MANKATO, Minn. --- Minnesota State begins a five-game road swing this week as it takes on the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs on Thursday and the Sioux Falls Cougars on Saturday. Tip-off between MSU and SMSU is set for 5:30 p.m. at the R/A Facility, while tip-off between the Mavericks and Cougars is set for 3:00 p.m. at Stewart Center.

Minnesota State History: The 2025-26 season marks the 104th campaign as a varsity sport for Minnesota State men's basketball. The Mavericks are 1,475-965 (.604) in 2,440 games since the program's inception in the 1920-21 season. Since joining the NSIC prior to the start of the 2008-09 season, MSU has put together a 246-127 (.659) conference record to go with five regular-season championships and three tournament championships.

The Mavericks won the 2023-24 NSIC regular season championship with an 82-62 win over Minnesota Crookston on Feb. 23. It marked their first NSIC Championship since the 2013-14 season. MSU then went on to win the NSIC Tournament Championship with its 97-77 win over Minnesota Duluth in the finals of the conference tournament. The Mavericks would go on to win their first NCAA Championship as they defeated Nova Southeastern 88-85 in the NCAA Championship game.

Against the Wildcats: Thursday's game between Minnesota State and Southwest Minnesota State marks their 75th all-time meeting with MSU leading the series 51-23. SMSU won both of their meetings last season by the scores of 82-73 in Taylor Center and 81-68 in R/A Facility.

Sophomore Will Opsahl tallied 13.0 points per game against the Mustangs last season, while senior Malcolm Jones added 9.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

Aeron Stevens led the Mustangs with 19.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game against the Mavericks last season, while Jakob Braaten added 18.0 points and 5.5 rebounds a game.

Head Coach Matt Margenthaler owns a 30-17 record against Southwest Minnesota State, including 12-9 record in R/A Facility.

Against the Cougars: Saturday's game between Minnesota State and Sioux Falls marks their 37th all-time meeting, with MSU leading the series 28-8. The Mavericks have won their last six games against the Cougars, including a pair of wins (75-73 & 82-79) last season.

Junior Caden Kirkman averaged 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game against the Cougars last season, while senior David Harmon tallied 4.5 points a game, including the game-winning shot as time expired in MSU's 75-73 win at Sioux Falls.

Taylen Ashley recorded 15.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game against the Mavericks last season, while Kyle Ingwerson added 12.0 points and 6.0 rebounds a game.

Head Coach Matt Margenthaler owns a 24-7 record against Sioux Falls, including a 9-4 record at Stewart Center.

Concerning the Mavericks: Minnesota State enters the week the owner of a 7-6 record, including a 0-3 NSIC record. Last week at home, MSU defeated Wayne State 71-60, before falling to Augustana 76-68.

As a team, MSU is averaging 77.2 points and 39.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 43.4% from the field and 29.9% from three point range. The Mavericks have passed out 161 assists and have forced 151 turnovers.

Senior Malcolm Jones leads the Mavericks with 14.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game this season. Junior Traijan Sain has notched 12.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, while junior Caden Kirkman has tallied 12.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Freshman Colton Benson has tallied 9.2 points a game, including a team-leading 23 three pointers. 

The Mavericks are led by Matt Margenthaler, who is in his 25th season at Minnesota State. He owns a career record of 515-229 (.692). 

Concerning the Mustangs: Southwest Minnesota State enters the week the owner of a 6-4 record, including a 4-1 NSIC record. SMSU has won its last four games, including a pair of road wins at Concordia-St. Paul (80-71) and Winona State (76-56) last week.

As a team, SMSU is averaging 75.7 points and 34.0 rebounds per game this season, while shooting 47.0% from the field and 37.1% from three point range. The Mustangs have passed out 141 assists and have forced 121 turnovers.

Jakob Braaten is averaging 16.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game this season, while Aeron Stevens has tallied 13.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. Micah Schlaak is posting 11.8 points per game and leads the team in three pointers made with 22.

Southwest Minnesota State is coached Brad Bigler who is in his 17th season as head coach of the Mustangs. He owns a 267-203 (.568), including a 13-23 (.361) record against the Mavericks.

Concerning the Cougars: Sioux Falls enters the week the owner of a 2-8 record, including a 0-5 NSIC record. USF has lost its last four games, including a pair of road games against Winona State (91-77) and Concordia-St. Paul (95-92) last week.

As a team, USF is averaging 83.2 points and 39.9 rebounds per game this season, while shooting 44.1% from the field and 29.2% from three point range. The Cougars have passed out 159 assists and have forced 138 turnovers.

Taylen Ashley leads USF with 18.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game this season, while Brogan Madson has notched 14.5 points a game. Kyle Ingwerson has added 14.3 points and 5.1 rebounds a game and leads the team in three pointers with 28.

Sioux Falls is coached by Chris Johnson who is in his 18th season as head coach of the Cougars and his 19th season overall. He owns a 285-18 (.565) record at USF and a 301-234 (.563) career record. Against the Mavericks, Johnson owns a 6-22 (.214) record.