SIOUX FALLS --  The University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team  (13-9, 9-5 NSIC) , which has won 9-of-11 games, will finish off a four-game home stand with in-state rival Northern State (14-6, 10-4 NSIC) at 8 p.m. on Friday and against NSIC leader MSU Moorhead (17-3, 12-2 NSIC) at 6 p.m. on Saturday at the Stewart Center.

Alumni Night at USF
The University of Sioux Falls Men's and Women's and Basketball programs are hosting Alumni Night on Jan. 28 when both teams host MSU Moorhead at 4 & 6 p.m. All USF men's and women's basketball alumni will be allotted two free tickets to the doubleheader.  The USF Men's Basketball team will be hosting their annual Alumni Game earlier in the day at the Stewart Center with the game scheduled for a 1 p.m. start. For any alumni interested in playing in the game, please contact USF Men's Basketball associate head coach Nate Kaeding via email at nate.kaeding@usiouxfalls.edu. Following the completion of the USF Men's and Women's basketball double header, the basketball alumni are welcome to join the coaching staff at Tinner's Bar & Grill (69th and Minnesota) for an an informal social.

Previewing USF vs NSU and MSUM
On Friday, the Cougars will look for a win against Northern State, which has a 57-20 all-time series lead, including 6-0 in NSIC play. NSU is also one game ahead of USF in the overall conference standings.  USF, which has the league's top ranked defense (67.6 ppg) will be tested on both nights against a couple of talented offensive squads. The Wolves, which are second in the NSIC North, are  averaging 85.3 points per game (2nd, NSIC) but allow 78.6 ppg (12th, NSIC) on defense.

After hosting NSU, the Cougars will welcome the league's overall leader, MSU Moorhead, which is the league's highest scoring team at 88.9 points per game. MSUM, which holds a 7-2 all-time series edge over USF, and Northern State are among the top teams in field goal shooting with MSUM leading the NSIC at 51.4 percent and NSU, third, with 49.3 percent shooting.  They are also at the top of the rankings in three-point shooting with MSUM at 42.5 percent for first in the league and the Wolves at 40.8 percent for third. The Dragons have made the most three point field goals with 218 with USF fourth at 184 and NSU, fifth with 167. Meanwhile, USF will have to try and hold down the two teams and will lean on its defense. This year the Cougars lead the NSIC in allowing just 41.4 percent shooting from the field and 32.9 percent from three point range.  Nine times this season, USF has held an opponent to less than 65 points.
 
MSUM and NSU feature some of the league's top scorers
MSUM has three of the top 10 scorers in the NSIC with Aaron Lien, fifth at 18.5 ppg while Ayob Ayob is sixth at 17.0 and Tanner Kretchman, 10th, with 16.1 ppg. MSUM's Addison Park, who prepped at Sioux Falls Lincoln, is the league leader in field goal percentage at 67 percent. Kretchman also ranks second in assists while Lien is second in free throw percentage at 87.6 percent. As for NSU, Mack Arvidson leads the team and is eighth in the NSIC in scoring at 16.5 ppg while Logan Doyle is averaging 14.8 ppg and 8.9 rebounds, which ranks second in the NSIC. NSU guard Ian Smith is adding 14.1 ppg with DJ Pollard at 13.9 for the explosive Wolves.

Series Notes -- USF trails NSU, 57-20 with an 0-6 mark in NSIC play. USF's last win over NSU was a 71-70 victory on Nov, 23, 2002 at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen as Adam Burnison scored 24. USF trails MSUM, 7-2 overall and 3-1 in NSIC play. USF's last win over MSUM was a 92-70 victory on Jan. 3, 2014. In the win, Charles Ward had 21 points and Mahlon Jones, 17 while Mack Johnson added 12.

Head Coach Chris Johnson ties USF's all-time wins record  
With a 93-70 victory over Concordia-St. Paul at  the Stewart Center, men''s basketball coach Chris Johnson has tied Shane Murphy (154-77, 2001-08) as the school's all-time  wins leader with 154 victories. He claimed his 150th win in a 73-57 win over South Division leader Upper Iowa on Jan. 6  at the Stewart Center. Johnson has 170 career wins overall and will coach in his 300th game against Northern State on Friday at the Stewart Center.  

Wessels earns 1st NSIC Player of Week honor
Junior guard Zach Wessels, who averaged 15.5 points, 9.5 assists and 6.5 rebounds as the Cougars extended its winning streak to six games, was named the North Central Conference South Division Player of the Week on Jan. 16. Wessels, an exercise science major at USF, earned the honor for the first time in his career. Against Bemidji State, (78-71 W) he became the first player in the NSIC this year to record 20 points and 10 assists in a game. He flirted with a double triple in the win (69-60) over Minnesota Crookston with 11 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Overall, he was 10-of-15 from the field for 66.7 percent, made his only three-point shot, and knocked in 10-of-14 free throws for 71.5 percent. In addition, he had just two turnovers with 19 total assists in 71 minutes of action. Wessels, who accounted for 51 percent of the points scored by USF (75-of-147), became the first USF player in the D2 era (since 2011) to record at least nine assists in back-to-back games. He also became the first USF player in over 15 years to record 20 points and 10 assists in a game.

Breaking down league play - USF sits 9-5
USF has gone 9-5 in league play, including 4-3 at home and 5-2 in road games. The Cougars are outscoring foes in league play by a 75.1-to-70.1 points per game margin. In addition, USF has a 34.3-to-33.5 rebound edge and have outshot teams, 45.8 percent to 43.2 percent. Plus, USF has an edge in three-point shooting (118-to-92 in total threes) and a 39.2 percent to 31.6 percent margin in shooting percentage.

A look at USF's 9-2 run
The Cougars have won 9-of-11 when they have outscored opponents, 74.9-to-64.4 points per game. In that span, USF has a 35.8-to-32.2 rebound edge and have shared the ball well with 13.8 assists per game while averaging just 10.3 turnovers per game. Mack Johnson has been USF's top scorer at 15.0 ppg, but four other players (Drew Guebert, 14.1; Daniel Hurtt, 13.6; Zach Wessels, 11.7; and Clint Thomas, 11.0) all have averaged double figures in points during the run.

Cougar Tracks ,
~ USF ranks second in the NSIC in rebounds as a squad at 37.8 per game, USF has won the rebound battle in 17-of-22 games. For the first time this season, USF was outrebounded in consecutive games last weekend with MSU and CSP.  
'~ In total, USF has had 78 double digit scoring games with Drew Guebert at 18 to lead USF.
~ Hurtt, who has scored in double digits in 15 games, has the Cougars' top offensive performance with 33 points against Minnesota Duluth (12-10-16). In that game, Hurtt scored 21 points by halftime and also tied a career-best with five three pointers on just six shots.  
~ Sophomore forward Drew Guebert, who has 662 points in 52 career games, is leading USF in scoring with his 16.0 ppg. Guebert, who has eight 20-point games this season and 11 in his career,  is supplying 5.6 rebounds per game . He had a season-high of 30 points in the season opener against Emporia State. He has 31 career games with double digit points.
~  Senior forward Clint Thomas (11.0 ppg) ranks fourth in the league and sixth in NCAA DII in three point shooting at 50.4 percent on 58-of-115 shooting.  Thomas, who scored 35 points last weekend, has  118 career 3's on 259 attempts for 45.6 percent. He is one away from moving into the top 10 all-time at USF (Corey Smith, 119, 1999-01). In fact,
~ In games, USF has led at halftime, they are 12-4, 1-1 when tied at the break and 0-4 when trailing at halftime.
~ In national stats, the Cougars rank fourth in total rebounds with 829, 27th in three point field goals made with 184,  26th in scoring defense (67.5 ppg) and 38th in assists (312). Individually,  Clint Thomas is sixth in three point percentage (50.4) and 32nd in made three-pointers (58).
~ Three players for USF all have at least 112 career made three-point field goals. Mack Johnson is USF's all-time lead at 215 while Clint Thomas is 11th with 118 and Drew Guebert 13th at 112. They have a combined 445 career three-pointers.
~ USF has shot over .500 seven times this season and are 6-1 in those games. The season-best performance was the 38-of-58 performance for 65.5 percent against Concordia-St. Paul on Jan. 21 at the Stewart Center. In fact against teams named Concordia (Concordia-St. Paul, 93-70 win on Jan. 21; and Concordia-Wisconsin, 100-65 win) USF has shot over 60 percent. USF hit 39-of-63 field goals, including 13-of-26 from three point range, against Concordia, Wis., and then had the 65.5 percent shooting performance against CSP last Saturday.  
~  Junior forward Tom Aase has set a program D2-best with 120 career blocks, owning USF's D2 mark for season blocks with 56. Brian Kielpinkski who had 135 career blocks from 2011-15, had the D2 mark of 108 career blocks at USF. Kielpinski had 27 blocks in USF's transition season to D2 (2011-12).

Mack Johnson owns school record for 3's; sits 10th on USF's scoring list
With 280 points this season, including 15 double digit scoring games (72 in his career), Mack Johnson has moved into the top-10 on USF's all-time list.  Johnson has 1,488 career points, and needs 37 points to pass Tim Dykstra (1,524) for 9th on USF's career list. After making 33-of-109 three point baskets this season, Johnson is the school's all-time leader in made three-point shots with 215. He is hitting 37.6 percent from three point range. Johnson owns 21 games of 20 points or more and three games of 30 points or more, including a career best 39 vs. Upper Iowa on Dec. 4, 2015.