This Week's Men's Basketball Storylines:
ONE FINAL TIME: The Winona State men's basketball team heads back out on the road for the final time in the regular season still in search of its first victories away from McCown Gym this season. The Warriors travel to take on Minnesota State Friday at 8 p.m. at the Taylor Center before heading to St. Paul to take on Concordia-St. Paul at 6 p.m. on Saturday in the Gangelhoff Center.
MINNESOTA STATE SERIES HISTORY: The Warriors and Mavericks continue their rivalry Saturday night at the Taylor Center in Mankato. The Warriors have won six of the past nine matchups between the two teams and four of the past six, however MSU has won the past two – including a 76-63 win over WSU in McCown Gym on Dec. 13, 2014. The Warriors won the last two games against MSU on the Mavericks' home floor, including a 78-75 win last season and a 76-73 victory in the 2013 NCAA Central Region Championship.
CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL HISTORY: The history between the Warriors and Golden Bears has been a lopsided one, as WSU holds a commanding 44-4 advantage in the series dating back to 1930. At one point the Warriors 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 10-2 against the Golden Bears, including three straight wins – most recently a 75-56 win at home on Dec. 12, 2014.
BAMBI ON THE SCENE: The Taylor Center has been kind to WSU sophomore guard Riley Bambenek. In two games played at the facility, Bambenek has scored a total of 49 points and has shot 58 percent from the field. In one of the first conference games of his career, Bambenek scored a career-high 33 points while making a career-best 12 shots to lead the Warriors to a 78-75 win last season. He then followed up with a 16-point performance on 6-of-12 shooting in the NCAA Tournament in Mankato last season.
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS: MSU currently stands with a record of 19-5 with a 14-4 mark in NSIC play and a perfect 11-0 record at home. Minnesota State is led by the senior duo of Assem Marei (19.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg) and Zach Monaghan (14.8, 8.4 apg). Connor Miller is a third Maverick to average double figures scoring at 12.4 ppg. MSU ranks second in the league in 3-point FG percentage (.415), assists (16.6 per game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6). One area where the Warriors could exploit is rebounding, where WSU ranks number one in the league in defensive rebounding percentage – grabbing 579 defensive rebounds while allowing opponents to record a league-fewest 181 offensive rebounds. The Mavericks, meanwhile, are 11th in the league in offensive rebounds.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS: CU enters the weekend with a record of 15-9 with an 11-7 mark in league play and 10-2 home record. Concordia is led by a trio of double-digit scorers, including Cole Olstad (13.6 pp), Nuni Omot (11.8 ppg) and Terez VanPelt (11.0 ppg). The Golden Bears boast the league's best field goal percentage defense, allowing teams to shoot just 40 percent. CU also has the second-best scoring defense in the league, giving up an average of just 68.2 points per game while WSU is fourth in that category at 68.9. CU also has the second-best rebounding offense, grabbing 36.5 per game. One area to watch are blocked shots, where the Warriors rank No. 1 in the league with 4.1 per game, while the Golden Bears are ninth in the NSIC with 2.7.
