LAST TIME OUT
- The Southwest Minnesota State men's basketball team pushed its winning streak to four in a row with its second straight conference road victory defeating Winona State, 76-56, on Sunday afternoon inside McCown Gymnasium.
- Micah Schlaak had a big day for the Mustangs, scoring a career-high 21 points with six rebounds, five blocks and four steals. He closed the game, making 7 of 12 field goals with five 3-pointers.
- Jakob Braaten had another strong game for SMSU with 13 points on 6 of 8 shooting while dishing out a game-high seven assists with four rebounds and three steals.
- Mason Lund also closed in double figure scoring with 10 points on a perfect 4 of 4 shooting from the field.
- Aeron Stevens chipped in with nine points, four assists and three rebounds for the Mustangs with teammate Mekhi Shaw adding eight points with a pair of 3-pointers. Brayson Boike also made a pair of 3-pointers to close with six points.
- SMSU shot a season-high 59 percent (30 of 51) from the field with 11 3-pointers on 22 attempts. The Mustangs dished out 17 assists and held a 27-23 rebound advantage.
HEAD COACH BRAD BIGLER
- Head coach , the all-time wins leader in program history, is in his 17th season with an overall record of 267-203, including 184-154 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 MINNESOTA STATE
- The Mavericks are 7-6 overall, 1-4 NSIC, and are coming off a 76-68 home loss to Augustana on Saturday night.
- Senior forward Malcolm Jones is scoring a team-high 14.7 ppg while also leading the club with 8.1 rpg. He is shooting 56 percent from the field.
- Junior forward Caden Kirkman is averaging 12.2 ppg and shooting 54 percent from the field.
•Redshirt freshman Colton Benson leads the team with 23 3-pointers.
- MSU is shooting 43 percent from the field, 30 percent from 3-point range, 73 percent from the free throw line and is plus-3.2 in rebound margin.
- MSU is averaging 77 points per game, while opponents average 72 points per game.
- Head coach Matt Margenthaler is in his 25th season with a record of 515-229. He is the program's all-time leader in victories and has led the Mavericks to 14 NCAA tournament appearances.
MUSTANGS BY THE NUMBERS
- SMSU has four players averaging double figures in scoring with senior Jakob Braaten averaging a team-high 16.9 ppg with junior Aeron Stevens averaging 13 ppg. Braaten also leads the team in assists (57), steals (21) and rebounding (5.9).
- Redshirt freshman Micah Schlaak ranks third in scoring at 11.8 ppg, while leading the team with 22 3-pointers.
- Junior Mekhi Shaw is averaging 10.5 ppg and has registered 17 steals and 26 assists.
- Senior Mason Lund is averaging 5.2 rpg and is scoring 9.3 ppg with 14 3-pointers.
- SMSU is shooting 47 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3-point range, 76 percent from the free throw line and is plus-2.0 in rebound margin. The Mustangs are averaging 76 points per game, while opponents are averaging 72 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 274-117 (.700) in 391 games with 25 winning seasons (including this season). SMSU in the R/A Facility
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