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RECORDS: Minot State is 6-4 overall and 2-4 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play this season. The Wildcats are currently 4-6 overall and just 1-5 in the NSIC while the Vikings sit with a 7-5 overall record and 4-2 mark in the Northern Sun.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's Matt Murken is in his second season as head coach of the Beavers. He is 16-21 with Minot State and is 62-37 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 Wildcats are coached by Brian Dolan. Dolan is in his first year as head coach of the WSC program, but has vast amounts of experience coaching in the Northern Sun and at the Division I level. He spent seven seasons as head coach at Upper Iowa University where in 2012-13, he led the Peacocks to a 20-12 record and the school's first ever NCAA Division II National Tournament appearance. Dolan also has six years of Division I experience at Texas-Pan American, Southern Utah and Oral Roberts. Tom Billeter is his eleventh season as head coach at Augustana College. Billeter has an all-time head coaching record of 270-179 and has posted 20-plus win seasons in four of the last six years. Like Dolan, Billeter has experience at the NCAA Division I level, coaching at Arizona, Rice, St. John's and Texas A&M while coaching seven eventual NBA players in the process.

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, Wayne State and Augustana College did not receive any votes in the Dec. 31 National Association of Basketball Coaches' Poll. Both Minnesota State and Winona State of the NSIC received votes in the poll.

RECENT HISTORY: The Beavers played their third consecutive road game in the Northern Sun and picked up a big 71-49 win over rival University of Mary on Dec. 20 in Bismarck, N.D. Minot State jumped out to a 39-22 lead and cruised over the Marauders as they never trailed in the game while holding U-Mary to just 37.5 percent shooting from the floor in the first half. Balance was also a key for the Beavers shooting as they started with a 50 percent clip in the first half and followed that up with a 55 percent shooting night in the second, making 28 of 54 on the night. MISU also won the rebounding battle 33-30. Wayne State and Augie faced each other in Sioux Falls, S.D. on Dec. 21 as the Vikings prevailed with a 77-55 win, their second win in the 2013-14 over WSC. The Wildcats held a 31-23 halftime advantage but the Vikings used a 55 point offensive output in the second half on 56.3 percent shooting from the field. For the game, Augustana committed just five personal fouls compared to Wayne State's 21 fouls.

OVERALL SERIES: Minot State has short history with each Wayne State College and Augustana College. The Beavers are 1-0 all-time against the Wildcats as they defeated WSC a season ago 64-61. MISU lost their first matchup against Augie last season by the score of 72-70.

NOTING THE WILDCATS: After a 3-2 overall start to the 2013-14 season, Wayne State College has lost five of their last six games proving a rough start in conference play for a squad that won 17 games a season ago. Through the first six games in the NSIC, the Wildcats are getting outscored by an average of 26.8 points per game. For the season, WSC has been outrebounded in eight of their ten games and on average are outrebounded 5.7 rebounds per game. Ty Bauschek has been the Wildcat's leading scoring averaging 13.3 points per game while also leading the team with 2.7 assists per game. Adol Aluong is the only other WSC player averaging double digits with 12.3 points per game while also leading the team with 3.8 rebounds per game. As a team Wayne State has struggled offensively ranking last in the Northern Sun with just 67.6 points per game while also ranking last in the conference with a 28.3 shooting percentage from behind the arc.

NOTING THE VIKINGS: Historically one of the top teams in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, Augustana College has had to deal with some highly contested losses in the beginning of their 2013-14 campaign. Three of the five Augie losses have come by five points or less, including two one-point losses against Missouri Western (Nov. 9) and Southwest Minnesota State (Dec. 6). The Vikings' Casey Schilling has been a strong NSIC Player of the Year candidate 12 games into the season as he leads his team in points (18.4 ppg), rebounds(9.3 rpg), assists (2.9 apg), steals (2.3 spg) and blocks (1.7 bpg). Reigning NSIC Freshman of the Year, Daniel Jansen is also having a great sophomore season for the Vikings averaging 17.8 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game.

BALANCED OFFENSE IS KEY: In the 71-49 win over University of Mary, the Minot State offense was balanced with four players scoring in double-digits. Chris East (Sr., F, Toronto, Ontario) led the way with 14 points while Thomas Korf (Jr., G, St. Cloud, Minn.), E.J. Williams (Sr., G, Raleigh, N.C.) and Lazar Boskovic (Jr., F, Belgrade, Serbria) notched 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively. This season the Beavers are 3-0 when they have four players score 10 points or more.

WILLIAMS FILLS UP THE STAT SHEET: Although he shot just four-of-twelve from the field against University of Mary on Dec. 20, E.J. Williams (Sr., G, Raleigh, N.C.) didn't let it affect the rest of his game. Williams had a fantastic all-around game grabbing a career-high eight rebounds, dished out a game-high five assists and tied a career-high with five steals in the win. Williams leads the Beavers in scoring this season averaging 16.8 points per game.

EAST CLOSING IN ON 500: During the first half of the win over University of Mary, 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 469 career rebounds and is averaging 7.5 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                    1972-1974
Jim Limke          518                    1964-1967
Chris East          469                    2010-Present
Ryan Johnson   420                    1999-2003

WINNING ON THE BOARDS: As a team Minot State has outrebounded their opponent in 9-of-10 games this season and have used that part of their game to secure wins as they have a record of 6-3 in those nine games. Last season the Beavers outrebounded their opponents in just 10-of-27 games and had a record of 4-6 in those ten games. Chris East (Sr., F, Toronto, Ontario) leads MISU with 7.5 rebounds per game while Samuel Johnson (Sr., F, Las Vegas, Nev.) averages 7.1 rebounds per game. East and Johnson rank No. 3 and No. 5 in the NSIC in rebounding.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: The Minot State Dome has not been a friendly confines for opponents of the Beavers. Over the last 12 games Minot State is 9-3 on the home floor. During this stretch the Beavers have outscored their opponents by an average of 10.0 points per game.

 GETTING TO THE CHARITY STRIPE: Leading into the Dec. 20 matchup against rival University of Mary, Minot State was averaging 31.8 free throw attempts per game. In the 71-49 win over the Marauders, the Beavers got to the line just 16 times, making ten of their free shots; both were season-lows for MISU.

MURKEN AS A WILDCAT: Minot State head coach Matt Murken will face his old school for the second time ever Friday night as the Wayne State Wildcats play their first ever game in the Minot State Dome. Murken spent six seasons at WSC, two as a graduate assistant and four as a full-time assistant coach. During his time at Wayne State, the Wildcats posted a record of 77-88 including two winning seasons his last two years in the program. Murken was the primary recruiter successfully recruited five NSIC All-Conference performers and six players to the NSIC All-Academic Team, including two Academic All-Americans.

BY THE NUMBERS
100: In just fifteen minutes of play against University of Mary on Dec. 20, Lazar Boskovic (Jr., F, Belgrade, Serbia) shot a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor for a 100 shooting percentage. Boskovic is shooting 60.0 percent from the floor on the season.

74.2: The Beavers remain one of the strongest teams in the Northern Sun at making free throws as they currently rank second in the conference with a 74.2 shooting percentage from the line.    

50: In the 2012-13 season, Minot State nearly pulled off a second half comeback win against Augustana College as they racked up 50 second half points. MISU shot 60.0 percent in the final 20 minutes of the game but lost 72-70 in Sioux Falls, S.D.