This Week's Men's Basketball Storylines:

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BACK AT HOME: After a winless first road trip of the season, the Winona State men's basketball team will be back in the friendly confines of McCown Gymnasium for an important weekend, squaring off against Concordia-St. Paul Friday at 8 p.m. before taking on rival and No. 11 Minnesota State Saturday at 6 p.m.

HAVING THEIR NUMBERS: The Warriors were a perfect 4-0 against the Golden Bears and Mavericks in regular season play last season. WSU beat CU 71-69 on the road and 80-61 at home while downing the Mavericks 78-75 at MSU and 73-57 in Winona.

BAMBENEK EXPLOSION: Riley Bambenek's first game against Minnesota State still remains his best game. The sharpshooting then-freshman exploded for a career-high 33 points inside the Taylor Center in just his ninth career game against the then-No. 9 Mavericks.

LOPSIDED SERIES: The Warriors hold a commanding 43-4 advantage over Concordia-St. Paul in a series history dating back to 1930. At one point in the series WSU held a winning streak spanning more than 62 years. WSU beat CU 59-46 on Feb. 23, 1946 and rattled off 33 straight wins before CU finally beat the Warriors 75-74 on Dec. 6, 2008. Since then, the Warriors are 9-2 against CU while winning both games last season. CU's last win over the Warriors came on Feb. 15, 2013 in an 89-74 win.

RIVALRY CONTINUED: The Warriors and No. 11 Mavericks continue their rivalry Saturday night in McCown Gym. The Warriors have won six of the past eight matchups between the two teams and four of the past five. The Warriors swept the regular season series last year, but MSU got their revenge with a 75-66 win in the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament championship game. Overall, the Mavericks hold an 85-53 edge in series history. 

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS: Concordia-St. Paul comes into town with a record of 5-3, 1-1 in NSIC play. CU split a pair of games last weekend, beating Wayne State 72-59 before falling to Augustana 65-59. The Golden Bears have a trio of players scoring in double figures this season, led by Cole Olstad's 14.5 points per game. Freshman Nuni Omot is averaging 10.9 ppg, while Mike Yahnke is putting up 10.4 ppg. The team boasts the league's best scoring defense, giving up an average of just 59 points per game, while the Warriors rank third in the league in that category at 62.6 ppg.

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS: No. 11 Minnesota State enters the weekend with a 7-1 record, 2-0 in NSIC play. MSU put together a pair of double-digit wins last weekend, beating Augustana 81-67 before downing Wayne State 82-62. The Mavericks have four players averaging double digits and are led by the duo of seniors in Assem Marei (17.3 ppg) and Zach Monaghan (12.3 ppg). Connor Miller (10.8) and TJ Lake (10.1) also are scoring in double-figures for the Mavericks.

BLOCK PARTY: The Warriors are the No. 1 team in the NSIC when it comes to blocking shots, swatting 32 on the season for an average of 4.6 per game. Kyle Bauman ranks fourth in the league with 8 blocked shots, while Mohamed Ali Ben Ammar is ninth with six. Both players have put together a game with five blocks.