What Lies Ahead:  The 14th-ranked Minnesota State men's basketball team continues its five-game homestand this weekend with a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate tilts against Mary (Friday at 8 p.m.) and Northern State (Saturday at 8 p.m.).

What's in a Win:  A win Friday would mark the 1,134th win in program history...It would also mark the 175th win for head coach Matt Margenthaler...A win against Mary would mark the third in program history for Minnesota State against Mary...A win against Mary would mark the 120th win for MSU in the Taylor Center and the eighth win in the building...Finally, a win Friday would mark the 16th victory for Minnesota State since joining the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

Keep Your Eye On This:  Minnesota State senior guard Jesse Clark stands third on the school's all-time assist chart with 441 helpers.  Clark is two assists shy of passing former Maverick Tony Thomason (2003-07) for second on the school's all-time list.

Marauder Minute: The University of Mary owns a 4-3 record overall and are 2-0 in the NSIC after earning a pair of road wins last weekend at Augustana (63-49) and at Wayne State (73-62).  Junior guard Eric Erdmann poured in 23 points in each of the victories for the Marauders and he has led the team in scoring in four of its seven games. For the season, Erdman is averaging 17.6 points per game and 4.7 rebounds while shooting .529 from the floor.  Junior guard Anthony Moody is second on the team in scoring at 16.3 points and leads the squad in rebounding at 5.1 per game.  The Marauder's are coached by Randall Herbst who is in his first season with the program.
   
MSU-U-Mary Notables:  MSU is 2-0 all-time against the University of Mary with both wins coming last season...The Marauders are assisted by Jevin Budde who played at Minnesota State in during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons under head coach Matt Margenthaler...Junior guard Taylor Morrow is MSU's leading active scorer against the Marauders as he is averaging 14. points per game.

Northern State Knowledge:  Northern State enters the weekend with a 3-4 record and is 0-2 in the NSIC and have lost its last four games entering Friday night's game at Southwest Minnesota State.  Senior guard Mitch Boeck is averaging 14.0 points per game to lead the Wolves.  Redshirt-freshman Collin Pryor is second on the team in scoring at 11.7 ppg and leads the team in rebounding at 5.9 per game.  Pryor has connected on 64 percent of his attempts this season.  The Wolves are coached by Don Meyer who is in his 10th year with the wolves and owns a 913-314 career record.

MSU-NSU Noteables:  MSU is 1-0 against Northern State this year as it downed the Wolves 78-58 in the NSIC Holiday HoopsFest over Thanksgiving weekend...All-time MSU owns a 10-5 record against NSU and head coach Matt Margenthaler is 3-3 all-time against the Wolves...Saturday's game marks the first time since Feb. 22, 1982 that Northern State has played in the city of Mankato...Senior center Travis Nelson leads MSU in scoring amongst active players against Northern State with a 17.3 ppg clip to go with seven rebounds per contest...Nelson turned in his first double-double of the season in MSU's win over NSU with a 21-point, 10-rebound effort.

What Lies Ahead:  Minnesota State closes out the homestand and the 2009 calendar year with a 7 p.m. game on Dec. 18 against Cardinal Stritch.

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