Aberdeen, S.D. – The Northern State University men's basketball team hits the road this weekend, heading south to the University of Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State. The Wolves will tip-off with the Cougars at 8 p.m. on Friday and with the Mustangs at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
 
The Northern State Wolves are coming off a 2-0 weekend at home with wins over St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth. The wins move the Wolves to second in the NSIC North with a 10-4 league record overall. Northern is shooting 49.3% from the floor, 40.8% from the arc, and 75.8% from the foul line, while averaging 85.3 points, 37.8 rebounds, 13.1 assists, 12.8 turnovers, 3.9 steals, and 3.7 blocks per game. Mack Arvidson leads the team with 330 points, averaging 16.5 per game. He has also tallied 70 made 3-pointers in 2016-17, which currently ranks ninth in the nation. Logan Doyle is nearly averaging a double-double per game with 14.8 points and 8.9 rebounds. He leads the team with 178 total rebounds and a 60.0 field goal percentage this season. Despite being out-shot by their opponents a weekend ago, the Wolves cut down on turnovers which had plagued them through the opening months of the season. Northern will look to remain aggressive on the boards this weekend, as they have out-rebounded their opponents in all but one game this season and currently lead the NSIC in defensive boards.
 
About the Cougars
                • Sioux Falls enters the weekend 13-9 overall and 9-5 in league action after a split with Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul a weekend ago.
                • Drew Guebert leads four scorers in double-digits, averaging 16.0 points per game. Guebert is also averaging 5.6 rebounds per game, alongside Tom Aase.
                • The Cougars are shooting 46.5% from the floor, 38.3% from the arc, and 71.7% from the foul line, while averaging 75.4 points, 37.9 rebounds, 14.1 assists, 11.5 turnovers, 4.5 steals and 2.5 blocks per game.
                • USF is led by head coach in his eighth season at the helm.
 
Last Match-Up
                • The Wolves defeated the Cougars 73-68 from Wachs Arena in 2015-16.
                • Darin Peterka led four in double-digits with 19 points, followed by DJ Pollard and Carter Evans with 16 points each.
                • Northern shot nearly 10% better from the floor and tallied 18 points off turnovers and 32 points in the paint.
                • NSU is 69-23 all-time versus the Sioux Falls Cougars.
 
About the Mustangs
                • Southwest Minnesota State enters the weekend, 16-3 overall and 11-3 in league action after two wins over Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State last weekend.
                • Ryan Bruggeman leads five scorers in double-digits averaging 12.6 points per game, while Carter Kirk leads the team averaging 8.2 rebounds per game.
                • The Mustangs are shooting 48.9% from the floor, 35.4% from the arc, and 73.4% from the foul line, while averaging 80.8 points, 36.7 rebounds, 13.8 assists, 12.3 turnovers, 7.2 steals, and 2.7 blocks per game.
                • Southwest is solid on defense, averaging a league leading 6.8 steals per game against NSIC opponents.
                • SMSU is led by head coach Brad Bigler in his eighth season at the helm and 19th season overall.
 
Last Match-Up
                • The Mustangs defeated the Wolves 83-82 in non-conference play earlier this season.
                • DJ Pollard and Mitch Weg led all scorers with 20 points, while Taylor Schafer and Logan Doyle tallied 19 each.
                • It was an evenly matched game, with the Mustangs pulling away in the final seconds.
                • Northern shot 62.2% from the floor and notched a season high 44 points in the paint.
                • The Wolves are 63-26 all-time versus Southwest Minnesota State.