LAST TIME OUT
- The Southwest Minnesota State men's basketball team (15-10, 13-7 NSIC) dropped a crucial NSIC South Division battle with the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears (18-8, 13-7 NSIC) 78-69 Saturday evening in the R/A Facility.
- The Mustangs were led in scoring by Mekhi Shaw with 18 points, shooting 6 of 13 from the field and 4 of 5 from the charity stripe. Micah Schlaak added 13 points and six rebounds.
- Jakob Braaten scored 11 points while leading the team in rebounds with seven, and assists with six. Landon Pokorski had 10 points, and Calvin Buss led the team in blocks with three.
- As a team SMSU shot 48 percent from the field (26 of 54) and 38 percent from deep (11 of 29). The Mustangs led the game in rebounds 32-31, however the Golden Bears forced 14 turnovers compared to the Mustangs forcing just eight.
- CSP, led by Reid Patterson with 21 points, shot 47 percent from the floor (28 of 60) and 43 percent from downtown (14 of 32).
HEAD COACH BRAD BIGLER
- Head coach BRAD BIGLER, the all-time wins leader in program history, is in his 17th season with an overall record of 276-209, including 193-160 in NSIC play.
- SMSU has played in five NCAA tournaments (2012, 2017, 2018, 2024, 2025) during his tenure as head coach.
- SMSU won a share of the 2024-25 NSIC regular season championship, captured NSIC tournament titles in 2012 and 2017 and won back-to-back NSIC South Division championships in 2016-17 and 2017-18. SMSU has played in five NSIC tournament championship games under Bigler (2010, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2019).
- The 2012-13 and 2016-17 NSIC Coach of the Year, Bigler has led SMSU to 11 winning seasons, with one 28-win season, one 25-win season, and four seasons of 19-or-more victories.
- The 11th head coach in team history, Bigler spent six seasons (2003-09) as an assistant coach at SMSU, including the last three as associate head coach.
MORE ON AUGUSTANA
- The Vikings are 17-8 overall, 15-5 NSIC, and had their nine-game winning streak snapped last Saturday at home by league champion St. Cloud State.
- Sophomore guard Tameron Ferguson is averaging 19.9 ppg with a team-high 169 assists.
- Junior forward Caden Hinker is scoring 15.6 ppg while averaging a team best 6.2 rpg. He is tied for the team lead with 49 3-pointers.
- AU is shooting 49 percent from the field, 38 percent from 3-point range, 74 percent from the free throw line and is plus-1.2 in rebound margin.
- AU is averaging 83 points per game, while opponents average 77 points per game.
- Head coach Cody Schilling is in his second season with a record of 29-26. He was an assistant coach at AU for three seasons prior to taking over as head coach. He served as head coach at Mount Marty (S.D.) from 2017-19, compiling a record of 10-48.
SERIES HISTORY
- SMSU and AU meet for the 50th time with AU leading 33-16 with the first meeting in 1972-73.
- AU won earlier this season in Sioux Falls, S.D., and has won 13 of the last 14 meetings since the 2019-20 season. SMSU's lone victory during that time occurred on Dec. 16, 2023, in Sioux Falls at the Sanford Pentagon.
- AU holds a 14-8 advantage in Marshall, including a 85-75 win last season. AU has won nine straight in Marshall with SMSU's last victory on Dec. 6, 2013.
- SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 9-23 all-time versus Augustana.
MUSTANGS BY THE NUMBERS
- SMSU has four players averaging double figures in scoring with senior Jakob Braaten averaging a team-high 14.8 ppg. He also leads the team in field goals (139), assists (119) and rebounding (5.6), while ranking third in steals (38).
- Junior Aeron Stevens ranks second on the team averaging 12.7 ppg.
- Junior Mekhi Shaw ranks third averaging 11.7 ppg and has registered a team-high 55 steals and is second with 66 assists.
- Redshirt freshman Micah Schlaak is fourth in scoring at 11.6 ppg, second in rebounding (4.7), while ranking first with 51 3-pointers.
- Senior Mason Lund is scoring 9.3 ppg, while ranking second with 42 3-pointers and is third at 4.5 rpg.
- SMSU is shooting 48 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range, 69 percent from the free throw line and is minus-0.5 in rebound margin. The Mustangs are averaging 74 points per game, while opponents are averaging 67 ppg.
SMSU INSIDE THE R/A FACILITY
- The 2025-26 season marks the 30th year the R/A Facility has served as the home arena for SMSU men's basketball.
- SMSU has an all-time record of 281-119 (.702) in 400 games with 25 winning seasons (including this season). SMSU in the R/A Facility
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