MANKATO, Minn. --- The #11 Minnesota State men's basketball team will continue its NSIC scheduled on the road this weekend as it takes on Upper Iowa on Friday and Winona State on Saturday. Game times are set for 8 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.
 
Minnesota State History: The 2014-15 season marks the 93rd campaign as a varsity sport for Minnesota State men's basketball. The Mavericks are 1,252-852 (.595) in 2,104 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 an 95-35 (.730) record to go with four regular-season championships and two tournament championships.

The Mavericks made their 11th appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season. MSU owns a 15-11 record (.576) in NCAA Tournament play and most recently defeated Harding (97-56) in the first round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament before falling to Northwest Missouri State 71-66. The Mavericks have now hosted four of the last five NCAA Central Region Tournaments at Taylor Center.

About Last Week: The Mavericks opened their conference slate last season with a pair of NSIC victories over Augustana (81-67) and Wayne State (82-62) to improve to 7-1 on the season, including a 2-0 record in league play.

Senior Zach Monaghan paced the Maverick offense against Augustana as he dropped in a game-high 29 points. In doing so, Monaghan became the 38th member of the MSU 1,000 point club. He also passed out six assists and recorded four steals.

Senior Assem Marei also had a career night as he matched two of his career-highs with 25 points and 14 rebounds against the Vikings.

As a unit, MSU shot 50% from the field and hit 11of-23 (.478) shots from behind the arc. The Mavericks also brought down 39 rebounds.

MSU finished the weekend with a 20-point victory over Wayne State.

Sophomore Mike Busack notched a career-high 20 points to lead the Maverick offense, while Marei and Monaghan added 19 points and 14 points, respectively.

MSU shot 52.6% from the field against the Wildcats and brought down 37 rebounds.

Concerning the Mavericks: MSU is currently riding a seven-game winning streak, including a 2-0 record in league play.

Senior Assem Marei is averaging 17.3 points and eight rebounds per game, while senior Zach Monaghan is averaging 12.3 points and 6.8 assists per contest.

As a team, the Mavericks are shooting 49.9% from the field, including a 43.2% showing from behind the arc.

MSU is also averaging 35.8 rebounds per game and is outscoring opponents by an average of 15 points per game.

Concerning the Peacocks: Upper Iowa enters the weekend the owner of a 6-2 overall record and a 2-1 NSIC record.

Bo Pagel leads the Peacock offense with an average of 14 points per game, with Jace Hanna following with 11.6 points per contest. Jordan Hay leads UIU with an average of 6.1 rebounds per game.

As a team, UIU is shooting 45% from the field. The peacocks have also passed out 126 assists and have recorded 72 steals.

Brooks McKowen is in his third season at the helm of the UIU men's basketball team and owns a 42-28 overall record.

MSU owns an all-time record of 15-1 against UIU all of which have come during Matt Margenthaler's tenure as head coach of the Mavericks.  

Concerning the Warriors: The Winona State Warriors enter the weekend the owners of a 4-3 overall record and a 1-2 NSIC record.

Riley Bambenek leads the WSU offense with an average of 15.6 points per game. Kyle Bauman is averaging 6.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game as well.

Winona State is averaging 74.7 points per game and is shooting 45.6% from the field. The Warriors are bringing down 39.4 rebounds per game as well.

Head coach Mike Leaf is in his 17th season at Winona State and owns a 372-140 record.

The Mavericks own an 83-44 all-time record against the Warriors. Matt Margenthaler owns an 11-15 record against Winona State.

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