THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team (14-7, 12-4 NSIC), tied for second place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, returns to action versus NSIC South Division teams with two road games on Thursday night and Saturday afternoon.
•On Thursday, Feb. 5, SMSU will play at league leading St. Cloud State University (17-5, 14-2 NSIC) with game time slated for 7:30 p.m. at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud, Minn. SMSU will then conclude the weekend on Saturday with a match-up at Minnesota State University (15-9, 9-7 NSIC) starting at 3 p.m. inside the Taylor Center in Mankato. 
•SMSU had its six-game winning streak snapped last Friday with an overtime loss at Jamestown and then suffered a tight loss at Northern State on Saturday night.  
•After eight straight games versus NSIC North Division teams, SMSU will play its final six games of the regular season versus NSIC South Division foes. 
•As of Feb. 2, 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 ST. CLOUD STATE 
•SMSU and SCSU meet for the 72nd time with SCSU leading 42-29 in a series that started in 1969-70. SCSU leads 25-11 all-time in games played in St. Cloud. 
•SMSU has won the last seven games, including 64-54 earlier this season in Marshall on Dec. 20. 
•SMSU has won 10 of the last 12 since the 2016-17 season, including three straight in St. Cloud. 
•SCSU's last victory in the series occurred on Dec. 13, 2019, in Marshall. 
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 13-11 all-time versus SCSU.
•A complete game-by-game listing can be found on page 18. 

    SERIES HISTORY VERSUS MINNESOTA STATE 
•SMSU and MSU meet for the 76th time with MSU leading 51-24 in a series that started in 1969-70.
•SMSU has won three straight in the series, including earning a 78-66 victory earlier this season in Marshall on Dec. 18. 
•MSU leads 25-11 all-time in Mankato, but SMSU has won three of the last four inside the Taylor Center.  
•SMSU has won seven of the last 10 meetings since the 2021-22 season. 
•SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 14-23 all-time versus MSU.
•A complete game-by-game listing can be found on page 19. 

    SMSU VERSUS SCSU AND MSU THIS SEASON 
•In SMSU's win over St. Cloud State, Jakob Braaten scored 16 points while Aeron Stevens and Mekhi Shaw each scored 14 points. SCSU, which shot just 31 percent, was led by Nate Dahl's 17 points and 12 rebounds.
•In the SMSU victory over Minnesota State, the Mustangs snapped a 54-all time with 6:40 remaining closing the game on a 24-12 run. Shaw came off the bench for SMSU to score a career-high 23 points on 10 of 14 shooting. Traijan Sain led the Mavericks with 23 points with seven field goals. 

    BRAATEN NAMED TO HUDGINS & FRANCIS TOP 100 WATCH 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 BY THE NUMBERS
•SMSU has four players averaging double figures in scoring with senior Jakob Braaten averaging a team-high 15 ppg. He also leads the team in field goals (119), assists (98) and rebounding (5.5), while ranking third in steals (34).
•Junior Aeron Stevens ranks second on the team averaging 13 ppg.    
•Redshirt freshman Micah Schlaak is third in scoring at 11.7 ppg, while ranking first with 43 3-pointers. 
•Junior Mekhi Shaw ranks fourth averaging 11.6 ppg and has registered a team-high 48 steals and is second with 54 assists. 
•Senior Mason Lund is scoring 9.9 ppg, while ranking second with 37 3-pointers and is second at 4.7 rpg.  
•SMSU is shooting 48 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3-point range, 69 percent from the free throw line and is minus-0.1 in rebound margin. The Mustangs are averaging 75 points per game, while opponents are averaging 67 ppg.

    MUSTANG TIP-OFF TIDBITS   
•Landon Pokorski scored a career-high 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting with four 3-pointers last Friday at Jamestown. 
•SMSU made a season-low three 3-pointers on a season-low 13 attempts in the loss at Northern State last Saturday. 
•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 275-206, including 192-157 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.

    SMSU IN NCAA & NSIC STATS   
•As of Feb. 2, SMSU ranks first in Division II in 3-point field goal pct. (41.3), second in fouls per game (12.5), 27th in scoring defense (66.9), 33rd in field goal pct. (48.4), 36th in turnovers per game (11.0) and 41st in blocks per game (4.2). 
•Jakob Braaten ranks 44th in Division II in total assists (98) and 50th in assists per game (4.7). 
•Mekhi Shaw is 20th in steals (48).
•Micah Schlaak is 32nd in steals (44) and 53rd in blocks (30). •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., first in scoring defense, second in field goal pct., second in opponent field goal pct. and third in opponent 3-point field goal pct. 
•Braaten ranks fourth in assists, fifth in field goal pct., sixth in steals, 13th in scoring and 18th in rebounding. 
•Mason Lund ranks first in 3-point field goal pct. and 11th in 3-pointers per game
•Shaw ranks third in steals. 
•Micah Schlaak ranks second in steals, second in 3-point field goal pct., 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 fifth in team history in assists (333) and sixth in steals (146). 
•Junior Mekhi Shaw is seventh in steals (138). 
•Junior Aeron Stevens ranks tied for seventh all-time in free throws made (279) and seventh in free throws attempted (384). 
•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 21 games with six starts and is averaging 3.9 ppg with 14 3-pointers. 
•Has made two 3-pointers in three games. 
•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 21 games and is averaging a team-high 15 ppg.
•Has scored 20 or more points in seven games this season.  
•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 all 21 games with one start and is averaging 2.0 rpg and 3.0 ppg.
•Pulled down season-high eight rebounds vs. UMary (1/17). 
•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 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 21 games and is averaging 9.9 ppg and 4.7 rpg, while connecting on 37 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 21 games with 15 starts and is averaging 5.8 ppg with 23 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 five games averaging 7.2 ppg with 12 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 21 games with 15 starts and is averaging 11.7 ppg, while making a team-high 43 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 21 games with six starts and is averaging 11.7 ppg with 54 assists and team-high 48 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 20 games and is averaging 13 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 8-1 at home this season and has a home record of 148-71 since head coach Brad Bigler started in 2009-10. 
•SMSU, which is 6-6 road/neutral site games this season, is 127-135 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    8-1    51.5    44.6    65.6    34.0    78.7    11.4
Away    6-6    46.2    38.6    72.2    32.9    72.3    10.8     

    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 280-118 (.703) in 398 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    8-1    7-1    1-0
    Totals    280-118    190-90    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 1-1 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 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 441-458 in 899 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 1,625 games compiling a record of 767-858. 
•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 ST. CLOUD STATE
•The Huskies are 17-5 overall, 14-2 NSIC, and enter play on Thursday with a 10-game winning streak. SCSU has not lost since suffering a 64-54 setback at SMSU on Dec. 20. 
•Sophomore guard Luke Winkel is scoring 19.9 ppg with 43 3-pointers.
•Junior guard Wyatt Hawks has secured a team-leading 8.5 rpg and is scoring 11.3 ppg.  
•SCSU is shooting 42 percent from the field, 29 percent from 3-point range, 72 percent from the free throw line and is plus-7.2 in rebound margin.
•SCSU is averaging 76 points per game, while opponents are averaging 67 points per game.
•Head coach Quincy Henderson is in his fourth season with a record of 59-52. He was an assistant coach at West Texas A&M for eight seasons prior to taking over at SCSU.  

    SCOUTING MINNESOTA STATE
•The Mavericks are 15-9 overall, 9-7 NSIC, and start the weekend on an eight-game winning streak.
•Senior forward Malcolm Jones is scoring a team-high 12.8 ppg while also leading the club with 7.9 rpg. He is shooting 57 percent from the field.  
•Junior guard Traijan Sain is averaging 12.7 ppg.
•Junior guard Arhman Lewis is scoring 11.6 ppg with 121 assists. 
•MSU is shooting 45 percent from the field, 33 percent from 3-point range, 74 percent from the free throw line and is plus-2.3 in rebound margin.
•MSU is averaging 78 points per game, while opponents average 73 points per game.
•Head coach Matt Margenthaler is in his 25th season with a record of 523-232. He is the program's all-time leader in victories and has led the Mavericks to 14 NCAA tournament appearances.