THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team (4-3, 1-2 NSIC) after playing its first seven regular season games and one exhibition game away from Marshall, will have its home opener on Friday, Dec. 8, facing Concordia University-St. Paul (6-3, 1-2 NSIC) with tip-off slated for 5:30 p.m. inside the R/A Facility.
•On Saturday, SMSU will host No. 12-ranked University of Minnesota Duluth (7-1, 2-0 NSIC) with game time set for 3:30 p.m. UMD was the preseason pick to win the NSIC this season and is coming off a 26-win season and a trip to the 2023 NCAA Elite Eight.
•Saturday will be SMSU's third game versus a top 15 team this season. As of Dec. 4, SMSU has the ninth toughest schedule in Division II with its seven opponents combining for a winning pct. of .722.
•Following this weekend's games, SMSU will host Sioux Falls on Dec. 14, before closing its pre-holiday schedule with two non-conference games in Wisconsin Dells, Wis. Eleven of SMSU's first 14 games will be neutral site or road contests.
•A preview for both CSP and UMD can be found on page 4.

    BROADCAST INFO
•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 CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL
•SMSU and CSP meet for the 48th time with SMSU leading 32-15 in a series that began during the 1980-81 season.
•SMSU has won 15 of the last 23 games since Feb. 11, 2011, but CSP has won five of the last seven games. The teams split a pair of games last season with each team winning on its home court.  
•SMSU is 19-5 all-time in games played in Marshall, but CSP has won two of the last three games.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 15-11 all-time versus CSP.
•Game-by-game results of the series is located on page 17.

    SERIES HISTORY VERSUS MINNESOTA DULUTH
•SMSU and UMD meet for the 89th time with UMD leading 52-35 in a series that began in 1972-73.
•SMSU has six of the last seven and 18 of the last 21 since the 2005-06 season.
•SMSU leads 24-16 in games played in Marshall, including winning the previous 11 games. UMD's last victory in Marshall occurred on Dec. 12, 2004.
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 14-3 all-time versus UMD.
•Game-by-game results of the series is located on page 18.

    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 225-180, including 151-141 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   
•Junior Dunwa Omot has missed the last three games and nearly all of a fourth game in the past two weeks. He is averaging 8.5 ppg with six 3-pointers on the season. Last season he started all 28 games and scored a team-high 16.6 ppg with a team-high 52 3-pointers.
•SMSU ranks 27th in Division II (Dec. 4) in 3-point field goal pct. (40.9), 35th in effective field goal pct. (56.6) and 37th in 3-pointers made per game (9.6).
•SMSU scored a season-high 89 points and shot a season high 61.5 percent (32 of 52) from the field in Saturday's loss at Minnesota State.
•SMSU had made nine or more 3-pointers in five of seven games.
•Freshman Aeron Stevens scored a career-high 18 points in the loss at Minnesota State on Saturday.
•Senior Kyle Luedtke poured in a season-high 19 points with five 3-pointers at Winona State last Friday. He then scored 16 points with four 3-pointers at Minnesota State on Saturday. He scored 21 points twice during his career at Omaha. Luedtke ranks 25th in the country in 3-point field goal pct. (48.8).
•Senior Jake Phipps ranks second in team history with 124 blocked shots in 102 career games. Current SMSU associate head coach Nick Smith (2010-14) holds the school record with 174.  
•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's victory over No. 1 ranked Northwest Missouri State earlier this season was the program's first-ever over a No. 1 ranked team. The win was also the program's first over a Top 10 team since beating No. 7 Northern State during the 2017-18 season.

    SMSU SPLITS TWO NSIC ROAD GAMES   
•SMSU split two NSIC road games last weekend, defeating Winona State, 78-65, before suffering a final minute loss at Minnesota State, 93-89.
•In the win over WSU, Kyle Luedtke scored a season-high 19 points, while Cliff Cofield contributed 19 points.
•Jake Phipps added 13 points, while Mekhi Shaw chipped in with 10 points.
•No. 9 ranked MSU hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining to earn the victory. SMSU had a final shot to tie the game rim off in the final seconds.
•SMSU had five players score in double figures with Phipps pouring in 19 points, while Aeron Stevens scored a career-high 18 points.

    MUSTANGS BY THE NUMBERS
•For the season, SMSU has four players averaging double figures in scoring with senior Jake Phipps scoring a team-high 15 ppg and is also the leader in rebounding at 7.9 rpg.
•Senior Cliff Cofield averaging 14.7 ppg with a team-high 30 assists and 12 steals.
•Senior Kyle Luedtke is averaging 10.4 ppg and has made a team-high 20 3-pointers.
•Freshman Aeron Stevens ranks fourth on the team with 10 ppg and has made a team-high 26 free throws.
•Junior Dunwa Omot is scoring 8.5 ppg while connecting on six 3-pointers.
•SMSU is shooting 48 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3-point range, 74 percent from the free throw line and is plus-3.9 in rebound margin. The Mustangs are averaging 75 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 fifth in program history in steals (139) and is fifth in assists (308).

    PHIPPS SCORING LIST AND MORE IN THE RECORD BOOKS
•Senior Jake Phipps currently ranks 17th in team history with 1,162 points in 102 games.
•He is also second all-time in blocked shots (124), fifth in field goal pct. (56.4, 474 of 841), 10th in rebounds (585) and 15th in field goals made (474).
 
    MUSTANG CAREER 20-POINT GAMES  
•Three current SMSU players, senior Cliff Cofield, senior Jake Phipps and junior Dunwa Omot 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, while Phipps has reached 20 points once this season and 12 times in his career.
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    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    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). He shot 46.1 percent (166 of 360) from the field, including 37.1 percent (52 of 140) from 3-point range and made 80 of 92 from the free throw line.
•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 all seven games and is averaging 7.9 ppg and 4.7 rpg.
•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 seven games and is scoring 6.3 ppg and averaging 4.0 rpg.
•Scored 14 points in the season opener vs. SE 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 seven games and is averaging 14.7 ppg with a team-high 30 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 seven games with three starts and is averaging 10.4 ppg with a team-leading 20 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 started four games and is averaging 8.5 ppg with six 3-pointers. Has 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 seven games and leads the team in both rebounding (7.9) and scoring (15.0).
•Has made season-high eight field goals in two games.
•Scored season-high 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 seven games and is averaging 5.1 ppg with 17 assists.
•Scored season-high 10 points on 4 of 8 shooting vs. Upper Iowa (11/25/23) and 10 points at Winona State(12/1/23).
•Redshirted during the 2022-23 season.

    AERON STEVENS NOTES
•Has played in all seven games and is averaging 10 ppg and 4.4 rpg.
•Scored career-high 18 points at Minnesota State (12/2/23).
•Scored 17 points with seven field goals vs. Upper Iowa (11/25/23).  
•Only true freshman expected to play this season for SMSU.

    MATT THOMPSON NOTES
•Has played in four 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 finished 10-5 at home in 2022-23 and has a home record of 119-64 since head coach Brad Bigler took over in 2009-10.
•SMSU, which is 4-3 in road/neutral site games in 2023-24, is 106-116 in 222 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    n/a     -    -    -    -    -    -
Away    4-3    48.1    40.9    73.6    34.3    75.1    12.1    

    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 251-111 (.693) in 362 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    0-0    0-0    0-0
    Totals    251-111    167-83    84-28

    CONSECUTIVE 3-POINT GAMES
•SMSU has made at least one 3-point field goal in 723 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 20220-23 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 400-442 in 842 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 1,549 games compiling an all-time record of 717-832.
•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 CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL
•The Golden Bears are 6-3 overall, 1-2 NSIC, and split home games last weekend, losing to Augustana (92-87) before defeating Wayne State (84-76).
•Senior Jordan Horn, who missed the Wayne State game on Sunday, is scoring 23.8 ppg with 32 3-pointers.
•Senior forward Japannah Kellogg is averaging 8.8 ppg and is shooting 70 percent (32 of 46) from the field.
•Junior guard Marcus Skeete is averaging 18 ppg and is averaging a team-high 7.6 rpg.
•CSP is shooting 48 percent from the field, 38 percent from 3-point range, 77 percent from the free throw line and is plus-3.8 in rebound margin.
•CSP is averaging 89 points per game, while opponents are averaging 82 points per game.
•Head coach Matt Fletcher is in his fourth season with a record of 18-61. He previously was the head coach at Bethany Lutheran for four seasons (2016-20) with a record of 76-33.
•Fletcher played four seasons at SMSU and closed his career holding the program record for 3-pointers made and free throw percentage.

    SCOUTING MINNESOTA DULUTH
•The Bulldogs, 7-1 overall, 2-0 NSIC, will play at Sioux Falls on Friday night. The Bulldogs won the NCAA Central Region championship last season.  
•Senior guard Drew Blair is scoring a team-leading 19 ppg with 19 3-pointers.  
•Senior forward Charlie Katona is scoring 12.3 ppg with nine 3-pointers.
•Senior forward Josh Brown averages a team-high 6.1 rpg, is scoring 10.6 ppg and has a team-high 22 assists.   
•UMD is shooting 52 percent from the field, 35 percent from 3-point range, 71 percent from the free throw line and is plus-5.0 in rebound margin.
•UMD is averaging 83 points per game, while opponents are averaging 66 points per game.
•Head coach Justin Wieck is in his sixth season with a record of 103-43.