WINONA, Minn. - The Winona State University men's basketball team is set for their final regular-season home game as they host Concordia-St. Paul tonight, Feb. 17, to begin their last weekend of action before playoffs. The Warriors will finish the regular season on the road at Minnesota State on Saturday, Feb. 19.
Within the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), the Warriors are currently ranked fourth in the NSIC South and have clinched a berth in the NSIC Tournament. Heading into the last two games, WSU is fighting with NSIC South Division foes for seeding and a home playoff game.
Read on for more regarding tonight's Winona State versus CSP matchup, which will tip-off at 7:30pm in McCown Gymnasium, home of WNB Financial Court.
Who: Winona State vs Concordia-St. Paul
What: The Warriors (14-9, 10-8 NSIC) will host the Golden Bears (3-23, 2-17 NSIC)
When: Thursday, February 17 with a 7:30pm tip-off.
Where: McCown Gymnasium, home of WNB Financial Court
Winona State - CSP Notables
Heading into the Warrior weekend:
It's the final countdown - The Warriors close out the regular season with a home game versus CSP on Thursday, Feb. 17, and then an away game at Minnesota State on Saturday, Feb. 19. WSU is 7-2 at home and 7-7 in games away from McCown.
Nice to see you again - Winona State defeated CSP on Dec. 2 when Devin Whitelow converted an and-one with four seconds remaining to propel the Warriors to victory. WSU has defeated the Golden Bears five straight times, dating back to the 2018-19 season.
Postseason probabilities - Winona State is currently fourth in the NSIC South and they have clinched a berth in the NSIC Tournament. The first round games will be played on Wednesday, Feb. 23 on campus sites (top two seeds in each division receive first round byes), and WSU is in the hunt to host the opening round.
Milestone marker ahead - Devin Whitelow currently sits at 992 career points, just 8 shy of the 1,000-point club. Head coach Todd Eisner is currently at 99 wins during his Winona State tenure and needs one more win to capture his 100th victory as the Warriors head coach.
Winona State Notables:
Winona State holds a 14-9 overall record and a 10-8 conference record. Heading into the weekend, WSU is fourth in the NSIC South.
Last weekend, WSU split home contests with a buzzer-beater win over Sioux Falls and an eight-point defeat to SMSU.
The Warriors are fourth in the NSIC in defense, allowing just 70.1 points per outing. On offense, the Warriors have scored 72.7 points/game for a 2.6 scoring margin.
Winona State averages the second-most 3-pointers made each game in the NSIC, knocking down 8.9 shots from deep per contest.
Alec Rosner is seventh in the NSIC in scoring, averaging 18.1 points/game to lead the Warriors. Rosner also holds the second and fourth highest single-game scoring outputs in the NSIC, as he scored 36 points against UMary and 34 points against St. Cloud State.
Devin Whitelow averages 10.1 points/game and is top-10 within the NSIC for assists (4.3/game), assist/turnover ratio (2.3), and steals (1.4/game).
Luke Martens scores 10.6 points per game and leads WSU with 7.4 rebounds/game, good for fifth in the conference.
Winona State will look to close out the season with two home wins and position themselves for a home playoff game to open the NSIC Tournament.
Concordia-St. Paul Notables:
The Golden Bears are 3-23 overall and 2-17 in the NSIC.
CSP has a very young roster, where 15 players are sophomores or freshmen. Their 17-player roster has just two upperclassmen.
Concordia-St. Paul scores an average of 68.2 points/game, but they give up 80.1 points for a scoring margin of -11.9.
The Golden Bears average the fourth-most assists in the league, at 14.62 assists/game.
Elijah Ormiston leads the way offensively averaging 17 points/game. Ormiston also leads CSP with 6.6 rebounds/game. Both marks are top-15 in the NSIC.
Marcus Skeete is the only other Golden Bear in double figures, as he adds 12.8 points each game. 11 players average at least three points a game.
Concordia-St. Paul is mathematically eliminated from playoff contention and will wrap up their season on Saturday, Feb. 19 when they host Upper Iowa.
