THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team (7-4, 4-3 NSIC) steps out of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 18-19, with a pair of non-conference games at the JustAGame Classic played at the JustAGame Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells, Wis.
•The two-day classic, hosted by Saint Leo University (Fla.), will have SMSU facing Lake Superior State University (6-2) on Monday with game time set for 7:30 p.m., while on Tuesday SMSU takes on Maryville University (Mo.) (3-4) with tip-off slated for 3 p.m.
•As of Dec. 14, SMSU, which has played three teams ranked among the top 12 nationally, has the fourth toughest schedule in Division II with its 10 opponents combining for a winning pct. of .683.
•SMSU, which is playing 11 of its first 14 games of the season away from Marshall, returns to NSIC play on Jan. 5-6 hosting Bemidji State and St. Cloud State, respectively.  
•Lake Superior State is a member of the Great Lake Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (GLIAC), while Maryville competes in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC).
•A preview for both LSSU and Maryville can be found on page 4.

    BROADCAST INFO
•Both games will be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL with Ryan Rohlik providing play-by-play.
•Live stats, radio and video broadcasts of all games can be found at SMSUmustangs.com.
 
    SERIES HISTORY VERSUS LAKE SUPERIOR STATE
•SMSU and LSSU meet for the first time ever on Monday night.
•SMSU has played four current members of the GLIAC in program history, with two latest games coming during the 2021-22 season with SMSU defeating Parkside (Wis.), 69-60 and Davenport (Mich.), 73-63. SMSU is also 4-2 all-time versus Northern Michigan and 9-21 all-time versus Michigan Tech.  

    SERIES HISTORY VERSUS MARYVILLE
•SMSU and Maryville meet for the first time on Tuesday afternoon.
•SMSU has played three schools that are current members of the GLVC, including two this season at the Concordia-St. Paul Classic. SMSU lost 85-83 to Upper Iowa on Nov. 25, but rebounded to earn a 79-69 win over Truman State. SMSU is 22-14 all-time versus UIU and 1-1 versus TSU.
•SMSU also defeated Lewis University (Ill.) in Marshall on Nov. 20, 2009, which was the second career victory for SMSU head coach Brad Bigler.

    SMSU HEAD COACH BRAD BIGLER
•Brad Bigler, the all-time wins leader in program history, is in his 15th season as head coach and has an overall record of 228-181, including 154-142 in NSIC play.  
•The 2012-13 and 2016-17 NSIC Coach of the Year, Bigler has led SMSU to eight 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 won back-to-back NSIC South Division championships in 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 in team history, Bigler spent six seasons (2003-09) as an assistant coach at SMSU, including the last three as associate head coach.
•SMSU's 71 combined victories from 2016-19 was the best three-year stretch in program history.
•Bigler's complete bio is found on page 16.

    MUSTANG TIP-OFF TIDBITS   
•SMSU won both league games earlier this week, defeating Sioux Falls, 80-74 in Marshall on Thursday, with Aeron Stevens scoring a team-high 17 points, while Jake Phipps scored 16 points on 6 of 8 shooting. On Saturday, SMSU earned a 71-62 road win over Augustana with Cliff Cofield scoring 18 points with eight assists and eight rebounds. Phipps scored a game-high 19 points with eight rebounds.
•SMSU's win at Augustana on Saturday snapped a 10-game losing streak to AU dating back Feb. 24, 2018.
•SMSU's current three-game winning streak is its longest since winning three in a row last season from Jan. 14-21. SMSU's longest win streak last season was four in a row from Dec. 16-31.
•Junior Dunwa Omot missed three games and nearly all of a fourth game earlier this season. He is averaging 7.6 ppg with 10 3-pointers on the season after starting all 28 games and averaging a team-high 16.6 ppg with a team-high 52 3-pointers last season.
•Senior Jake Phipps ranks second in team history with 130 blocked shots in 106 career games. Current SMSU associate head coach Nick Smith (2010-14) holds the school record with 174. Two weeks ago, Phipps moved past Smith in the SMSU career record book in both scoring and field goals made.
•Senior Cliff Cofield scored a career-high 31 points with a career-high 10 field goals and a career-high five 3-pointers in a win over Truman State on Nov. 26. It's the most points scored by a Mustang player since Kenny Byers scored 33 at Minnesota Crookston on Jan. 31, 2020.
•SMSU has two victories over top 15 teams this season, including defeating No. 1 ranked Northwest Missouri State on Nov. 11. It was the program's first-ever over a No. 1 ranked team. SMSU also defeated No. 12 Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 9.
•SMSU shot 71 percent (15 of 21) from the field in the second half versus Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 9. It was the first time SMSU shot 70 percent or higher in a half since Feb. 12, 2022, at Winona State (17 of 21).
•SMSU scored a season-high 89 points and shot a season high 61.5 percent (32 of 52) from the field in a Dec. 2 loss at Minnesota State.

    SMSU IN THE NCAA STATS   
•In the last Division II national statistics of Dec. 14, SMSU ranks 41st in effective field goal pct. (55.8), 45th in turnovers per game (11.7), 54th in free throw pct. (75.7) and 67th in 3-point field goal pct. (37.3). SMSU in the latest NCAA stats can be found on page 15.

    MUSTANGS BY THE NUMBERS
•For the season, SMSU has three players averaging double figures in scoring with senior Jake Phipps scoring a team-high 16.2 ppg and is also the leader in rebounding at 7.1 rpg. He ranks 41st in Division II in field goal pct. (59.6) and is 89th in total rebounds.
•Senior Cliff Cofield averaging 14.3 ppg with a team-high 49 assists and team-high 15 steals. He ranks 58th in the country in free throw pct. (90.0) and 58th in total assists.
•Freshman Aeron Stevens ranks third on the team with 12 ppg and has made a team-high 55 free throws, which ranks 30th in Division II.
•Senior Kyle Luedtke is averaging 8.9 ppg and has made a team-high 24 3-pointers.
•Junior Dunwa Omot is scoring 7.6 ppg while connecting on 10 3-pointers.
•SMSU is shooting 48 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3-point range, 76 percent from the free throw line and is plus-1.4 in rebound margin. The Mustangs are averaging 76 points per game, while opponents are averaging 73 ppg.

    COFIELD IN THE SMSU RECORD BOOK
•Senior Cliff Cofield ranks among the top five in two statistical categories in team history. He ranks fourth in program history in assists (327) and is fifth in steals (142).

    PHIPPS MOVING UP IN THE RECORD BOOKS
•Senior Jake Phipps currently ranks 14th in team history with 1,235 points in 106 games.
•He is also second all-time in blocked shots (130), fifth in field goal pct. (56.5, 503 of 890), 10th in rebounds (608) and 11th in field goals made (503).

      MUSTANG CAREER 20-POINT GAMES  
•Four current SMSU players, senior Cliff Cofield, senior Jake Phipps, junior Dunwa Omot and freshman Aeron Stevens have scored 20 or more points in a game during their careers.
•Cofield recorded his first career 20-point game earlier this season versus No. 1 NW Missouri State and then scored a career-high 31 versus Truman State. Omot has reached the 20-point mark nine times in his career, including one 30-point game, Phipps has reached 20 points twice this season and 13 times in his career, while Stevens had reach the mark once.
20 or More Point Games in Career
    31    Cliff Cofield    Truman State, 11/26/23
    30    Dunwa Omot    Minot State, 2/21/23
    28    Jake Phipps    Upper Iowa, 2/10/23
    28    Dunwa Omot    Minnesota Duluth, 1/21/23
    28    Dunwa Omot    Minot State, 2/23/22
    27    Dunwa Omot    St. Cloud State, 1/20/23
    25    Dunwa Omot    Minnesota Duluth, 1/28/22
    25    Jake Phipps    Concordia-St. Paul, 12/17/21
    24    Dunwa Omot    Concordia-St. Paul, 12/16/22
    24    Jake Phipps    Northern State, 1/14/22
    24    Dunwa Omot    UMary, 1/8/22
    23    Dunwa Omot    Winona State, 2/12/22
    22    Jake Phipps    Minnesota Duluth, 12/9/23
    22    Jake Phipps    Concordia-St. Paul, 2/4/23
    22    Dunwa Omot    Bemidji State, 1/27/23
    22    Jake Phipps    UMary, 1/6/23
    22    Jake Phipps    Minnesota State, 12/18/21
    22    Jake Phipps    Sioux Falls, 11/23/21
    22    Jake Phipps    Sioux Falls, 2/21/21
    21    Aeron Stevens    Concordia-St. Paul, 12/8/23
    21    Dunwa Omot    Northland, 12/19/22
    21    Jake Phipps    Davenport, 11/20/21
    20    Jake Phipps    Upper Iowa, 11/25/23
    20    Cliff Cofield    NW Missouri State, 11/11/23
    20    Jake Phipps    Minot State, 2/21/23
    20    Jake Phipps    Minnesota Duluth, 1/21/21
    20    Dunwa Omot    Sioux Falls, 12/31/22
    20    Dunwa Omot    Mount Marty, 11/26/22
    20    Dunwa Omot    St. Cloud State, 1/29/22
Bold indicates 2023-24 season

    2022-23 ALL-NSIC RETURNERS   
•SMSU senior center Jake Phipps and junior guard Dunwa Omot both earned All-NSIC second team honors in 2022-23.
•Omot led SMSU in scoring (16.6), 3-point field goals made (52) and free throw percentage (87.0), while ranking second in both assists (63) and steals (38).
•Phipps led SMSU in rebounding (7.0), field goal pct. (55.1) and blocked shots (38), while ranking  second in scoring (13.3) and fourth in 3-point field goals made (25).

    JAKOB BRAATEN NOTES
•Has started 10 games and is averaging 6.7 ppg and 4.1 rpg. Missed the Augustana game with an injury.  
•Has grabbed season-high seven rebounds in three games.
•Career-high 16 points with three 3-pointers vs. Upper Iowa (11/25/23).
•Played in 25 games with 17 starts last season and averaged 5.9 ppg and 3.6 rpg.  
•Pulled down career-high eight rebounds vs. Mt. Marty (11/26/22).
•Sat out the 2021-22 season as a redshirt.

    MASON LUND NOTES
•Has started all 11 games and is scoring 6.5 ppg and averaging 4.4 rpg.
•Connected on a career-high three 3-pointers with 11 points at Augustana (12/16/23).
•Scored 14 points in the season opener vs. Southeastern Oklahoma State with two 3-pointers.
•Missed the last 15 games a season ago due to injury.
•Played in the first 13 games with six starts and averaged 7.7 ppg and 3.7 rpg.
•Grabbed a career-high nine rebounds vs. Mt. Marty (11/26/22).
•Scored career-high 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting with two 3-pointers vs. Mt. Marty (11/26/22).

    CLIFF COFIELD NOTES
•Changed last name from McCray to Cofield this past summer.
•Has started all 11 games and is averaging 14.3 ppg with a team-high 49 assists.
•Scored career-high 31 points on 10 of 14 shooting with five 3-pointers vs. Truman State (11/26/23) with three assists and five rebounds.
•Scored 20 points in win over No. 1 NW Missouri State earlier this season.
•Started all 28 games last season and averaged 8.0 ppg, while leading the team with 87 assists.
•Season-high 10 rebounds and scored 11 points for second career double-double at Minot State (1/7/23).
•Tied career-high with eight assists vs. Newman (11/12/22).
•Started all 27 games, while averaging 9.5 ppg and dishing out a team-high 92 assists in 2021-22.
•Played and started nine games in 2021, while averaging 7.7 ppg and a team-high 6.0 rpg.
•Led the team in 2021 with 41 assists.

    KYLE LUEDTKE NOTES
•Transfer from Division I Omaha, where he played in 81 games over four seasons and scored 287 points.
•Has played in all 11 games with seven starts and is averaging 8.9 ppg with a team-leading 24 3-pointers.
•Poured in 16 points with four 3-pointers at Minnesota State (12/2/23).
•Scored season-high 19 points with five 3-pointers at Winona State (12/1/23).

    LANCE MOSLEY NOTES
•Has not appeared in a game this season.
•Played in two games last season scoring two points and grabbing two rebounds vs. Northland (12/19/22).
•Played in two games with one rebound last season.
•Played in three games in 2021 scoring two points vs. Minnesota State (1/23/21).

    DUNWA OMOT NOTES
•Has played in eight games with five starts and is averaging 7.6 ppg with 10 3-pointers. Missed three games and most of another with an injury.
•Scored season-high 15 points vs. NW Missouri State.
•Named All-NSIC second team in 2022-23.
•Started all 28 games and scored a team-high 16.6 ppg with a team-high 52 3-pointers last season.
•Scored 20 or more points eight times with one 30-point game.
•Scored career-high 30 points on 12 of 19 shooting with 12 rebounds vs. Minot State (2/21/23).  
•Named NSIC South Division Player of the Week on Jan. 23, 2023, after scoring 28 points on 10 of 17 shooting vs. Minnesota Duluth (1/21/23) and scoring 27 points vs. St. Cloud State (1/20/23).
•Played in all 27 games with eight starts in 2021-22 averaging 11.9 ppg and 1.8 rpg, while leading the team with 56 3-pointers.
•Shot 56.6 percent on 3-pointers in 2021-22 ranking first in school history.
•Scored 28 points with six 3-pointers at Minot State (2/23/22)
•Played in four games and averaged 1.3 ppg and 0.8 rpg in 2021.

    JAKE PHIPPS NOTES
•Has started all 11 games and leads the team in both rebounding (7.1) and scoring (16.2).
•Season-high 10 field goals with 22 points and 11 rebounds vs. Minnesota Duluth (12/9/23).
•Scored 20 points vs. Upper Iowa (11/25/23).
•Recorded a double-double at Wayne State (11/21/23).  
•Named All-NSIC second team in 2022-23.
•Started all 28 games and averaged 13.3 ppg and a team-high 7.0 rpg last season.
•Scored career-high 28 points on 12 of 17 shooting with three 3-pointers vs. Upper Iowa (2/10/23).
•Grabbed career-high 15 rebounds at Wayne State (12/3/22).
•Started all 27 games in 2021-22 averaging 12.7 ppg and a team-high 6.4 rpg.
•Recorded a team-high five double-doubles in 2021-22.
•Twice was named NSIC South Player of the Week in 2021-22.
•Started 10 of 11 games in 2021 and averaged 11.1 ppg and 4.6 rpg.
•Appeared in all 29 games with three starts in 2019-20 and averaged 7.2 ppg and 3.8 rpg.
•Sat out the 2018-19 season as a redshirt.

    CALEB SCHLAAK NOTES
•Transfer from Truman State (Mo.) where he played five games in 2022-23.
•Has played in one game this season.

    MEKHI SHAW NOTES
•Has played in all 11 games and is averaging 5.5 ppg with 20 assists.
•Scored season-high 10 points on 4 of 8 shooting vs. Upper Iowa, 10 points at Winona State (12/1/23) and scored 10 vs. Minnesota Duluth (12/9/23).
•Made 5 of 6 field goals with four rebounds vs. UMD.
•Redshirted during the 2022-23 season.

    AERON STEVENS NOTES
•Has played in all 11 games and is averaging 12 ppg and 4.7 rpg.
•Scored career-high 21 points with seven field goals vs. Concordia-St. Paul (12/8/23).
•Scored 18 points at Minnesota State (12/2/23).  
•Only true freshman expected to play this season for SMSU.

    MATT THOMPSON NOTES
•Has played in five games and connected on 3-pointers vs. Upper Iowa (11/25/23) and Truman State (11/26/23).  
•Redshirted during the 2022-23 season.

    HOME AND AWAY IN 2023-24
•SMSU is 2-1 at home this season and has a home record of 121-65 since head coach Brad Bigler took over in 2009-10.
•SMSU, which is 5-3 in road/neutral site games in 2023-24, is 107-116 in 223 road/neutral site games during the Bigler era.
•The following is a statistical comparison of the Mustang team averages for home and away/neutral games in 2023-24:
        W-L    FG%    3-FG%    FT%    REB    PTS    TO    
Home    2-1    50.6    24.4    78.9    33.7    77.7    8.7
Away    5-3    47.3    40.3    73.7    34.2    74.6    11.6    

    HOME SWEET HOME
•The 2023-24 season marks the 28th year the R/A Facility has served as the home arena for SMSU men's basketball.
•SMSU has an all-time record of 253-112 (.693) in 365 games with 23 winning 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    4-9    2-9    2-0
    2020-21    2-6    1-5    1-1
    2021-22    6-5    5-5    1-0
    2022-23    10-5    8-3    2-2
    2023-24    2-1    2-1    0-0
    Totals    253-112    169-84    84-28

    CONSECUTIVE 3-POINT GAMES
•SMSU has made at least one 3-point field goal in 727 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.

    MUSTANG DEFENSE ONE OF THE BEST IN 2022-23
•SMSU limited opponents to 39.9 percent shooting from the field and 30.5 percent from 3-point range last season setting team single-season records in both categories.
•SMSU allowed 64.5 points per game last season ranking as the third-lowest in team history.
•SMSU led the NSIC last season (league games only) in scoring defense (64.5), opponent field goal pct. (39.8) and 3-point field goal pct. defense (30.6).

    MUSTANGS AND THE CENTURY MARK
•SMSU last scored 100 points in a game on Feb. 1, 2019, versus Minnesota Crookston (100-78).
•SMSU is 40-8 all-time when scoring 100 points, including 8-2 under head coach Brad Bigler.

    WORKING OVERTIME
•SMSU finished 0-2 in overtime games in 2022-23 following a 72-68 home loss to Winona State on Feb. 11 and an 86-85 triple overtime setback to Minot State on Feb. 21.
•SMSU is 51-42 all-time in overtime games.
•SMSU is 8-6 in double overtime and 1-3 in triple overtime games all-time.

    SMSU IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
•SMSU has made five NCAA Tournament appearances (2001, 2009, 2012, 2017, 2018) 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 PICKED 7TH IN NSIC PRESEASON POLL
•SMSU was picked to finish seventh in the 15-team NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•SMSU senior center Jake Phipps was named a 'Player to Watch'.
•Minnesota Duluth was selected as preseason favorite with UMD senior guard Drew Blair named the preseason Player of the Year.

    NEW LOOK NSIC REGULAR SEASON AND TOURNAMENT
•Due to Upper Iowa University leaving for the Great Lake Valley Conference, the NSIC is a 15-team conference in 2023-24.
•The NSIC regular season championship will be based on the 22-game unbalanced schedule with each team playing eight teams twice and another six teams once.
•The 12-team NSIC Men's Basketball Tournament begins on Feb. 28 with the top four seeds receiving a first round bye. First round games will be played on campus with the quarterfinals, semifinals and championships set to take place March 2-5 at the Sanford Health Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

    SMSU ALL-TIME IN THE NSIC
•The 2023-24 campaign marks the 55th season SMSU has competed in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
•SMSU has an all-time record of 403-443 in 846 conference games, finishing in the top half of the final standings 26 times in 54 seasons.
•SMSU has captured one regular season championship (2000-01), two NSIC South Division titles (2016-17) and (2017-18) and two tournament championships (2012) and (2017).

    MUSTANG HISTORY
•SMSU is in its 57th season of men's basketball in 2023-24.
•SMSU has played 1,553 games compiling an all-time record of 720-833.
•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 26 winning seasons in program history with 19 coming in the last 26 years.

    SCOUTING LAKE SUPERIOR STATE
•The Lakers are 6-2 overall, 1-1 GLIAC, and have won two straight games.
•LSSU was picked to finish seventh in the 10-team GLIAC in the preseason coaches' poll.
•The Lakers have four players averaging in double figure scoring with junior guard Tyson Edmondson leading the way at 15.6 ppg with a team-high 20 3-pointers.
•Junior forward Kingsley Perkins averages 12.9 ppg and a team-high 7.0 rpg.
•LSSU is shooting 45 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3-point range, 62 percent from the free throw line and is minus-3.0 in rebound margin.
•LSSU is averaging 66 points per game, while opponents are averaging 64 points per game.
•Head coach Steve Hettinga, the all-time winningest coach in team history, is in his 17th season with a record of 273-186.

    SCOUTING MARYVILLE
•The Saints are 3-4 overall, 0-3 GLVC, and will play Saint Leo on Monday night in Wisconsin Dells.
•Maryville was picked to place 13th out of 14 teams in the GLVC preseason coaches' poll.   
•Senior guard Dewayne Vass is scoring a team-high 15.1 ppg and leads the team with 36 assists with a team-high 20 steals.
•Junior guard Luke Williams is averaging 11.9 ppg and has made 10 3-pointers.
•Maryville is shooting 50 percent from the field, 35 percent from 3-point range, 59 percent from the free throw line and is minus-0.9 in rebound margin.
•Maryville is averaging 74 points per game, while opponents are averaging 69 points per game.
•Head coach Jesse Shaw is in his fourth season with a record of 39-45. He was previously an assistant coach at Missouri-St. Louis.