRUGGEMAN NAMED NSIC SOUTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK
•Junior Ryan Bruggeman was named the NSIC South Division Player of the Week on Dec. 4.
•It's the second time in his career he has earned the honor.
•He averaged 24 points, 7.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds, while shooting 54 percent from the field in home victories over Upper Iowa (93-86) and Winona State (79-76).
•He scored 24 points in each of the two games.

    KOLIN BARTLETT NOTES
•Has played in 11 games averaging 3.8 ppg and 2.9 rpg.
•Scored 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting vs. Crown.
•Played in just two games last season due to an injury.
•Younger brother of former Mustang Joey Bartlett (2013-17).

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

    RYAN BRUGGEMAN NOTES
•Averaging a team-high 17.7 ppg and leads team with 59 assists.
•Scored season-high 28 points at Sioux Falls.
•Has five 20-point scoring games this season.
•Has scored double figures in every game this season.
•Ranks first in team history averaging 4.8 assists per game.
•Ranks second in team history with 351 assists.
•Ranks fourth in team history with 83.8 career free throw pct.
•Has started all 73 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 11 games during his first season at SMSU.
•Scored season-high 10 points at St. Cloud State on 4 of 5 shooting with two 3-pointers.
•Season-high eight rebounds vs. Upper Iowa.

    KJ DAVIS NOTES
•Averaging 10.5 ppg and has connected on six 3-pointers.
•Scored a career-high 19 points with 12 free throws made vs. Upper Iowa.
•Has scored double figures in six games this season.
•Led the team with 47 steals last season.

    NICK DUFAULT NOTES
•Has played 11 games and is averaging 7.1 ppg with 14 3-pointers.
•Scored season-high 23 points vs. Crown on 8 of 12 shooting with five 3-pointers.
•Scored 12 points at St. Cloud State with two 3-pointers.
•Sat out last season as a redshirt.

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

    CARTER KIRK NOTES
•Averaging 13 ppg and team-high 9.1 rpg while shooting 56 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 earlier this season.
•Has seven or more rebounds in 10 of 11 games this season.
•Ranks second in team history with career 57.6 field goal pct.  
•Ranks ninth in team history with 641 rebounds.
•Shot a team-high 61.7 percent from the field a season ago.

    MICHAEL LEE NOTES
•Averaging 7.4 ppg with team-high 21 3-pointers.
•Scored a career-high 17 points vs. Crown with four 3-pointers.
•Has scored double figures in four games.
•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.

    TURNER MOEN NOTES
•Averaging 7.4 ppg and 5.7 rpg.
•Recorded first career double-double at Minnesota Duluth with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
•Scored a season-high 14 points vs. Northern Michigan.
•Second on the team with 30 assists and second with 17 steals.
•Ranked second on the team last season with 73 assists.

    TAYLOR SCHAFER NOTES
•Averaging 9.2 ppg with 17 3-pointers.
•Scored season-high 14 points vs. Winona State and Crown.
•Ranks 11th in school history with 132 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.

    NSIC SOUTH VS. NSIC NORTH
•SMSU is 2-0 versus teams from the NSIC North Division in conference play and are a combined 27-15 versus North teams in conference play since divisions were introduced prior to the 2012-13 season.
•SMSU finished 6-2 versus the NSIC North in conference games last season.
•SMSU recoded a 3-5 mark versus the North in 2015-16; 5-3 in 2014-15; 5-3 in 2013-14; and 6-2 in 2012-13.
•The NSIC South holds a 201-127 advantage over NSIC North teams in conference play since divisions were formed in 2012-13, including 5-3 this season.
•In 2016-17, the South finished 35-29; 2015-16, the South led 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.

    MUSTANG 20-POINT GAMES  
•Southwest Minnesota State have five players who have scored 20 or more points in a game during their careers, including eight 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 17 career 20-point games, including five 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
    24    Ryan Bruggeman    Winona State, 12/2/17
    24    Ryan Bruggeman    Upper Iowa, 12/1/17
    23    Nick Dufault    Crown, 11/21/17
    21    Ryan Bruggeman    Minnesota Duluth, 12/8/17
    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 3-1 at home this season after finishing 9-3 last season. •SMSU is a combined 101-38 at home since the 2007-08 season.
•The Mustangs finished 19-3 in road/neutral site games last season and are a combined 78-72 in 150 road/neutral site games since 2009-10, including 5-2 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    3-1    .516    .405    .822    34.5    89.0    9.5        
Away    5-2    .456    .390    .711    34.3    74.4    10.4    
           
    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.

    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.

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 208-80 (.722) in 288 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    3-1    2-0    1-1    
    Totals    208-80    136-56    72-24

    CONSECUTIVE 3-POINT GAMES
•Southwest Minnesota State has connected on at least one 3-point field goal in 566 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 has reached 100 points once this season in a 116-80 win over Crown College on Nov. 21. It was the second highest point total in team history.
•SMSU is 37-8 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.

    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 348-381 in 729 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 1,392 games compiling an all-time record of 636-756.
•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.