SIOUX FALLS -- The University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (14-8, 9-7 NSIC South, 4th) which has won four of six games, will host a pair of teams from the north division as the stretch run to the NSIC Postseason begins. The Cougars, which lead the NSIC in rebounding and rank fourth in scoring, will host  University of Mary  (5-15, 3-13 NSIC) at 8 pm on Friday with the game televised on Midco with David Brown handling play-by-play and Jordan Dalton as analyst. USF will also welcome Minot State  (17-5, 11-5 NSIC) on Alumni Day Saturday at 8 pm at the Stewart Center.  Prior to the game, USF will host an Alumni Game at 1 pm at the Stewart Center.  Following the men's game, USF will host a Alumni Day social at Tinners (69th & Minnesota).

Follow USF Men's Basketball
Follow USF Basketball on Twitter at @USFCooBBall or see @USF_Athletics. All USF's home games and NSIC contests are streamed for free through Stretch Internet at usfcougars.com/watch. Veteran announcer Tom Frederick will provide play-by-play for both the nonconference games on Stretch Internet and conference games at KWSN.com. Live stats for home games are available at www.sidearmstats.com/mbball. Head Coach Chris Johnson is a featured guest on Sports Talk with Craig & John on KWSN.com every Thursday at 5:40 p.m.

How things stand with six games to play
With six games to play in the regular season, USF faces U-Mary, which comes in dropping 4-of-6 games. However two weeks ago the Marauders won a pair of road games at Bemidji State  (88-80 OT) and Minnesota Crookston, 66-64.  U-Mary is led by 6-3 junior guard Keith Hunter, who averages 15.2 ppg and put up 30 points in the 71-62 loss to Winona State on Saturday. Trevor Zacher also scores in double digits for the Marauders at 11.5 ppg.

Minot State, which dropped home games last weekend to Winona State, 70-65, and Upper Iowa, 99-88, sits third in the NSIC North. The Beavers feature one of the league's top players in Tyler Rudolph, a 6-8 forward, who is averaging  21.8 ppg (2nd, NSIC) and 7.2 rebounds (6th, NSIC). Minot State also features one of the league's top point guards in Luis Ricci Maia, who provides 12.5 ppg and 6.4 assists, which is second in the NSIC. The Beavers rank fifth in the league in scoring at 79.5 ppg and are pesky on defense, allowing 70.5 ppg for third in the NSIC. Hall in Moorhead.

As for USF, the Cougars return to the friendly confines of the Stewart Center after a a 2-2 road trip, including a dramatic 70-67 win over MSU Moorhead when NSIC Player of the Week Trevon Evans hit a three-pointer with less than a second to play. Evans, who also had 42 points in a loss at #12 Northern State, had 29 points, 10 rebounds and five assists against MSUM. With the victory over the Dragons, USF is 9-7 in league play, a game ahead of fifth place Augustana at 8-8. USF is just a game back of Winona State at 10-6 for third.  USF, which is 8-2 at home, and plays four of its final six games at the Stewart Center, is trying to earn its first NSIC Tournament home game with a top four finish in the South. However by league rules, if a team from either the North or South in fifth place has a better league record that the team in fourth in the opposite division, they would also earn home game if they had not lost to that team during the season. 

Series Notes -- USF vs U-Mary
Overall USF has a 4-1 all-time lead in the series, including 3-2 while members of the NSIC.
Series Summary  (NSIC games only)
Feb. 3 2017 -- U-Mary 81 USF 73 at Bismarck (McDowell Activity Center)
Damonta Henry scored 25 and Bryan jefferson supplied 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Mack Johnson led USF with 18 points while Clint Thomas had 13, Zach Wessels 12, Daniel Hurtt, 11, and Drew Guebert, 10. USF shot just 38.1 percent from the field while Mary was at 52.8 percent USF had a 38-33 board edge, had a 9-3 edge in  made 3's but were outscored 22-15 at the free throw line.
Dec. 12, 2015 -- U-Mary 69 USF 65 at Sioux Falls (Stewart Center)
Clint Thomas had 17 points and USF had a 29-22 advantage on the boards, 10-to-5 edge in made threes and 7-4 margin in blocked shots but fell to Mary at home. UM outshot USF, 47.3-to-40.3 percent and held a 12-to-5 margin at the foul line. USF made just 5-of-14 free throws. Damonta Henry led the Marauders with 12 points. Marquelis Edwards, who had 11 points, made a pair of free throws in the final seconds to ice the victory.
Dec. 13, 2014 - USF 75 U-Mary 73 at Bismarck (McDowell Activity Center)
USF picked up a 75-73 win in 2014-15 at the McDowell Activity Center in Bismarck, N.D. In the win, USF's Jordan Stotts had 19 points, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks with a three-pointer at the 1:23 mark of the second half to give USF a 71-70 lead.
Feb. 15, 2014 -- USF 79 U-Mary 71 OT at Bismarck (McDowell Activity Center)
Mahlon Jones had 16 points and Derek Brown added 13 while Charles Ward converted all his points at the foul line (12-of-12) as USF handed U-Mary, a 79-71 defeat. USF, which led 37-31 at halftime, outscored the Marauders, 12-4 in overtime. U-Mary, which was led by 16 points from Marc Musungayi, outrebounded USF, 41-39, and had a 41.7%-to-35.6% edge in shooting from the field. However, the Cougars won the game with a 31-of-36 performance at the foul line while the Marauders hit 16-of-30 charity tosses. DaMonta Henry sent the game into overtime tied at 67 with a three with six seconds left. In overtime, USF didn't make a basket from the floor but converted all 12 of its foul shots, including six by Ward.
Feb. 9, 2013 -- USF 75 U-Mary 70 at Sioux Falls (Stewart Center)
Derek Brown scored 21 points, including 6-of-9 from three point range as the Cougars defeated U-Mary, 75-70.  USF outscored the Marauders, 53-39 in the second half after trailing 31-22 at the break. USF, which also had 14 points from David Maxwell, hit 11-of-25 from three point range and committed just four turnovers. Both teams had 29 boards. Josh Turner led all U-Mary with 28 points, including seven treys.

Series -- USF vs Minot State
USF owns a 8-2 all-time mark against Minot State  after the two teams split a year ago.  In NSIC matchups, USF has a 4-2 advantage.
Feb. 22, 2017 - USF 80 Minot State 77, NSIC Playoffs - Minot State Dome
Drew Guebert scored 23 points, including the game winning shot with a second to play to lift the Cougars to the NSIC win. USF led by as many as 10 points in the first half in opening up a 37-31 lead at the break. However, Minot State rallied and opened up a seven-point lead (61-54) on a Russ Davis triple with 9:36 to play. USF closed on a 26-to-16 run to grab the win. USF held a 33-21 advantage on the boards and shot 50.8 percent from the floor. The Beavers also shot a high percentage, making 57.7 percent from the floor. USF, led by six threes from Guebert, had a 9-to-4 edge in made 3's. MSU held a 13-to-11 margin at the foul stripe.
Feb. 4, 2017 - Minot State 77 USF 66 - Minot State Dome
Drew Guebert and Mack Johnson both scored 16 points but the Cougars dropped a 77-66 decision to the Beavers in regular season play. USF shot 40.3 percent from the floor and made just 5-of-23 from three point range. After USF led 37-35 at half, Minot State outscored them, 42-29, for the win. The Beavers, led by 34 points and 13 rebounds from Tyler Rudolph, hit 52.6 percent from the floor and made nine treys.
Dec. 11, 2015 - USF 66 Minot State 65 OT - Sioux Falls (Stewart Center)
A three point shot by Mack Johnson with one second left in overtime lifted USF to a 66-65 win over Minot State. USF trailed 64-58 with 1:29 left in overtime before USF rallied. The Cougars, which hit 36.4 percent from the field, led 26-22 at halftime but MISU came back with a 33-29 advantage in the second half to force overtime. Jordan Stotts had 17 points and seven rebounds while Johnson, who hit the game tying basket with 13 seconds left in regulation, had 15 to lead the Cougars. USF had an 8-to-6 edge in made threes and were outrebounded 49-39. The Beavers had 14 points and nine boards from Tyler Rudolph.
Dec. 12, 2014 - Minot State 60 USF 58  - Minot State Dome
MISU's Dominque McDonald, who scored just five points, hit a floater to lift the Beavers to come-from-behind win. USF led, 42-33, in the second half before MSU rallied. Charles Ward led USF with 18 points. USF outrebounded MISU, 33-30, but the Beavers held a 10-to-2 advantage in made three-point shots. Everett Robinson had 20 points and eight boards to lead the Beavers. The Cougars led 29-24 at halftime, but were outscored 36-29 after the break.
Feb. 14, 2014 - USF 83 Minot State 72 - Minot State Dome
Charles Ward scored 25 points and Derek Brown added 2 as USF defeated MISU, 83-72. The  Cougars had a 50-to-43.4 percent advantage from the floor and a 34-23 edge on the boards. Both teams made nine treys but the Cougars had a 22-to-17 margin at the foul stripe. Dominque McDonald led the Beavers with 17 points.
Feb. 8, 2013 -- USF 82 Minot State 59 - Stewart Center (Sioux Falls)
Robert Goffney had 19 points and six assists and James Rader provided a double double of 15 points and 10 rebounds as the Cougars rolled to a 82-59. The Cougars hit 52.5 percent from the floor and made 12 3's while MISU was at 36.8 percent from the floor and hit just 6-of-24 from distance. USF , which had a 39-31 rebound advantage, outscored MISU, 48-25 in the first half with both teams scoring 34 second half points.  Dominque McDonald led MISU with 13 points.
 
Cougar Tracks
~ USF has opened with 14 wins in first 20 games for the first time since 2011 when the Cougars started 15-5.
~ Junior forward Drew Guebert has 1,238 career points and has moved up to 19th on USF all-time scoring chart. He is the 33rd player to surpass 1,000 points in his career.   
~ A rarity, USF has had two players record double doubles of over 30 points and 10 rebounds. Trevon Evans had career highs with 31 points and 12 rebounds against Ft. Hays State while  Drew Guebert had a career-best 36 points with 10 rebounds against SMSU
~ Between Evans and Guebert, they have a combined seven games over 30 points and 22 games of 20 points or more. Evans scored a USF D2 program best 42 points against NSU on Jan. 26, had 31 against Fort Hays State, 31 against Upper Iowa and a career-high 32 on the road against St. Cloud State. Guebert had his career-high 36 points in the overtime win at home against SMSU, 31 at Winona State on Jan. 5 and 32 in the victory over Fort Hays State.
~ The Cougars have had three players (Jerrod Walton, 2; Trevon Evans, 12; and Drew Guebert, 10) combine for 24 games of 20 points or more.
~ In total, USF has a combined 66 double digit scoring games  from 10 players including Guebert, 19; Evans, 20; Walton, 7; Wessels, 3; Teathloach Pal, 2; Justin Taylor, 3; Drew Maschoff, 4; Austin Slater, 2; Aaron Rothermund, 5; and Chase Grinde, 1.
~ Four players including Slater (17), Evans (12), Maschoff (11) and Guebert (10) have recorded double digit rebounds and also had double doubles in those games. Slater had 17 points and 13 rebounds against SMSU, 11/25/17; Guebert, 36 points and 10 rebounds against SMSU, 11/25/17; and Evans, 31 points and 12 rebounds against Fort Hays State, 11/11/17. In his first career start, Maschoff recorded career-bests of 15 points and 11 rebounds in an overtime win over Augustana, 70-61, at the Stewart Center. Teachloach Pal had a team-high and career best 13 rebounds in the win over Minnesota Crookston. He now has two double digit rebounds game.
~ Twice this season, USF has shot over 50 percent for three straight games.
~ USF has outrebounded 16-of-22 opponents team this season, including 13 teams by at least six rebounds, which has enabled them to lead the NSIC at 38.4 per game. When USF outrebounds opponents, they are 13-2 in 20-17-18. The Cougars' 5.6 margin per game ranks second in the NSIC.  The Cougars have had over 40 boards nine times with a high of 50 against both SMSU on Nov. 25 and Augustana on New Years Eve (12-31-17). In fact, USF has had a double digit margin over opponents in rebounds eight times.
~ In its 14 wins, USF has outshot opponents from the field 11 times with a season-best 56.3 percent against Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 9. The Cougars have shot at least 50 percent eight times
~ Four times in 2017-18, the Cougars have had at least 10 3's in a game with a high of 12 against Wisconsin-Superior and the most recent of 11 in a 72-70 loss at Winona State.
~ Redshirt freshman Austin Slater recorded his first career double double with 13 points and 17 rebounds in OT win over SMSU. He had totaled just five points and seven rebounds before his big game on Nov. 25. In fact, the 17 rebounds represents the most by a USF player since Kelly Hubbard had 19 on Jan. 13, 2009 (16 points, 18 rebounds, 85-84 win over Northwestern).
~ USF is 6-4 when trailing at halftime, 7-3 when leading at the break and 8-2 in home games.
~ USF has scored at least 41 points in the second half of 10 of 20 games and has had 45 or  more second half points five times.
~ USF has had at least one block in every game with a high of eight against Wayne State (12/30/17). 17 straight games, USF, second in the NSIC in blocks at 4.25 per game, have had at least two each game.
~ For stat nerds, Drew Guebert is an effective field goal percentage of 54.5 percent (accounting that three point shots have more value than two point field goals) and a true shooting percentage of 58.5 percent (player's shooting efficiency - accounting for field goals, three pointers and free throws in one metric) while accounting for 28.3 percent of plays by USF on offense. Trevon Evans has a 53.3 percent effective field goal percentage, 58.0 true shooting percentage and accounts for 30.5 percent of the USF plays. The Cougars have a team offensive rating at 109.8 and team defensive rating of  100.6 per game.

Player Awards --
U.S. Basketball Writers Player of the Week -- Drew Guebert, Nov. 28
NSIC Player of the Week -- Trevon Evans, Nov. 13, Jan. 29
NSIC Player of the Week -- Drew Guebert, Nov. 27, Jan. 8

How  Cougars stand in NCAA DII Statistics (as of Jan. 31, 2018)
Team                
Free Throws Made -- 54th, 338
Free Throws Attempted -- 63rd, 465
Rebound Margin -- 34th, 5.6 per game
Defensive Rebounds Per Game  --30th, 28.68 per game
Total Blocks -- 34th, 87
Blocked Shots Per Game, 53rd, 4.0
Total Rebounds -- 22nd, 844
Turnovers Per Game -- 31st, 11.3
 
Individual
Scoring --  Trevon Evans, 34th, 21.5 ppg; Drew Guebert, 60th, 19.5 ppg
Total Points -- Trevon Evans, 12th, 451; Drew Guebert,  26th, 430;
Total Field Goals -- Trevon Evans, 19th, 158;  Drew Guebert, 28th, 153
Total FG Attempts -- Trevon Evans, 10th, 332; Drew Guebert, 11th, 330

Evans ranks third in the NSIC in scoring
After scoring 71 points with 10 rebounds, 12 3's, and five assists on Jan. 26-27, Evans earned his second NSIC South Division Player of the Week honor on Jan. 29. As a result, he moved up to 34th nationally and third in the NSIC in scoring. Evans, who is 12th in DII with 451 points, is averaging 21.5 ppg. On Jan. 26 vs. #12 NSU, Evans set career-bests with 42 points, 15 field goals, seven three pointers, and 24 attempted field goals. He followed up with 29 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while hitting the game-winning shot in a 70-67 victory over MSUM. It was Evans's second double double double of his career with USF.  Earlier, he had 32 points and five threes (seven attempts) against St. Cloud State. In the 88-82 loss, he scored 11 points in the final 55 seconds of the game.  In a 91-66 win over UMD on Saturday, Dec. 9, he had 26 points with six rebounds in 30 minutes. In a 50-minute period between the second half of SCSU and first 30 minutes against UMD, he scored 53 points or over a point a minute. He had 31 points, including a career-best 27 points in the second half, to help USF rally to a 90-78 victory over Upper Iowa on Dec. 2. In a 91-85 overtime win over SMSU Nov. 25, Evans had 16 points and had the game-tying basket with 2.8 seconds to play. At the MIAA-NSIC Classic on Nov. 10-11, Evans tallied 28 points and nine rebounds in the 94-89 OT win against Emporia State on Nov. 10. He bettered his performance on the second day, lighting it up for a career-best 31 points and grabbing 12 rebounds as USF defeated Fort Hays State, 96-92 in overtime.  As a result of those performances, he earned NSIC Men's Basketball Player of the Week honors.  Evans has 20 double digit scoring games (28, 31, 13, 14, 16, 14, 31, 32, 26, 14, 22, 28, 10, 21, 13, 14, 24, 22, 42, 29) including 12 games over 20 points and four over 30.  In the last 15 games, he has 10 games of 20 points or more, including six of 25 or more.

Guebert ranks 6th in scoring in NSIC  
Through 22 games, Drew Guebert, a junior from Apple Valley, Minn., is sixth in the NSIC at 19.5 points per game. Guebert, who is 26th in DII with 430 total points, has 10 games of 20 points or more, including three times (36, 32, 31) scoring over 30 points. Guebert has become the 33rd player in school history to top 1,000 career points. With 20 points on Jan. 26-27, Guebert increased his career scoring total to 1,238 which ranks 19th on USF's career scoring chart.  He can move to 18th  (Joel Mulder, 1990-94, 1,240 points) with three points and up to 17th with 10 points (Stacy Kooistra, 1992-94, 1,247 points). With 25 points, the junior can take over 16th (Roger Heibult, 1964-68, 1,262 points) on the USF career scoring chart. He has 181 made three pointers in his career, which ranks fifth all-time at USF.  With six more treys, Guebert will move into fourth all-time at USF, held by Chad Bendt, who had 186 from 1991-95. Guebert has been named the U.S.. Basketball Writers Association Player of the Week on Nov. 28.  This season, Guebert has been named NSIC  Player of the Week on Nov. 27 and Jan. 8. He has 59 double digit scoring games with 22,  20-point games. This season, he has scored double digits in 19 times. He set a career-best with 36 points and 10 rebounds, which helped USF defeat SMSU, 91-85 in overtime on Nov. 25. Guebert, who is averaging 5.8 rebounds per game, set a career-best with seven threes (12 attempts)  as he scored 31 points in a  72-70 loss at Winona State.

Breaking Down USF

North Games -- In games  against North opponents this year, USF is 3-3. The Cougars own a 75.8-to-74.7 ppg edge and a 35.0-to-34.8 rebounds margin. USF has been outshot 46.2 percent to 43 percent from the field. The Cougars have a 35.8-to-34.3 advantage in three pointers and have recorded one less steal (33-to-34) to their opponents with the same number of blocked shots (21). Guard Trevon Evans leads the way with 27.2 ppg and 4.8 rebounds against North foes. Drew Guebert is averaging 15.0 ppg.

South Games -- The Cougars are 6-4 against South opponents, led by the duo of Drew Guebert with 20.9 points and 6.7 rebounds and Trevon Evans with 20.1 points and 4.6 rebounds. USF has outscored opponents, 76.8-to-75.9 ppg with a 45.5 percent to 44.3 percent shooting advantage from the field. However, oppoents have a 39.8-to-32.3 percent edge in three point field goals, including an 8.4-to-6.2 advantage in made treys. The Cougars own a 39.1-to-34.4 rebound edge per game. USF owns a commanding 44-to-22 edge in blocks and 53-41 margin in steals but have committed more turnovers (11.1-to-10.2 per game).

Home Games -- In going 8-2 at home, USF has enjoyed an 80.2-to-66.8 ppg advantage. The Cougars have hit 45 percent from the floor while opponents have been held to 38.5 percent. In 10 games, opponents have a 33.6-to-32.7 edge in three-point shots, making 7.6-to-6.7 for USF. However, the Cougars' board work has been impressive with a margin of 42.8-to-34.0 per game. The Cougars have committed less turnovers (10.4) than opponents (11.5) with more steals (60-to-46), blocks (49-to-25) and assists (146-to-123).

Road Games - On the road USF is 5-6, including 4-5 in league play, and have been outscored, 79.9-to-78.0 ppg. The Cougars hold a 34.5-to-32.1 rebound edge but have been outshot from the floor, 49.0-to-47.0 percent, as well as 44.7-to-39.2 percent from three point range. Opponents have a 8.7-to-7.7 edge in made threes while USF holds the edge in blocks, 37-to-32. Opponents have more assists, 164-to-133 and fewer turnovers (11.3-to-11.9 ).  Trevon Evans leads the way in scoring at 24.5 ppg while Drew Guebert has added 18.1 percent.

Last 10 Games -- The Cougars are 6-4 over the past 10 games but have won 4-of-6. In the 10-game span, the Cougars are outscoring opponents, 75.6-to-72.3 ppg and outboarding foes, 36.9-to-33.8 per game.  USF has a slight shooting edge from the floor at 44.9-to-44.4 percent. Opponents are making 8.1 treys per game on 38.8 percent shooting while USF is supplying 7.8 three-pointers per game on 35.6 percent shooting. USF is averaging 5.9 steals to 4.5 for opponents and 3.5-to-2.8 blocks per game. USF has committed 11.7 turnovers per game but opponents stand 12.0 per game. Trevon Evans leads the way with 22.6 points with Drew Guebert at 16.1 ppg and Aaron Rothermund, 8.6 ppg. Teathloach Pal has a team-high 6.1 rebounds during that stretch of games.