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The Northern State men's basketball team returns home to Wachs Arena for the first time in 2014 as the Wolves host a pair of South Division opponents as No. 12 Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul come to town.

Setting the Stage
Northern State sits atop the North Division standings after splitting its two games last weekend. The Wolves lost at Southwest Minnesota but rebounded to defeat Sioux Falls 96-79. A night after their worst shooting performance of the season and scoring a season-low 44 points at Southwest, Northern shot a season-best 62.5 percent (30-for-48) from the field and hit 10-of-14 from three-point range for a season-high 71.4 percent against the Cougars. NSU's 96 points were also a season-high.

The Mavericks come into the weekend having won five straight games and are currently in second in the South, a game behind Winona State. Concordia picked up its first NSIC win last weekend over Minnesota Duluth. The Golden Bears are 0-3 this season on the road.

About the Mavericks
Minnesota State is ranked 12th in the latest NABC top-25 poll. MSU is led by 13th-year Head Coach Matt Margenthaler who has won over 70 percent of his games with the Mavs and has eight 20-win seasons. Minnesota State leads the NSIC in eight different categories, including scoring (84.5), defense (65.4), scoring margin (19.1), field goal percentage defense (37.2), rebounding (42.1), rebounding margin (8.9), blocks (5.13) and assists per game (17).

MSU's Assem Marei was named the NSIC South's Preseason Player of the Year. Marei is averaging 14.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per game this season in NSIC play. Zach Monaghan is the leading assist man in the league averaging 8.13 per contest. Tanner Adler is 11^th in the nation in three-point shooting percentage as he hits 51.4 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. Friday is the first time since 2011 that Minnesota State makes the trip to Aberdeen to face NSU. The Mavs are 1-2 at Wachs Arena under Margenthaler.

About the Golden Bears
Concordia-St. Paul is in its eighth season under Head Coach Kelly Boe. The Golden Bears rank third in the league in field goal percentage defense allowing their opponents to shoot just 40.9 percent from the floor. CU is fourth in the NSIC in rebounding per game averaging 39 a contest. Its 1.06 assist-to-turnover ratio is in the top half of the league as well.

Terez VanPelt is second in the league in scoring averaging 19.3 poitns per game in NSIC play while Travon Mitchell is 15th at 13.8 a game. Keith Crockett's 3.5 assists per contest ranks ninth in the league while his 1.65 assist-to-turnover ratio is 11th-best. VanPelt is also a workhorse for the Golden Bears as he is fifth in the conference playing 33.75 minutes a game. Northern is 28-9 all-time against Concordia.

Wolves Notes
Northern is a perfect 7-0 at home so far this season, including a 3-0 mark against NSIC opponents. The Wolves are 1-2 against MSU and 4-1 versus CU under Head Coach Paul Sather.

 In conference play, the Wolves are led by Tydan Storrusten and Skye Warwick who are averaging 12.5 and 12.1 points per game, respectively. Trent Zomer leads the team and is seventh in the NSIC in rebounding with 7.1 per contest.

Meanwhile, Seth Bachand is ninth in the league shooting 55.8 percent from the floor while Zomer is 11th at 54.8 percent.  Zomer and Bachand rank fourth and 11th, respectively in the league in blocks averaging 1.75 and 1.13, respectively a game. Storrusten's 3.88 assists per game rank sixth in the league. Warwick leads the NSIC in three-pointers made per game with 3.25.