What's Up:  The Minnesota State men's basketball team, 11-1, 7-1 NSIC, closes out a three-game homestand Saturday afternoon when it entertains Southwest Minnesota State.  Tip is set for 4 p.m., in Bresnan Arena and prior to the game, former Maverick Travis Nelson's All-American banner will be unveiled along with recognition of head coach Matt Margenthaler's 200th career victory.

Scouting Mustangs: Southwest Minnesota State – which is Minnesota State's travel partner for the season – is 6-6 this season and 3-5 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.  Earlier this week, the Mustangs split a pair of games as it downed Minnesota, Crookston, 76-62 before dropping an 84-64 decision to MSU Moorhead.
   
The Mustangs are led in scoring senior post Scott Roehl who is averaging 15.4 points per game and a team-high 9.8 rebounds per contest.  Sophomore guard Jordan Miller is just behind Roehl in scoring averaging 15.3 points per game.  The Mustangs are allowing 66.2 points per game while scoring 69.1.  As a team, SMSU is shooting 44.7 percent from the floor while its opponents are shooting 41.2.  The Mustangs sit second in the league in free throw percentage, connecting on 79.6 percent of their opportunities.  Brad Bigler is in his second season as coach of the Mustangs and owns a 23-18 record.
    
Inside the Series: Minnesota State leads the all-time series, 30-11, and swept the regular-season series last year only to have SMSU upend the Mavericks, 80-78 in the Taylor Center during the first round of the US Bank/NSIC Tournament in March...Minnesota State head coach Matt Margenthaler is 8-5 in his career against the Mustangs and is 3-3 in the Taylor Center against the Mustangs...Senior wing Jefferson Mason leads the Mavericks in scoring against the Mustangs averaging 15 points per game while shooting 65.4 percent from the floor in three career games...During that span, Mason has 11 steals against SMSU...Senior guards Joe Drapcho and Marcus Hill will each appear in their eighth career game against SMSU this weekend.

Minnesota State History: The 2010-11 season marks the 89th campaign as a varsity sport for Minnesota State men’s basketball. The Mavericks are 1,164-818 (.590) in 1,972 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 36-10  record (.783).  The Mavericks have also made seven previous appearances in the NCAA Tournament, going 8-8 (.500) in those trips.
 
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Stephen Kirschbaum previews the weekend: