WINONA, Minn. -- The Winona State men's basketball team opens a four-game road trip this weekend when it travels to Sioux Falls Friday at 8 p.m. before heading to Marshall, Minn. to batatle SMSU Saturday at 7 p.m.

Winona State at Sioux Falls First Look:
Overall Series: Warriors Lead 6-2 ... 9th Matchup
First meeting: Dec. 29, 1969 ... WSU won 84-66
Last meeting: Dec. 5, 2015 ... WSU won 80-69
Last USF win over WSU: Dec. 6, 2014 ... USF won 76-54
WSU Last Game: L, 93-72 vs MSU Moorhead
USF Last Game: W, 79-70 at Wayne State

Winona State at SMSU First Look:
Overall Series: Warriors lead 67-35 ... 103rd Matchup
First meeting: Dec. 20, 1968 ... WSU won 78-64
Last meeting: Dec. 4, 2015 ... WSU won 86-75
Last SMSU win over WSU: Dec. 5, 2014 ... SMSU won 61-60
WSU Last Game: L, 93-72 vs MSU Moorhead
SMSU Last Game: L, 99-75 at Augustana

LAST TIME OUT: The Warriors dropped a pair of home matchups to NSIC North foes Northern State at MSU Moorhead. WSU built a 13-point halftime lead against the Wolves but fell 68-64 and trailed by four points in the second half to No. 4 MSUM before falling 93-72.

IN SEARCH OF SWEEPS: WSU earned double-digit victories over both USF and SMSU last month in Winona, beating SMSU 86-75 and USF 80-69. Riley Bambenek (20) and Kyle Bauman (19) combined for 39 points against the Mustangs, while Isaiah Gray scored 25 against the Cougars.

ABOUT THE COUGARS: USF is coached by Chris Johnson, who's in his eighth season at the helm of the Cougar program with a career record of 149-112. Sioux Falls is led by Mack Johnson's 16.1 points per game, while Daniel Hurtt (12.7) and Jordan Stotts (10.4) contribute double-digit points per game as well. USF boasts the second-best scoring defense in the NSIC, allowing just 68.5 points per game. Its scoring offense is 10th-best in the league at 76.5 points per game. 

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS: SMSU is coached by Brad Bigler, who's in his seventh season at the helm of the Mustang program with a career record of 103-85. SMSU is led by Mitch Weg's 12.5 points per game and Joey Bartlett's 11.5 ppg, while Carter Kirk sits just shy of double digits at 9.6. Weg also sits third in the NSIC in rebounding at 7.8 per game. As a team, the Mustangs are ninth in the league in scoring offense (79.0 ppg) and 13th in scoring defense (79.2). SMSU is second-best in the NSIC in field goal percentage at 49.4 percent.

STARTING LINEUP SHAKEUP: After sending on the court the same starting five for the first 10 games of the season, sophomore Corey Jeffs was inserted into the starting lineup last weekend in place of injured Josh Mongan. The Australian played well in his new role, hitting five 3-pointers on the weekend and averaging 10 points and six rebounds.

BIG MAN, LONG DISTANCE: Center Kyle Bauman continues to excel from long range this season, hitting 15 of his 23 shots from 3-point distance (65.2 percent). That percentage would lead the league, but is one 3-point attempt shy of qualifying (mininum of 2 per game required). After hitting attempting (and draining) just one 3-pointer in the season's first five games, he's hit at least one in the past seven games, and multiple 3s in five of them. 

A TRIPLE A GAME: It's been more than 15 years since the Warriors went scoreless from behind the 3-point arc. WSU has made a 3-point field goal in 487 consecutive games, with the last 0-for coming on Nov. 29, 2000 in a 79-57 win over Saint Mary's.

REBOUNDING RIGHT: WSU ranks third in the NSIC this season in rebounding defense, giving up just 31.3 per game. That's behind only SMSU's mark of 30.1 and Augustana's 31.2.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES: The Warriors have recorded three double-doubles this season. The first came from Kyle Bauman in the season opener against Wisconsin Lutheran, scoring 21 points with 12 rebounds. Mark Blacklock added another with a 10-point, 10-rebound performance at CSU San Bernardino. Bauman notched his second of the season with a 10-point, 11 rebound effort Saturday against Northern State.