THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team (15-10, 13-7 NSIC), currently tied for third place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, closes the regular season this week with a pair of key league games looking to secure a top four seed in the upcoming NSIC tournament and earn a first round bye.
•On Thursday, SMSU will host second place Augustana University (17-8, 15-5 NSIC) for 'Senior Night' with game time slated for 7:30 p.m. inside the R/A Facility. On Saturday, the Mustangs travel to Wayne, Neb., to battle Wayne State College (14-12, 10-10 NSIC) with game time set for 3 p.m. inside Rice Auditorium.
•Thursday will be 'Senior Night' for SMSU as the program will honor its four seniors prior to game time. The 2025-26 seniors include Jakob Braaten, Mason Lund, Caleb Schlaak and Luke Stevens. 
•SMSU will be looking to defeat Augustana at home for the first time since Dec. 6, 2013. AU has won the last nine games played inside the R/A Facility. 
•The top four teams in the final NSIC standings receive a first round bye in the NSIC tournament and will advance to the tournament quarterfinals in Sioux Falls, S.D., on either Feb. 28 or March 1. The tournament first round will be held on campus sites on Feb. 25.  
•As of Feb. 16, SMSU ranks first in Division II in 3-point field goal pct. (41.3) and second in fouls per game (12.5). St. Cloud State ranks eighth nationally in 3-point field goal pct. defense, 21st in rebound margin and 28th in scoring defense. 

    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 AUGUSTANA 
•SMSU and AU meet for the 50th time with AU leading 33-16 with the first meeting in 1972-73.
•AU won earlier this season in Sioux Falls, S.D., and has won 13 of the last 14 meetings since the 2019-20 season. SMSU's lone victory during that time occurred on Dec. 16, 2023, in Sioux Falls at the Sanford Pentagon. 
•AU holds a 14-8 advantage in Marshall, including a 85-75 win last season. AU has won nine straight in Marshall with SMSU's last victory on Dec. 6, 2013. 
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 9-23 all-time versus Augustana. 

    SERIES HISTORY VERSUS WAYNE STATE 
•SMSU and WSC meet for the 85th time with WSC leading 45-39 in a series that started in 1969-70.
•WSC holds a 28-10 advantage in games played in Wayne and has won the previous four games inside Rice Auditorium. SMSU's last victory in Wayne came on Jan. 4, 2020.  
•SMSU won earlier this season in Marshall, 75-71.  
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 23-11 all-time versus WSC.

    SMSU VERSUS AU AND WSC THIS SEASON 
•AU defeated SMSU 97-75 earlier this season in Sioux Falls on Dec. 4. The Vikings shot 61 percent from the field, including 73 percent in the second half. AU's Tameron Ferguson scored a game-high 26 points and dished out 11 assists. Mason Lund led the Mustangs with 20 points with six 3-pointers. 
•SMSU rallied for a 75-71 victory over WSC in Marshall on Dec. 6. SMSU trailed 44-26 with 18:15 left in the game before rallying back for the victory. Jakob Braaten led the Mustangs with 22 points, six assists and five steals. Matt Noll paced the Wildcats with 23 points, six assists and four steals.  

    SMSU BY THE NUMBERS
•SMSU has four players averaging double figures in scoring with senior Jakob Braaten averaging a team-high 14.8 ppg. He also leads the team in field goals (139), assists (119) and rebounding (5.6), while ranking third in steals (38).
•Junior Aeron Stevens ranks second on the team averaging 12.7 ppg. 
•Junior Mekhi Shaw ranks third averaging 11.7 ppg and has registered a team-high 55 steals and is second with 66 assists. 
•Redshirt freshman Micah Schlaak is fourth in scoring at 11.6 ppg, second in rebounding (4.7), while ranking first with 51 3-pointers. 
•Senior Mason Lund is scoring 9.3 ppg, while ranking second with 42 3-pointers and is third at 4.5 rpg.  
•SMSU is shooting 48 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range, 69 percent from the free throw line and is minus-0.5 in rebound margin. The Mustangs are averaging 74 points per game, while opponents are averaging 67 ppg.

    MUSTANG TIP-OFF TIDBITS   
•SMSU's 49-47 loss at St. Cloud State on Feb. 5, was the first time during the Brad Bigler era (15 games) SMSU lost a game when allowing less than 50 points. 
•Aeron Stevens scored a career-high 31 points in the win over Minnesota Crookston on Jan. 24 and in the process became the 30th player in team history to reach 1,000 career points. 
•Jakob Braaten became the 29th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points in SMSU's win over Minnesota Duluth on Jan. 10.  

    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 276-209, including 193-160 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. 

    BRAATEN NAMED TO HUDGINS & FRANCIS AWARDS LIST 
•Senior Jakob Braaten was named to the Trevor Hudgins Award Top 25 Watch List on Feb. 1, while in January he was named to the  Bevo Francis Top 100 Watch List. Both awards are presented by Small College Basketball. 
•The Trevor Hudgins Award is presented annually to the senior who has had the finest overall career within Small College Basketball.
•The Bevo Francis award will be awarded to one player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. The list highlights many of the nation's top student-athletes competing across NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, USCAA, and NCCAA programs. 
•Braaten is the second SMSU player to be recognized for the Francis award since its inception during the 2015-16 season. Ryan Bruggeman was named to the Francis Top 50 Watch List in 2019.

    SMSU IN NCAA & NSIC STATS   
•As of Feb. 16, SMSU ranks second in Division II in fouls per game (12.5), third in 3-point field goal pct. (40.3), 30th in blocks per game (4.4), 32nd in scoring defense (67.1), 34th in turnovers per game (10.9), and 43rd in field goal pct. (48.0). 
•Jakob Braaten ranks 27th in total assists (119) and 45th in assists per game (4.8). 
•Mekhi Shaw is 23rd in steals (55), while Micah Schlaak is 43rd in blocks (37). 
•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 3-point field goal pct., second in scoring defense, second in field goal pct., second in opponent field goal pct. and sixth in opponent 3-point field goal pct. 
•Jakob Braaten ranks third in field goal pct., fifth in assists, fifth in assist/turnover ratio, ninth in steals, 13th in scoring and 14th in rebounding. 
•Mekhi Shaw ranks second in steals. 
•Micah Schlaak ranks fourth in steals and fourth 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.   

    THREE MUSTANGS MOVE UP IN TEAM RECORD BOOK  
•Senior Jakob Braaten ranks fourth in team history in assists (354) and fifth in steals (150). 
•Junior Mekhi Shaw is seventh in steals (145). 
•Junior Aeron Stevens ranks sixth all-time in free throws made (292) and seventh in free throws attempted (400). 
•See chart on page 4.

    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 
•Seven current SMSU players: senior Jakob Braaten, senior Mason Lund, junior Aeron Stevens, junior Mekhi Shaw, junior Steven Kramer, sophomore Landon Pokorski and redshirt freshman Micah Schlaak have scored 20 or more points in a game during their careers.
•Stevens has reached the 20-point mark 13 times, (with one 30-point game), Braaten 13 times, Lund four times, Shaw, Kramer  and Schlaak twice, while Pokorski has once. 
20 or More Point Games in 2025-26
    31    Aeron Stevens    Minnesota Crookston, 1/24
    27    Jakob Braaten    Concordia-St. Paul, 12/13
    26    Aeron Stevens    Nebraska Kearney, 11/16
    23     Aeron Stevens    Jamestown, 1/30
    23    Micah Schlaak    UMary, 1/17
    23    Mekhi Shaw    Minnesota State, 12/18
    22    Jakob Braaten    MSU Moorhead, 1/253
    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    Landon Pokorski    Jamestown, 1/30
    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 all 25 games with six starts and is averaging 3.4 ppg with 15 3-pointers. 
•Has made two 3-pointers in three games. 
•Scored season-high 11 points and seven rebounds vs. North Central (12/8).

    JAKOB BRAATEN NOTES 
•Named to Bevo Francis Top 100 Watch List and the Trevor Hudgins Top 25 Watch List. 
•Named 2025-26 NSIC Preseason South Division Player of the Year. 
•Named 2024-25 All-NSIC first team. 
•Has started all 25 games and is averaging a team-high 14.8 ppg.
•Has scored 20 or more points in seven games this season.  
•Scored career-high 27 points at Concordia-St. Paul (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 all 25 games with one start and is averaging 2.3 rpg and 3.0 ppg.
•Season-high seven points vs. Concordia-St. Paul (2/14).  
•Pulled down season-high eight rebounds vs. UMary (1/17). 
•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 four games and has scored 10 points. 
•Scored four points vs. North Central (12/8). 
•Has made two 3-pointers this season. 
•Played in three games last season.
•Sat out the 2023-24 season as a redshirt.

    STEVEN KRAMER NOTES 
•Sitting out 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 five games this season.
•Scored two points vs. North Central (12/8) and two points vs. UMary (1/17). 
•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 all 25 games and is averaging 9.3 ppg and 4.5 rpg, while connecting on 42 3-pointers. 
•Scored 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 all 25 games with 19 starts and is averaging 5.8 ppg with 29 3-pointers.  
•Scored career-high 20 points with four 3-pointers at Jamestown (1/30/26). 
•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 season-high 13 points with three 3-pointers at Bemidji State (1/24/25).  

    ISAIAH SCHAFER NOTES 
•Has played in seven games averaging 6.0 ppg with 14 3-pointers.
•Scored career-high 15 points with five 3-pointers vs. Minnesota Crookston (1/24/25). 
•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 seven games scoring nine 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 all 25 games with 19 starts and is averaging 11.6 ppg, while making a team-high 51 3-pointers. 
•Scored career-high 23 points with five 3-pointers vs. UMary (1/17/26). 
•Scored 21 points with five 3-pointers at Winona State (12/14/25). 
•Redshirted during the 2024-25 season.

    MEKHI SHAW NOTES 
•Has played all 25 games with six starts and is averaging 11.7 ppg with 66 assists and team-high 55 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 24 games and is averaging 12.7 ppg and 3.7 rpg. Missed one game due to injury. 
•Scored career-high 31 points on 10 of 16 shooting vs. Minnesota Crookston (1/24/26).
•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 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 three games and scored two points with two rebounds vs. North Central (12/8).

    HOME AND AWAY IN 2025-26 
•SMSU is 9-2 at home this season and has a home record of 149-72 since head coach Brad Bigler started in 2009-10. 
•SMSU, which is 6-8 road/neutral site games this season, is 127-137 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    9-2    51.5    44.4    65.2    33.4    77.8    11.3     
Away    6-8    45.4    36.6    71.9    32.9    70.4    10.6     

    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 281-119 (.702) in 400 games with 26 winning seasons (including the 2025-26 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    9-2    8-2    1-0
    Totals    281-119    191-91    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 1-1 in overtime games this season following a 69-66 non-conference win over Jamestown on Nov. 30, 2025, and a 74-71 loss at Jamestown in NSIC play on Jan. 30, 2026.
•SMSU is 52-46 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 NCAA 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 442-461 in 903 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 1,629 games compiling a record of 768-861. 
•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 AUGUSTANA
•The Vikings are 17-8 overall, 15-5 NSIC, and had their nine-game winning streak snapped last Saturday at home by league champion St. Cloud State. 
•Sophomore guard Tameron Ferguson is averaging 19.9 ppg with a team-high 169 assists.
•Junior forward Caden Hinker is scoring 15.6 ppg while averaging a team best 6.2 rpg. He is tied for the team lead with 49 3-pointers. 
•AU is shooting 49 percent from the field, 38 percent from 3-point range, 74 percent from the free throw line and is plus-1.2 in rebound margin.
•AU is averaging 83 points per game, while opponents average 77 points per game.
•Head coach Cody Schilling is in his second season with a record of 29-26. He was an assistant coach at AU for three seasons prior to taking over as head coach. He served as head coach at Mount Marty (S.D.) from 2017-19, compiling a record of 10-48.  

    SCOUTING WAYNE STATE 
•The Wildcats are 14-12 overall, 10-10 NSIC, and will play at Sioux Falls on Wednesday night before facing SMSU.
•Sophomore forward Matt Noll is scoring 13.7 ppg and is averaging 5.0 rpg.
•Senior forward Andrew Stokes is shooting 59 percent from the field and is averaging 12.7 ppg. 
•WSC is shooting 46 percent from the field, 36 percent from 3-point range, 75 percent from the free throw line and is plus-0.2 in rebound margin.
•WSC is averaging 76 points per game, while opponents average 74 points per game.
•Head coach Jeff Kaminsky is in his 10th season with a record of 144-137. Now in his 32nd season as a four-year head coach, his teams have a record of 443-445. He spent 11 seasons as head coach at both Wisconsin-Superior (1994-2005) and Valley City State (2005-16).