FULL PDF NOTEBOOK  |  LIVE STATS AT USF  |  LIVE STATS AT SMSU  |  LIVE VIDEO  |  LIVE AUDIO

THIS WEEK: Minot State University travels to the University of Sioux Falls Friday (8 p.m.) and Southwest Minnesota State Saturday (7 p.m.) for its final games against Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division teams and its second-to-last road trip of 2013.

RECORDS: MISU is 8-12 overall and 7-9 in the NSIC. USF is also 8-12 overall, but is just 4-12 in conference play. SMSU comes into the weekend at 12-11 overall and 9-7 in the NSIC.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's Matt Murken begins his first season at the helm of the Beavers. He is 8-12 with Minot State and is 54-28 overall. Former Minot State assistant coach Chris Johnson is the head coach at USF, going 97-56 in five seasons. Johnson coached at Minot State from 2001-2004. Brad Bigler is the head coach at SMSU, coming into the weekend with a 60-48 record overall.

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: None of the three teams are ranked in the latest NABC Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll.

RECENT HISTORY: MISU split another series this past weekend, exploding for a season-high 91 points in a 91-75 win over Concordia University, St. Paul Friday before falling to No. 7 ranked Minnesota State 83-72 Saturday. USF also split two games, defeating Minnesota Crookston 89-59, before falling 72-69 to Bemidji State. The Mustangs split as well, falling to BSU 72-57 and rebounding 63-54 over UMC.

OVERALL SERIES: Minot State played USF four times last season as both teams were transitioning to NCAA Division II, losing four times, and trails the series 4-0 as members of NCAA Division II. This is the first DII meeting between Minot State and Southwest Minnesota State.

NOTING THE COUGARS: The University of Sioux Falls is much like its women's team when it comes to points scored and points allowed. The USF women's team has given up the exact same points through 20 games. The men are a bucket behind, getting outscored 1323-1321 on the season… The Cougars are getting outscored nearly 100 points from the free-throw line (361-272) and have taken 109 fewer free throws then giving up… USF has decent balance as three players are averaging double figures, led by James Rader's 11.8 points per game. Derek Brown scores at a 10.6 per-game clip and A.J. Holland is averaging 10.2 points per game… Sioux Falls owns a plus-2.2 turnover margin due to a low 12.3 average per game.

NOTING THE MUSTANGS: Southwest Minnesota State is one of the league leaders in attendance for its men's games, averaging just fewer than 1,700 fans per game. The Mustangs had 3,054 for its home game against Winona State two weeks ago… SMSU's top two players, Jordan Miller and Nick Smith average 27.1 points and 13.2 rebounds per game… Super sub Lavione West is averaging 8.5 points and 2.4 rebounds coming off the bench. He has 547 minutes, but does not have a start… The Mustangs have been involved in 12 games decided by less than 10 points this season. They are 3-9 in those games. SMSU has not won more than three games in a row this season and just snapped its second two-game losing streak with a win over Minnesota Crookston.

RESURGENT JOHNSON: Senior forward Josh Johnson (Lufkin, Texas) has his best weekend of the season as he scored 38 points combined in a split Friday and Saturday. He hit 16 of 29 shots and pulled down 15 rebounds. He has upped his rebounding average from 3.8 following the Bemidji State game Dec. 15 to 4.8 and has increased his scoring average to 9.6. Johnson has only six turnovers in his past five games.

THREE SPREE: Minot State averaged 12 made 3-pointers per games during home games last weekend marking the first time the Beavers have hit double figures in made 3s all season. The Beavers 14 for 26 performance in a win over Concordia-St. Paul was by far its best night shooting from beyond the arc, eclipsing seven makes. The Beavers were shooting under 30 percent on 3s coming into the weekend, but upped its shooting to 31.7 percent with the plus-50 percent shooting. MISU ended up hitting 28 of its 117 total in those two games.

KNOCKING ON DOUBLE-DIGITS' DOOR: The Beavers have had only one consistent scorer this season as E.J. Williams (Jr., G, Raleigh, N.C.) has emerged as Minot State top scorer at 10.9 per game. But the Beavers have three others scoring at least 7.9 per game and all three have moved up lately. Josh Johnson is closest to hitting for double figures at 9.6 per game. Dominique McDonald (Fr., G, Raleigh, N.C.) is third overall on the team with a 9.4 average, while Anthony  Enriquez (Sr., G, Tacoma, Wash.) is fourth at 7.9.

AN UNLIKELY CULPRIT: Minot State only turned the ball over a total of five times twice this year, both home wins. A quick scan of the box score turns up one of the culprits Friday against CU as Thomas Korf (So, F, St. Cloud, Minn.), who was one of five players with one turnover each. Yet, in 20 games, 16 starts and 505 minutes played this season, Korf only has eight turnovers, going 14 games this season without a miscue.  Korf had a six-game turnover-less streak earlier in the season.

TWO GAME, TWO STEP: Minot State has won and lost in pairs over the last 10 games. The Beavers earned two wins over Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State and lost two with Upper Iowa and Winona State. After a single win over the University of Mary, it has been three weeks of splits. The Beavers ran its winning streak to two with a win over Wayne State College, only to lose at Augustana College and home to SCSU. A win over Minnesota Duluth and a win over Concordia University pushed it back to two games, but that was snapped Saturday against then No. 7 Minnesota State.