THE GAME
•The No. 2 seeded Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team (28-5) faces No. 1 seed Northwest Missouri State (31-1) in the championship game of the NCAA Central Region Tournament in Maryville, Missouri, on Tuesday night starting at 7 p.m. at Bearcat Arena.
•SMSU, making its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in team history and first since 2012, will be playing in its third region championship game. SMSU won region titles in both 2001 and 2009.
•The winner of Tuesday's game will advance to the NCAA Elite Eight at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., on March 22, 23 and 25.
•The NCAA Central Region bracket and entire 64-team NCAA bracket are located on pages 18 and 19.
•Northwest Missouri State is ranked No. 1 in this week's NABC Top 25 poll and is making its fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Central Region championship game. NW loss to Central Missouri in 2014, MSU Moorhead in 2015 and Augustana in 2016.
•This will be the first time SMSU has played a No. 1 ranked team since March 4, 2007, at Winona State.
•A preview of Northwest is located on page 4.

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

    SMSU ALL-TIME IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
•SMSU is making its fourth appearance in the NCAA tournament and first since 2012. SMSU is 8-3 in 11 all-time games.
•SMSU is appearing in its third region championship game in team history.
•SMSU won both the 2001 and 2009 region championships to advance to the NCAA Elite Eight.  
SMSU all-time in the NCAA Tournament
March 9, 2001 – W, Winona State, 88-77
March 10, 2001 – W, Fort Hays State, 82-63
March 11, 2001 – W, St. Cloud State, 67-65 – Region Championship
March 21, 2001 – L, Kentucky Wesleyan, 85-66 – NCAA Elite Eight
March 14, 2009 – W, Northern State, 69-47
March 15, 2009 – W, Minnesota State, 77-69
March 17, 2009 – W, Augustana, 73-60 – Region Championship
March 25, 2009 – L, Cal Poly Pomona, 79-74 – NCAA Elite Eight
March 10, 2012 – L, MSU Moorhead, 82-66
March 11, 2017 - W, Arkansas Tech, 93-82
March 12, 2017 - W, East Central, 74-70

    SERIES HISTORY VS. NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE
•SMSU leads 3-2 in the series with Northwest Missouri State, but have not played since the 2013-14 season.
•The teams has split two games in Maryville, with SMSU winning 72-67 on Nov. 14, 2010, and NWMSU winning 74-62 on Nov. 25, 2012.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 3-1 all-time versus NWMSU.

    SMSU ADVANCES TO NCAA REGION TITLE GAME
•SMSU advanced to the Tuesday's title game with victories over Arkansas Tech (93-82) and East Central (74-70).
•SMSU held both opponents to less than 40 percent shooting (ATU, 39.7 ; ECU, 39.1)
•Joey Bartlett led SMSU with 25 points and nine rebounds in the win over ATU on Saturday afternoon.
•Ryan Bruggeman poured in 29 points with six rebounds and four assists in the victory over ECU on Sunday night.

    NSIC SOUTH CHAMPIONS
•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.
•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 on Feb. 23.
•Entering the NCAA region championship game, he leads SMSU in scoring (15.4), assists (164) and free throws made (137).
•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's 28 victories ties the 2000-01 and 2008-09 teams for the program single-season record. SMSU won region titles in both 2001 and 2009.   
•SMSU in on a current eight-game winning streak, its longest of the season. SMSU also has one winning streak of seven games and two streaks of six straight wins this season.  
•Ryan Bruggeman has scored 508 points this season ranking tied for 12th in school single-season history. The point total is the most by an SMSU player since Scott Koenen scored 549 in 2000-01.
•SMSU is 13-0 when holding opponents to less than 70 points.
•SMSU is 22-1 when holding opponents to less than 80 points.
•Carter Kirk's 7.2 per game rebound average would be the highest in a single-season since Scott Roehl averaged 10.2 in 2010-11.
•Joey Bartlett ranks seventh on the SMSU all-time scoring list with 1,389 points.    
•Bartlett ranks fifth in team history with 181 3-point field goals.
•Mitch Weg ranks second in team history with 782 rebounds.   
•Ryan Bruggeman ranks sixth in team history with 290 assists. He passed current SMSU head coach Brad Bigler during the NCAA tournament. He needs one assist to tie Chad Oletzke (1992-97) for fifth and is 14 away from tying Marques Pena (1998-2001) for fourth.
•SMSU is 26-2 when committing 15 or fewer turnovers, but 2-3 when committing more than 15.  
•SMSU is 14-2 in games decided by four or less points or played in overtime.

    ABOUT SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE
•SMSU is 28-5 overall.
•SMSU has four players averaging double figures in scoring.
•Ryan Bruggeman leads the team in scoring at 15.4 ppg and has dished out a team-high 164 assists.
•Taylor Schafer is scoring 11.3 ppg with a team-high 56 3-pointers.
•Joey Bartlett is averaging 12.5 ppg with 51 3-pointers.
•Carter Kirk is averaging a team-high 7.2 rpg and scoring 10.3 ppg
•SMSU is averaging 82 points per game, while opponents are averaging 75.
•SMSU is shooting 49 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3-point range and 75 percent from the free throw line.
    
    BEST START IN TEAM HISTORY
•SMSU opened the season with a program best 6-0 record.

    SMSU REACHES 28 VICTORIES
•SMSU's 28 victories ties the 2000-01 and 2008-09 teams for the most in team history.
•SMSU has now recorded 20 or more victories five times in team history and the first since the 2008-09 season.

    NSIC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS
•SMSU captured the program's second NSIC tournament championship defeating Upper Iowa, 71-58, on Feb. 28. SMSU finished the tournament with a 4-0 record.

    BRUGGEMAN AND BARTLETT EARN ALL-TOURNEY HONORS
•Ryan Bruggeman was named MVP of the NSIC Tournament. He is the second SMSU player to earn the honor, joining Lavione West in 2012.
•Bruggeman scored a career-high 34 points in the quarterfinal victory over Sioux Falls.
•Bruggeman averaged 21.3 ppg, 6.2 apg and 3.8 rpg, while shooting 60 percent from the field in four games.  
•Joey Bartlett was also named to the all-tournament team, averaging 12.8 ppg and 6.5 rpg, while making seven 3-pointers.

    ROAD WARRIORS
•SMSU is 12-2 in "true" road games this season, recording the most road wins in team history.
•SMSU is 19-2 in away/neutral site games this season setting a new program record. The 2000-01 team that advanced to the Elite Eight 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 136-100, 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.

    NCAA NATIONAL STATISTICS
•A complete listing of SMSU and Mustang individuals in the latest NCAA statistics (March 5) can be found on page 17.
•SMSU ranks among the top 60 in three categories.
•SMSU ranks 16th in won-lost pct.
•SMSU ranks 29th in field goal pct.
•SMSU ranks 47th in free throw pct.
•SMSU ranks 49th in total steals.
•Ryan Bruggeman ranks 29th in total assists, 47th in assists per game, 79th in free throw pct. and 80th in free throws made.

    FINAL NSIC STATISTICS
•A complete listing of SMSU in the final NSIC statistics (NSIC games only) can be found on pages 15-16.
•SMSU ranked first in steals.
•SMSU ranked third in rebound margin.
•SMSU ranked third in field goal pct.
•SMSU ranked fifth in scoring offense.
•SMSU ranked fifth in field goal pct. defense.
•SMSU ranked sixth in scoring defense.
•SMSU ranked seventh in free throw pct.
•Carter Kirk ranked second in field goal pct., fifth in rebounding and sixth in blocked shots.
•Ryan Bruggeman ranked fourth in free throw pct., fourth in assists, fifth in steals and 11th in assist/turnover ratio.
•Mitch Weg ranked fifth in field goal pct. and 12th in rebounding.
•KJ Davis ranked seventh in steals.
•Michael Lee ranked 11th in 3-point field goal pct.

    SMSU IN THE NABC NATIONAL POLL
•SMSU is ranked No. 18 in the latest poll on March 7.
•SMSU has been ranked four times this season and received votes in six of seven polls.
•SMSU has spent 22 weeks ranked all-time in the NABC poll.

    CURRENT MUSTANGS IN THE RECORD BOOK
•To see where active Mustangs rank in both the single-season and career record book, go to page 4.

    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 12th all-time in school history.

    JOEY BARTLETT NOTES
•Averaging 12.5 ppg and 5.2 rpg.
•Named to NSIC All-Tournament team.
•Ranks third on the team with 47 3-pointers.
•Ranks fifth in team history with 181 3-pointers.
•Ranks seventh in scoring and ninth in blocked shots (68) 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.     181    Joey Bartlett (121 games) - 2013-17

    KOLIN BARTLETT NOTES
•Has played in two games this season due to an injury.
•Scored four points vs. Minnesota Duluth on Feb. 22.
•Has played in seven career games.
•Younger brother of teammate Joey.

    RYAN BRUGGEMAN NOTES
•Has started 33 games and leads the team with 164 assists.
•Named MVP of NSIC Tournament.
•Averaging team-high 15.4 ppg.
•Career-high 34 points vs. Sioux Falls Feb. 26.
•Ranks first in team history averaging 4.8 assists per game.
•Ranks fourth in team history with an 83.6 career free throw pct.

    KJ DAVIS NOTES
•First season with SMSU.
•Has started 30 games and is averaging 9.8 ppg, ranking fifth on the team.
•Leads the team with 47 steals.
•Scored a season-high 18 points vs. Emporia State.
•Has 29 3-pointers ranking fourth on the team.

    CARTER KIRK NOTES
•Has started 29 games and is averaging 10.3 ppg and a team-leading 7.3 rpg.
•Shooting a team-high 62 percent from the field.
•Has a team-high six double-doubles this season.
•Scored career-high 20 points at Michigan Tech (11/18/16).
•Ranks second in team history with career 57.8 field goal pct.  
•Finished second in the NSIC in field goal pct. last season.  

    MICHAEL LEE NOTES
•Has played in 31 games. Missed one game with injury.
•Averaging 7.0 ppg and 2.8 rpg.
•Second on the team with 52 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 all 33 games.
•Averaging 6.4 ppg and 4.7 rpg.
•Ranks second on the team with 73 assists.
•Season-high 15 points vs. Minnesota Duluth (2/22).
•Career-high seven assists vs. Minnesota Duluth (12/9/16).

    DREW OSMUNDSON NOTES
•Has played in 33 games averaging 1.3 ppg.
•Scored a season-high six points twice versus Sioux Falls.
•Has recorded 61 assists ranking third on the team.

    TAYLOR SCHAFER NOTES
•Has played in 33 games with two starts.
•Scored a career-high 25 points at Concordia-St. Paul (2/1817).
•Third on the team in scoring at 11.3 ppg.
•Has made a team-high 56 3-pointers.
•Has a team-high five 20-point games this season.
•Led team with 57 3-pointers last season.

    MITCH WEG NOTES
•Has started 22 games this season.
•Averaging 8.4 ppg and 6.1 rpg, ranking second on the team in rebounding and sixth in scoring.
•Shooting 60 percent from the field.
•Scored season-high 20 points at Northern State.
•Ranks first in team history shooting 58.1 percent (446 of 768) from the field.
•Ranks second in team history with 782 rebounds.
•Ranks seventh in team history with 273 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.     782         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).

    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.

    MUSTANG 20-POINT GAMES  
•Southwest Minnesota State has six players who have scored 20 or more points in a game during their careers, including 20 this season.
•Sophomore Ryan Bruggeman leads the team with eight 20-point games this season, which includes one 30-point game.
•Senior Joey Bartlett leads all current players having reached the 20-point mark 15 times in his career.
20 or More Point Games - THIS SEASON
    34    Ryan Bruggeman    Sioux Falls, 2/26/17
    29    Ryan Bruggeman    East Central, 3/12/17
    27    Ryan Bruggeman    Northern State, 1/28/17
    27    Ryan Bruggeman    Augustana, 12/30/16
    26    Ryan Bruggeman    Augustana, 2/27/17
    26    Joey Bartlett    Minnesota Duluth, 12/9/16
    25    Joey Bartlett    Arkansas Tech, 3/11/17
    25    Taylor Schafer    Concordia-St. Paul, 2/18/17
    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    Ryan Bruggeman    Upper Iowa, 2/28/17
    20    Joey Bartlett    Upper Iowa, 2/28/17
    20    Ryan Bruggeman    Minnesota State, 2/17/17
    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 finished 9-3 at home this season and is 98-37 at home since the 2007-08 season.
•The Mustangs, 19-2 in road/neutral site games this season, are a combined 73-69 in 132 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    9-3    .481    .379    .747    37.2    84.0    11.5        
Away    19-2    .493    .359    .748    36.2    80.4    11.9    
         
    HOME SWEET HOME
•The 2016-17 season marked the 21st year the R/A Facility was the home arena for SMSU men's basketball.
•SMSU has a record of 205-79 (.722) in 284 all-time 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    
    Totals    205-79     134-56    71-23

    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 45-38 all-time in overtime games.
•SMSU is 2-1 this season, losing 99-96 to Upper Iowa (1/7), defeating MSU Moorhead, 113-105 (1/27) and beating Augustana, 97-89 in double overtime (2/27).
•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 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.

    SMSU IN THE NSIC TOURNAMENT
•SMSU is now 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.    

    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 341-379 in 720 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 15 of the last 20 seasons since 1997-98.

    MUSTANG HISTORY
•Southwest Minnesota State is in its 50th season of men's basketball in 2016-17.
•SMSU has played 1,378 games compiling an all-time record of 627-751.
•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 (including this season).  

    ABOUT NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE
•Northwest is ranked No. 1 in Division II and is 31-1 overall.
•The Bearcats won the MIAA regular season and postseason tournament this season.
•Northwest is making its fourth straight appearance in the NCAA region championship game.
•Northwest's only loss came on Feb. 18 at Missouri Southern (88-71)
•Justin Pitts is averaging 20.3 ppg with 73 3-pointers and 166 assists.
•Pitts became Northwest's all-time leading scorer in the win over Upper Iowa in Saturday's quarterfinals.
•Chris-Ebou Ndow is scoring 12.6 ppg and team-high 6.1 rpg
•Zach Schneider leads the team with 100 3-pointers and is averaging 10 ppg.
•NW is shooting 52 percent from the field, 43 percent from 3-point range and 69 percent from the free throw line.
•NW is scoring 79 points per game, while opponents are averaging 62 per game.
•Ben McCollum is in his eighth season as head coach with a record of 172-71.