What's Up:  The 12th-ranked Minnesota State men's basketball team, 15-2, 11-2 NSIC closes the books on a four-game homestand this weekend as it entertains Winona State (Friday, 8 p.m.) and Upper Iowa (Saturday, 6 p.m.).

Promotions and More:  Friday night's game is sponsored by Charter and the first 250 fans will receive a promotional item from Charter.

Scouting The Warriors: The Warriors enter the weekend in the midst of a four-way tie for second place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with a 9-4 record in the NSIC and a 13-4 overall record.  Last weekend, Winona State split a pair of games, winning at Wayne State, 73-71 and before falling to Augustana, 95-90 in overtime.  
    
Junior guard Anthony Tucker leads the Warriors in scoring averaging 17.5 points per game.Sophomore Clayton Vette is second in scoring at 14.2 points per game and leads the team in rebounds with 6.9.  
    
As a team, WSU is averaging 83.5 points per game while giving up 72.4.  The Warriors are shooting 47.9 percent from the floor and 68.2 percent from the free throw line and own a +3.8 margin on the boards.  Winona State is coached by Mike Leaf who is in his 287-112 record in his 13-plus seasons with the program.

Inside The Series: Minnesota State head coach Matt Margenthaler is 7-8 all-time against the Warriors...In the Taylor Center, Margenthaler owns a 5-2 record against WSU...MSU leads the all-time series, 79-37 and have won the last three games in the series...Earlier this season, MSU upended WSU, 80-74 in Winona behind a 23 points by senior wing Jefferson Mason...Mason leads the team in scoring against the Warriors having played in three games and averages 16.7 points per game while shooting 62.5 percent from the floor...In this year's win, redshirt freshman Connor O'Brien hauled in ten rebounds and he leads MSU in rebounds per game against the Warriors...In six career games, senior Marcus Hill has passed out 20 assists against WSU and averages 3.3 assists per game against the Warriors.

Scouting The Peacocks: Upper Iowa enters the weekend with a 6-11 record and are 5-8 in the NSIC which is tied with four other teams for eighth.  Last weekend, the Peacocks split a pair of games falling at Augustana, 97-77 before upending Wayne State 60-57.
    
The Peacocks are led by senior guard Matt Lesan who averages a team-high 14.2 points per game.  So
phomore Tucker Wentzien is second in scoring at 11.8 points per game and leads the team in rebounds with 6.4.  Senior guard Dan Bestul rounds out the Peacocks in double-digits as he averages 10.4 points per game.
    
The Peacocks are averaging 68.5 points per game while their opponents are averaging 72.8.  UIU is shooting 44 percent from the floor while connecting on 74.8 percent of its free throw attempts.  On the boards, UIU is being outrebounded by an average of -1.0 per game.
    
Brian Dolan is in his fifth season with the program and owns a 35-95 record.

Inside the Series: Minnesota State leads the all-time series, 9-0...All nine wins have came under head coach Matt Margenthaler...In Taylor Center, the Mavericks are 6-0.  Earlier this year, MSU upended UIU, 87-72 in Fayette, Iowa, behind 25 points by senior guard Marcus Hill...Senior wing Jefferson Mason leads MSU in scoring against Upper Iowa, averaging 12.5 points per game to go with 7.5 rebounds in two career games...Senior guard Cameron Hodges has averaged 12 points per game in two career games while Hill is averaging 10.8 points in four career games...Hill has 20 assists during his career against UIU, averaging 5.0 per game.

Minnesota State History: The 2010-11 season marks the 89th campaign as a varsity sport for Minnesota State men’s basketball. The Mavericks are 1,168-819 (.591) in 1,977 games since the program’s inception in the 1920-21 season. MSU capped its 33rd and final season as a member of the NCC in 2008 and owned a 283-267 (.515) record in 550 league games played. In the NSIC, MSU owns a 40-11  record (.784).  The Mavericks have also made seven previous appearances in the NCAA Tournament, going 8-8 (.500) in those trips.

On the Air:   Fans can follow Minnesota State men's basketball all season long on the Radio Mankato family of stations.  Tune into AM 1230 KYSM The Fan Mankato Friday at 7:40 Friday to catch the pregame show with MSU Hall of Famer Casey Lloyd.  Saturday's game will air on AM 1230 KYSM The Fan Mankato with the pregame show starting at 6:40 p.m.

Former MSU standout Kory Kettner will add commentary to home and select road broadcasts.  Fans can also listen to the games on the World Wide Web at www3.mnsu.edu/athletics

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