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THIS WEEK: Minot State University finishes up its longest home stand of the year – four games – by playing host to Concordia University, St. Paul Friday (6 p.m.) and Minnesota State Saturday (8 p.m.) at the Minot State Dome.

RECORDS: MISU is 7-11 overall and 6-8 in the NSIC. CU is 4-14 overall and 2-12 in conference play, while MSU is 16-2 overall and 12-2 in NSIC play.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's Matt Murken begins his first season at the helm of the Beavers. He is 7-11 with Minot State and is 53-27 overall. Kelly Boe is in his seventh year as the Golden Bears head coach, sporting a 118-98 overall record. The Mavericks head coach is Matt Margenthaler, who is 242-107 in 11 seasons at MSU.

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: Minnesota State held at No. 7 in the latest NABC Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Beavers and Golden Bears were not ranked this week.

RECENT HISTORY: MISU split a pair of games last weekend at the Minot State Dome, losing to St. Cloud State 65-51 on Friday, but rebounding for a 62-58 win over Minnesota Duluth. The win over the Bulldogs gave Minot State a season sweep of UMD in the Beavers first season in the NSIC. CU earned its second NSIC win of the year by knocking off Wayne State Saturday 74-65, salvaging a split of two home games after losing 87-75 to Augustana College Friday. The Mavericks split a pair of NSIC games with Wayne State and Augie, defeating WSC 73-59 but falling 82-79 to Augustana.

OVERALL SERIES: Minot State is playing both teams for the first time.

NOTING THE GOLDEN BEARS: Concordia University, St. Paul has lost six games in conference play by less than 10 points, including an overtime loss and three by five or fewer… The Golden Bears have three players averaging in double figures, paced by sophomore Terez VanPelt, who has 350 points already this season (19.4 average)… Teams have been able to score from beyond the arc against CU as opponents have averaged 40.5 percent shooting on 3-pointers and 6.8 makes on triples this season… The Golden Bears are one of the best free throw shooting teams in the country, hitting 79.7 percent from the line, while going to the free-throw line 330 times. Of the CU players who have shot at least 10 free throws, five players are hitting above 80 percent, led by VanPelt, who has knocked down 115 of 135.

NOTING THE MAVERICKS: Minnesota State had a 10-game winning streak snapped at the hands of longtime rival Augustana College Saturday, falling 82-79 at home… The Mavericks played two NCAA Division I team during their exhibition schedule, falling 81-56 to nationally ranked University of Minnesota and 90-57 at Iowa State…  MSU had seven players who have scored at least 100 points on the season and three – Jarvis Williams (14.1), Assem Marei (13.4) and Zach Monaghan (12.8) – who are averaging in double figures… Williams and Marei both average better than six rebounds as well, with Marei pulling down 6.9 per game… The Mavericks have taken over 100 more free throws than their opponents, hitting 272-377 on the season, compared to 189-260 for opponents… MSU has scored more than 100 points than its opponents in each of the first and second halves, but were outscored 10-7 in its only overtime.

BIG VOID IN THE MIDDLE: When Minot State senior forward Kelvin Fraser (Brooklyn, N.Y.) went down with an injury in Saturday's win over Minnesota Duluth, it didn't look good for the Beavers. Fraser is the Beavers all-time shot blocker, swatting a league-leading 35 shots this season and is Minot State's only player taller than 6-foot-6 who has any accumulated minutes this season. On the year, Fraser is averaging 6.3 points and 4.0 rebounds to go with his 35 blocks.

X-FACTOR: Minot State senior Anthony Enriquez (G, Tacoma, Wash.) has been an offensive spark coming primarily off the bench. Enriquez is averaging 7.6 points per game, fourth on the team, in just 17.0 minutes per game. He has seven double-figur scoring nights this year, including two this past weekend. He is second behind Thomas Korf (So., G, St. Cloud, Minn., 29 3-pointers to lead the team) in made 3-pointers with 15 triples this year.

HOLDING THEIR OWN IN THE PAINT: Despite only having one player taller than 6-foot-6 on the active roster, Minot State had held its own rebounding this season. The Beavers have been outrebounded 642-638 this season, or an average of just 0.3 per game. The two biggest reasons are the work of Chris East (Jr., G, Toronto, Ontario) and Adam Randall (So., G, Steele, N.D.) – both listed as guards. East least the team with a 7.6 average, including an 18-board night Friday against St. Cloud State and Randall has a 4.9 average on the season.

WILLIAMS THE GO-TO GUY: Junior guard E.J. Williams (Raleigh, N.C.) has settled into the Beavers No. 1 scoring option, leading Minot State with a 10.6 points per game average. Williams was called on for a big driving basket to seal the win over Minnesota Duluth with less than a minute remaining Saturday. On the season, Williams has hit double figures 10 times – including a team-high 18 against UMD – and is shooting 46.3 percent from the field and an excellent 88.1 clip from the foul line.

EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS: Minot State has already won more games in 2012-13 than it did in 2011-12 and now has its sights set on earning 10 wins overall and in the Northern Sun in the school's first season as a full member of NCAA Division II and the first year in the NSIC. Minot State was picked 15th overall in the preseason coaches' poll, but currently sits in 11th, three games clear of both the University of Sioux Falls and Minnesota Duluth with eight games remaining in the season.