MANKATO, Minn. --- The No. 20 Minnesota State men's basketball team continues NSIC play this weekend as it hosts Augustana Friday (8 p.m.) and Wayne State Saturday (6 p.m.).

MSU's Upcoming Opponents

Date	Opponent	Location	Time
1/17	Augustana	Mankato, Minn.	8 p.m.
1/18	Wayne State	Mankato, Minn.	6 p.m.

Against Augustana: Friday's game between the Mavericks and Vikings represents the 107th meeting between MSU and Augustana. The Mavericks lead the all-time series with a 59-47 record, including an 86-81 win at Augustana earlier this season.

MSU head coach Matt Margenthaler owns an 18-10 record against the Vikings, including a 9-4 record in Taylor Center.

Against Wayne State: Saturday's game between the Mavericks and the Wildcats represents the 19th encounter between them. The Mavericks lead the all-time series against WSC with a 15-3 record, including an 86-55 win at Wayne State earlier this season.

MSU head coach Matt Margenthaler owns an 11-1 record against the Wildcats, including a 6-1 record in Taylor Center.

Concerning the Mavericks: Last weekend the Mavericks went 1-1 on the road as they defeated Northern State 91-80, before falling to MSU Moorhead 99-85. MSU now owns a 14-3 overall record, including an 8-2 mark in NSIC play.

Junior Assem Marei led the Mavericks in scoring last weekend with an average of 23 points, to go along with 8.5 rebounds per game. Junior Zach Monaghan averaged 19 points and 11.5 assists per contest as well.

On the season, MSU is averaging 87 points and 41.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 50.2% from the field. The Mavericks are currently second in the NCAA in total rebounds (705), fourth in assists (294) and sixth in scoring margin (+18.9).

Marei currently leads the MSU offense with an average of 15.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.

Monaghan is averaging 14.2 points and 7.5 assists per game. His 128 assists are currently the most in NCAA Division II.
 
Concerning the Vikings: Augustana enters the weekend the owner of a 10-6 record, including a 7-3 mark in NSIC play. The Vikings split last weekend as they fell to Bemidji State 97-79, before defeating Minnesota Crookston 79-61.

Casey Schilling leads the Vikings with an average of 18.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Daniel Jansen is averaging 17.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game as well.

As a team, the Vikings are shooting 44.9% from the field, while averaging 78.8 points and 36.2 rebounds per game.

Augie is coached by Tom Billeter, who is in his 11th season at the helm of the men's basketball program. He owns a 176-130 overall record at Augustana.

Concerning the Wildcats: The Wildcats enter the weekend the owners of a 7-7 record, including a 4-6 mark in NSIC action. WSC split its most recent weekend series as it defeated Minnesota Crookston 65-51, before falling to Bemidji State 69-46.

Adol Aluong is currently leading the Wildcat offense with an average of 12.3 points per game. Jared Bartling is averaging 8.8 points and a team-leading 4.4 rebounds per game.

As a team, WSC is averaging 66.2 points and 32.2 rebounds per game. The Wildcats are shooting 43.3% from the field and have passed out 169 assists.

The Wildcats are coached by Brian Dolan, who is in his first season at the helm of the men's basketball. He owns a 7-7 record.

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