In a matchup with North Division opponents, USF will look to rebound from an overtime loss on Dec. 8 against Minnesota State. The Cougars have just two losses by a combined six points. USF, which leads the NSIC in rebounding at 43.8 per game, will try to go on the road to get back into the winning column. USF is averaging 82.1 points (8^th, NSIC) and allowing 70.0 points per game (8^th, NSIC). Also of note, USF Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Johnson will try and win his 200^th career game. He has 199 wins in his career with 183 at USF.

USF, which has received votes in the D2SIDA Men's Basketball National Media Poll and the NABC Poll, has won seven-of-nine games to open the season. Most recently, USF recorded a 91-81 win over Concordia St. Paul as Drew Guebert scored 28 points with seven rebounds. Against Co-South preseason favorite Minnesota State, USF had 27 points and 10 rebounds from Guebert and 21 points from Trevon Evans but dropped a heart-breaking 87-84 overtime decision. The Cougars had opened the NSIC schedule with a convincing a 94-72 decision over defending NSIC South Division champion Southwest Minnesota State at Marshall, Minn., on Dec. 1. In that win, USF had three players score in double-digits and led by junior Milan Surlic with 27 points. Surlic, who hit 9-of-15 shots from the floor and 4-of-7 from three-point range, was named the NSIC South Division Player of the Year. He was joined in the scoring by All-NSIC performers Trevon Evans, who had 22 points; and Drew Guebert, who added 21.

The Cougars are 4-1 on a neutral floor with a 78-70 win over Chadron State and a heartbreaking 70-67 setback to Truman State at the NSU tourney on Nov. 23-24. USF also has a 73-70 win over Central Missouri in Kansas City on Nov. 19 and victories over Fort Hays State, 89-70, and Emporia State, 99-63, at the MIAA-NSIC Challenge at Marshall, Minn. USF is 2-1 at home and 1-0 in away games and registered a 64-47 win over Waldorf on Nov. 16.   
   
How to follow USF Men's BB on social media – Listen on radio
Follow USF Men's Basketball on twitter at @USFCooBBall. 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 non-conference games on Stretch Internet and conference games at KWSN.com. Live stats for home games are available at usfcougars.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary. The live stats for USF - SMSU can be found here.
 
About Minnesota Duluth
UMD, which is directed by first-year head coach Justin Wieck, has had a solid start to the season with five wins in seven games and two of three games in league play. Wieck spent four season with the Minnesota State Moorhead staff before taking over at UMD on May 1, 2018. He is a North Liberty, Iowa native who joined the Iowa Hawkeyes program as a walk-on in 2004. He was an Academic All-Big Ten selection as a senior when Iowa won the Big 10 title. He has a Bachelor's degree in finance (2006) and a Master's degree in athletic administration (2008) from Iowa.

 The Bulldogs have wins over St. Scholastic (116-68), Wisconsin-Superior (85-45), Michigan Tech (61-56), St. Cloud State (91-81) and Minot State (70-65) and losses to Northern Michigan (64-52) and U-Mary (73-70 in overtime). UMD ranks third in the NSIC in scoring defense at 64.6 points per game while ranking 10^th in scoring at 77.9 points per game. UMC, which is eighth in the league in rebounding at 37.6 boards per game, is led by Brandon Myer with 19.7 points per game and a league-high 10.1 rebounds per game. Sean Burns, who is ninth in the NSIC in rebounding at 7.7 per game, scores 12.7 points per game while Logan Rohrscheib is supplying 11.9 points and hitting 40.5 percent from three-point range. In the loss to U-Mary, Myer had 15 points and 17 rebounds while Burns added 21 points and 12 boards but UMD shot 36.2 percent from the floor and just 26.3 percent from three-point range. In their win over SCSU, Myer had 31 points and 15 boards in 35 minutes. He made 18-of-23 shots from the foul line.

Notes on St. Cloud State
St. Cloud State, which was the preseason favorite in the coaches poll, have opened the season with seven wins in nine games. The Huskies are directed by fifth-year head coach Matt Reimer who has an 81-53 overall record in his fifth season with a 56-35 mark in NSIC play. SCSU opened the season with an 89-77 victory over Missouri Southern, an 83-75 verdict over Lindenwood and a 121-81 victory against Crown College at Halenbeck Hall. In game four, Minnesota State edged the Huskies, 80-77. SCSU rebounded with a 77-69 decision over Seattle Pacific and a 74-65 win over Point Loma. In NSIC play, SCSU is 2-1 with a 91-81 loss to Minnesota Duluth, a 76-64 win at U-Mary and a 76-69 decision at Minot State. The Huskies rank fifth in the NSIC in scoring at 83.8 points per game and also stand 10^th in scoring defense by allowing 74.6 points per game. SCSU, which is averaging 36.9 rebounds per game, is led by Gage Davis, who is putting up 22.0 points per game for sixth in the NSIC. He is also fifth in rebounding with 9.0 per game. Sean Smith also has been solid for SCSU with 14.9 points and 8.1 rebounds (8^th, NSIC) per game.

Coo Tracks
After nine games, senior All-NSIC forward Drew Guebert ranks third in the NSIC in scoring at 22.3 points per game while guard Trevon Evans ranks seventh in the NSIC at 21.8 points per game. USF, which was picked third overall in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll, finished with a DII-program-best 20-10 record in 2017-18. USF also had a program-high 14 NSIC wins a year ago and finished third in the South Division.
 
St. Cloud State leads all-time series, 12-2
St. Cloud State leads USF, 12-2 in all-time series, including 6-1 in NSIC play. In the most recent game, USF dropped a 67-56 decision in the NSIC Tournament quarterfinals to the Huskies. Drew Guebert led USF with 22 points and 12 rebounds while SCSU had 18 points and 11 rebounds from Gage Davis.  Despite a career-high 32 points from Trevon Evans and 23 from Drew Guebert, USF dropped an 81-73 decision to SCSU at Halenbeck Hall. Evans, who had five points at halftime, broke free for 27 points, including 11 in the final minute, in the second half for his career-high 32. Against SCSU, Evans made 12-of-21 field goals, supplying a career-best five threes in seven attempts. He also had six assists and two rebounds. In the game, USF made just 44.6 percent from the field and SCSU hit 52.9 percent while owning a 37-28 rebound edge.  On Dec. 9, 2016, SCSU took a 90-74 decision at the Stewart Center.  Drew Guebert led USF in scoring with 20 points as he hit 7-of-14 shots from the field, including two three pointers and all four of his free throws.  Junior forward Tom Aase had a career 15 points while pulling down seven rebounds and recording a blocked shot. Junior guard Zach Wessels had 12 points, three rebounds and three assists before fouling out.  Scottie Stone led a hot-shooting SCSU squad with 28 points, hitting 8-of-14 field goals and 5-of-8 from three point range. He also was 7-of-7 from the foul line as SCSU made 15-of-22 as a team. But the story was the shooting by SCSU, which hit 33-of-57 from the floor for 57.9 percent, including a blazing 19-of-26 from the field in the second half for 73.1 percent. Besides Stone, Gage Davis had 17 points and Jon Averkamp, 16. The Cougars, which trailed, 39-31 at halftime, opened the second half fast, drawing within 39-35 with 19:25 to play when Mack Johnson knocked home a jumper. But that was as close as the Cougars would get on the night. In a series that dates to 1986-87. In 2015-16, the Cougars defeated SCSU, 98-80 as Mack Johnson had 24 points and Drew Guebert, 17. USF, which defeated SCSU for the first time in NSIC play, shot 59.2 percent (35-59) from the floor, including 10-of-23 from three-point range and 18-of-22 at the foul line at Halenbeck Hall on Jan. 30, 2016.  Gage Davis had two points on 1-of-8 shooting and Scottie Stone, 10 points. On Jan. 31, 2015, Jordan Poydras had 21 points and Scottie Stone, 16 in a 76-61 victory at the Stewart Center. USF had 23 from Charles Ward. On Feb. 26, 2014 at Halenbeck Hall, SCSU took an 86-75 win in the NSIC Tourney. Matt Craggs led SCSU with 29 while Charles Ward had 17 points and Mack Johnson 13 (3, 3's). On Jan. 11, 2014 in the regular season contest, SCSU defeated USF, 85-73 as Jordan Poydras had 18 points. Derek Brown had 15 points and Charles Ward, 15 points and 12 rebounds. On Jan. 12, 2013, SCSU took an 83-73 decision as Damarius Cruz had 25 points. The only other USF victory was 75-67 in the 2006-07 season at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud as Eric DePue had a double of 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Cougars.

USF leads UMD, 5-3 in all-time series
USF is 5-3 vs. Minnesota-Duluth during the Cougars' tenure in the NSIC. In the most recent game on Dec. 9, 2017, Trevon Evans and Drew Guebert both scored 26 points and USF shot 56.3 percent to record a 91-66 win over Minnesota Duluth at the Stewart Center. After trailing early 4-0, the Cougars took off on a 15-0 run to take a 22-9 lead (9:55, 1st half) on a Guebert trey and led by at least eight points the rest of the way. In the win, Teathloach Pal had a double double of 11 points and 10 rebounds and Justin Taylor added 12 points, four rebounds and three blocks. On Dec. 10, 2016, USF defeated UMD, 83-70, led by a career-high 33 points from senior forward Daniel Hurtt. USF, which led by as many as 16 points in the second half (70-54, 8:29, 2nd), never trailed.  Hurtt was 11-of-17 shooting from the field and made 5-of-6 from three-point range. He was 6-of-6 from the foul line and had six rebounds. Senior Mack Johnson scored 21 points as he made 9-of-17 shots from the floor while also grabbing five rebounds. Drew Guebert added 17 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Overall, USF hit 30-of-66 field goals for 45.5 percent, including 10-of-21 from three point range for 47.6 percent and 13-of-18 from the charity stripe. USF had a 43-34 edge in rebounds. UMD, which was led by Luke Harris with 15 points and Kyle Schalow with 13, hit 26-of-62 shots for 41.9 percent. They were 6-of-20 from three point range for 30 percent and 12-of-14 from the foul line for 85.7 percent. USF recorded an 80-74 victory in the NSIC Tourney First Round at Romano Gym on Feb. 24, 2016.  In the victory, USF advanced to the conference quarterfinals in the tournament after Mack Johnson had 28 points, including 10-of-10 from the foul line to lead the way. Earlier, USF lit it up from the perimeter, hitting 17 three-pointers for a 95-73 win over Minnesota-Duluth at Romano Gym on Jan. 29, 2016.  Mack Johnson had 25 points, including 7-of-10 from three-point range, while also dishing seven assists. On Jan. 30, 2015, USF dropped a 74-70 decision to UMD. M. Johnson had 20 points in the loss at the Stewart Center. Brendon Pineda had 21 to lead the Bulldogs.  On Jan. 10, 2014, the Bulldogs took an 86-64 win at Romano Hall as Peter Crawford scored 34 points and Jordan Retz added 30. USF received 13 points and eight rebounds from Jordan Stotts. USF trailed UMD, 39-35, at halftime but were outscored 47-29 in the second half. USF's only other win over UMD was a 76-55 decision at the Stewart Center on Jan. 11, 2013. USF had five players score in double figures, including James Rader with 15. The Cougars made 11 3's. In the first game of the series, UMD took a 90-72 decision over USF in 1982-83. 
 
Guebert and Evans leading way for USF
Guebert, who was named second team All-NSIC a year ago, has played in 101 games and ranks ninth in career scoring at USF with 1,605 points. With 55 points against Concordia-St. Paul (28 points) and Minnesota State (27 points), Guebert passed Luther Hippe, a USF Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, who had 1,589 points from 1983-87 and ranks 10th. Guebert, who ranks third in the NSIC at 22.3 points per game and 10^th in rebounding at 7.2 boards per game, needs 29 points to move past Herb Buckner, who was a standout guard from 1966-70 and inducted into the USF Athletics Sports Hall of Fame this fall. He has 95 points to reach the 1,700 point mark, which has been reached by just three players in school history and all of them are members of USF's Athletics Sports Hall of Fame. They include Gayle Hoover, 1954-58, 2,169 points; Ron Krayl, 1964-68, 2,029; and Tony Overbaugh, 1987-91, 1,809 points. Guebert, who has 224 career three-pointers, needs nine more three-point baskets to move past Mack Johnson (2013-17), who has the most in school history at 232.

USF Men's 1,000 point club                                            
1. Gayle Hoover          1954-58   2169
2.  Ron Krayl              1964-68   2029
3. Tony Overbaugh      1987-91   1809      
4. Matt Malloy            2007-11   1698
5. Todd Kelsey           1977-81   1696
6. Mack Johnson         2013-17  1650
7.  Chris Frick             1984-87  1642
8. Herb Buckner          1966-70  1633
9. Drew Guebert          2015-     1605
10. Luther Hippe         1983-87  1589
 
Guebert, a two-time Academic All-NSIC selection, is also second all-time in made three-pointers with 224. Mack Johnson, who played from 2013-17, is the career leader with 233.  Guebert also has 75 double digit scoring games with 33 games of 20 points or more and five games with 30 points or more.
 
Evans, a 6-0, 175-pound guard from Wichita, Kan., was earlier this fall named USF's first-ever NSIC Men's Basketball Preseason South Division Player of the Year. Evans, who was first-team All-NSIC and the league's Newcomer of the Year in 2017-18, was selected Co-Player of the Year with Ryan Bruggeman of SMSU in the South Division.  A year ago, Evans averaged 21.1 points per game, which ranked second in the NSIC and 33rd in NCAA DII. He was named the NSIC Player of the Week three times and one of those honors followed a career-best 42-point performance at Northern State. With that point total, Evans had the second highest point total in the NSIC and was tied for 25th-best in NCAA DII during 2017-18.
 
Evans has started this year as he finished a year ago. He is averaging 21.8 points per game with nine games in double digit points (15, 26, 19, 28, 22, 19, 23, 23, and 21) and five of his last six games with 20 points or more. He has 13 straight double digit scoring games dating to a year ago and now has 35 double digit scoring games and 22 games of 20 points or more in his career at USF. Evans has 92 career three-pointers after totaling 67 a year ago. Evans, who has 807 points in his career at USF, has hit 25-of-68 three-pointers for 36.8 percent and 37-of-48 from the foul line for 71.7 percent.
 
USF Head Coach Chris Johnson will try and win No. 200 this weekend

University of Sioux Falls head men's basketball coach Chris Johnson, who was named the school's 22nd head coach in 2008, has begun his 11th season at the helm of the program. The Cougars are 6-1 this season and Johnson is 199-149 (.572) in his career with a 183-134 (.577) mark at USF.

Since taking over, Johnson, who is USF's career wins leader, has guided the Cougars to five 20-win seasons, three post-season appearances, two conference tournament championships and one regular season conference crown. Just twice in his run have the Cougars finished below .500. In fact, he has led the team to 15 wins nine times and recorded five 20-win seasons with the 25-10 campaign in 2009-10 the best finish. At the NCAA DII level, USF's mark of 20-10 in 2017-18 is a program-best. The 2017-18 team also finished 14-8 (5th overall) in league play and that is also the top mark for league wins.

He has compiled a 108-41 mark at home and a 58-81 road record with an 18-12 mark on a neutral floor. In NSIC play, he has a 62-73 record, including a 48-27 mark in home league games and 24-43 mark in away games. Johnson is 3-6 in postseason. He is also 52-5 in nonconference games.

Before arriving in Sioux Falls, Johnson was the top assistant coach for three seasons at the University of North Dakota. Prior to joining the UND coaching staff, Johnson spent the 2004-05 season as head coach at Culver-Stockton College. In his lone season as head coach, Johnson led the Wildcats to a 16-15 record, an improvement from the team's 12-19 record the season prior to his arrival. He was named 2004-05 Heart of America Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after guiding the team to the first home conference playoff game in program history. Prior to arriving at Culver-Stockton, Johnson served as an assistant coach at Minot State from 2001-04. Before that he served as an assistant at Minnesota State, Mankato (1999-2001) and Central College (1998-99) in Pella, Iowa. Johnson was a two-year starter as a guard, lettering four times, at Central College and graduated in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in exercise science. He received a master's degree in sports administration from Minnesota State, Mankato, in 2005. Johnson and his wife, Amy, have four children including Bailey, TJ, Zeke and Lucy.