PREVIEWING THIS WEEKEND
•The Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team (17-7, 13-5 NSIC), currently riding a three-game winning streak, hits the road for the final time in regular season play with a pair of games this Friday and Saturday.
•SMSU will face Wayne State College (13-13, 8-10 NSIC) on Friday, Feb. 9, with tip-off set for 8 p.m. at Rice Auditorium.
•SMSU concludes the weekend with a 6 p.m. match-up versus Augustana University (14-10, 9-9 NSIC) on Saturday, Feb. 10, at the Sioux Falls Arena.  
•SMSU begins the weekend in second place in the NSIC South Division standings and fourth place overall.  
•WSC opens the weekend in sixth place in the NSIC South standings and ninth overall, while Augustana is fifth in the South standings and eighth overall.
 
    SERIES HISTORY VS. WAYNE STATE
•Southwest Minnesota State and Wayne State meet for the 69th time with WSC leading 37-31.
•The teams first met during the 1969-70 season.
•WSC leads 23-8 in games played in Wayne, but SMSU has won the last two at Rice Auditorium.
•SMSU has won the last five games overall, including 86-65 earlier this season on Dec. 31 in Marshall.
•SMSU has won 13 of the last 14 games since Dec. 3, 2011, with WSC's lone victory coming on Feb. 14, 2015, in Wayne.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 15-3 all-time versus WSC.
•Game-by-game results of the series are on page 19.

    LAST TIME VERSUS WAYNE STATE
•Carter Kirk scored 23 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to pace SMSU to an 86-65 victory over Wayne State on Dec. 31.
•Ryan Bruggeman, KJ Davis and Kenny Byers each scored 11 points for the Mustangs, which finished the game shooting 53 percent (31 of 59) from the field, including 9 of 17 from 3-point range. SMSU also dominated on the glass, holding a 44-26 rebound advantage.
•Trevin Joseph led the Wildcats with 15 points.
•The game box score is located on page 21.

    SERIES HISTORY VS. AUGUSTANA
•Southwest Minnesota State and Augustana meet for the 34th time with Augustana leading 20-13.
•The teams first met during the 1972-73 season.
•Augustana holds a 10-4 advantage on its home court in the series, but SMSU won last season, 78-76.
•Augustana won earlier this season on Dec. 30, 89-78 in Marshall.
•Augustana has scored 89 or more points in seven of the last eight games in the series.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 6-11 all-time versus Augustana.
•Game-by-game results of the series are on page 20.

    LAST TIME VERSUS AUGUSTANA
•SMSU had its five-game winning streak snapped on Dec. 30 as Augustana shot 55 percent from the field to earn an 89-78 victory.
•Carter Kirk led the Mustangs with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
•Ryan Bruggeman (14) and Nick Dufault (12) also scored double figures for SMSU.
•John Warren scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Vikings while also recording six assists and four steals.
•Jordan Spencer added 17 points and dished out 11 assists with three steals.
•The game box score is located on page 22.

    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 153-108, including 108-84 in conference play.
•Bigler became the all-time wins leader on Dec. 2, 2017, passing Greg Stemen (141, 2001-09).
•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.

    MUSTANGS SWEEP PAST NORTH DAKOTA SCHOOLS
•Ryan Bruggeman poured in a team-high 26 points on 8 of 13 shooting, including 10 of 10 from the free throw line, to pace SMSU to an 84-79 victory over Minot State last Friday.
•Michael Lee tied a career-high with 17 points to help the Mustang offense, while Carter Kirk recorded his team-leading 11th double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
•Carter Kirk scored 22 points on 9 of 11 shooting and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds to pace SMSU to an 83-61 "Hawaiian Night" victory over the University of Mary last Saturday.
•Turner Moen and Ryan Bruggeman each scored 14 points to help the SMSU charge with Moen adding six rebounds, four steals and three assists.

    BRUGGEMAN SETS SMSU ASSISTS RECORD AND MORE
•Ryan Bruggeman broke the program's career assist record on Jan. 19 at Concordia-St. Paul.
•He now has 424 assists in 86 games, breaking the previous record of 396 held by Vinard Birch (2010-14).
•Bruggeman also ranks first in team history in assists average, tied for third in steals, fourth in free throw pct., fourth in free throws made and 10th in scoring.

    TOUGHEST SCHEDULE IN THE NSIC
•SMSU has played a strong schedule this season and the latest NCAA statistical numbers back it up.
•SMSU has played the 55th toughest schedule in Division II and the toughest among all NSIC schools as of Tuesday, Feb. 6.
•SMSU's Division II opponents have a combined record of 214-176 (not including games with SMSU).

    ABOUT SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE
•SMSU is 17-7 overall, 13-5 NSIC, and has won three straight and seven of its last nine games.
•Ryan Bruggeman is averaging a team-high 17.1 ppg with a team-high 132 assists. He ranks seventh in the NSIC in scoring (17.9) and third in assists (5.9).
•Carter Kirk is scoring 14.8 ppg with a team-high 10.3 rpg. He also has a team-high 25 blocked shots and is shooting 61 percent from the field. Kirk leads the NSIC in rebounding (10.8) and is fifth in field goal pct. (61.5).
•KJ Davis is scoring 9.9 ppg with 19 3-pointers, 42 steals and 32 steals.
•Michael Lee has made a team-leading 51 3-pointers, while Taylor Schafer and Nick Dufault have each made 36 3-pointers.
•SMSU is shooting 49 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3-point range, 74 percent from the free throw line and is plus-2.6 in rebound margin.
•SMSU averaging 79 points per game, while opponents are average 73.

    SMSU 8TH IN D2SIDA REGIONAL POLL
•SMSU is ranked eighth in this week's D2SIDA Central Region poll released on Monday, Feb. 5.
•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 start on Feb. 14 and determine the NCAA Tournament teams.
D2SIDA Central Region Poll (Feb. 5)
    Rank    (First-Place Votes)                   W-L    Pts.    Prev.
    T1.    Northwest Missouri State (3)    19-2    57    1
    T1.    Southern Nazarene (3)    18-1    57    2
    3.    Northern State    23-3    48    3
    4.    Central Missouri    18-4     42    5
    5.    Minnesota State    19-5    34    4
    6.    Washburn    17-5    32    6
    7.    St. Cloud State    17-6     23    8
    8.    Southwest Minnesota State    17-7    15    T9
    9.    Northwestern Oklahoma State    14-6    9    RV
    10.    Minot State    17-7    7    7

    MUSTANG TIP-OFF TIDBITS
•SMSU has nine home victories this season tying last season's total. The last time SMSU reached double figure home wins came in 2013-14 with 11.
•SMSU limited U-Mary to 18 field goals last Saturday, the lowest total by an opponent this season.
•Carter Kirk's 789 career rebounds rank 11th among active players in Division II. He needs one more rebound to tie Mitch Weg for second all-time in rebounds in program history.
•SMSU tied a season-high with 11 steals last Saturday versus U-Mary. SMSU has reached the mark three times this season.
•SMSU is 14-2 when opponents shoot less than 50 percent.
•Ryan Bruggeman made 11 field goals at MSU Moorhead on Jan. 26, which is the highest by a Mustang player this season.
•Carter Kirk ranks first in school history in field goal pct., third in rebounds, sixth in blocked shots and 12th in field goals made.  •SMSU has shot 50 percent or higher in 10 games this season. A season ago, SMSU shot 50 percent or higher in 15 games.
•SMSU has made eight or more 3-pointers in 11 of its last 14 games.
•SMSU has committed nine or less turnovers in nine games.
•SMSU's 116 points versus Crown College on Nov. 21 was the second highest point total in school history.
•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.

    SCOUTING WAYNE STATE
•WSC is 13-13 overall, 8-10 NSIC, and is coming off a road split versus Bemidji State (L, 91-70) and Minnesota Crookston (W, 85-74) last weekend.
•Kendall Jacks leads the team averaging 14 ppg while shooting 51 percent from the field and recording a team-high 62 assists.  
•Trevin Joseph is averaging 12.8 ppg with a team-high 39 3-pointers. He scored 24 points versus BSU and 26 versus UMC last weekend.
•WSC is shooting 47 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3-point range, 73 percent from the free throw line and is minus-3.4 in rebound margin.
•WSC is scoring 76 points per game, while opponents are averaging 73 per game.
•Head coach Jeff Kaminsky is in his second season with a record of 23-33. He has also been head coach at Valley City State and Wisconsin-Superior.

    SCOUTING AUGUSTANA
•Augustana is 14-10 overall, 9-9 NSIC, and will host Sioux Falls on Friday night.
•The Vikings lost at Minnesota Crookston (70-60) last Friday, before winning at Bemidji State (92-66) on Saturday.
•Jordan Spencer leads the team averaging 16 ppg with 53 3-pointers and a team-high 185 assists.
•John Warren is averaging 14.3 ppg with 51 3-pointers, while leading the squad with 36 steals. He scored 32 points with eight 3-pointers in the win at BSU on Saturday.
•Steven Schaefer (12.5), Marcus Asmus (11.2) and Adam Dykman (10.5) all are averaging double figure scoring.
•Marcus Asmus leads the team with 8.1 rebounds per game.
•Augustana is shooting 47 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range, 77 percent from the free throw line and is plus-2.9 in rebound margin.
•Augustana is scoring 83 points per game, while opponents are averaging 76 per game.
•Head coach Tom Billeter is in his 15th season with a record of 285-162. He has a career record of 376-206 in 20 seasons as a head coach (North Dakota State, 1992-97).

    NCAA STATISTICS
•A complete listing of SMSU and Mustang individuals in the latest NCAA statistics (Feb. 6) can be found on page 17.
•SMSU ranks 13th in turnovers per game, 18th in 3-point field goal pct., 23rd in assist/turnover ratio and 29th in field goal pct.
•Carter Kirk ranks sixth in total rebounds, 14th in double-doubles, 17th in rebounds per game and 17th in field goal pct.
•Ryan Bruggeman ranks 20th in total assists, 22nd in free throws made, 36th in assist turnover ratio, 31st in assists per game and 36th in free throw attempts.
•Turner Moen is ranked 40th in assist/turnover ratio.

    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 third in assist/turnover ratio, third in assists, fourth in steals, seventh in scoring and ninth in free throw pct.
•Carter Kirk ranks first in rebounding, fifth in field goal pct. and seventh in blocked shots.
•Turner Moen ranks fifth in assist/turnover ratio, sixth in steals, eighth in 3-point field goal pct. and 10th in field goal pct.
•SMSU ranks fourth in field goal pct., fourth in 3-point field goal pct., fifth in scoring offense, fifth in scoring defense, fifth in rebound margin, sixth in 3-point field goal pct. defense and sixth in field goal pct. defense.

    KIRK TIES SCHOOL SINGLE-GAME RECORD
•Carter Kirk's 21 rebounds at Northern State on Jan. 27 tied the school single-game record joining Frank Belmont versus Colorado Tech (1972-73) and Sam Leggett versus Northern State(Nov. 28, 1975) for the team record.
•The 21 rebounds is tied for the fourth highest in Division II this season.
•Kirk became the first SMSU player to grab 20 rebounds in a game since Juan Mitchell versus Winona State on Feb. 28, 1987.

    WINS VERSUS NATIONALLY RANKED TEAMS
•SMSU defeated No. 7 (D2SIDA)/No. 12 (NABC) Northern State on Jan. 27, 64-57, in Aberdeen, S.D., recording its third win over a ranked team in the last two seasons.
•SMSU beat No. 21 (NABC) MSU Moorhead and No. 16 Augustana (D2SIDA) last season.
•Prior to this season, SMSU's last victory over a Top 10 team was on March 3, 2010, at No. 8 (NABC) Minnesota State in the quarterfinals of the NSIC Tournament.

    SMSU TRUE "ROAD WARRIORS" LAST TWO SEASONS
•SMSU is 8-5 away from Marshall this season, including 6-5 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 last season 19-3 in away/neutral site games setting a program record for victories away from Marshall.
    
    CURRENT MUSTANGS IN THE RECORD BOOK
•To see where 2017-18 Mustangs rank in the SMSU career record book, go to page 4.

    BRUGGEMAN & KIRK JOIN 1,000-POINT CLUB
•Senior Carter Kirk and junior Ryan Bruggeman both reached the 1,000 career points milestone in December.
•Bruggeman reached 1,000 career points during SMSU's win at Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 8 and currently ranks 10th in team history with 1,234 points in 86 games.
•Kirk became the 23rd SMSU player to reach 1,000 career points in SMSU's win over Wayne State on Dec. 31. He currently ranks 13th all-time with 1,178 points in 114 games.   
•A complete list of SMSU's 1,000-point scorers is listed on page 4.

    MUSTANG 20-POINT GAMES  
•Southwest Minnesota State has five players who have scored 20 or more points in a game during their careers, including 16 times this season.
•Junior Ryan Bruggeman has 22 career 20-point games, including 10 this season. Last season he led the team with nine 20-point games which included one 30-point game.
•Junior Taylor Schafer and senior Carter Kirk have six 20-point games, 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    at Sioux Falls, 11/25/17
    26    Ryan Bruggeman    Minot State, 2/2/18
    26    Ryan Bruggeman    at MSU Moorhead, 1/26/18
    25    Carter Kirk    Bemidji State, 1/13/18
    24    Ryan Bruggeman    Winona State, 12/2/17
    24    Ryan Bruggeman    Upper Iowa, 12/1/17
    23    Carter Kirk    Wayne State, 12/31/17
    23    Nick Dufault    Crown, 11/21/17
    22    Carter Kirk    U-Mary, 2/3/18
    22    Ryan Bruggeman    Minnesota Crookston, 1/12/18
    21    Ryan Bruggeman    at Minnesota State, 1/20/18
    21    Ryan Bruggeman    at Minnesota Duluth, 12/8/17
    22    Ryan Bruggeman    at Winona State, 1/5/18
    20     Ryan Bruggeman    vs. Northern Michigan, 11/18/17
    20    Carter Kirk    Northern State, 11/15/17
    20    Carter Kirk    at Emporia State, 11/11/17

    KIRK NAMED NSIC SOUTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK...AGAIN
•Senior Carter Kirk was named the NSIC South Division Player of the Week for the second time this season on Jan. 15.
•Kirk averaged 20 points and nine rebounds, while shooting 67 percent from the field in home victories over Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State.
•Kirk was also named the NSIC South Division Player of the Week on Jan. 2, averaging 20 points and 15 rebounds, while shooting 70 percent from the field in home games versus Augustana and Wayne State.

    BRUGGEMAN NAMED NSIC SOUTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK
•Junior Ryan Bruggeman was named the NSIC South Division Player of the Week on Dec. 4.
•He averaged 24 points, 7.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds, while shooting 54 percent from the field in home victories over Upper Iowa and Winona State.

    Kolin Bartlett NOTES
•Averaging 2.8 ppg and 2.7 rpg in 24 games.
•Scored 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting vs. Crown (11/21/17).
•Scored six points on three field goals vs. Sioux Falls (12/16/17).
•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 six 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 17.1 ppg and leads team with 132 assists.
•Scored season-high 28 points at Sioux Falls (11/25/17).
•Has 10 20-point scoring games this season.
•Has scored double figures in all but one game this season.
•Ranks first in team history averaging 4.9 assists per game.
•Ranks first in team history with 424 assists.
•Ranks tied for third in team history with 135 steals.
•Ranks fourth in team history with 332 free throws made.
•Ranks fourth in team history with 83.8 career free throw pct.
•Has started every game in his career.
•Named MVP of the 2017 NSIC Tournament.
•Named to the 2017 NCAA Central All-Tournament team.

    Kenny Byers NOTES
•Has played in 24 games during his true freshman season and is averaging 3.8 ppg and 2.6 rpg.
•Scored season-high 11 points vs. Wayne State (12/31/17) on 5 of 6 shooting with one 3-pointer.
•Scored 10 points at St. Cloud State (12/9/17).
•Season-high eight rebounds vs. Upper Iowa (12/1/17).

    KJ Davis NOTES
•Averaging 9.9 ppg and has connected on 19 3-pointers while starting all 24 games this season.
•Has scored double figures in 13 games this season.
•Scored a career-high 19 points with 12 free throws made vs. Upper Iowa (12/1/17).
•Led the team with 47 steals last season.

    Nick Dufault NOTES
•Has played 24 games and is averaging 6.9 ppg with 36 3-pointers.
•Has scored double figures in six games.
•Scored season-high 23 points vs. Crown (11/21/7) on 8 of 12 shooting with five 3-pointers.
•Scored 14 points at Minnesota State (1/20/18) with four 3-pointers.
•Sat out last season as a redshirt.

    Braedan Hanson NOTES
•Has played in seven games this season.
•Sat out last season as a redshirt.

    Carter Kirk NOTES
•Has started all 24 games and averaging 14.8 ppg and team-high 10.3 rpg while shooting 61 percent from the field.
•Tied school single-game record with 21 rebounds at Northern State (1/27/18).
•Has seven or more rebounds in 22 of 24 games this season.
•Team-high 11 double-doubles and has 18 in career.
•Has reached double figuring scoring in 18 games, including five 20-point games.  
•Scored a career-high 25 points vs. Bemidji State (1/13/18).
•Recorded 19 points and 21 rebounds at Northern State (1/27/18).
•Ranks first in team history with a career 58.8 field goal pct.  
•Ranks third in team history with 789 rebounds.
•Shot a team-high 61.7 percent from the field a season ago.

    Michael Lee NOTES
•Has started all 24 games and is averaging 7.8 ppg with team-high 51 3-pointers.
•Tied a career-high with 17 points vs. Minot State (2/2/18) with five 3-pointers.
•Scored 15 points on 5 of 5 from 3-point range at MSU Moorhead (1/26/18).
•Has scored double figures in eight games.
•Has made three or more 3-pointers in nine games this season.
•Tied for second on the team last season with 52 3-pointers.

    Turner Moen NOTES
•Averaging 7.6 ppg and 5.4 rpg while starting all 24 games.
•Second on the team with 75 assists and second with 36 steals.
•Ranks fifth in team history in 3-point field goal pct. (42.0).
•Scored a season-high 15 points vs. Sioux Falls (12/16/17).
•Tied career-high with 10 rebounds vs. Bemidji State (1/13/18).
•Recorded first career double-double at Minnesota Duluth (12/8/17) with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
•Ranked second on the team last season with 73 assists.

    Taylor Schafer NOTES
•Averaging 8.2 ppg with 36 3-pointers in 24 games.  
•Scored season-high 16 points vs. Minnesota Crookston (1/12/18) with four 3-pointers.
•Has eight double figure scoring games this season.
•Ranks 10th in school history with 148 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.

    HOME AND AWAY
•SMSU is 9-2 at home this season after finishing 9-3 last season.
•SMSU is a combined 107-39 at home since the 2007-08 season.
•The Mustangs finished 19-3 in road/neutral site games last season and are a combined 81-75 in 156 road/neutral site games since 2009-10, including 8-5 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    9-2     .522    .417    .758    35.0    84.8    10.0        
Away    8-5    .464    .394    .730    34.3    74.8    10.4    
           
    NSIC SOUTH VS. NSIC NORTH
•SMSU finished 7-1 versus teams from the NSIC North Division in conference play this season and are a combined 32-16 versus North teams in conference play since divisions were introduced prior to the 2012-13 season.
•This year's 7-1 record is the best finish for SMSU versus the North since divisions were formed.
•SMSU finished 6-2 last season, recorded a 3-5 mark in 2015-16; 5-3 in 2014-15; 5-3 in 2013-14; and 6-2 in 2012-13.
•The NSIC South holds a 234-150 advantage over NSIC North teams in conference play since divisions were formed in 2012-13, including finishing 38-26 this season.
•The South Division has held the advantage in every 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.

    SMSU RANKED IN THREE PRESEASON POLLS
•SMSU opened the 2017-18 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.


    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's 28 victories last season tied the 2000-01 and 2008-09 teams for the most in team history.
•SMSU 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 has recorded 20 or more victories five times in team history.
•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.  

    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 statistics (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 was 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 214-81 (.725) in 295 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    9-2    8-1    1-1    
    Totals    214-81    142-57    72-24

    CONSECUTIVE 3-POINT GAMES
•Southwest Minnesota State has connected on at least one 3-point field goal in 579 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 last season 2-1 in overtime games.
•SMSU is 7-6 in double overtime games and 0-2 in triple overtime games all-time.

    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 357-385 in 742 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, with two championships (2012 & 2017), since the tournament began in 2000.
•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).    

    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 1,405 games compiling an all-time record of 645-760.
•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.