THE GAMES
•The No. 21 (D2SIDA) ranked Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team (19-4, 14-4 NSIC), currently atop the NSIC South Division standings, will host its final two regular season home games this Friday, Feb. 10, and Saturday, Feb. 11, at the R/A Facility in Marshall. SMSU will take on Wayne State College (8-16, 6-12 NSIC) on Friday night with tip-off set for 8 p.m. On Saturday, SMSU will face Augustana University (17-7, 12-6 NSIC) will game time slated for 7 p.m.

    THE STANDINGS
•SMSU begins the weekend first in the NSIC South Division standings and tied for second overall, one game behind MSU Moorhead.

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

    SENIORS HONORED ON SATURDAY NIGHT
•Joey Bartlett, Drew Osmundson and Mitch Weg will be honored prior to playing their final regular season home game on Saturday night.
•The three players (Bartlett and Weg, 111; Osmundson 81) enter the weekend having combined to play in 303 games during their careers.

    BEST START IN TEAM HISTORY
•SMSU opened the season with a program best 6-0 record.
•SMSU's 19-4 record ties the 2000-01 team for the best record after 23 games in school history.
•The 2000-01 team lost at Wayne State in its 24th game.

    SMSU CLOSING IN ON 20 VICTORIES
•SMSU has recorded 19 victories for the seventh time in team history (three under coach Brad Bigler) and first since 2013-14.
•SMSU has recorded 20 or more victories in a season just four times, with the last coming during the 2008-09 season.

    SMSU CLINCHES HOME GAME FOR POSTSEASON
•SMSU has clinched a home game in the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament on Wednesday, Feb. 22.
•It will be SMSU's first tournament home game since Feb. 26, 2014.
    
    SERIES HISTORY VS. WAYNE STATE
•Southwest Minnesota State and Wayne State meet for the 67th time on Friday with WSC leading 37-29.
•The teams first met during the 1969-70 season.
•SMSU leads 20-13 in games played in Marshall.
•SMSU has won the last 17 straight played in Marshall.
•WSC's last win in Marshall was during the 1999-2000 season.
•SMSU has won 11 of the last 12 games overall since Dec. 3, 2011, with WSC's lone victory coming on Feb. 14, 2015, in Wayne.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 13-3 all-time versus WSC.
•Game-by-game results of the series on page 18.

    EARLIER THIS SEASON VS. WAYNE STATE
•SMSU defeated WSC, 85-73 in Wayne, Neb., on Dec. 31.
•Ryan Bruggeman scored 25 points to lead SMSU.
•SMSU made 28 of 43 free throws and shot 52 percent from the field.
•The SMSU/WSC game box score is located on page 17.

    SERIES HISTORY VS. AUGUSTANA
•Southwest Minnesota State and Augustana meet for the 31st time on Saturday with Augustana leading 18-12.
•The teams first met during the 1972-73 season.
•SMSU is 8-7 in games played in Marshall.
•SMSU's win earlier this season snapped a four-game Augustana winning streak in the series.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 5-9 all-time versus Augie.
•Game-by-game results of the series on page 20.

    EARLIER THIS SEASON VS. AUGUSTANA
•SMSU defeated Augustana, 78-76 in Sioux Falls on Dec. 0
•Ryan Bruggeman scored 27 points to lead SMSU.
•SMSU shot 54 percent from the field.
•The SMSU/Augustana game box score is located on page 19.

    ROAD WARRIORS
•SMSU is 10-2 in "true" road games this season, recording its most road victories since the 2008-09 team won a program best 11.
•The 10 road wins is ties the 2000-01 team for the second highest in team history.

    GAME DAY STORYLINES
•SMSU's 19 victories is its highest win total since recording 19 during the 2013-14 season.
•SMSU is 9-0 when holding opponents to less than 70 points.
•SMSU's 113 points in its victory over MSU Moorhead on Jan. 27 was the second highest total in team history.
•Joey Bartlett ranks eighth on the SMSU all-time scoring list with 1,250 points.   
•Bartlett needs 10 3-pointers to move into sole possession of fifth place in team history.
•Mitch Weg is three rebounds shy of moving into sole possession of second all-time in the career rebound book with 734.  
•SMSU is 17-2 when committing 15 or fewer turnovers, but 2-2 when committing more than 15.
•SMSU is 10-2 in games decided by four or less points or played in overtime.
•SMSU opponents made 10 or more 3-pointers in 11 games last season and averaged 8.8 per game. In 23 games this season, opponents are averaging 7.3 per game and have reached double figures six times.
•SMSU has recorded a pair of six-game winning streaks this season with both winning streaks ending with losses to Upper Iowa.

    NCAA NATIONAL STATISTICS
•A complete listing of SMSU and Mustang individuals in the latest NCAA statistics (Feb. 6) can be found on page 16.
•SMSU ranks among the top 50 in three categories.
•SMSU ranks 23rd in won-lost pct.
•SMSU ranks 43rd in field goal pct.
•SMSU ranks 45th in rebound margin.
•Ryan Bruggeman ranks 59th in total assists and 78th in assists per game.
•Carter Kirk ranks 91st in rebounds per game.

    NSIC STATISTICS
•A complete listing of SMSU in this week's NSIC statistics (NSIC games only) can be found on pages 14-15.
•SMSU ranks second in steals.
•SMSU ranks second in rebound margin.
•SMSU ranks fourth in scoring defense.
•SMSU ranks fifth in field goal pct. defense.
•SMSU ranks fifth in scoring offense.
•SMSU ranks seventh in field goal pct.
•SMSU ranks seventh in free throw pct.
•Carter Kirk ranks fourth in rebounding, fifth in field goal pct.,and sixth in blocked shots.
•Ryan Bruggeman ranks fourth in steals, fourth in assists and fifth in free throw pct.
•Mitch Weg ranks sixth in field goal pct. and ninth in rebounding.
•KJ Davis is 10th in steals.

    SMSU IN THE NABC NATIONAL POLL
•SMSU has received votes the past five polls, including Feb. 7.
•SMSU was ranked No. 22 in the Jan. 3 poll.
•SMSU debuted at No. 25 on Dec. 20.
•SMSU has been ranked 20 times all-time in the NABC poll.

    SMSU RANKED NO. 21 IN D2SIDA NATIONAL POLL
•SMSU is ranked No. 21 in the Feb. 7 Top 25 poll.
•SMSU was last ranked at No. 16 back on Jan. 10.
•The poll is voted on by Sports Information Directors.
•Complete poll listed on page 22
•This season is the first time in the three-year existence of the poll SMSU has been ranked.

    SMSU THIRD IN D2SIDA REGIONAL POLL
•SMSU is ranked third in the latest D2SIDA Central Region poll released on Monday, Feb. 6.
•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 closer to the end of the season.
D2SIDA Central Region Poll (Feb. 6)
    Rank    (First-Place Votes)                   W-L    Pts.    Prev.
    1    Northwest Missouri State (6)    21-0    60    1
    2    Arkansas-Monticello    17-2    54    2
    3    Southwest Minnesota State    19-4    48    4
    4    MSU Moorhead    20-4    42    3
    5    Northern State    18-6    31    8
    6    Central Missouri    15-6    30    7
    7    Arkansas Tech    15-4    26    9
    8    East Central    15-6    18    6
    9    Upper Iowa    16-8    10    5
    10    Augustana    17-7    6    10



    SMSU HEAD COACH BRAD BIGLER
•Brad Bigler is in his eighth season as head coach and has compiled an overall record of 127-99, ranking second in team history for wins.
•Greg Stemen holds the all-time record with 141 wins in nine seasons from 2001-09.
•Bigler has a record of 92-78 in NSIC play.
•The 2012-13 NSIC Coach of the Year, Bigler has led SMSU to four winning seasons, including 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 21.

    ABOUT SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE
•SMSU is 19-4 overall, 14-4 NSIC, picked up two road wins last weekend, beating Minot State, 74-64, and U-Mary, 76-62.
•SMSU has five players averaging double figures in scoring.
•Ryan Bruggeman leads the team in scoring at 13.7 ppg, has dished out a team-high 101 assists and is first with 34 steals.
•Taylor Schafer is scoring 11.8 ppg with a team-high 40 3-pointers.
•Joey Bartlett is averaging 11.9 ppg with 34 3-pointers.
•Carter Kirk is averaging a team-high 8.1 rpg and scoring 10.7 ppg
•SMSU is averaging 82 points per game, while opponents are averaging 75.
•SMSU is shooting 48 percent from the field, 36 percent from 3-point range and 73 percent from the free throw line.

    ABOUT WAYNE STATE
•WSC is 8-16 overall, 6-12 NSIC, and are coming off a last-second home loss to Bemidji State last Friday and a victory over Minnesota Crookston on Saturday.
•WSC is 5-7 in road games.
•Kendall Jacks is scoring 15.2 ppg and shooting 57 percent from the field to lead the Wildcats.
•Matt Thomas is averaging 11 ppg with 24 3-pointers.
•Jordan Cornelius averages a team-high 5.4 rpg and is averaging 9.0 ppg with a team-leading 34 3-pointers.
•WSC ranks 16th in Division II in fewest turnovers per game.
•WSC is shooting 44 percent from the field, 36 percent from 3-point range and 74 percent from the free throw line.
•WSC is scoring 74 points per game, while opponents are averaging 76 per game.
•Head coach Jeff Kaminsky is in his first season at WSC.
•He came to WSC following 11 seasons as head coach at Valley City State (N.D.). He was also head coach for 11 seasons at Wisconsin-Superior.  

    ABOUT AUGUSTANA
•Augustana is 17-7 overall, 12-6 NSIC, and have won four of its last five games.
•Augustana, which plays at Sioux Falls on Friday night, is 7-4 on the road this season.
•Jordan Spencer is scoring 16 ppg with 48 3-pointers and 179  assists to lead the Vikings. He ranks third in Division II in total assists.
•Mike Busack is scoring 14.8 ppg and has 51 3-pointers.
•Busack was named NSIC South Player of the Week on Monday.
•Adam Beyer is averaging 12.8 ppg with 30 3-pointers.
•Augie is shooting 49 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 71 percent from the free throw line.
•Augie is scoring 83 points per game, while opponents are averaging 72 per game.
•Head coach Tom Billeter is the program's all-time winningest  coach with a record of 264-150 in his 14th season.

    WINS VERSUS NATIONALLY RANKED TEAMS
•SMSU's win over No. 16 Augustana (D2SIDA) on Dec. 30 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.

    BARTLETT AND WEG REACH 1,000 CAREER POINTS
•Senior Joey Bartlett became the 20th player in team history to reach 1,000 career points in SMSU's win over Emporia State on Nov. 13, 2016. He currently ranks eighth all-time in team history.
•Senior Mitch Weg became the 21st member of the 1,000 point club in a victory at Augustana on Dec. 30, 2016. He currently ranks 13th all-time in school history.
•The all-time scoring list is located on page 3.

    JOEY BARTLETT NOTES
•Averaging 11.9 ppg and 5.3 rpg.
•Ranks second on the team with 34 3-pointers.
•Ranks sixth in team history with 164 3-pointers.
•Ranks eighth in scoring and 10th in blocked shots (58) in team history.
•Scored season-high 26 points vs. Minnesota Duluth.
•Older brother of teammate Kolin.
SMSU Career 3-Point Field Goals
    1.     305    Matt Fletcher (118 games) - 2004-08
    2.     268    Adam Tesch (112 games) - 1998-02
    3.     253      Jordan Miller (115 games) - 2009-13
    4.    210    Travis Krenske (86 games) - 2005-08
    5.    173    Jacob Fahl (120 games) - 1999-03
    6.     164    Joey Bartlett (111 games) - 2013-17

    KOLIN BARTLETT NOTES
•Has played in just one game this season due to an injury.
•Has played in six career games.
•Younger brother of teammate Joey.

    RYAN BRUGGEMAN NOTES
•Has started 23 games and leads the team with 101 assists.
•Averaging 13.7 ppg, ranking first on the team.
•Career-high 27 points vs. Northern State on Jan. 28 and at Augustana on Dec. 30.
•Scored 25 points in victory at Wayne State on Dec. 31.
•Ranks third in team history averaging 4.5 assists per game.
•Ranks eighth in team history with an 81.9 career free throw pct.
•Led team with 126 assists last season.

    KJ DAVIS NOTES
•First season with SMSU.
•Has started 21 games and is averaging 9.7 ppg, ranking sixth on the team.
•Scored a season-high 18 points vs. Emporia State.
•Has 20 3-pointers ranking tied for fourth on the team.

    CARTER KIRK NOTES
•Has started 20 games and is averaging 10.7 ppg and a team-leading 8.1 rpg.
•Has a team-high six double-doubles this season.
•Scored career-high 20 points at Michigan Tech (11/18/16).
•Ranks fourth in team history with career 57.2 field goal pct.  
•Finished second in the NSIC in field goal pct. last season.  

    MICHAEL LEE NOTES
•Has played in 22 games this season. Missed one game with injury.
•Averaging 6.7 ppg and 2.9 rpg.
•Third on the team with 32 3-pointers.
•Tied a career-high 14 points vs. Concordia (1/20/17).

    JAKE MAIERS NOTES
•Has played in four career games and scored four points.
•Has not played this season due to an injury.

    TURNER MOEN NOTES
•Has started 23 games.
•Averaging 6.3 ppg and 4.1 rpg.
•Ranks second on the team with 56 assists.
•Season-high 13 points vs. MSU Moorhead and at Winona State.
•Career-high eight assists vs. Concordia (1/20/17).



    DREW OSMUNDSON NOTES
•Has played in 23 games averaging 1.8 ppg.
•Scored a season-high six points twice versus Sioux Falls.
•Has recorded 47 assists ranking third on the team.

    TAYLOR SCHAFER NOTES
•Has played in 23 games with two starts.
•Scored a season-high 22 points at Northern Michigan and at Bemidji State.
•Third on the team in scoring at 11.8 ppg.
•Has made a team-high 40 3-pointers.
•Has a team-high four 20-point games this season.
•Led team with 57 3-pointers last season.

    MITCH WEG NOTES
•Has started 21 games this season.
•Averaging 10.2 ppg and 6.4 rpg, ranking second on the team in rebounding and fifth in scoring.
•Shooting team-high 64.1 percent from the field.
•Scored season-high 20 points at Northern State.
•Ranks first in team history shooting 58.9 percent (430 of 730) from the field.
•Ranks third in team history with 730 rebounds.
•Ranks seventh in team history with 261 free throws made.
•Named CoSIDA Academic All-District in 2015-16.  
•Led team in both scoring and rebounding last season.
SMSU Career Rebounds
    1.     848         Frank Belmont - 1971-75
    2.     733         Ross DeMasi  - 2005-09
    3.     730         Mitch Weg - 2013-17

    BRUGGEMAN EARNS NSIC WEEKLY AWARD
•Sophomore Ryan Bruggeman was named the NSIC South Division Player of the Week on Jan. 3.
•Bruggeman averaged 26 points on 57 percent shooting, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals in road victories over Augustana University (78-76) and Wayne State (85-73).

    MUSTANG 20-POINT GAMES  
•Southwest Minnesota State has six players who have scored 20 or more points in a game during their careers, including 12 this season.
•Sophomore Taylor Schafer leads the team this season with four 20-point games.
•Senior Joey Bartlett leads all current players having reached the 20-point mark 13 times in his career.
20-Point Games - THIS SEASON
    27    Ryan Bruggeman    Northern State, 1/28/17
    27    Ryan Bruggeman    Augustana, 12/30/16
    26    Joey Bartlett    Minnesota Duluth, 12/9/16
    25    Ryan Bruggeman    Wayne State, 12/31/16
    24    Joey Bartlett    Upper Iowa, 1/7/17        
    22    Taylor Schafer    Bemidji State, 1/14/17
    22    Taylor Schafer    Northern Michigan, 11/19/16
    21    Taylor Schafer    Fort Hays State, 11/12/16
    20    Taylor Schafer    Winona State, 1/6/17
    20    Joey Bartlett    Upper Iowa, 12/2/16
    20    Carter Kirk    Michigan Tech, 11/18/16
    20    Mitch Weg    Northern State, 11/15/16    

    HOME AND AWAY
•SMSU is 7-2 at home this season and 96-36 at home since the 2007-08 season.
•The Mustangs, 12-2 in road/neutral site games this season, are a combined 66-69 in 125 road/neutral site games since 2009-10.
•The following is a statistical comparison of the Mustang team averages for home and away/neutral games in 2016-17:
        W-L    FG%    3-FG%    FT%    REB    PTS    TO    
Home    7-2    .470    .389    .713    39.6    85.0    11.3        
Away    12-2    .495    .336    .752    36.1    79.9    12.4         
    HOME SWEET HOME
•The 2016-17 season marks the 21st year the R/A Facility has been the home arena for SMSU men's basketball.
•SMSU has a record of 203-78 (.722) in 281 all-time games with just two losing seasons.
•SMSU has recorded double figure home victories in eight of the past 11 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    7-2    7-2    0-0    
    Totals    203-78     133-55    70-23

    CONSECUTIVE 3-POINT GAMES
•Southwest Minnesota State has connected on at least one 3-point field goal in 544 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 in Fargo, N.D.

    MUSTANGS REACH 100 AND THEN SOME
•Southwest Minnesota State reached 100 points for the first time this 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 44-38 all-time in overtime games.
•SMSU is 1-1 this season, losing 99-96 to Upper Iowa (1/7), before defeating MSU Moorhead, 113-105 (1/27).
•SMSU has struggled in overtime games in recent seasons, going 5-12 since 2006-07.
•SMSU is 6-6 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. (SMSU beat Northern State in a non-conference game on Nov. 15).
•SMSU is now 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 was 6-2 in 2012-13.
•The NSIC South now holds a 196-124 advantage over NSIC North teams in regular season play since divisions were formed in 2012-13, including finishing 35-29 this 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.

    2016-17 NSIC PRESEASON POLL
•SMSU was picked to finish eighth overall and fifth in the South Division in the annual 16-team NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll released in October.
•Minnesota State was chosen as the overall preseason favorite earning 220 points, including all 11 first-place votes and was also picked to win the South Division.
•SMSU senior Mitch Weg was named a "Player to Watch"

    SMSU ALL-TIME IN THE NSIC
•This year marks the 48th season SMSU has competed in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
•SMSU has an all-time record of 340-378 in 718 conference games, finishing in the top half of the final standings 23 times in 47 seasons.
•SMSU has finished in the top half of the NSIC standings in 14 of the last 19 seasons since 1997-98.

    MUSTANG HISTORY
•Southwest Minnesota State is in its 50th season of men's basketball in 2016-17.
•SMSU has played 1,368 games compiling an all-time record of 618-750.
•SMSU has won two NSIC regular season championships (2001 & 2009), one NSIC tournament championship (2012), two NCAA region championships (2001 & 2009) and appeared in three NCAA tournaments (2001, 2009, 2012).
•SMSU has recorded 22 winning seasons in program history with 15 coming in the last 19 years (including this season).