SIOUX FALLS -- No. 20 The University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team, (4-0, 2-0), will host Concordia St. Paul on Friday, Jan. 22 at 6 pm and Saturday, Jan. 23 at 4 pm at the Stewart Center.

USF, which moved up to No. 20 in the NABC Top-25 DII poll on Tuesday, opened the season with a pair of nonconference and two conference home wins. USF turned back U-Mary, 64-60, and 71-68 in overtime. Then, they recorded 68-55 and 87-76 decisions over Upper Iowa at the SC. USF is ranked nationally for the fifth time in six polls by the NABC. 

Ticket Info
A limited number of USF fans (less than 20 percent of capacity of the Stewart Center) will receive tickets and be allowed to attend if they follow facility/university protocols. No season tickets will be sold. For ticket information, click here. 

Follow USF Basketball live
Follow USF Men's Basketball on twitter at @USF_Athletics. All USF's home games and NSIC contests are streamed for free through Blue Frame on the NSIC Network by clicking here. Veteran announcer Tom Frederick will provide play-by-play for USF home games while John Gaskins will handle road games, which will be streamed on Blue Frame. USF Men's Games will be available on KWSN.com. Live stats for home games are available at www.sidearmstats.com/mbball.  

USF has four scoring in double-digits, led by Teathloach Pal at 14.3 ppg
All-NSIC forward Teathloach Pal is lead USF in points and rebounds with 14.3 points, and 8.0 rebounds per game (6th, NSIC). USF. has won 14 of its last 16 regular season NSIC games dating to a year ago when they were the NSIC South champs and No. 2 seed in the NSIC Tourney.

Four of USF five starters average in double-digits with junior Troy Houghton at 13.3 ppg, All-NSIC guard Chase Grinde at 10.0 and Jack Thompson at 10.8 ppg.

CSP is being led by first-year head coach Matt Fletcher
As for Concordia St. Paul, which is directed by first year head coach Matt Fletcher, Carlos Barela at 10.5 ppg and Jacob Shields at 10.2 ppg lead the team in scoring through two games. CSP opened by splitting with Minnesota Crookston, winning 80-56, before falling 84-80 in overtime on Jan. 2-3. Then they have lost four straight. Wayne State beat CSP in St. Paul, 88-76 and 82-60 before the Bears fell at Augustana, 106-61 and 91-52 on Jan. 15-16 in Sioux Falls.  CSP is averaging 68.2 ppg but allowing 84.5 ppg and has been outrebounded 40.7 to 34.3. They are hitting 40.3 percent from the floor and 25.3 percent from three-point range but knocking in 76 percent at the foul line. 

USF is one of the league and national leaders in scoring defense, rebounding

The Cougars, directed by Head Coach Chris Johnson, has developed a tough, defensive mindset, which helped them win the NSIC South (22-8 overall, 17-5 NSIC) a year ago. A year ago, the Cougars led the NSIC by allowing just 66.2 points per game and ranked fifth in steals in the NSIC at 6.37 per game while ranking fourth in rebounds at 35.7 and a 7.3 rebound margin. This year, the Cougars are third in the NSIC (21st in NCAA DII) in defensive scoring through four games at 64.8 points per game. In the NSIC rankings, they also stand second in rebounds at 40.3 rpg and first in the league and third in DII in rebound margin at 12.3. USF is also first in the NSIC in offensive rebound at 13.8 per game, a total which is 16th in DII. Additionally, USF is fourth in the nation and first in the NSIC in defensive field goal percentage at 36.9 percent. 

USF is second in the league and 35th in DII in steals per game at  7.8.  Offensively, USF is averaging 72.5 points per game, which ranks 10th in the NSIC. USF is third in defensive scoring at 64.8 ppg while sitting five in the NSIC in margin of victory at 7.8 ppg. 

Cougars picked to finish 2nd in preseason NSIC Coaches Poll

The Cougars earned three first place votes and was picked second in the South in the 2020-21 NSIC Coaches Preseason Poll released in late December. In the South poll, USF totaled 41 points and the three first place votes to finish just behind Augustana, which amassed 46 points and four first place votes.  Winona State was third with 36 points and the other first place vote. In the North Division preseason voting, Northern State picked up seven first place votes for 49 points. MSU Moorhead was second with 43 points and the other first place vote. The NSIC / Sanford Health Men's & Women's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Championships are set to take place Thursday-Sunday, February 25-28 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  The top for teams from each division will make up the eight-team field for the 2021 tournament.  

USF leads all-time series with CSP, 19-6   

Against the Golden Bears, USF has a 19-6 overall mark with eight straight wins. A year ago, USF won twice. On Jan. 11, 2020, USF took a 74-59 decision as Chase Grinde scored 16 points while grabbing sixr rebounds. Jack Thompson had 12 points while Austin Slater added 11 points and nine rebounds and Teathloach Pal had 11 points and three blocked shots. USF is 9-2 at the home and 10-4 in road games vs CSP.

In the first game of the 2019-20 season, USF defeated CSP, 78-71, on Dec. 6, 2019 in St. Paul. The last USF loss to CSP was a 78-63 decision in St. Paul on Feb. 20, 2016. In a season sweep in 2018-19 USF won game two as Trevon Evans scored 29 points and led a hot-shooting University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team to dominating 95-64 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory over Concordia-St. Paul (7-9, 2-8 NSIC) at the Gangelhoff Center on Jan. 12, 2019. Evans was one of four USF players with double-digit points. Senior forward Drew Guebert had 14 points, two rebounds, two assists and two blocks while redshirt freshman Chase Grinde had 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Junior guard Milan Surlic added 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists and did not commit a turnover in 24 minutes. USF opened on a 35-9 run and led 46-34 at halftime.  The Cougars, which led by as many as 33 points (95-62, 2nd half), outscored the Golden Bears, 49-32, in the second half for a 31-point victory which was the second highest margin this season. Led by Evans, the Cougars made 37-of-71 field goals for 52.1 percent as they shot over 50 percent for the fifth time this season. USF reached double-digits in made three-pointers as they hit 16-of-31 for 51.6 percent for the fourth occasion this year. USF's 16 treys was the second-best total of the season (17-34 vs Emporia State, Nov. 10).   USF had nine points and eight rebounds with a blocked shot from Teathloach Pal, who knocked in 4-of-6 shots from the field.  The Golden Bears, which was led in scoring by Noah Kannegiesser with 15 points and Cody Carlson with 14 points, made 10-of-24 shots from three-point range. and six rebounds while Justin Taylor had career-bests of 16 points and 15 rebounds in a 91-81 win at the Stewart Center.

Trevon Evans led USF with 35 points and Pal Teathloach added 10 points on 62.5 percent shooting in a 79-68 home victory on Feb. 16, 2018.  In St. Paul, Minn., on Jan. 20, 2018, the Cougars had 22 points from Evans and 17 by Aaron Rothermund in an 85-64 victory over CSP.  The Cougars, which hit 17-of-30 shots from the field in the first half, including 5-of-11 from three-point range, opened up a 41-28 halftime margin. The Cougars, which hit 54 percent (34-of-63) for the game, outscored the Golden Bears, 44-36, in the second half. 

In the 2016-17 season, the Cougars swept CSP, including a 73-69 decision at the Ganglehoff Center on Feb. 17, 2017.  Mack Johnson scored 28 points with seven rebounds while Zach Wessels and Daniel Hurtt both had 14 points. Bryndan Matthews led CSP with 24 points and nine rebounds. USF also took a 93-70 decision on Jan. 21 at the Stewart Center. Drew Guebert had 23 points and five three pointers while Clint Thomas added 19 points and three triples at USF was 12-of-24 from distance. In 2015-16, the Cougars set a school record by hitting 20 triples on 28 attempts in a 110-90 victory over CSP at the Stewart Center on Jan. 22, 2016.   In the match up in St. Paul, CSP took a 78-63 decision on Feb. 20, 2016. Matthews had 16 points and seven rebounds. Thomas led USF with 12.

NABC DII National Poll - Jan. 19

(School, 2020-21 record, poll points)

1. Colorado School of Mines (14), 8-0, 394, 1

2. Northern State (S.D.), 6-0, 376, 2

3. Northwest Missouri State (2), 8-1, 369, 3

4. West Liberty (W. Va.), 4-0, 353, 4

5. Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.), 8-1, 334, 6

6. West Texas A&M, 5-1, 318, 7

7. Washburn (Kan.), 10-1, 309, 8

8. Colorado Mesa, 9-0, 295, 9

9. Findlay (Ohio), 7-1, 268, 11

10. Truman State (Mo.), 10-1, 255, 12

11. St. Edward's (Texas), 7-1, 231, 13

12. Mercyhurst (Pa.), 3-0, 209,14

13. Queens (N.C.), 8-2, 194, 15

14. Alabama Huntsville, 6-1, 187, 18

15. Dallas Baptist (Texas), 7-1, 163, 20

16. Lubbock Christian (Texas), 6-0, 142, 22

17. St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.), 0-0, 122,17

18. Hillsdale (Mich.), 7-1,109, 23

19. Valdosta State (Ga.), 6-2, 105, 5

21. Point Loma (Calif.), 1-0, 83, 24

22. Azusa Pacific (Calif.), 0-0, 81, 19

23. Missouri Western, 8-2, 56, 16

24. Fairmont State (W.Va.), 3-1, 48, 21

25. Texas A&M-Kingsville, 9-1, 40, NR

Others receiving votes: Lee (Tenn.) 28, Daemen (N.Y.) 11, Augusta (Ga.) 10, Augustana (S.D.) 5, Belmont Abbey (N.C.) 5, Missouri-St. Louis 5, Southwest Baptist (Mo.) 3, Glenville State (W.Va.) 1, MSU Texas 1, Walsh (Ohio) 1, West Alabama 1.