MARGENTHALER NAMED TOP 50 – MSU head men's basketball coach Matt Margenthaler was named to Silver Waves Media Top 50 Most Impactful Division II Men's Basketball Coaches announced on Wednesday, Nov. 11.  Ballard of Washburn also made the list.
 
MAVERICKS NINTH IN NABC POLL – Coming off the 21-12 record a season ago, the Mavericks are ninth in the preseason NABC Top 25.  Washburn is second in the poll, while St. Cloud State is 22nd.  Lake Superior State, Minnesota Duluth and Northern Michigan - all teams MSU is scheduled to face this season are among others receiving votes.
 
LEAGUE FAVORITES – The Mavericks were picked as league favorites for 2026-27 overall and picked to share the South Division title with St. Cloud State.
 
HISTORY OF MSU BASKETBALL – The 2026-27 season marks the 105th campaign as a varsity sport for Minnesota State men's basketball. The Mavericks are 1,489-971 (.605) in 2,460 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 258-132 (.661) conference record to go with five regular-season championships and three tournament championships.
 
RETURNING MAVERICKS – The Mavericks return a number of talented players from last season, including senior Arhman Lewis who was named the Mavericks' NSIC Player to Watch for 2026-27, along with second team all-conference honoree senior Traijan Sain.  Sain appeared in 32 games and made 24 starts while averaging 12.6 points per game. He scored 404 points on the season, second-most on the team, and ranked third on the squad with 141 made field goals.  Minnesota State also returns Caden Kirkman, Will Opsahl and Carson Schweim, all of whom appeared in more than 25 games last season. Returning Mavericks Phoenix Childs, AJ Bender, Ganden Gosch and Colton Benson add further experience to the roster.
 
FRESH FACES – Margethaler welcomes several newcomers, including Jamestown transfer Thomas Diew, along with junior-college transfers Aric Walls, Wylee Dauenbaugh and Preston Thielke. Freshmen Brock Badding and Bryce Ott round out the 2026-27 roster.
 
THE SERIES WITH MISSOURI S&T - The Mavericks and the Miners have never met on the hardwood before.  MSU is 35-15 all-time against current members of the GLVC.  The Mavericks are 2-1 against Lincoln (Mo.), 2-1 against Rockhurst, 24-11 against Upper Iowa, 1-0 against Maryville, 1-0 against Missouri-St. Louis, 1-1 versus Quincy and 4-1 against Truman State.
 
ABOUT THE MINERS – The Miners have surpassed 19 wins each of the last two seasons as they averaged 79.6 points per game last season and returns two of its top five scorers in Cameron Stovall and Zac Brown. Adam Rickman also returns after a strong 2025-26 campaign in which the forward recorded 59 steals, the fourth-most in a single season in program history.  The Miners were picked sixth in the GLVC Preseason Coaches Poll, garnering 136 points just behind Indianapolis (140).  McKendree was picked to win the league.  Missouri S&T head coach Bill Walker begins his eighth year at the helm of the program and welcomes several newcomers including Mary Washington transfer Jadon Burgess.
 
POSTSEASON MAVERICKS – The Minnesota State men's basketball team has reached the NCAA Tournament 16 times in its history. The Mavericks own a 24-15 overall record in their 16 visits to the tournament. The Mavericks hosted their fifth NCAA Central Region Tournament at Taylor Center in 2024. During the 2010-11 season, MSU advanced to the NCAA Final Four. In 2024, Minnesota State
won its first NCAA Championship as it defeated Nova Southeastern 88-85 in Evansville, Ind.
 
ABOUT THE ICHABODS – No. 2 Washburn is 1-1 on the year following the tournament last weekend.   Tyson Ruud was named to the all-conference team last week averaging 20 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.  Brody Owen averaged 13.5 points and 3.5 assists per game in his first college competition, while Tyler Salmon averaged 16.0 points and 5.5 rebounds, going 6 of 14 from distance in the two games.  Jack Bachelor averaged 15 points, 3.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds, while going 13 of 15 from the line to begin the season.  Head coach Brett Ballard is just one win away from his 200th in program history.  The Ichabods were picked to win the MIAA Preseason Coaches and Media polls.  WU has gone 62-7 in the last three-plus seasons with two MIAA regular season titles, one tournament title and a NCAA Central Region title.  Ballard has guided WU to four berths in the NCAA postseason and back-to-back 30-win seasons for two of the three 30-win seasons in program history.
 
THE SERES WITH WASHBURN – The series with Washburn is tied 2-2 and the Ichabods have won the last two meetings - both in Kansas City inside Municipal Auditorium in an 85-68 win on Nov. 9, 2024, and a 78-71 win on Nov. 8, 2019, in overtime.  The teams also met on a neutral site with a 77-70 MSU victory on Nov. 14, 2014, at the Pentagon Basketball Showcase in Sioux Falls, S.D.  The first meeting came on Dec. 20, 1949, in Enid, Okla., with a 74-45 Maverick victory.
 
UP NEXT – The Mavericks return home to host Dakota State on Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. in the Taylor Center, before returning to the road next weekend facing Lake Superior State and Northern Michigan in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., at Justagame Fieldhouse.