After coming away with splits in their last two road trips, the Winona State Warriors look to build off a dominant 51-point second half in their last outing that resulted in an 87-59 victory at Bemidji State. Winona State enters the two-game homestand having won two of its last three games overall, but has not won back-to-back games in over a month. The Warriors host a pair of teams this weekend in Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls that both sit atop WSU in the NSIC South standings.
Tipoff against SMSU is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday and the finale with Sioux Falls is set for 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
NOTES
SCOUTING SMSU: The Mustangs (10-8, 5-7 NSIC) snapped a recent four-game skid with wins over Minot State and UMary last weekend. SMSU ranks eighth in the league in scoring offense (79.6 ppg), but has been plagued by the 13th-ranked defense (78.8). The Mustangs rank second-to-last in the NSIC by allowing opponents to shoot 46.8% from the field. SMSU is shooting 47.4% from the field and ranks sixth this season in three-point shooting (40.4%). SMSU is the best free throw shooting team in the league (80.2%). Perennial threat Ryan Bruggeman leads the NSIC this season in scoring (24.5 ppg), steals/game (2.0), and ranks third in assists/game (5.8). Taylor Schafer (12.5) and Kenney Byers (10.7) round out the scoring leaders, while Steven McNease has a team-best 7.9 rebounds/game.
SCOUTING SIOUX FALLS: The Cougars (13-5, 8-4 NSIC) recently had their five-game winning streak snapped with a stunning 75-70 home loss to Minot State last weekend. USF is in the middle of the pack offensively this season (79.4 ppg), but ranks fourth in the NSIC in scoring defense (69.9). The Cougars have dominated the glass all year and lead the league in offensive rebounds/game (13.6) and defensive rebounds/game (29.8). The Warrior defense will look to disrupt the Cougars who have committed the fourth-most turnovers in the league (225). Trevon Evans ranks second in the NSIC in scoring (24.1 ppg), followed by Drew Guebert (19.2) who ranks sixth. Evans is shooting 40.1% from downtown and Guebert leads the Cougars with 6.3 rebounds/game.
JEKYLL & HYDE: The Warriors enter Friday night's tilt looking to string together consecutive wins for the first time since owning a four-game winning streak that ran from Nov. 17-Dec. 1. Since that streak ended, WSU has gone 3-9 with losing streaks of three and four games. After suffering a 13-point setback at Wayne State two weeks ago, the Warriors answered with an impressive 87-67 win on the road at Augie. WSU dropped the opener of last weekends road trip at Crookston, 80-66, before shooting the lights out in the second half at Bemidji to claim the finale. The Warriors shot 51.5% from the field and 54.2% from downtown – their highest since the fourth game of the year. On the season, WSU ranks 15th in the NSIC in field goal shooting (43.3%) and is 12th from beyond the arc (36.6%).
GOOD, BETTER, BEST: Sophomore Kevion Taylor has bested his career-high point total on three occasions this season, including back-to-back nights last weekend. After scoring 25 in a loss at Crookston Friday, Taylor upped the ante with 32 points at Bemidji on Saturday, including 20 in the second half that saw the Warriors come from behind after halftime to defeat the Beavers. Taylor leads WSU in scoring (15.8 ppg) and rebounding (6.2) this season.
PASTRY CHEF: Winona may be famous for Bloedow's Bakery, but one thing the Warriors have refused to serve up this season is turnovers. WSU has committed the fewest miscues in the conference this season (150) and leads the NSIC in assist/turnover ratio (1.57). Sophomore Devin Whitelow leads all Division II players with a 5.21 assist/turnover ratio. He ranks sixth in the NSIC in assists/game (4.1) and has dished out a team-best 73 assists on the year.
UPCOMING EVENTS: Prior to Saturday's tip vs. USF, the Warriors will host their annual alum game at 1:15 p.m. The NSIC is holding its seventh annual "It's A Slam Dunk, Don't Drive Drunk" campaign. During the weekend of Feb. 8-9, Winona State SAAC members will be collecting signatures from fans pledging not to drive drunk. Over the past six years, NSIC SAAC members have collected over 50,000 signatures. During that same weekend, the American Cancer Society is promoting its annual Coaches vs. Cancer Game on Friday, Feb. 8 in McCown Gymnasium.
