Basketball hosts SMSU, USF in final home weekend of semester

Friday, December 14

St. Cloud, Minn.

7:30 p.m.

St. Cloud State

Southwest Minnesota State University

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

Basketball hosts SMSU, USF in final home weekend of semester

12/13/2018 2:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

ST. CLOUD, MINN. – The St. Cloud State University men's basketball team has not had an easy start to the 2018-19 season. Through the first two months, the team has faced multiple national and regional contenders before even starting conference play. This weekend, the Huskies will face what is perhaps their toughest test of the season, as they host Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) foes Southwest Minnesota State University and the University of Sioux Falls this upcoming Friday and Saturday.

There is quite a bit of potential for high-scoring, intense basketball action, as Sioux Falls, Southwest Minnesota State and St. Cloud State account for three of the most proficient offenses in the NSIC. The three teams also account for four of the league's top-10 scorers, as well as one of the stingiest defenses in NSIC play. The three teams also hold eerily similar records, as the Huskies and Cougars are both 7-2 overall with a 2-1 mark in NSIC play, while the Mustangs are 6-3 overall with a 2-1 mark in NSIC play.

Additionally, St. Cloud State is coming off a supremely successful weekend in North Dakota, as the Huskies swept their NSIC opponents on the road to improve to 2-1 in NSIC play. St. Cloud State earned its first conference win of the season on Friday, December 7 as the team grinded out a 76-64 victory over the University of Mary before taking down Minot State University Saturday 76-69.

The Huskies will open the weekend with a 7:30 p.m. tip off against the Mustangs on Friday, December 14 before hosting the Cougars at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 15. Fans who cannot attend the game in person can follow along via live stats, video and WJON's live radio broadcast. Score updates can also be found on St. Cloud State men's basketball official Twitter page (@SCSUmensbball).

Here are the five things to know before this weekend's match ups:

62/14 – This will be the 62^nd meeting between St. Cloud State and Southwest Minnesota State and the 14^th between the Huskies and Sioux Falls. St. Cloud State holds a winning record against both teams, as the team is 40-22 all-time against the Mustangs and 14-2 in its newer series against the Cougars. However, the visiting teams have pushed the Huskies to their limits in recent seasons, as Southwest Minnesota State beat St. Cloud State twice last season, and Sioux Falls lost by less than 10 in the teams' regular season meeting last year.

1 – The Huskies, Mustangs and Cougars all have one common loss on their records: Minnesota State University-Mankato. That's right, all three teams have lost to the Mavericks at some point this season, and all three losses have been by fewer than 10 points. In early November, Minnesota State handed St. Cloud State its first loss of the season in a nonconference play, as the Mavericks beat the Huskies 80-77 in overtime. This past weekend, Minnesota State upended both Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls, defeating the Mustangs 75-67 on Friday, December 7 before taking down the Cougars in overtime by a score of 87-84.

312 – There will be plenty of scoring to go around this weekend, as these two games will feature four of the top five scorers in the NSIC this season, including Southwest Minnesota State's Ryan Bruggman, St. Cloud State's Gage Davis (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Bolingbrook) and Sioux Fall's Drew Guebert and Trevon Evans. Through three conference games this season, these four student-athletes have scored a combined 312 points and ranked first (Bruggman – 30.3), third (Davis – 26.0), fourth (Guebert – 25.3) and fifth (Evans – 22.3) in the NSIC in total points and scoring in conference play. The three of them also rank in the top-1- in scoring overall, as Bruggman leads the conference with a 23.2 points per game average, following by Guebert (third – 22.3), Davis (sixth – 22.0) and Evans (seventh – 21.8).

89.7 – The Huskies defense will need to be on point this weekend, as they are tasked not only with stopped three of the top five scorers in the NSIC, but the No. 2 offense in the conference as well. In three NSIC games, the Cougars are averaging an impressive 89.7 points per game, scoring 269 total points against SMSU, Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State. It helps the Sioux Falls has two of the conference's top scorers on their rosters, as Guebert and Evans are averaging over 20 points per game in NSIC play and have each scored over 60 points already this conference season.

13 – Of course, St. Cloud State has to stop Bruggman and the Mustangs before it can focus on Saturday's game against the Cougars. As the reigning NSIC South Player of the Week and Preseason conference Player of the Year candidate, Bruggman is having a senior season to remember, averaging an impressive NSIC-leading 23.2 points per game this season. However, Bruggman doesn't just lead the conference in several statistical categories. He also ranked in the top-20 in the nation, as he ranks 13^th in scoring (23.2 PPG) and tenth in assists per game (6.8) in 2018-19.