What's Up?: The Minnesota State men's basketball team opens the regular season portion of its schedule this weekend as it entertains crosstown rival, Bethany Lutheran College. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m., in the Taylor Center Saturday evening on the campus of Minnesota State University.
Minnesota State History: The 2012-13 season marks the 91st campaign as a varsity sport for Minnesota State men’s basketball. The Mavericks are 1,187-841 (.585) in 2,028 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 56-28 record (.667) to go with a pair of regular-season championships.
The Mavericks have made seven appearances in the NCAA Tournament, going 12-9 (.571) in those trips.
A Little About Bethany Lutheran: The Bethany Lutheran Vikings are coming off a 2011-12 season where they finished 16-11, including a 13-1 record in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference where they finished first overall. A year ago they averaged 70.4 points while giving up 67.7. Senior guard Alex Weldon led the team in scoring last year, averaging 15.4 points per game while senior forward Gavin Kroehler averaged 13.7 and junior guard Derek Peterson contributed 11.
The Vikings are coached by Dave Balza who is in his second year with the program.
Last Time Against BLC: The last time the Mavericks and the Vikings played was on Nov. 6, 2010, when MSU won 122-45 in an exhibition contest in the Taylor Center. Then-redshirt freshmen Connor O'Brien and Jimmy Whitehead scored 13 and eight points respectively in that game.
A Look Into The Series: Minnesota State is 4-0 all-time against Bethany Lutheran in regular season games with all four wins coming under head coach Matt Margenthaler...All four games have been played in the Taylor Center...The last game between the two schools that counted was a 110-65 Maverick win on Dec. 1, 2005...MSU is averaging 93.8 points per game in the series while BLC is averaging 57.8...The largest Maverick victory came in MSU's last game against the Vikings, the 45-point win in 2009...The closest decision in the series came in MSU's 93-77 win on Dec. 6, 2005.
Exhibition Action: Minnesota State played a pair of exhibition games this season, falling to Minnesota, 81-56 on Nov. 1, and losing to Iowa State, 90-57 on Nov. 4.
Against Minnesota, the Mavericks were led offensively by sophomore post Zach Romashko who scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-8 from the three-point line. Junior forward Connor O'Brien added 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds as the Mavericks finished the game shooting 35.6 percent from the floor.
In the loss to Iowa State, sophomore guard Zach Monaghan led MSU with 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting while gathering three steals. Sophomore forward Assem Marei added 11 points and seven rebounds while O'Brien hauled in a game-high 13 rebounds.
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