SIOUX FALLS – With three straight wins, the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (3-1, 0-0 NSIC) is set to open the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference against Southwest Minnesota State (3-1, 0-0 NSIC) on Tuesday at 7:30 pm at the Stewart Center. The match-up between the Mustangs and Cougars will be the 38th meeting.

Later in the week, USF will play at the MSU Moorhead Thanksgiving Tournament on Nov. 26-27. The Cougars face U-Mary at 3 pm in a nonconference game and MSU Moorhead at 3 pm on Saturday, also in a nonconference game. Then, USF returns to play city rival Augustana on Dec. 2 at the Sanford Pentagon before a home NSIC encounter with Wayne State on Dec. 4.
 
Follow USF Men's Basketball - Broadcast - Social Media
Follow USF Men's Basketball on Twitter at @USFCooBBall or USF_Athletics. All USF's home and road games and NSIC contests are streamed for free through Blue Frame at the NSIC Network (schedule page, click on NSIC Network). Veteran announcer Tom Frederick will provide play-by-play for the conference radio broadcasts on KWSN.com. Live stats for home games are available at www.sidearmstats.com/mbball.  The game with SMSU on Tuesday will be broadcast on Midco Sports with David Brown handling play-by-play and Brad Newitt on analyst duties.

How Things Stand 
Both teams come into the game with three straight wins. USF, which knocked off defending national champion Northwest Missouri State, 83-77, on Nov. 13 at the Central Region Preview, have two straight nonconference wins at home with a 71-61 decision against Dakota State on Nov. 16 and a 74-56 victory over Chadron State on Nov. 19. SMSU defeated Davenport, 73-63, on Nov. 20 after a 69-60 win over Wisconsin-Parkside and an 84-58 against Newman on Nov. 13 at the Concordia St. Paul Classic, where SMSU dropped a 63-54 contest to Rogers State (Okla.). A year ago, USF was 5-5 in league play (7-5 overall) in the CoVID shortened season while SMSU was 1-6 (3-8 overall).

Series Breakdown - Cougars trail Mustangs, 22-15
USF will meet SMSU for the 38^th team with SMSU owning a 22-15 overall series lead. A year ago, the teams split with USF taking a 61-52 victory at SMSU on Feb. 2 as Chase Grinde had 16 points. USF trailed, 33-30 at the halftime break but outscored SMSU, 31-19, in the second half. SMSU rallied to defeat USF, 76-69 in overtime on Feb. 21, 2021. Grinde had 21 points for USF while Austin Slater had 11 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth career double double.   In a series that dates to 1968-69,  USF-SMSU is tied at 9-9 in conference games since USF joined the NSIC in 2012-13. SMSU leads the series 16-3 in games played in Marshall.  USF has a 12-5 lead in games at the Stewart Center.

In other games in the series -

USF took an 84-69 victory in Marshall, Minn., on Dec. 21, 2019.  Jack Thompson scored 18 points and after a tight first half, USF had an 11-0 run midway through the second half to gain a six-point advantage (48-42, 13:20, 2nd half) and never relinquished the lead. USF also recorded a 74-56 win on Nov. 30, 2019. On his birthday and during Thanksgiving weekend, USF HC Chris Johnson picked up the 200th win of his career as the Cougars recorded a 74-56 decision over Southwest Minnesota State at the Stewart Center. Leading the way for USF was redshirt sophomore forward Chase Grinde who had 19 points, seven rebounds and an assist, steal and block in 35 minutes on the floor. The Spring Grove, Minn., native hit 7-of-8 field goals and his only three-point shot. Grinde, who had his 10th career double-digit scoring game, was also 4-of-6 at the foul line. USF also had double digits from three others which included junior guard Will Lybaek, who had 14 points for his fourth double-digit game of the season. He was 5-of-8 from the floor. USF had career-highs from both freshman guard Jack Thompson and sophomore guard Troy Houghton who both scored 10 points. USF trailed early 8-2 but rallied back to within 32-30 at halftime. In the second half, USF dominated by outscoring their travel partners, 44-24, as they improved their home mark against SMSU to 12-5 and cut the all-time series to 21-13. The Cougars, which hit 12-of-20 shots for 60 percent in the second half, made 23-of-46 shots for 50 percent. While they were just 3-of-13 on three-pointers, the Cougars converted 25-of-33 free throws for 75.8 percent while owning a 41-19 advantage on the boards. USF's dominance on the boards was led by Grinde, Slater and Teathloach Pal, who had a game-high 13 boards along with eight points, a steal and block. 

Despite 29 points from Trevon Evans, USF fell to SMSU, 79-75 on Dec. 30, 2018. USF trailed 36-35 at halftime and was outscored, 43-40, in the second half by the Mustangs, which was led by senior Ryan Bargeman with 31 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. SMSU used an 11-to-8 edge in made three-pointers and a 14-13 margin at the foul line to slip past USF. The Cougars, which owned a 41-32 edge on the boards, were hurt by turnovers, especially in the second half. USF had just one in the opening 20 minutes of play but then committed 13 in the second half. USF made 27-of-58 field goals for 46.6 percent and knocked in 8-of-19 shots from three-point range for 42.1 percent but hit only 13-of-21 foul shots for 61.9 percent. As for SMSU, they were 27-of-66 from the field for 40.9 percent but made 11-of-30 shots from three-point range while hammering home 14-of-17 free throws. 

In the first game last year, USF took a 94-72 decision on Dec. 1 2018 in Marshall, Minn. Led by a career-high 27 points from Milan Surlic, who would earn NSIC Player of the Week honors two days later, and 22 points from Trevon Evans and 21 from Drew Guebert, USF ended a 15-game losing streak to the Mustangs in Marshall, Minn. USF hit 56.4 percent from the field on 31-of-55 shooting and made 10-of-19 for 52.6 percent from three-point range. Additionally, they hit 22-of-27 free throws for 81.5 percent.

The Cougars opened up a 45-33 halftime lead and outscored SMSU, 49-39, in the second half. The Cougars, which led for 37:08 of the game, built its biggest lead of 24 points (80-56) with 7:40 to play in the second half. Surlic hit 9-of-15 field goals, including a career-best 4-of-7 from three-point range, while making all five of his free throws to score 27 points in 33 minutes. Surlic, who had his second 20-point game of the season, added four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Guebert made 6-of-10 field goals and 8-of-10 foul shots while grabbing five rebounds with a season-high five assists. Evans made 9-of-17 field goals against SMSU with 4-of-7 from the three-point range. He added four rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal.

Led by Guebert's career-high 36 points and 10 rebounds, USF knocked off SMSU, 91-85 in overtime on Nov. 25, 2017 at the Stewart Center. However in the second match-up in the 2017-18 season, SMSU recorded an 86-57 win at the R/A Facility. USF is 11-5 in games at the Stewart Center. SMSU has a 15-1 at the R/A Facility in Marshall.  

The teams met in the NSIC Tournament on Feb. 26, 2017 as SMSU registered a 79-68 victory in the NSIC Tournament quarterfinals on Feb. 26, 2017 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls. Guebert led USF with 19 points as he made four treys. On Nov. 28, 2016, SMSU defeated USF, 74-72 in Marshall, Minn. Guebert had 26 points and five rebounds for USF while Ryan Bruggeman added 15 points and Carter Kirk had a double double. On Dec. 16, 2016, USF dropped an 87-86 decision to SMSU at the Stewart Center, despite 27 points from Mack Johnson. USF led 86-83 with 1:21 to play after two foul shots by Zach Wessels, who had 16 on the night, but the Mustangs closed with four straight points, including a game-winning lay-up by Ryan Bruggeman with 10 seconds to play. 

On Dec. 8, 2015 at the Stewart Center, USF rallied from a 13-point deficit to pick up a 78-72 victory as Jared Mayes had 23 points and seven rebounds. in the second game of the 2015-16 season, (Dec. 19, 2015),  SMSU edged USF, 62-60 at the RA Facility in Marshall, Minn.  Mitch Weg and Bruggeman had 10 points. In 2014-15, USF and SMSU split a pair of games, each winning on its home floor. Down one in the final seconds at the Stewart Center, Charles Ward, who scored 23 points, hit a three from the left corner to give USF a 69-67 win over SMSU on Dec. 20, 2014.

Earlier in the series, SMSU took a 72-68 win on Dec. 2 at Marshall, Minn. In the series, the two teams have played six overtime games, with USF winning twice. The Cougars won the Nov. 25, 2017 game at the Stewart Center and registered 87-83 OT decision on Nov. 30, 2013, at the Stewart Center. USF won three straight in the series with victories in 1976-77, 1980-81 and 1983-84. SMSU won seven straight in 1989-90, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1998-99, 2007, 2008 and 2012. USF's largest margin of victory was 32 points, 85-53, in the 1969-70 season at Sioux Falls.   

Game-By-Game Review - 

G1 Southern Nazarene 73 Sioux Falls 52 -- Jack Thompson scored 13 points and Matt Cartwright added 12 but USF dropped a 73-52 decision to Southern Nazarene in the season opener at the Central Region Challenge in Kansas City, Mo., on Friday (Nov. 12). USF hit just 19-of-56 field goals for 33.9 percent and was just 3-of-19 from three-point range for 15.8 percent. However, USF controlled the boards, finishing with a 37-33 margin. In a game with four lead changes and a tie, USF trailed just 31-29 at halftime after leading for a good share of the first half. However, SNU outscored USF, 42-23, in the second half. SNU hit 16-of-27 shots for 59.26 percent after the break, including 6-of-10 from three-point range to create separation from the Cougars. As for USF, they made just 8-of-26 field goals for 30.77 percent including 3-of-11 from three-point range. Two other categories in stats favored SNU, including its 20-11 edge in points off turnovers and 20-8 margin with points in the paint. Thompson, who now has 20 career double-digit scoring games, led USF with 13 points as he hit 6-of-13 shots from the field while adding an assist, two rebounds and a steal. Cartwright had 12 points in 32 minutes. USF also had nine points from both Chase Grinde, who added three rebounds and two assists, and Austin Slater, who had a team-high nine rebounds.

G2 – Sioux Falls 83 No. 1 Northwest Missouri State 77 -- In one of the biggest wins in USF history, the Cougars (1-1) knocked off defending NCAA DII national champion and No. 1 ranked Northwest Missouri State (2-1), 83-77 at the Central Region Challenge in Kansas City, Mo. In the victory, the Cougars upended the No. 1 Bearcats 45-straight game-winning streak on a neutral floor.  It was the longest active win streak among all NCAA Div. I, II and III schools. The Bearcat's last loss on a neutral floor came Nov. 13, 2015, vs. Upper Iowa (L, 76-72). It is USF's first win over a top-10 opponent in the DII era. In adding a little historical twist, the Cougars won for the first time in 81 years and in three meetings with NWMSU. The Bearcats had held a 2-0 lead with USF but had not met since 1939-40 or 81 years ago. In 1939-40 the Bearcats won 52-32 and they had a 39-27 win in the 1937-38 season. USF led from start to finish as they jumped ahead 26-9 by the 7:32 mark of the opening half. They led by 21, 60-39 in the second half before NWMSU closed to within two and the Cougars held on for an 83-77 win with crucial plays in the final minutes Senior Matt Cartwright led USF with 29 points as he made 9-of-18 field goals and was a sizzling 6-of-9 from three-point range.  He also had seven rebounds, two steals and an assist in 37 minutes on the floor. Junior guard Jack Thompson added 20 points as he was 7-of-18 from the floor and had a pair of triples to go with five assists and a steal. Senior forward Austin Slater had a solid post game and finished with seven points and five rebounds along with a block and two assists. Also, USF had nine points and seven rebounds from junior guard Chase Grinde while both sophomore guards Jake Kettner and Noah Puetz had eight points each. Overall, USF shot 44.4 percent from the floor on 28-of-63 shooting. In that total, USF was 11-of-25 from the three-point range as they made 5-of-12 in the opening half and followed up with 6-of-13 for 46.1 percent in the second 20 minutes. At the foul line, USF was 16-of-22 for 72.7 percent.  

G3 – USF 71 Dakota State 61 -- Matt Cartwright scored 28 points and Jack Thompson had a 17 to USF to a 71-61 nonconference victory over Dakota State (2-6) in USF's home opener at the Stewart Center. Cartwright hit 12-of-24 field goals, including 2-of-6 from three-point range while grabbing five rebounds and recording an assist and steal. Thompson was 6-of-11 from the floor and added nine assists, three rebounds and two steals in a solid floor game. Also for USF, Wesley Oba helped USF to a 31-26 rebound edge by recording a game-high 10 boards. He also had six points including a flush near the end of the game off a pass from Thompson.  USF outscored Dakota State, 29-21, in the first half and had a 42-40 edge in the second 20 minutes for the 71-61 win and a second straight decision over the Trojans. Overall, USF was 27-of-59 from the field for 45.8 percent, which included 7-of-19 from the three-point range for 36.8 percent. The Cougars, which had a 19-6 margin in points from turnovers, made 10-of-14 free throws for 71.4 percent. USF also had a 9-2 margin in fast-break points and had a 12-11 margin in points off the bench.

G4 – USF 74 Chadron State 56 -- The trio of Matt Cartwright, Chase Grinde and Jake Kettner combined for 69 points to lead the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (3-1) to a third straight nonconference win in a 96-78 decision over Chadron State (0-4) on Friday nightFor the third straight game, Cartwright, a senior from Sioux Falls, S.D., scored at least 28 points in a win. In his 28 tonight, he hit 9-of-13 from the field with 3-of-4 from three-point range and 7-of-9 free throws while adding four rebounds and two assists in 34 minutes.   Junior guard Chase Grinde had a season-high with 24 points as he surpassed double digit scoring for the 35^th time and the first time this season. He now has six 20-point games in his career. On the night, the Spring Grove, Minn., native, made 10-of-14 field goals, including 1-of-3 from three and 3-of-3 at the foul line while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing three assists in 24 minutes. Also for USF, Jake Kettner of New Ulm, Minn., had a career-high of 19 points as he was 6-of-11 from the field and 2-of-3 from three while hitting 5-of-6 foul shots. The Cougars, which defeated Chadron State for a third straight time in the series, had a season high with 20 assists, committed just seven turnovers and owned a 32-26 edge in rebounds. The Cougars raced to a 47-29 lead by halftime and with 49 points in the second half recorded a season-high points in the 96-78 decision. The point total is the highest offensive output most since recording a 96-51 win over Minot State in the NSIC playoffs on Feb. 27, 2019. On the night, USF hit 54.2 percent from the field on 32-of-59 shooting. USF was 7-of-15 from the three-point range and 25-of-32 for 78.1 percent at the foul line. USF had a 28-20 margin with points in the paint, 33-31 total in bench points and a 10-8 advantage in points off the break.

Breaking Down USF – Inside the Numbers
Through four games, USF is averaging 75.5 points per game (9th, NSIC), while allowing 72.3 points per game for a margin of 3.2 per game. From the field, USF is hitting 44.7 percent on 106-of-237 field goals while making 35.9 percent from three on 28-of-78. In USF which is averaging 7.0 three-pointers per game, is hitting free throws at 72.9 percent on 62-of-85. USF is outrebounding opponents at a 34.8-to-30.3 margin or 4.5 per game. USF is fourth in the NSIC with 11.8 offensive rebounds per game. In addition, USF is supplying 13.0 assists per game with 10.5 turnovers or an assist-turnover ratio of 1.2. The Cougars also totaled five steals per game with 2.3 blocks. Opponents are hitting 43.5 percent on 94-of-216 shooting while opponents hit 33.7 percent from three-point range on 30-of-89 shooting or 7.5 per game.

Player Profiles – Inside look
Senior forward Matt Cartwright is averaging a league-best 24.5 points and 4.8 rebounds with a quadruple of double-digit (12, 29, 28, 28) scoring games. Cartwright (97 total points) has scored 28 or more points in three straight games as he is hitting 34-of-68 for 49.3 percent and 12-of-25 from three-point range for 48.0 percent, a total which is fifth in the NSIC. His 3.0 threes per game rank third in the NSIC. He is also hitting 17-of-20 from the foul line. During his career at USF and Augustana, Cartwright has 914 points and has made 39 starts in 75 games. He also has 156 career threes and 231 rebounds along with 95 assists and 46 steals. His career-high is 37 points against Minnesota Crookston in 2018-19 with a high of 29 points at USF against Northwest Missouri State on Nov. 13.

Sophomore guard Jack Thompson is supplying 14.3 points per game and is hitting 83.3 percent from the foul line (10-of-12). He is averaging 4.8 assists per game and has four steals. He ranks sixth in the NSIC in assists and nine in assist-turnover ratio at 2.4. An honorable mention All-NSIC in 2019-20, he has started 38-of-45 games with 22 career double-digit scoring games. He has a season-high of 20 points against No. 1 Northwest Missouri State. Thompson had a career-high of 27 points on Jan. 31, 2021 with a career-best five triples against Augustana on Jan. 4, 2020. He also has nine of nine assists against Dakota State on Nov. 16, 2021. He has scored 485 career points, including 312 a year and 57 this season.

Junior guard Chase Grinde, who has 35 double-digit scoring games and six 20-point games, is supplying 11.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Grinde, who has 781 career points (45 in 2021-22) had a season-high 24 points against Chadron State. His career-high is 29 against MSU Moorhead on Feb. 8, 2020 and four times has registered nine rebounds in a game. His career-best in assists is eight against Minot State. Grinde, who has hit 64-of-166 from three for 38.6 percent, has made 67 starts in 79 games at USF. He has hit 48.5 percent from the field and 67.2 percent at the foul line. Grinde has 377 rebounds, 176 assists, 82 steals and 20 blocked shots.

Freshman Jake Kettner is averaging 8.5 points and 1.5 average. He has hit 5-of-12 from the three-point range. Kettner has five starts in 16 games with 99 career points. During his career, Kettner has totaled 17 assists, seven steals and knocked down 38 threes on 107 attempts for 35.5 percent. Kettner had a career-high of 19 points against Chadron State on Nov. 19, 2021. He also has a high of eight rebounds against Upper Iowa on Jan. 8, 2021, and six assists against Augustan on Feb. 13, 2021. 

Wesley Oba has made two starts in 16 games with USF with 62 career points and 92 career rebounds with seven blocks and eight steals. This year he has averaged 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 points per game. He has a career-best of 11 points against Minnesota State on Jan. 30, 2021, and Mary on Jan. 2, 2021, along with a high of 10 rebounds against Minnesota State on Jan. 31, 2021, and Dakota State on Nov. 16, 2021.

Senior center Austin Slater, who has a career total of five double-doubles and 15 double-digit scoring and 11 double-digit rebound games, is supplying 5.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. He is hitting 43.8 percent (7-of-16) from the field and 57.1 percent (8-of-14) at the foul line. Slater has 70 rebounds of which 28 are off the offensive glass. In his career, Slater has totaled 541 points and 557 rebounds, including 200 off the offensive glass. He has 41 blocked shots, 35 steals and made 17-of-59 from the three-point range for 28.8 percent. He is shooting 42.7 percent from the field and 67.9 percent at the foul line for his career. Slater has made 59 starts and played in a team-high 104 games.

Inside look at the opponent – SMSU is hitting 45.9 percent from the field
The Mustangs, directed by veteran head coach Brad Bigler, is averaging 70.0 points and allowing 61.0 points per game.  The Mustangs hit 45.9 percent (107-of-233) from the field and 28.6 percent (18-of-63) from three-point range. Jake Phipps leads SMSU in scoring at 15.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Kenny Byers is supplying 14.3 points and 5.3 rebounds while Cliff McCray is supplying 13.5 points and 4.8 rebounds along with 4.0 assists.
  
Chris Johnson is USF's all-time wins leader
USF Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Johnson, who was named the NSIC Coach of the Year in the history-making 2019-20 season, is in his 14th season (15th overall) at the helm of the men's basketball program. Since taking over as the program's 22nd coach in 2008, Johnson has guided the Cougars to six 20-win seasons, three post-season appearances, two conference tournament championships and one regular season conference crown. In the Covid- In 2019-20, USF had a program-best 22-8 overall record and captured its first-ever Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division title. With a 17-5 mark, USF, which finished second overall and earned the No. 1 seed in the South in the NSIC Postseason Tourney, registered the program's top record in NSIC play. As a result, Johnson was named the NSIC Coach of the Year for the first time.

During Johnson's tenure, USF is 243-172 (.584), with a 73-69 win (Feb. 18, 2017) at Concordia St. Paul making him the program's career wins leader. He is 227-157 (.591) at USF. On that special night, Johnson passed Shane Murphy (154, 2001-08). He registered his 200th overall career win on Dec. 14, 2018 against Minnesota-Duluth on the road. Johnson registered his 200th win at USF against SMSU, 74-56, on Nov. 30, 2019, at the Stewart Center.  The milestone came in his 376th career game. He has compiled a 130-50 mark at home and a 75-90 road record with an 18-13 mark on a neutral floor. In NSIC play, he has a 97-91 record, including a 56-38 mark in home league games and 41-53 mark in away games. Johnson is 5-8 in the postseason. He is also 53-5 in non-conference games.

Johnson has led the team to 15 wins 10 times and recorded six 20-win seasons with the 25-10 campaign in 2009-10 the best finish. Just twice in his 14-year coaching career has one of his teams finished below .500. At the NCAA DII level, USF's mark of 22-8 in 2019-20 is a program-best. With the 17-5 mark in the NSIC in 2019-20, USF had its best league mark. This past season of success followed a 20-10 in 2017-18 for the second 20-win season in three years. USF, which was 10-4 at home and 9-2 on the road with a 3-2 neutral court mark, had a 79-68 win over Minot State in the first round of the NSIC Tourney before falling to Minnesota State, 60-59, in the quarterfinals. Johnson is the only coach in the league to lead his team to five straight appearances in the NSIC Postseason Tournament.