What's Up?: The Minnesota State men's basketball team (7-14, 6-10 NSIC) takes to the road for its final regular season roadtrip this weekend as it travels to St. Cloud State (Friday, 8 p.m.) and Concordia (Saturday, 6 p.m.). Friday's game will air on FM 100.5 KXAC while Saturday's game will air on AM 1230 KYSM The Fan Mankato.
W2W4: Minnesota State sophomore forward Connor O'Brien is nearing the school's career and single-season top-ten list in blocks. O'Brien, who has had 12 blocks in his last three games is four blocks shy of moving into a tie for ninth on the school's single-season list with 38, a mark he'd share with Jon Taylor (1985-86) and Lester Mitchell (1992-93). O'Brien is eight blocks shy of tying Atila Santos (2006-08) for tenth on the school's career list with 72.
Minnesota State History: The 2011-12 season marks the 90th campaign as a varsity sport for Minnesota State men’s basketball. The Mavericks are 1,187-836 (.587) in 2,023 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 56-23 record (.709) 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 Bit About St. Cloud State: St. Cloud State, ranked #24 in the latest NABC/Division II poll, enters the weekend owners of a 17-4 record and are 13-4 in the NSIC, which is good for second-place.
The Huskies are averaging 75.3 points per game as a team and giving up 66.9 points per game. As a squad, SCSU is shooting .469 percent from the floor, .361 from the three-point line and .755 from the stripe. The Huskies are outrebounding its opponents by a 34.1-31.4 margin.
Junior guard Shaun Jensen leads a quartet of Huskies in double-figures with 14.1 points per game while sophomore center Tim Bergstraser is averaging 12.8 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds. Junior forward Theo Rothstein is averaging 11.3 points while senior guard Brett Putz is averaging 10.9 points.
Kevin Schlagel is in his 15th season sat SCSU and owns a 299-136 record.
Inside The Series: St. Cloud State leads the all-time series, 88-79...Head coach
Matt Margenthaler owns a 10-13 record against the Huskies as SCSU downed MSU 77-75 in Mankato earlier this season...Sophomore post
Connor O'Brien leads all active Mavericks in scoring and rebounding against the Huskies, averaging 11.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in three games while sophomore guard #
Jimmy Whitehead# is averaging 6.7 points in three career games...Senior guard
Stephen Kirschbaum is averaging 2.7 points in six career games against SCSU...Sophomore guard
Travis Meinders scored 12 points in his debut against SCSU earlier this year while freshman guard
Miles Chamberlainx scored ten.
A Little Bit About Concordia: The Golden Bears enter the weekend owners of a 9-12 record and are 6-11 in the NSIC, tied with Minnesota State for ninth-place.
CU is lead in scoring by the Olafeso twins, Peter and Kenny who are senior guards averaging 16.6 and 15.5 points per game respectively. Senior forward Brent Barz is averaging 9.7 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds for the Golden Bears.
As a unit, CU is averaging 75.3 points per game while giving up 78.7. CU is shooting 45.8 percent from the floor, 355.5 percent from the three-point line and 74.1 percent from the line while being outrebounded 37.4-34.9.
Kelly Boe, a former assistant coach at Minnesota State, is in his sixth season at Concordia and owns a 88-75 record.
Inside The Series: Minnesota State leads the all-time series, 12-4, and head coach
Matt Margenthaler owns a 10-3 record against the Golden Bears...Earlier this year, MSU fell to Concordia, 85-76...Sophomore post
Connor O'Brien leads MSU in scoring in three career games against CU averaging 12.7 points and eight rebounds per game while shooting 60.9 percent from the floor...Senior guard
Stephen Kirschbaum is averaging 3.7 points in six career games...Sophomore guard
Jimmy Whitehead has played in three games against CU averaging 4.7 points per game and three assists per game...Sophomore guard
Travis Meinders scored ten points in his debut against Concordia earlier this year while freshman
Kelly Madison recorded 14.
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