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RECORDS: Minot State is 6-6 overall and 2-6 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play this season. The Peacocks are currently 5-9 overall and just 3-5 in the NSIC while the Warriors sit with a 13-2 overall record and a perfect 8-0 in the Northern Sun.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's Matt Murken is in his second season as head coach of the Beavers. He is 16-23 with Minot State and is 62-39 throughout his four year head coaching career. In his first season with the MISU, Murken increased the Beavers' win total by six from the previous year including the program's first ever win against a NCAA Division II ranked opponent (68-62, No. 19 St. Cloud State, Jan. 5, 2012). The Peacocks are coached by first year head coach Brooks McKowen. McKowen has had coaching experience both in the NSIC and NCAA Division I. He spent the last two seasons as the top assistant at Southwest Minnesota State University. Prior to his time at SMSU, he spent three seasons at his alma mater, University of Northern Iowa. McKowen played four seasons at UNI where he led the Panthers to three, 20-plus win seasons and three trips to the NCAA Tournament. The Warriors are coached by Mike Leaf. Leaf is in his 16th season at the helm of the WSU basketball program with an overall record of 355-133 during his tenure. Leaf has led the Warriors to six NSIC Championships, nine NCAA Tournaments, four Elite Eights and two NCAA Division II National Championships (2006, 2008). Last season, Leaf and the Warriors won their fourth NCAA Regional Championship as they defeated top seed Minnesota State in overtime to claim the title.

FOLLOW THE BEAVERS: The game is broadcast locally on KCJB 910-AM with Scott Kittell calling the play-by-play. Live audio can be accessed online at kcjb.com. MSU provides live video and live stats as well as links to the live audio at msubeavers.com. Minot State Athletics also is active on Facebook, Twitter and You Tube with all feeds accessible at msubeavers.com/stayconnected.

RANKINGS: Minot State and Upper Iowa did not receive any votes in the Jan. 7 National Association of Basketball Coaches' Poll. Winona State moved up in the poll and is currently ranked No. 21 in NCAA Division II.

RECENT HISTORY: The Beavers lost their third and fourth consecutive home games on Jan. 3 & 4 to two NSIC South opponents. The Beavers fell in overtime to Wayne State College 74-70 on Friday night. MISU held an 11 point advantage early in the second half but could not put the Wildcats away as WSC shot 48 percent from the floor in the second half. Saturday night Minot State suffered their worst home loss of the season as they fell 80-67 to Augustana College. The Vikings had control early as they started the game on a 15-0 run as they never trailed during 40 minutes of play. Upper Iowa split their road series as they beat Minnesota Crookston 97-66 on Friday night and then fell Saturday to Bemidji State in a high-scoring contest, 102-89. Winona State needed overtime to down Bemidji State on Friday as they escaped BSU Gymnasium with an 87-86 win, their closest margin of victory this season. Saturday against the UMC Golden Eagles, WSU was in control from the jump as they defeated UMC 88-52.

OVERALL SERIES: Minot State has short history with each Upper Iowa and Winona State. The Beavers are winless in five combined attempts against the Peacocks and Warriors. MISU is 0-3 all-time against UIU including a 86-72 loss in the 2013 NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament that ended the Beavers' season. Minot State is 0-2 all-time against Winona State as the Warriors have outscored the MISU by an average of 26.5 points per game.

NOTING THE PEACOCKS: The high tempo pace of Brooks McKowen's offense has lead to high point totals and a highly successful offensive unit for Upper Iowa. The Peacocks rank fourth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference averaging 82.2 points per game. However, the downfall of the system is the UIU defense as it ranks worst in the NSIC allowing 86.1 points per game. Senior Joey Woods leads the Peacocks in most statistical categories including 16.0 points per game, 4.5 assists per game, 3.8 rebounds per game and 27.8 minutes per game. Josh Weeber is also having a solid year for Upper Iowa, averaging 12.6 points per game and 3.5 rebounds per game. The key for the Peacocks will be performance on the defensive end of the floor as they have allowed their opponents to make 48.5 percent of their shots through 14 games.

NOTING THE WARRIORS: In the past eight seasons, Winona State basketball has been the face of Northern Sun men's basketball with two NCAA Division II National Championships and one NCAA Division II Runner Up. Expectations are again high for WSU as they are off to a perfect 8-0 start to NSIC play and a 13-2 overall start in 2013-14. Riley Bambenek and Taylor Cameron lead WSU in scoring, both averaging 12.1 points per game. The Warriors have seven players that average over 7.0 points per game including reigning NSIC Player of the Week Kellen Taylor. The senior opened the weekend with 16 points, a career-best 16 rebounds, six assists and four steals in an overtime win over Bemidji State. He followed with 13 points and 11 boards against Minnesota Crookston on Saturday. Winona State's key however is on the defensive side of the ball where they rank second in the NSIC, giving up just 66.0 points per game through fifteen games this season.

WILLIAMS DISHING THE ROCK: Senior E.J. Williams (G, Raleigh, N.C.) has 40 assists on the season, averaging 3.5 assists per game. He is just one assist shy of tying his assist total from his entire season in 2012-13. When Williams dishes out four or more assists, the Beavers are 5-1 in 2013-14.

KEEPING THEM UNDER 75: Matt Murken's teams have been defensive oriented over his four year head coaching career and this year's team is no different. When the Beavers play well defensively, they have a significant opportunity at winnings. The magic number for the Beaver program over the last three seasons is 75 points. When MISU allows their opponent to score over 75 points, the Beavers are just 5-30 overall. This season when the opponent scores over 75 points, Minot State is just 1-5 and when they keep them under 75 they are 5-1. The task is tough this weekend as both UIU and WSU average over 80.0 points per game.

EAST CLOSING IN ON 500: During the first half of the win over University of Mary on Dec. 20, Chris East (Sr., F, Toronto, Ontario) surpassed 500 career points during his three years as a Beaver. East will now looking to close in on getting his 500th rebound of his career. He currently has 483 career rebounds and is averaging 7.4 rebounds per game. According to MISU records, East currently sits No. 9 on the all-time rebounding list.

NAME                        REBOUNDS          YEARS PLAYED
John Schaffer          774                       1985-1989
Greg Johnson         687                       1975-1978
David Brooks          681                        1990-1993
Kent Bloms             614                        2000-2004
Kevin Bohl               570                        1985-1989
Del Hovey                537                        1968-1971
Walter Bees            532                        1972-74
Jim Limke               518                        1964-1967
Chris East              483                         2010-Present
Ryan Johnson       420                         1999-2003

RANKED TEAMS ON THE ROAD: Since joining the NCAA Division II and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, Minot State has faced three nationally ranked opponents on the road. In those three games the Beavers are 1-2 with the win coming last season against No. 19 St. Cloud State University. MISU beat SCSU 68-62 on their home floor for the program's first ever win against a ranked opponent. Minot State will have another opportunity to take down a ranked road opponent Saturday night when they face No. 21 Winona State.

INJURY BUG BITES: The last two games Minot State has been missing two key players from their rotation due to injury. Both Adam Randall (Jr., G, Steele, N.D.) and Dan Yale (So., G, Berthold, N.D.) were nursing lower body injuries and were unable to play against Wayne State and Augustana on Jan. 3 & 4. Both Randall and Yale are expected to make their return to the court this weekend. The duo combines for 8.5 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game so far this season.

KORF FROM THE FREE THROW LINE: Junior Thomas Korf (G, St. Cloud, Minn.) leads the Beavers in free throw percentage, hitting 89.2 percent of his shots from the charity stripe during the 2013-14 season. That shooting mark ranks Korf fourth best in the Northern Sun as University of Sioux Falls' Derek Brown leads the conference with a 96.3 percentage from the line.

BENCH SCORING NEEDED: When facing their first NSIC South Division opponents of the season, it was clear that MISU was lacking scoring from their bench. During the two losses, Minot State's bench was outscored 80-24.

BY THE NUMBERS
40.4: Upper Iowa has the worst three-point defense in the NSIC as they allow opponents to shoot 40.4 percent from beyond the arc this season. Minot State is shooting 35.4 percent on three-pointers this season while allowing their opponents just 33.0 percent.

64: Winona State has been the best team in the Northern Sun at protecting the rim as they have 64 blocks on the season through 15 games (4.3 blocks per game). Minot State ranks last in the conference with just 16 blocks on the year.   

3.2: Crashing the offensive boards has been a strength and key to MISU's success early on in the 2013-14 season. Chris East (Sr., F, Toronto, Ontario) leads the Minot State and the Northern Sun averaging 3.2 offensive rebounds per game. East is averaging 7.4 rebounds per game .