Aberdeen, S.D. – The No. 6 Northern State University men's basketball team will tip-off with Minnesota State University tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the NCAA Central Region finals. The meeting will be the third of the season between the Wolves and the Mavericks from Bearcat Arena.
NSU enters the NCAA Central Region Tournament Championship with a 33-3 record overall and two regional wins over Washburn and St. Cloud State. The Wolves opened the week with a No. 6 ranking in the NABC Top-25 Poll. Head Coach
Paul Sather was named the NSIC Coach of the Year, while
Ian Smith was named to the NSIC All-Conference first team, and
Darin Peterka,
DJ Pollard, and
Logan Doyle were named to the All-Conference second team. Northern State won both the NSIC Overall and North Division Conference Championships, notching the first overall title since 2002-03 and first division title in program history. They also grabbed their first NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament title since 2004-05 with an 81-75 win over Southwest Minnesota State.
The Wolves finished the regular season leading the NSIC in scoring defense (66.8), scoring margin (+14.6), field goal percentage defense (43.5), and rebounding margin (+9.3). Northern is shooting 51.0 percent from the floor, 39.9 percent from the arc, and 75.0 percent from the foul line this season, averaging 79.9 points, 36.7 rebounds, 15.9 assists, 11.2 turnovers, 5.1 steals, and 4.1 blocks per game. NSU is out-scoring their opponents by 14.3 points and out-rebounding their opponents by 8.1 boards per game this season.
DJ Pollard and
Darin Peterka lead five Wolves averaging double figures, notching 12.8 and 12.3 points per game.
Logan Doyle and
Ian Smith are tallying 11.9 and 11.8 per game, while
Carter Evans rounds out the pack notching 10.4 per contest. Doyle leads the team averaging 6.9 rebounds and shooting 66.8 percent from the floor. Peterka had knocked down a team high 64 from beyond the arc, shooting 43.0 percent from the 3-point line. Smith opened the week being named to the D2CCA All-Region second team, as he leads the Wolves with 155 assists and 44 steals on the year.
About the Mavericks
• Minnesota State enters the match-up with a 24-9 record overall and two regional victories over No. 5 Northwest Missouri State and Southwest Minnesota State.
• The Mavericks are shooting 47.8 percent from the floor, 42.5 percent from the 3-point line, and 76.3 percent from the foul line this season, while averaging 81.9 points, 36.1 rebounds, 12.8 assists, 10.4 turnovers, 5.0 steals, and 2.6 blocks per game.
• MSU is out-scoring their opponents by 6.5 points, and out-rebounding their opponents by 1.8 boards.
• Charlie Brown leads four Mavericks averaging double figures, notching 16.8 points per game.
• Kevin Krieger is second on the team averaging 15.9 points per game, while Chris Kendrix is recording 12.3 points and a team high 6.9 rebounds per game.
• Cameron Kirksey is leading the team shooting 53.0 percent from the floor and is adding 11.4 points per game for MSU.
• Kendrix and Krieger lead the team with 64 and 62 made 3-pointers on the year, shooting 46.7 and 51.7 percent from beyond the arc.
• Brown has dished out a team high 131 assists, averaging 4.0 per game.
• The Mavericks are led by head coach Matt Margenthaler in his 17th season at the helm.
Last Match-Up
• The Wolves are 2-0 this season against the Mavericks with a 87-84 regular season win and 79-78 NSIC Tournament semifinal victory.
•
Logan Doyle led the team with a career high 26 points, hitting 8-of-13 from the floor and 10-of-10 from the foul line in the game one victory.
•
Ian Smith led four in double figures from the Pentagon with 16 points, six rebounds, and seven assists. Smith also hit the game-winning bucket with just seconds remaining on the clock.
• Northern is 10-15 all-time against Minnesota State and 3-5 in the Sather-era.
