THE GAME
•The No. 24 (D2SIDA) ranked Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team (25-5) faces Upper Iowa University (22-9) tonight in the championship game of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Sanford Pentagon. Tonight's game will be the third meeting between the two teams this season, with UIU winning both match-ups. UIU earned a 77-75 win in Fayette, Iowa, on Dec. 2, and also picked up a 99-96 overtime win in Marshall on Jan. 7.

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

    NSIC SOUTH CHAMPIONS
•SMSU captured 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.
•SMSU won overall NSIC championships in 2001 and 2009.

    BRUGGEMAN NAMED ALL-NSIC; BIGLER EARNS TOP HONOR
•Ryan Bruggeman was named first team All-NSIC last Thursday.
•He leads SMSU in scoring (13.8), assists (132), steals (38) and free throws made (99).
•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.

    GAME DAY STORYLINES
•SMSU has held opponents to 30 or less points in the first half in five of its last nine games.  
•SMSU's 25-point victory in last Wednesday's first round win over Minnesota Duluth tied for its largest margin of victory this season. •SMSU's 25 victories is the third highest in team history and highest win total since recording 28 during the 2008-09 season.  
•SMSU is 12-0 when holding opponents to less than 70 points.  •Carter Kirk's 7.5 per game rebound average would be the highest since Scott Roehl averaged 10.2 in 2010-11.
•Joey Bartlett ranks eighth on the SMSU all-time scoring list with 1,335 points.    
•Bartlett needs one 3-pointer to move into sole possession of fifth place in team history with 175 and passing SMSU all-time leading scorer, Jacob Fahl.
•Mitch Weg has 761 career rebounds ranking second all-time in team history.   
•SMSU is 23-2 when committing 15 or fewer turnovers, but 2-3 when committing more than 15.  
•SMSU is 13-2 in games decided by four or less points or played in overtime.
•SMSU has recorded a pair of six-game winning streaks this season with both winning streaks ending with losses to Upper Iowa.
    
    SMSU IN THE NSIC TOURNAMENT
•Following Monday's win, SMSU is now 19-15 all-time in the NSIC tournament since it began in 2000.  
•The Mustangs are 9-2 at home, 1-7 on the road and 9-6 in neutral sites games.
•SMSU has advanced to the semifinals 10 times and now played in six championship games (2001, 2002, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2017), including winning its lone tournament championship in 2012.    
•SMSU's all-time NSIC tournament games is listed on page 22.
    
    SMSU RANKED SECOND IN NCAA REGIONAL POLL
•SMSU was ranked second in last week's NCAA Central Region poll released on Wednesday, Feb. 22.
•The final weekly ranking will occur on March 1.
•The 64-team NCAA tournament will be announced on March 5.
NCAA Central Region Poll (Feb. 22)
    Rank    (First-Place Votes)                   D2 Record    In-Region    
    1    Northwest Missouri State    21-1     20-1
    2     Southwest Minnesota State     22-5     22-5
    3     Arkansas Tech     18-4     18-4
    4     MSU Moorhead     22-4     22-4
    5     Arkansas-Monticello     17-4     17-4
    6     Augustana     18-7     18-7
    7     East Central     19-7     19-7
    8     Northern State     20-7     20-7
    9     Upper Iowa     19-9     17-9
    10     Southern Nazarene     15-10     15-10

    BEST START IN TEAM HISTORY
•SMSU opened the season with a program best 6-0 record.

    SMSU REACHES 25 VICTORIES
•SMSU's 25 victories ranks as the third highest in team history.
•SMSU has now recorded 20 or more victories five times in team history and the first since the 2008-09 season.
•Both the 2000-01 and 2008-09 teams won 28 games.
    
    SERIES HISTORY VS. UPPER IOWA
•Southwest Minnesota State and Upper Iowa meet for the 27th time on Tuesday with SMSU leading 16-8.
•The teams first met during the 1979-80 season.
•The teams have met once in NSIC Tournament play with SMSU earning a 76-63 win in the quarterfinals in 2008.
•SMSU leads 8-3 in games played in Marshall.
•UIU has won six of the last seven games.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 8-7 all-time versus UIU.

    THE 2016-17 SEASON IN SINGLE-SEASON RECORD BOOK
•The following is where SMSU players rank this season in the school single-season record book:
•Ryan Bruggeman ranks second in assists (144) for a single-season. Marques Pena (2000-01) holds the record of 185.
•Carter Kirk ranks fourth in field goal pct. (.618).
•Mitch Weg ranks fifth in field goal pct. (.617).
•SMSU's 82.0 ppg ranks fifth highest.
•SMSU's 49.2 percent field goal shooting ranks second highest.

    ROAD WARRIORS
•SMSU is 12-2 in "true" road games this season, recording the most road wins in team history.
•SMSU is 16-2 in all games played away from the R/A Facility, the highest total since the 2008-09 team won 15 away/neutral site games. The 2000-01 team won 16 away/neutral site games.

    SMSU HEAD COACH BRAD BIGLER
•Brad Bigler is in his eighth season as head coach and has compiled an overall record of 133-100, 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 this season), 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 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 20.