Men's basketball returns home for NSIC South Showdowns

ST. CLOUD, MINN. – The St. Cloud State University men's basketball team has been plenty busy since returning for the second half of the season. St. Cloud State has played four Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) games in two weekends, posting a 2-2 record against its conference foes. After two consecutive weeks of playing NSIC North opponents, the Huskies return home for a brief homestand and two NSIC South showdowns, as they get set to host Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State-Mankato this upcoming Friday and Saturday.

St. Cloud State enters the weekend after going 1-1 in North Dakota last weekend. The Huskies opened with a resounding 82-65 win at Minot State before falling to Mary on Saturday by a final score of 85-80. This weekend, the Huskies are hoping to turn the tides and earn a key NSIC sweep, but it won't be easy with the Golden Bears and Mavericks in town. After a rough start to the season, Minnesota State has gone 5-1 in its last six games, with its lost loss coming at the hands of (RV) Sioux Falls. Concordia-St. Paul, on the flip side, has gone 3-1 in its last four games, its lone loss also provided by Sioux Falls.

Friday's game against the Golden Bears is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m. in Halenbeck Hall, while Saturday's game is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. tip off. Fans who cannot attend the games in person can follow along via live stats, video and WJON's live broadcast. Score updates will also be made to the team's official Twitter page (@SCSUmensbball).

Here are the five things to know before this weekend's tip off:

3-5 – St. Cloud State is looking to reverse an unfortunate trend this weekend in regards to Saturdays. While the Huskies have an outstanding record on Fridays, they have not been nearly as successful on Saturdays, posting a 3-5 record in eight games this season. Additionally, St. Cloud State split its first two NSIC series of the new year, with both losses coming on Saturday, and the men have yet to earn a NSIC sweep the same weekend as the women this season.

12 – It may be hard for the Huskies to break that trend this weekend, as they are set to host the Mavericks at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Coincidentally, St. Cloud State and Minnesota State already met this season, on a Saturday, and things did not go well for the Huskies, as the Mavericks earned a 73-61 win in Mankato, Minnesota. Trevon Marshall (Evanston, Ill. / Evanston Township) managed just 14 points in the loss, while Andrija Blantacic (Bergen, Norway / Academy of Arts) added 12 of his own.

23 – If St. Cloud State has any hope of winning Saturday, it will need to stop Minnesota State's Ryland Holt, who laid waste to the Huskies defense in their first meeting. Holt came off the bench to score a team-leading 23 points in the game on 8-10 shooting, including a 7-8 mark from the charity stripe, and currently ranks second on the team in points per game with 14.3.

.644 – St. Cloud State is additionally hoping history doesn't repeat itself, as the team suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of Concordia-St. Paul in 2018-19. Though the Huskies scored 91 points of their own, they simply could not stop the Golden Bears offense, as they shot .644 from the floor and .679 from three-point range to beat St. Cloud State by a final score of 107-91. In fact, Concordia-St. Paul broke the school records for single-game three-pointers and single-game three-point shooting percentage in the victory, while the Huskies also put up blistering shooting numbers of their own. In fact, three St. Cloud State student-athletes scored in double-digits while the team itself shot just under .500.

20.8 – Of course, both the Golden Bears and Mavericks will need to figure out a way to stop senior guard Marshall, a feat no team in the NSIC has achieved this season. Currently, Marshall is averaging 20.8 points a game overall and is even better against conference opponents, averaging 25.1 points per game and 5.2 assists while shooting .528 from the floor. More impressively? Marshall has scored 30+ points in the last three games, including a career-high 36 point performance in the loss to Mary on Saturday.

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Players Mentioned

Trevon Marshall

Saint Cloud State University Athletics