What Lies Ahead:  The 22nd-ranked Minnesota State men's basketball team continues its month-long homestand Saturday as it hosts 11th-ranked Southwest Minnesota State at 4 p.m.

What's in a Win:  A win Tuesday would mark the 1,133rd win in program history...It would also mark the 174th win for head coach Matt Margenthaler...A win Saturday against Southwest Minnesota State would be the 29th in program history between the two schools...It would also mark the 119th win for MSU in the Taylor Center and the seventh straight win in the building...Finally, a win would mark the 15th victory for Minnesota State since joining the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

Promotional Information: Saturday's game is sponsored by HickoryTech.  The first 2,000 fans will receive a Maverick Stadium Cup which are furnished by HickoryTech.  Additionally, there will be a three-point promotional flyer on the back of every chair in the arena.  At halftime, there will be the: Charter Oversized bean bag toss, Planet Beach free throw shoot-out and Topper Pizza Court bowling.

Mustang Minute: Eleventh-ranked Southwest Minnesota State enters Saturday's game owners of a 4-0 record with their last victory coming Nov. 25 against Dakota State (82-47).  Senior center Nick Dale and redshirt freshman guard Jordan Miller pace SMSU in scoring as they each average 14.3 points per game.  Junior forward Scott Roehl is averaging 13 points per game while senior guard DeAnthony Zanders is scoring 10.5.  Zanders and Roehl are the squads top two rebounders hauling in 7.5 and 7.0 rebounds per game respectively.
   
The Mustangs are coached by Brad Bigler who is in his first year with the program as a head coach. 
   
MSU-SMSU Notables:  Under head coach Matt Margenthaler Minnesota State is 6-4 against the Mustangs...The two teams split the regular season match-ups last year, with each squad winning on the road...In the Taylor Center last year, Southwest Minnesota State downed MSU, 71-65 on Feb. 21...Southwest Minnesota State ended MSU's season in the semifinals of the NCAA Central Region tournament with a 77-69 victory...Among active players, senior center Travis Nelson is averaging 13.7 points per game in three games against Southwest Minnesota State to go with six rebounds...Junior guard Marcus Hill is averaging 7.0 points per game while senior guard Jesse Clark is averaging 4.8 points in five career games against the Mustangs to go with 5.0 assists per contest.

Two Reminders For Everyone:  MSU's NSIC lidlifter against Southwest Minnesota State will begin at 4 p.m.  Also, some preseason schedules had MSU's tilt with Cardinal Stritch scheduled for 7 p.m., on Dec. 17, but the game will be played at 7 p.m., on Dec. 18. 

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