THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team (10-5, 8-2 NSIC), currently tied for first place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with St. Cloud State, opens a four-game homestand this Friday and Saturday facing Minot State University and the University of Mary inside the R/A Facility in Marshall. 
•SMSU takes on MSU (8-8, 5-5 NSIC) on Friday with game time set for 5:30 p.m., while on Saturday the Mustangs will battle UMary (5-11, 3-7 NSIC) with tip-off slated for 5 p.m. 
•SMSU, which has won eight of its last nine games, is coming off a road sweep last weekend defeating Bemidji State, 85-55, and Minnesota Duluth, 71-62. SMSU did not trail in either game last weekend.   
•Two SMSU victories this weekend would push its NSIC record to 10-2. It would be the second straight season SMSU opened 10-2 in league play. Last season, SMSU held a 12-2 league mark after 14 games on its way to winning a share of the NSIC championship. 

    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 NSIC games can be found at SMSUmustangs.com.

    SERIES HISTORY VERSUS MINOT STATE 
•SMSU and MSU meet for the 21st time with SMSU holding a 16-4 advantage.
•SMSU won the lone meeting last season, 76-73, in Marshall, and has won three straight in the series and five of the last seven since the 2021-22 season.   
•SMSU leads 7-2 in games played in Marshall, including two in a row.  
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 16-4 all-time versus MSU. 

    SERIES HISTORY VERSUS UMARY 
•SMSU and UMary meet for the 25th time with SMSU leading 19-5 in a series that started in 2005-06.
•SMSU holds a 13-1 advantage in games played in Marshall, with UMary's lone victory coming on Dec. 11, 2015. SMSU has won the last six games played inside the R/A Facility, including 81-55 last season. 
•SMSU has won three straight and eight of the last 10 since the 2016-17 season. 
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 13-5 all-time versus UMary.

    SMSU BY THE NUMBERS
•SMSU has five players averaging double figures in scoring with senior Jakob Braaten averaging a team-high 16.7 ppg. He also leads the team in field goals (91), assists (76) and rebounding (5.9), while ranking third in steals (26).
•Junior Aeron Stevens ranks second on the team averaging 12.1 ppg.    
•Junior Mekhi Shaw is averaging 12 ppg and has registered a team-high 32 steals and is second with 36 assists. 
•Redshirt freshman Micah Schlaak ranks fourth in scoring at 11.6 ppg, while ranking tied for first with 29 3-pointers. 
•Senior Mason Lund is scoring 10.6 ppg, while ranking tied for first with 29 3-pointers and second with 5.0 rpg.  
•SMSU is shooting 48 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3-point range, 74 percent from the free throw line and is plus-0.2 in rebound margin. The Mustangs are averaging 76 points per game, while opponents are averaging 69 ppg.

    MUSTANG TIP-OFF TIDBITS   
•Jakob Braaten became the 29th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points in SMSU's win over Minnesota Duluth last Saturday. He reached the milestone in his 100th career game. 
•SMSU has won four straight road games and is 5-2 in true road games this season. 
•SMSU tied a season-low with eight turnovers in both victories last weekend versus Bemidji State and UMD. SMSU has committed a season-low eight turnovers in five games this season.  
•Micah Schlaak set a career-high with nine rebounds versus UMD last Saturday. 
•Mason Lund scored a career-high 21 points with five 3-pointers in the win over BSU last Friday.  
•SMSU's 6-1 start in conference play was its best record to open league play since the 2016-17 season. 

    SMSU IN NCAA & NSIC STATS   
•As of Jan. 12, SMSU ranks third in Division II in fouls per game (13.2), fourth in 3-point field goal pct. (41.1), 35th in turnovers per game (11.3) and 33rd in blocks per game (4.4). Jakob Braaten ranks 26th in Division II in total assists (76) and 31st in assists per game (5.1). Mekhi Shaw is 36th in steals (32), while Micah Schlaak is 44th in blocks (23). A complete listing of where SMSU ranks in the latest NCAA statistics can be found on pages 15-16. 
•In the latest NSIC rankings (league games only), SMSU ranks first in field goal pct., first in 3-point field goal pct., second in scoring defense, third in opponent field goal pct. and fourth in opponent 3-point field goal pct. 
•Braaten ranks second in assists, fifth in field goal pct., fifth in steals, eighth in free throw pct., ninth in scoring and 10th in rebounding. 
•Mason Lund ranks first in 3-point field goal pct. and ninth in 3-pointers per game; Shaw ranks third in steals; while Micah Schlaak ranks second in steals and fifth in blocked shots. 

    BRAATEN SETS SINGLE-GAME RECORD
•Senior Jakob Braaten set a school single-game record on Dec. 8 dishing out 17 assists in SMSU's win over North Central University. He broke the previous record of 15 held by Marques Pena set during the 2000-01 season. 
•The 17 assists are the highest single-game total in Division II this season and is tied for second among all three NCAA divisions.   

    BRAATEN & STEVENS MOVE UP IN TEAM RECORD BOOK  
•Senior Jakob Braaten ranks sixth in team history in assists (311) and sixth in steals (138). 
•Junior Aeron Stevens ranks 10th all-time in free throws made (255) and 10th in free throws attempted (346). 
•See chart on page 4.

    SMSU HEAD COACH BRAD BIGLER 
•Head coach Brad Bigler, the all-time wins leader in program history, is in his 17th season with an overall record of 271-204, including 188-155 in NSIC play.  
•SMSU has played in five NCAA tournaments (2012, 2017, 2018, 2024, 2025) during his tenure as head coach. 
•SMSU won a share of the 2024-25 NSIC regular season championship, captured 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 under Bigler (2010, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2019). 
•The 2012-13 and 2016-17 NSIC Coach of the Year, Bigler has led SMSU to 11 winning seasons, with one 28-win season, one 25-win season, and four seasons of 19-or-more victories. 
•The 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. 
•Bigler's complete bio is found on page 17.

    BRAATEN EARNS NSIC AND NABC WEEKLY HONOR
•Senior Jakob Braaten was named the NABC/D2CIDA National Player of the Week on Dec. 16 and the NSIC South Division Player of the Week on Dec. 15. He is the first SMSU player in team history to earn national player of the week accolades. 
•Braaten averaged 16.3 points, 10 assists, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.5 steals, while shooting 68 percent (19 of 28) from the field and a perfect 9 of 9 from the free throw line in three games.

    MUSTANGS OPEN SEASON RANKED NO. 9 
•SMSU opened the season ranked No. 9 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Top 25 preseason poll released on Oct. 28. 
•The No. 9 ranking is the highest for the program in the NABC poll since being ranked No. 9 on March 3, 2009. 
•SMSU was ranked in the NABC Top 25 poll eight times during the 2024-25 season, including a season-best No. 13 on Jan. 28, 2025.

    SMSU PICKED TO WIN NSIC; BRAATEN EARNS HONOR 
•SMSU was picked to win both the South Division and overall title in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•Senior guard Jakob Braaten was named the NSIC South Division Preseason Player of the Year. 

    MUSTANG CAREER 20-POINT GAMES 
•Six current SMSU players: senior Jakob Braaten, senior Mason Lund, junior Aeron Stevens, junior Mekhi Shaw, junior Steven Kramer and redshirt freshman Micah Schlaak have scored 20 or more points in a game during their careers.
•Stevens has reached the 20-point mark 11 times, (twice this season), Braaten 12 times (six this season), Lund four times (twice this season), Shaw twice (both this season), Kramer twice a season ago, while Schlaak has reached the mark once this season. 
20 or More Point Games in 2025-26
    27    Jakob Braaten    Concordia-St. Paul, 12/13
    26    Aeron Stevens    Nebraska Kearney, 11/16
    23    Mekhi Shaw    Minnesota State, 12/18
    22    Jakob Braaten    Sioux Falls, 1/3
    22    Mekhi Shaw    Sioux Falls, 1/3
    22    Jakob Braaten    Wayne State, 12/6
    22    Jakob Braaten    Sioux Falls, 11/25
    21    Mason Lund    Bemidji State, 1/9
    21    Micah Schlaak    Winona State, 12/14
    21    Aeron Stevens    MSU Moorhead, 11/29
    20    Jakob Braaten    Minnesota Duluth, 1/10
    20    Mason Lund    Augustana, 12/4
    20    Jakob Braaten    MSU Moorhead, 11/29
    
    BRAYSON BOIKE NOTES 
•Has played in 15 games with six starts and is averaging 4.4 ppg with 11 3-pointers. 
•Season-high 11 points and seven rebounds vs. North Central (12/8).

    JAKOB BRAATEN NOTES 
•Named 2025-26 NSIC Preseason South Division Player of the Year. 
•Named 2024-25 All-NSIC first team. 
•Has started all 15 games and is averaging a team-high 16.7 ppg. 
•Scored career-high 27 points at Concordia (12/13/25). 
•Dished out team single-game record 17 assists vs. North Central (12/8). 
•Sat out the 2021-22 season as a redshirt. 

    CALVIN BUSS NOTES 
•Has played in 15 games with one start and is averaging 2.1 rpg and 1.4 ppg.
•Season-high six points vs. Sioux Falls (1/3).  
•Played in 29 games with one start last season and averaged 2.9 ppg and 2.8 rpg. 
•Grabbed career-high nine rebounds at Wayne State (2/11/25).  
•Scored career-high 11 points on 5 of 5 shooting in first career start vs. Briar Cliff (11/30/24).
•Sat out the 2023-24 season as a redshirt.

    REECE KIRCHER NOTES 
•Has played in one game vs. North Central (12/8).

    BUAY KOAK NOTES 
•Has played in two games. 
•Scored four points vs. North Central (12/8). 
•Played in three games and was 0 for 2 from the field last season.
•Sat out the 2023-24 season as a redshirt.

    STEVEN KRAMER NOTES 
•Has not played in a game this season due to injury. 
•Started all 30 games and averaged 9.8 ppg and 3.8 rpg a season ago.
•Tied career-high with 21 points, including 10 of 10 from the free throw line at Wayne State (2/11).
•Spent two seasons (2022-24) at the University South Dakota.
•Played in 31 games with five starts in 2023-24 averaging 2.7 ppg and 2.4 rpg.
•Closed the season dishing out 50 assists and recording 10 steals.

    ETHAN KOLTZ NOTES 
•Has played in three games this season.
•Scored two points vs. North Central (12/8). 
•Played in three game last season grabbing two rebounds at Minnesota Crookston (1/3) and scoring two points vs. Northern State (1/17) and at Northern State (2/22). 
•Sat out the 2023-24 season as a redshirt.

    MASON LUND NOTES 
•Has started 15 games and is averaging 10.6 ppg and 5.0 rpg. Has made 29 3-pointers. 
•Poured in career-high 21 points with five 3-pointers at Bemidji State (1/9/26). 
•Scored 20 points with six 3-pointers at Augustana (12/4).  
•Grabbed season-high 10 rebounds vs. St. Cloud State (12/20). 
•Started all 30 games last season averaging 9.1 ppg with a team-high 5.9 rpg, while ranking second on the team with 49 3-pointers. 
•Pulled down career-high 17 rebounds at Upper Iowa (11/24/24). 

    LANDON POKORSKI NOTES 
•Has played 15 games with nine starts and is averaging 4.7 ppg with 13 3-pointers.  
•Scored 12 points vs. Wayne State (12/6) with four 3-pointers. 
•Only true freshman to play last season appearing in 15 games averaging 4.7 ppg and 1.7 rpg with 14 3-pointers. 
•Scored career-high 13 points with three 3-pointers at Bemidji State (1/24/25).  

    ISAIAH SCHAFER NOTES 
•Has played in three games averaging 6.0 ppg with six 3-pointers.
•Made a pair of 3-pointers vs. Bemidji State (1/9). 
•Scored nine points with three 3-pointers vs. North Central (12/8). 
•Sat out the 2024-25 season as a redshirt. 

    CALEB SCHLAAK NOTES 
•Has played in five games scoring seven points.
•Scored five points with three rebounds vs. North Central (12/8). 
•Played in 26 games last season averaging 3.2 ppg and 3.3 rpg.
•Scored career-high 11 points with a career-high 15 rebounds vs. Concordia-St. Paul (12/7/24).   
•Scored nine points on 4 of 4 shooting vs. Briar Cliff (11/30/24). 
•Transfer from Truman State (Mo.) playing in five games during the 2022-23 season. 

    MICAH SCHLAAK NOTES 
•Has played in 15 games with nine starts and is averaging 11.6 ppg, while making 29 3-pointers. 
•Poured in career-high 21 with five 3-pointers at Winona State (12/14/25). 
•Redshirted during the 2024-25 season.

    MEKHI SHAW NOTES 
•Has played 15 games with six starts and is averaging 12 ppg with 36 assists and team-high 32 steals.  
•Scored career-high 23 points with 10 field goals vs. Minnesota State (12/18/25). 
•Played in all 30 games a season ago with six starts while averaging 7.9 ppg and 2.0 rpg and leading the team with 53 steals and finishing second with 76 assists.  
•Redshirted during the 2022-23 season.

    AERON STEVENS NOTES 
•Has started 14 games and is averaging 12.1 ppg and 3.7 rpg. Missed one game due to injury. 
•Scored 26 points on 9 of 16 shooting versus Nebraska Kearney (11/16). 
•Started 29 games last season and averaged 13.9 ppg and 5.9 rpg. Missed one game due to injury. 
•Named 2024-25 All-NSIC second team. 
•Tied career-high with five 3-pointers vs. Minot State (1/11/25). 
•Scored career-high 29 points vs. Fort Hays State (11/8/24) with 14 free throws made. 
•Played in all 32 games in 2023-24 averaging 11.8 ppg and finished second on team with 4.9 rpg.
•Set freshman program record for free throws made (127) and free throw attempts (174) in a season in 2023-24. 

    LUKE STEVENS NOTES 
•Has played in one game and scored two points with two rebounds vs. North Central (12/8).

    HOME AND AWAY IN 2025-26 
•SMSU is 4-1 at home this season and has a home record of 144-71 since head coach Brad Bigler started in 2009-10. 
•SMSU, which is 6-4 road/neutral site games this season, is 127-133 in 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 2025-26: 
        W-L    FG%    3-FG%    FT%    REB    PTS    TO    
Home    4-1    51.4    46.3    69.2    33.2    79.8    12.8
Away    6-4    46.2    38.5    76.3    33.3    73.4    10.5     

    HOME SWEET HOME 
•The 2025-26 season marks the 30th year the R/A Facility has served as the home arena for SMSU men's basketball. 
•SMSU has an all-time record of 276-118 (.702) in 394 games with 25 winning seasons (including this season). 
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    9-3    8-3    1-0
    2024-25    12-3    8-3    4-0
    2025-26    4-1    3-1    1-0
    Totals    276-118    186-90    90-28

    MUSTANGS AND THE CENTURY MARK 
•SMSU scored 104 points in a 104-68 win over North Central University earlier this season. 
•SMSU is 42-8 all-time when scoring 100 points, including 10-2 under head coach Brad Bigler. 

    WORKING OVERTIME 
•SMSU is 1-0 in overtime games this season following a 69-66 non-conference win over Jamestown on Nov. 30, 2025.
•The overtime win snapped a five-game overtime losing streak dating back to Feb. 17, 2022. 
•SMSU is 52-45 all-time in overtime games. 
•SMSU is 8-6 in double overtime and 1-3 in triple overtime games all-time. 

    2024-25 DEFENSE STRONG ONCE AGAIN    
•For the third straight season in 2024-25, SMSU closed NSIC play (22 games) ranking first in the league in scoring defense (66.0) and field goal pct. defense (41.5). 
•In 2023-34, SMSU opponents shot 41.1 percent ranking as the second lowest in team history. The 2022-23 team holds the school record at 39.9 percent.

    SMSU ALL-TIME IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
•SMSU made its seventh NCAA tournament appearance in program history last season since moving to Division II in 1996.
•SMSU, 9-7 all-time in NCAA tournament games, has appeared in three region championship games winning titles and advancing to the Elite Eight in 2001 and 2009. 
•SMSU hosted the Central Region Tournament in 2009.   

    SMSU ALL-TIME IN THE NSIC 
•The 2025-26 campaign is the 57th season SMSU has competed in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. 
•SMSU has an all-time record of 437-456 in 893 conference games, finishing in the top half of the standings 28 times in 56 seasons. 
•SMSU has won three regular season championships (2000-01, 2008-09 and 2024-25), two South Division titles (2016-17, 2017-18) and two tournament championships (2012, 2017). 

    MUSTANG HISTORY 
•SMSU is in its 59th season of men's basketball in 2025-26 and has played 1,619 games compiling a record of 763-856. 
•SMSU has won three NSIC regular season championships (2001, 2009, 2025), two NSIC South Division championships (2017 & 2018), two NSIC tournament championships (2012, 2017), two NCAA region championships (2001 & 2009) and has appeared in seven NCAA tournaments (2001, 2009, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2024, 2025).
•SMSU has recorded 28 winning seasons in program history with 21 coming in the last 28 years. 

    SCOUTING MINOT STATE
•The Beavers are 8-8 overall, 5-5 NSIC, and have lost two straight heading into Friday's game after suffering home losses to St. Cloud State and Minnesota State last weekend.  
•Junior guard Deuce Benjamin is averaging a team-high 19.5 ppg with 36 3-pointers.
•Junior guard Darik Dissette is scoring 14.2 ppg and shooting 54 percent.  
•MSU is shooting 47 percent from the field, 32 percent from 3-point range, 75 percent from the free throw line and is minus-0.9 in rebound margin.
•MSU is averaging 77 points per game, while opponents are averaging 77 points per game.
•Head coach Randall Herbst is in his first season at MSU with a record of 8-8. He as head coach for two seasons at UMary (2009-11) compiling a record of 38-29 and was also head coach at Waldorf (1998-2000) closing with a record of 34-27.  

    SCOUTING UMARY
•The Marauders enter Friday's home game at Sioux Falls 5-11 overall, 3-7 in NSIC play. UMary begins the weekend having lost three straight and five of its last six.  
•Junior guard Kelton Coleman is scoring a team-leading 13.5 ppg with a team-high 73 field goals and is also the leader with 40 steals. 
•Senior forward Tshawn Bois averages 8.4 ppg and leads the team in rebounding at 5.8 rpg.
•UMary is shooting 42 percent from the field, 34 percent from 3-point range, 63 percent from the free throw line and is minus-2.1 in rebound margin.
•UMary is averaging 77 points per game, while opponents are averaging 80 points per game.
•Head coach Darren Tighe is in his first season with a record of 5-11. He has also been a head coach at Dakota State, Mayville State and Ridgewater College.