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RECORDS: Minot State is 5-0 overall and 1-0 in Northern Sun play this season. Northern State has a 5-2 overall record and an 0-1 mark in NSIC while Minnesota State-Moorhead has a 5-0 overall record and 1-0 record in conference play.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's Matt Murken is in his second season as head coach of the Beavers. He is 15-17 with Minot State and is 61-33 throughout his 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 Wolves are coached by Paul Sather. Sather is in his fourth season with NSU and has compiled a 50-40 overall record during his tenure. Last season he led Northern State to a 20-11 record, the program's first 20-plus win season since 2007-08. The Dragons are coached by Chad Walthall who is also in his fourth season at the helm of his program. Walthall is 60-33 during his time with Minnesota State-Moorhead and has led the Dragons to 40 wins during the last two seasons (2011-13). In 2011-12, Walthall led the Dragons to their first NCAA Division II Tournament since 1965.

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: All three teams did not receive any votes in the Dec. 3 NABC Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State went 40-of-46 from the free throw line as they hung on to defeated University of Mary in overtime 96-87. The Beavers forced University of Mary to committed 32 personal fouls while MISU committed just 24 fouls in the win. For the fifth consecutive game Minot State also outrebounding their opponent as they won the battle on the glass 39-35. Northern State and Minnesota State-Moorhead faced each other in the first Northern Sun contest of the 2013-14 season, resulting in a 87-76 MSU-M Dragon victory. Four players scored in double-digits for the Dragons, led by Aaron Lein with 18 points in 18 minutes of play off the bench. Also coming off the bench, Terrell Clark recorded a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds in 18 minutes. Skye Warwick led Northern State in scoring with 18 points. The story of the game was rebounding; Minnesota State-Moorhead outrebounded the Wolves 49-29 and scored 19 second chance points in the win.

OVERALL SERIES: Minnesota State-Moorhead holds a 18-9 all-time advantage over Minot State while Northern State holds a 23-7 advantage over the Beavers. Last season Minot State went a combined 0-4 against NSU and MSU-M.

NOTING THE WOLVES: Northern State lost their NSIC opener for the first time in the last four years after rattling off five consecutive wins in their nonconference schedule. The crucial part of the NSU game plan is their offense. The Wolves have a high-powered, balanced offense that has scored 76 or more points in their last six games including a season-high 93 points in a win over Dakota State. Northern Stat has five players that average 9.0 points per game, led by Seth Bachand with 13.9 points per game. As a team, Northern State has struggled at the free throw line and defending the three. NSU ranks No. 11 in the NSIC with a 69.5 free throw percentage while ranking second to last in the conference in defending the three, allowing opponents to shoot 41.4 percent from beyond the arc.

NOTING THE DRAGONS: Minnesota State-Moorhead has the highest scoring offense in the Northern Sun thus far, averaging 92.0 points per game through five games. The lowest point total for the Dragons in 2013-14 has been 84 in a 33 point win over Mayville State to open the year. MSU-M has six players that average over 9.0 points per game and not a single player averages over 25.0 minutes per game. Urbane Bingham has been the Dragons' biggest scoring threat this year, averaging 12.0 points per game while Matt Nelson leads the team with 6.4 rebounds per game. Just as strong as their offense is, the Minnesota State-Moorhead defense is just as strong, ranking first in the NSIC in scoring defense allowing just 57.8 points per game.

ONE OF THE NATION'S BEST: The Minot State men's basketball team ranks fifth in all of NCAA Division II men's basketball in rebounding margin. The Beavers outrebound their opponents by an average of 15.6 rebounds per game. With two players averaging over 8.0 rebounds per game, MISU will look to keep the trend going against two of the top rebounding teams in the Northern Sun.

WILLIAMS MAKES HIS MARK: E.J. Williams (Sr., G, Raleigh, N.C.) showed is senior leadership with a clutch performance in the 96-87 overtime win over University of Mary. Williams scored a career-high 30 points and knocked down 15 of 17 free throws. In overtime alone, he scored 11 of the teams' 19 points while going 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. Williams also notched four assists, three rebounds and three steals in the win. His performance earned him Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Player of the Week honors.

SHUTDOWN DEFENSE: Five games into the 2013-14 season, the Beavers have one of the best defense's in the Northern Sun. MISU ranks second in the conference, giving up just 60.6 points per game. From a season ago, when the Beavers started 1-4 they were giving up an average of 69.6 points per game.

PRACTICE MAKES (NEARLY) PERFECT: By going to one of coach Matt Murken's practices, you will notice free throws are a key factor for his team. That concept was brought into a game time situation Saturday against University of Mary and the Beavers were able to bring practice into the game. MISU hit 40-of-46 free throws throughout the game for an 87 percent mark from the line, making it the highest single game free throw percentage by a Minot State team in the last five seasons.

OVERTIME THRILLER: The 96-87 overtime win over University of Mary was Minot State's first overtime time win in over two years. The last time the Beavers won in overtime was against the Marauders on Nov. 22, 2011, during MISU's NCAA Division II independent year. The Beavers won that game in Bismarck, N.D. 92-88. Between those two games, Minot State had lost three straight overtime games including a 97-93 loss to nationally ranked Colorado School of Mines last season.

EAST IS A BEAST: Standing just 6-feet 6-inches tall, Chris East (Sr., F, Toronto, Ontario) doesn't strike you as a rebounding machine from the program, but that is exactly what he is. East leads the Northern Sun with 9.6 rebounds per game and has collected 442 career rebounds during his three year career at Minot State.   

BY THE NUMBERS
183: It can't be said Minot State is a first half team or a second half time because they are equal. The Beavers  have scored 183 points in each half played this season, something not matched by any other NSIC school.

31.0: As a team, Minot State leads the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with 31.0 defensive rebounds per game. Samuel Johnson (Sr., F, Las Vegas, Nev.) leads the team with 6.1 defensive rebounds per game.

5.0: Since rejoining the team after a foot injury, Dominique McDonald (So., G, Raleigh, N.C.) has made an immediate impact dishing out an average of 5.0 assists per game. Since McDonald's return, Minot State's team turnovers has also gone down each game.