PREVIEWING THIS WEEKEND
•The Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team (6-3, 2-1 NSIC), riding a two-game win streak and winners of five of its last six games overall, hit the road for a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference games versus North Division teams this weekend.
•SMSU takes on the University of Minnesota Duluth (2-4, 0-2 NSIC) on Friday with tip-off set for 8 p.m. at Romano Gymnasium.
•SMSU closes the weekend facing St. Cloud State University (5-2, 2-0 NSIC) on Saturday night with game time set for 6 p.m. at Halenbeck Hall.
•Following this weekend, SMSU will host the University of Sioux Falls on Dec. 16 in its final game before the Christmas break.  

    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 NAMED NSIC SOUTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK
•Junior Ryan Bruggeman was named the NSIC South Division Player of the Week on Monday.
•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.

    BRUGGEMAN AND KIRK CLOSING IN ON 1,000
•Junior Ryan Bruggeman begins the weekend with 987 career points in 71 games (ranking 24th in team history) and will look to become the 22nd player in team history to reach 1,000 career points.
•Senior Carter Kirk is directly behind Bruggeman on the career scoring list with 942 points in 99 games.

    TOUGHEST SCHEDULE IN THE NSIC
•SMSU has played a strong schedule through nine games this season and the latest NCAA statistical numbers back it up.
•SMSU has the 22nd toughest schedule in Division II and the toughest among all NSIC schools as of Tuesday, Dec. 5.
•SMSU's eight Division II opponents have a combined record of 33-17 (not including games with SMSU).

    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 all-time 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.

    SERIES HISTORY VS. MINNESOTA DULUTH
•Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota Duluth meet for the 84th time on Friday with UMD leading 51-32.
•The teams first met during the 1972-73 season.
•SMSU won twice last season with both games in Marshall. SMSU won 94-76 during the regular season and 79-54 in the first round of the NSIC Tournament.
•UMD leads 33-8 in games played in Duluth, but SMSU has won five of the last seven at Romano Gym.
•SMSU has won 13 of the last 15 games overall since the 2005-06 season.
•UMD's victories since Dec. 12, 2004, came on Jan. 20, 2012, and Jan. 30, 2016, both in Duluth.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 10-2 all-time versus UMD.
•Game-by-game results of the series on page 20.

    SERIES HISTORY VS. ST. CLOUD STATE
•Southwest Minnesota State and St. Cloud State meet for the 61st time on Saturday with SCSU leading 40-20.
•The teams first met during the 1969-70 season.
•SMSU won last season's lone match-up, 84-82, in Marshall.
•SCSU leads 24-7 in games played in St. Cloud, including winning the last three played at Halenbeck Hall.
•SMSU snapped a five-game losing streak in the series last season.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 4-9 all-time versus SCSU.
•Game-by-game results of the series on page 19.

    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 142-104.  
•Bigler became the all-time wins leader on Dec. 2, 2017, passing Greg Stemen (2001-09).
•Bigler has a record of 97-80 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 PICKS UP TWO HOME WINS LAST WEEKEND
•Southwest Minnesota State won a pair of NSIC games at home last weekend, beating Upper Iowa, 93-86 and Winona State, 79-76.
•In the win over UIU, Ryan Bruggeman scored a game-high 24 points, dished out nine assists and pulled down five rebounds, while teammate KJ Davis scored a career-high 19 points.
•Carter Kirk scored 13 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds with four assists to help the SMSU charge, while Michael Lee chipped in with 12 points before fouling out early in the second half.
•In the win over WSU, Bruggeman scored 24 points and had six assists.  
•Taylor Schafer tied a season-high with 14 points, connecting on four 3-pointers, while Turner Moen added 12 points, five rebounds and three assists.
•SMSU connected on 10 3-pointers in the win over WSU, its second highest single-game total this season.

    ABOUT SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE
•SMSU is 6-3 overall, 2-1 NSIC.
•SMSU has three players averaging double figure scoring.
•Ryan Bruggeman is averaging a team-high 18.2 ppg with a team-high 45 assists.
•Carter Kirk is scoring 13.1 ppg with a team-high 8.8 rpg. He also has a team-high 11 blocked shots.
•KJ Davis is scoring 10.7 ppg with six 3-pointers.
•Michael Lee has made a team-leading 18 3-pointers while Taylor Schafer has connected on 15 3-pointers.
•SMSU averaging 81 points per game, while opponents are average 77.
•SMSU is shooting 48 percent from the field, 39 percent from 3-point range and 75 percent from the free throw line.

    MUSTANG TIP-OFF TIDBITS
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler became the program's all-time leader in victories (142) on Dec. 2 in a win over Winona State.
•SMSU ranks ninth in Division II (Dec. 4) in fewest turnovers per game (10.0).
•SMSU has shot better than 50 percent from the field in two games this season. Last season, SMSU shot 50 percent or higher in 15 games.
•SMSU combined to make 40 of 45 free throws in last weekend's two victories.
•KJ Davis was 12 of 12 from the free throw line during Friday's win over Upper Iowa. The school single-game record is 13 of 13 set twice.
•SMSU shot a season-high 89 percent (25 of 28) from the free throw line versus Upper Iowa.
•Carter Kirk ranks tied for first in school history in career field goal pct. (57.8) and is ninth in rebounds (620).
•Ryan Bruggeman is eighth place in school history with 266 free throws made.
•Bruggeman ranks third in team history with 337 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 130 3-pointers made.  
•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.
•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 is 0-1 in overtime games this season after finishing 2-1 a season ago.  

    SCOUTING MINNESOTA DULUTH
•UMD is 2-4 overall, 0-2 NSIC, following NSIC road losses last weekend at Bemidji State (73-63) and Minnesota Crookston (98-90).
•Logan Rohrscheib leads the team averaging 15.2 ppg with 13 3-pointers.   
•Brandon Myer is averaging 15.2 ppg with five 3-pointers, while leading the squad with 6.0 rpg.
•Trevor Entwisle has made eight 3-pointers and is averaging 11.1 ppg.
•UMD is shooting 41 percent from the field, 33 percent from 3-point range and 86 percent from the free throw line.
•UMD is scoring 72 points per game, while opponents are averaging 76 per game.
•Head coach Matt Bowen is in his sixth season at UMD with a record of 57-91. He has a career record of 121-193, which includes six seasons as head coach at Bemidji State (2006-12).

    SCOUTING ST. CLOUD STATE
•SCSU is 5-2 overall, 2-0 NSIC, after recording a pair of road NSIC victories last weekend over Minnesota Crookston (69-57) and Bemidji State (96-62).
•SCSU plays host to Sioux Falls on Friday night before facing SMSU.
•Jon Averkamp is averaging 20.1 ppg with nine 3-pointers. He also ranks second on the team with 7.0 rpg.  
•Brindley Theisen is averaging 14.4 ppg with 17 3-pointers.
•Sean Smith is scoring 11 ppg with a team-high 10.1 rpg.
•Gage Davis, the preseason NSIC North Player of the Year, played in his first game of the season last Saturday and scored 25 points on 9 of 16 shooting.
•SCSU is shooting 45 percent from the field, 30 percent from 3-point range and 70 percent from the free throw line.
•SCSU is scoring 73 points per game, while opponents are averaging 64 per game.
•Head coach Matt Reimer is in his fourth season and enters the weekend with a record 55-44.

    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 (Dec. 4) can be found on page 17.
•SMSU ranks ninth in fewest turnovers per game (10.0).
•Carter Kirk ranks 33rd in total rebounds (79) and 64th in rebounds per game (8.8).
•Ryan Bruggeman is ninth in free throw made (52), 36th in total assists (45), 35th in steals (18) and 50th in assists per game (5.0).
    
    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 nine games averaging 4.0 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.
•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 18.2 ppg and leads team with 45 assists.
•Scored season-high 28 points at Sioux Falls.
•Has four 20-point scoring games this season.
•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 337 assists.
•Ranks fourth in team history with 83.9 career free throw pct.
•Has started all 71 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 nine games during his first season at SMSU.
•Season-high eight rebounds vs. Upper Iowa.
•Scored six points at Sioux Falls.
•Scored six points with three field goals and five rebounds vs. Crown.

    KJ DAVIS NOTES
•Averaging 10.7 ppg and has connected on six 3-pointers.
•Scored a career-high 19 points with 12 free throws vs. Upper Iowa.
•Has scored double figures in five games this season.
•Led the team with 47 steals last season.

    NICK DUFAULT NOTES
•Has played nine games and is averaging 6.6 ppg with 11 3-pointers.
•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 13.1 ppg and team-high 8.8 rpg while shooting 57 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 eight of nine games this season.
•Ranks first in team history with career 57.8 field goal pct.  
•Ranks ninth in team history with 620 rebounds.
•Shot a team-high 61.7 percent from the field a season ago.

    MICHAEL LEE NOTES
•Averaging 7.8 ppg with team-high 18 3-pointers.
•Scored a 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.

    TURNER MOEN NOTES
•Averaging 7.3 ppg and 5.2 rpg.
•Scored 12 points with two 3-pointers vs. Upper Iowa.
•Scored a season-high 14 points vs. Northern Michigan.
•Second on the team with 23 assists.
•Ranked second on the team last season with 73 assists.

    TAYLOR SCHAFER NOTES
•Averaging 9.7 ppg with 15 3-pointers.
•Scored season-high 14 points vs. Winona State and Crown.
•Ranks 11th in school history with 130 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 seven 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 16 career 20-point games, including four 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
    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 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    3-1    .516    .405    .822    34.5    89.0    9.5        
Away    3-2    .455    .378    .709    32.4    74.2    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.





    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 554 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.

    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 346-381 in 727 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 1,390 games compiling an all-time record of 634-756.
•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.