What's Up?: The Minnesota State 21st-ranked men's basketball team closes the 2012 portion of its calendar season with a roadtrip this weekend as it travels to Southwest Minnesota State (Friday, 8 p.m.), and Sioux Falls (Saturday, 6 p.m.).
What Just Happened: Minnesota State split its contests last weekend, defeating #18 Winona State, 78-70 before falling to Upper Iowa, 61-60. In the win against the Warriors, senior guard
Jarvis Williams recorded his third double-double of the season with a 17-point, 10-rebound effort. Saturday's loss to Upper Iowa saw sophomore center
Assem Mareirecord his first career double-double with a 17-point, 12-rebound performance.
Minnesota State History: The 2012-13 season marks the 91st campaign as a varsity sport for Minnesota State men’s basketball. The Mavericks are 1,191-842 (.586) in 2,033 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 58-29 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 Southwest Minnesota State: Southwest Minnesota State enters the weekend owners of a 5-5 record, including a 2-1 mark in the NSIC. Last weekend, the Mustangs split a pair of road decisions, falling to Augustana, 70-65, before upending Wayne State, 74-73.
For the season, SMSU is averaging 67.7 points per game while it allows 67.5. The Mustangs are shooting 45.3 percent from the floor and 34.2 percent from downtown and are being outrebounded by a 36.1 to 33.3.
Senior guard Jordan Miller leads the team in scoring with 14 points per game to go with 6.2 rebounds. Junior center Nick Smith is averaging 11 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds per game, including a team-high 22 offensive rebounds. Junior guard Matt Zager and senior forward Lavoine West round out the Mustangs in double figures averaging 10.3 and 10.2 points respectively.
The Mustangs are coached by Brad Bigler who is in his 53-42 and in his fourth season in Marshall.
Series History: Minnesota State is 32-13 all-time by Southwest Minnesota State...Head coach
Matt Margenthaler is 11-7 all-time against SMSU with a 4-4 record in the city of Marshall...Last year, SMSU swept the season series, winning 82-63 in Marshall and 79-71 in Mankato...Sophomore forward
Zach Romashko is MSU's active leading scorer against SMSU averaging 10.5 points in two career games...Junior guard
Jimmy Whitehead is averaging 9.5 points while junior post
Connor O'Brien is averaging 5.7 points and a team-high 5.3 rebounds.
A Little About Sioux Falls: After starting off the season 4-0, the Cougars have dropped their last three decisions to fall to 4-3, 0-3 in the NSIC. Last weekend, USF suffered a 70-58 loss at Augustana and a 55-53 loss at Wayne State.
As a squad, Sioux Falls is allowing 62.1 points per game and giving up 55.9. The Cougars are shooting 40.9 percent from the floor, 33.31 percent from the three-point line and 70.9 percent from the free throw line. Sioux Falls is outrebounding its opponents by 4.2 rebounds per game, 32.3 to 28.1.
Senior post James Rader leads the team in scoring at 11.1 points per game while senior guard A.J. Holland is averaging 10.7. Junior guard Derek Brown is averaging 10.6 while senior forward David Maxwell is averaging a team-high 4.7 rebounds per contest.
Series History: Minnesota State is 5-2 all-time against USF...The Mavericks are 1-1 against Sioux Falls under head coach
Matt Margenthaler...Sioux Falls head coach Chris Johnson was a graduate assistant coach for the Mavericks from 1999-2001.
To view the complete release, click
HERE
