THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team (3-6, 0-3 NSIC) returns home for a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference games versus NSIC North teams this Friday and Saturday inside the R/A Facility.
•SMSU, which has played seven of its nine games away from Marshall, will face St. Cloud State University (5-4, 2-1 NSIC) on Friday, Dec. 13, with game time slated for 7:35 p.m.
•SMSU concludes the weekend on Saturday, Dec. 14, with a 6 p.m. match-up versus NSIC leading Minnesota Duluth (8-1, 3-0 NSIC). UMD, which plays at the University of Sioux Falls on Friday, begins the weekend having won seven straight games and is receiving votes in this week's NABC and D2SIDA Top 25 polls.
•This weekend's games are the first two of eight games versus NSIC North Division teams in the regular season.
 
    BROADCAST INFO
•Both games will be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL with Ryan Rohlik providing play-by-play.
•Friday's game will be broadcast live regionally on Midco Sports Network with David Brown and Brad Newitt.  
•Live stats, radio broadcast and video can be found at SMSUmustangs. com.

    SERIES HISTORY VERSUS ST. CLOUD STATE
•SMSU and St. Cloud State meet for the 64th time with SCSU leading 41-22 in a series that starts in 1969-70.
•SCSU won the lone meeting last season, 80-60, in St. Cloud on Dec. 14, 2018.
•SCSU leads 16-13 in games played in Marshall, but SMSU won the last game played in Marshall on Dec. 10, 2016.
•SCSU's wins last season snapped a three-game SMSU winning streak in the series.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 6-10 all-time versus SCSU.
•A complete listing of each game is located on page 19.

    SERIES HISTORY VERSUS MINNESOTA DULUTH
•SMSU and Minnesota Duluth meet for the 86th time with UMD leading 51-34 in a series that began in 1972-73.
•SMSU won last season's lone meeting, 75-63, in Duluth on Dec. 15, 2018.
•SMSU has won 15 of the last 17 games overall since the 2005-06 season and is currently on a four-game winning streak.
•UMD's two victories since the 2005-06 season came on Jan. 20, 2012, and Jan. 30, 2016, both in Duluth.
•SMSU has won the nine straight in games played in Marshall with UMD's last victory coming on Dec. 12, 2004.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 12-2 all-time versus UMD.
•Game-by-game results of the series on page 20.  

    MUSTANG TIP-OFF TIDBITS
•SMSU is a combined 37-19 versus NSIC North teams in regular season conference play since divisions were introduced prior to the 2012-13 season.
•Junior Kenny Byers leads the team in both scoring (13.7) and rebounding (8.7) and has recorded a team-high five double-doubles.  
•SMSU has four players averaging seven points or more per game.
•Sophomore Grant Kramer has dished out a team-high 22 assists.
•Junior Nick Dufault, who scored a season-high 20 points, which included five 3-pointers in the loss to Concordia-St. Paul last Saturday, has connected on a team-high 21 3-pointers. He ranks fourth in team history in 3-point field goal pct. (42.9).
•SMSU made a season-low 18 field goals and shot a season-low 31 percent last Friday at Minnesota State.
•Freshman Cliff McCray has reached double figure scoring in five straight games and six times overall.   
•Freshman Andy Stafford played in his first two games last wekend and will not redshirt this season.
•SMSU has outrebounded its opponents four times through nine games this season. Last season, SMSU outrebounded its opponent just twice in its last 21 games and finished last in the NSIC in rebound margin (-8.5).
•SMSU scored a season-high 82 points, shot as season-high 56 percent from the field, including 72 percent in the second half, in the win over Minnesota Morris on Nov. 22.  
•SMSU has held a plus-15 rebound advantage in two games this season (+17 at Central Missouri and +19 versus Minnesota Morris).
•SMSU is shooting 43 percent from the field, 34 percent from 3-point range, 61 percent from the free throw line and is plus-1.7 in rebound margin.
•SMSU is averaging 66 points per game, while opponents are averaging 69 points per game.

    SMSU VICTORIES OVER THE LAST THREE-PLUS SEASONS
•Southwest Minnesota State has posted a combined record of 74-35 the past three-plus seasons (start of 2016-17 to current) which includes two NSIC South Division titles and three appearances in the NSIC Tournament championship game.
•The 71 victories entering this season is the best three-year run in program history.





    SMSU HEAD COACH BRAD BIGLER
•Brad Bigler, the all-time wins leader in program history, is in his 11th season as head coach with an overall record of 182-130, including 122-99 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.
•The 2012-13 and 2016-17 NSIC Coach of the Year, Bigler has led SMSU to seven winning seasons, including one 28-win season, one 25-win season and two 19-win seasons.
•SMSU won NSIC Tournament titles in 2012 and 2017 and also won NSIC South Division championships in both 2016-17 and 2017-18.  
•SMSU has played in five NSIC Tournament championship games during his tenure (2010, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2019).
•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 DROPS TO ROAD GAMES VS. MSU AND CSP
•SMSU lost a pair of NSIC road games last weekend to Minnesota State (67-57) and Concordia-St. Paul (75-70).
•On Friday night, SMSU and MSU were tied with eight minutes left in the game, but SMSU made just one field goal the remainder of the game and shot a season-low 31 percent.
•Nick Dufault led the Mustangs with 15 points and four 3-pointers.
•On Saturday, Grant Kramer hit a 3-pointer to give SMSU a 69-68 lead with just over a minute remaining in the game, but CSP rallied with six straight points to earn the victory.
•Dufault scored a team-high 20 points and tied a career-high with five 3-pointers.
•Kenny Byers registered his fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

    SCOUTING ST. CLOUD STATE
•SCSU has won four of its last five overall, including two NSIC home victories last weekend over UMary (88-56) and Minot State (78-73).
•Senior guard Trevon Marshall is averaging 16 ppg and 3.6 rpg, while shooting 48 percent from the field. Marshall scored a career-high 31 points in the win over Minot State.
•Senior guard Andrija Blatancic is scoring 12.2 ppg and is shooting 69 percent from the field.
•Junior guard Ilya Tyrtyshnik has a team-high 21 3-pointers and is averaging 12 ppg.
•Head coach Matt Reimer is in his sixth season at SCSU with a record of 101-64. He has led the Huskies NCAA Tournament appearances in both 2018 and 2019.  
•SCSU is shooting 49 percent from the field, 34 percent from 3-point range, 64 percent from the free throw line and is plus-5.6 in rebound margin.
•SCSU is averaging 79 points per game, while opponents average 67 points per game.  

    SCOUTING MINNESOTA DULUTH
•UMD plays at Sioux Falls before taking on SMSU.
•Senior guard Brandon Myer is averaging 20.8 ppg and 10 rpg, while shooting 58 percent from the field. He has twice been named the NSIC North Division Player of the Week this season.
•Senior center Alex Illikainen, a transfer from Wisconsin, is scoring 17.7 ppg and is shooting 53 percent from the field.  
•Junior forward Logan Rohrscheib has made 20 3-pointers and is averaging 11.8 ppg.  
•Head coach Justin Wieck is in his second season with an overall record of 25-11.  
•UMD is shooting 50 percent from the field, 38 percent from 3-point range, 77 percent from the free throw line and is plus-2.1 in rebound margin.
•UMD is averaging 88 points per game, while opponents average 76 points per game.  

    SMSU IN THE 2019-20 NCAA STATISTICS
•The latest 2019-20 NCAA statistics (Dec. 10) are located on page 17.
•SMSU ranks 42nd in turnovers per game and 59th in scoring defense.
•Weston Baker Magrath is ranked 16th in blocked shots and 19th in blocked shots per game.
•Kenny Byers ranks 10th with five double-doubles and 67th in rebounding.

    SMSU IN THE 2019-20 NSIC STATISTICS
•The current 2019-20 NSIC statistics (all games) are located on pages 14-16.
•Kenny Byers ranks seventh in rebounding and 12th in steals.
•Weston Baker Magrath is second in blocked shots.

    MUSTANG 20-POINT GAMES  
•Two current SMSU players, juniors Nick Dufault and Kenny Byers  have scored 20 or more points in a game during their careers.
•Byers has reached 20 points one this season and twice last season, while Dufault has one 20-point game this season, one last season and one during the 2017-18 season.
20 or More Point Games in Career
    23    Nick Dufault    Crown, 11/21/17
    22    Nick Dufault    Crown, 11/24/18
    20    Nick Dufault    Concordia-St. Paul, 12/7/19
    20    Kenny Byers    Central Missouri, 11/9/19
    20    Kenny Byers    Concordia-St. Paul, 12/8/18
    20    Kenny Byers    Crown, 11/24/18
Bold indicates 2019-20 season

    WESTON BAKER MAGRATH NOTES
•Has started nine games and is averaging 7.6 ppg and 3.4 rpg.
•Leads the team with 19 blocked shots.
•Season-high 18 points vs. Minnesota Morris (11/22/19).
•Played previous two seasons at Nebraska-Kearney and averaged 6.6 ppg and 3.1 rpg in 2018-19.
•Led UNK in blocked shots last season with 33.
•Scored a 2018-19 season-high 18 points versus Northeastern State.
 
    KENNY BYERS NOTES
•Has started nine games and leads team in scoring (13.7), rebounding (8.7) and steals (11).
•Tied career-high with 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds at Central Missouri (11/9/19).
•Recorded career-high 12 rebounds at Concordia (12/7/19).
•Played 32 games with 31 starts last season and averaged 10.2 ppg and 4.0 rpg.
•Named to the 2019 NSIC All-Tournament team.
•Played as a true freshman in 2017-18.

    BRIAN DAYMAN NOTES
•Has played in nine games with seven starts and is averaging 4.6 ppg and 4.9 rpg.
•Grabbed career-high nine rebounds vs. Stonehill.
•Scored 10 points vs. Arkansas-Monticello.
•Sat out the 2018-19 season as a redshirt.

    NICK DUFAULT NOTES
•Has played in nine games with two starts and ranks second in scoring (12.1).
•Has made a team-high 21 3-pointers this season.
•Season-high 20 points and tied a career-high with five 3-pointers at Concordia-St. Paul.
•Scored 16 points with four 3-pointers at Central Missouri.
•Ranks fourth in team history in 3-point field goal pct. (42.9).
•Has made career-high five 3-pointers four times.
•Ranked third on the team with 49 3-pointers last season.
•Sat out 2016-17 season as a redshirt.

    KADEN EVANS NOTES
•Missed the first four games with an injury.
•Has played in five games and is averaging 4.6 ppg and 1.8 rpg.
•Scored 13 points with three 3-pointers vs. Mayville State.
•Sat out the 2018-19 season as a redshirt.

    BRAEDAN HANSON NOTES
•Has played in nine games with two starts and is averaging 4.4 ppg and 3.9 rpg.
•Career-high nine rebounds vs. Stonehill (11/15/19) and vs. Minnesota Morris (11/22/19).
•Scored season-high 10 points vs. Minnesota Morris.
•Played in 32 games with 22 starts last season, averaging 6.5 ppg and 4.3 rpg.
•Scored a career-high 17 points vs. Northland (11/20/18).
•Poured in 16 points with four 3-pointers vs. UMary (1/19/19).
•Sat out 2016-17 season as a redshirt.

    GRANT KRAMER NOTES
•Has played in all nine games with seven starts and is averaging 6.2 ppg and 3.1 rpg.
•Has dished out team-high 22 assists.
•Career-high 14 points vs. Northern Michigan (11/16/19).
•Scored 13 points vs. Stonehill (11/15/19).
•Played in 32 games in 2018-19 and averaged 2.6 ppg and 2.4 rpg.
•Career-high 11 rebounds at Minnesota State (1/12/19).
•Sat out the 2017-18 season as a redshirt.

    CLIFF MCCRAY NOTES
•Has started nine games and is averaging 10 ppg and 4.1 rpg.
•Scored season-high 14 points with six field goals at Sioux Falls.
•Has scored in double figures in five straight games.
•Grabbed season-high seven rebounds at Central Missouri.
•One of two true freshman to play in 2019-20.

    JAKE PHIPPS NOTES
•Has appeared in nine games and is averaging 4.8 ppg and 2.3 rpg.
•Scored eight points with six rebounds at Central Missouri.
•Also scored eight points vs. Northern Michigan.  
•Sat out the 2018-19 season as a redshirt.

ANDY STAFFORD NOTES
•Did not play in the first seven games. Has played in two games and is averaging 1.0 ppg and 2.0 rpg.
•Scored two points on one field goal at Minnesota State.
•One of two true freshman to play in 2019-20.

    KEVIN TOTUSEK NOTES
•Has played in two games this season.
•Scored one point vs. Minnesota Morris.
•Played in five games in 2018-19 and averaged 1.2 ppg.
•Scored four points vs. Crown (11/24/18).
•Sat out the 2017-18 season as a redshirt.

    HOME AND AWAY
•SMSU is 2-0 at home this season after finishing the 2018-19 season 12-5 at home.
•SMSU is a combined 124-44 at home since the 2007-08 season.
•SMSU is 1-6 in road/neutral site games this season and are a combined 93-92 in 185 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 2018-19:
        W-L    FG%    3-FG%    FT%    REB    PTS    TO    
Home    2-0    53.3    28.2    84.2    34.0    77.5    11.0    
Away    1-6    39.8    35.8    57.4    35.9    63.0    12.4         
          
    SMSU PICKED 12TH IN NSIC PRESEASON POLL
•SMSU was picked to finish 12th overall and sixth in the South Division in the 16-team NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•Minnesota State was chosen as the South Division and overall favorite, while Minnesota Duluth was picked to win the North Division.
•SMSU junior guard Kenny Byers was named a "Player to Watch".

    NSIC SOUTH VS. NSIC NORTH
•SMSU finished with a 5-3 record versus the NSIC North Division in 2018-19 and are a combined 37-19 versus North teams in conference play since divisions were introduced prior to the 2012-13 season.
•SMSU finished 7-1 in 2017-18; 6-2 in 2016-17; 3-5 in 2015-16; 5-3 in 2014-15; 5-3 in 2013-14; and 6-2 in 2012-13.
•The NSIC South holds a 260-188 advantage over NSIC North teams in conference play since divisions were formed in 2012-13, but last season the North finished 38-26. It's the first time in seven seasons the North finished with a winning record.
•Prior to last season, the South Division held the advantage in every season. In 2017-18, (38-26); in 2016-17 (35-29); in 2015-16 (37-27); in 2014-15 (35-29); in 2013-14 (42-22), while in 2012-13 (47-17).

    HOME SWEET HOME
•The 2019-20 season marks the 24th year the R/A Facility has served as the home arena for SMSU men's basketball.
•SMSU has a record of 231-86 (.728) in 317 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    12-2    10-1    2-1
    2018-19    12-5    7-4    5-1    
    2019-20    2-0    0-0    2-0
    Totals    231-86    151-61    80-25

    CONSECUTIVE 3-POINT GAMES
•Southwest Minnesota State has connected on at least one 3-point field goal in 630 straight games.
•The last time SMSU failed to connect on a 3-pointer was on Dec. 11, 1998, versus MSU Moorhead (0 for 10) at the North Dakota State Classic.

    A LOOK BACK AT SMSU IN 2018-19
•SMSU concluded the 2018-19 season with an 18-14 overall record, placed fifth in the NSIC South Division with a 10-12 mark and finished ninth in the overall standings.
•SMSU won three straight games in the NSIC Tournament to advance to the championship game for the third straight season before losing to Northern State, 72-68.
•SMSU finished the season shooting 48 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3-point range, 81 percent from the free throw line and was minus-5.4 in rebound margin.
•SMSU averaged 80 points per game, while opponents averaged 78 points per game.

    REPLACING ALL-AMERICAN RYAN BRUGGEMAN
•One of several key players SMSU must replace from last season's team is guard Ryan Bruggeman, who closed his career as one of the most decorated players in program history.
•Bruggeman set the program's all-time scoring record with 2,246 points in 128 games. He is also the all-time leader in field goals made, free throws made, assists, free throw percentage and steals.
•A three-time All-NSIC honoree, Bruggeman was a third team All-American in 2018-19 and was selected to play in the NABC/Reese's All-Star game in March.
•Bruggeman finished the conference season ranking first in scoring (27.0), first in steals (2.4), second in field goals made (217), fourth in free throw pct. (92.0), fourth in assists (5.1) and 13th in assist/turnover ratio (1.8).
•He was the sixth SMSU player and the first since 1990-91 to lead the conference in scoring after averaging 27 per game in 22 league games.
•The 27 ppg is the highest scoring average in the NSIC since MSU Moorhead's Greg Duke also averaged 27 ppg in 1996-97.  

    MUSTANGS REACH 100 AND THEN SOME
•SMSU scored 100 or more points three times in 2018-19, defeating Bethany Lutheran, 101-81, Crown College, 100-81 and Minnesota Crookston, 100-78.
•It was the first time SMSU scored 100 or more three times in a season since 2000-01.
•SMSU is 40-8 all-time when scoring 100 points.

    WORKING OVERTIME
•SMSU is 46-39 all-time in overtime games, including 1-0 last season following an 84-78 win over Wayne State on March 4.
•SMSU is 7-6 in double overtime games and 0-2 in triple overtime games all-time.

    SMSU IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
•SMSU has made five NCAA Tournament appearances (2001, 2009, 2012, 2017, 2018) in program history since moving to Division II in 1995-96.
•SMSU is 9-5 all-time in NCAA Tournament games appearing in three region championship games with region titles and Elite Eight appearances in both 2001 and 2009.  

    SMSU ALL-TIME IN THE NSIC
•The 2019-20 campaign marks the 51st season SMSU has competed in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
•SMSU has an all-time record of 371-400 in 771 conference games, finishing in the top half of the final standings 25 times in 50 seasons.
•SMSU has finished in the top half of the NSIC standings in 17 of the last 23 seasons since 1997-98.
•SMSU has one regular season championship (2000-01) and two tournament championships (2012 and 2017).
•SMSU also won NSIC South Division titles in both 2016-17 and 2017-18.

    MUSTANG HISTORY
•Southwest Minnesota State is in its 53rd season of men's basketball in 2019-20.
•SMSU has played 1,456 games compiling an all-time record of 674-782.
•SMSU has won two NSIC regular season championships (2001 & 2009), two NSIC South Division championships (2017 & 2018), two NSIC tournament championships (2012, 2017), two NCAA region championships (2001 & 2009) and has appeared in five NCAA tournaments (2001, 2009, 2012, 2017, 2018).
•SMSU has recorded 24 winning seasons in program history with 17 coming in the last 21 years.