THIS WEEK: After starting the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference season with three straight road games, Minot State begins a small three-game home stand with a pair of NSIC games this weekend. The Beavers play host to defending national champion Augustana University Friday and entertain Wayne State College Saturday at the Minot State Dome.

RECORDS: The Beavers are 4-5 overall and 0-3 in NSIC North play. Augie comes into the weekend with a perfect 3-0 record and 7-1 overall. Wayne State College is 2-6 overall and 1-2 in NSIC games.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's Matt Murken is in his fifth season as head coach of the Beavers. He's compiled a 51-70 record during his first five seasons with Minot State and is 97-86 throughout his six-year head coaching career. Tom Billeter is the head coach of Augustana and has an outstanding record with the Vikings and as a NCAA Division II coach. Billeter is 254-144 in 14 seasons at AU and is 361-194 in his career. Jeff Kaminsky is in his first season with Wayne State, but is no stranger to Minot having been the head coach at Valley City State for 11 seasons. He is 2-6 in his short time with WSC.

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 – with Leif Bakken serving as the play-by-play announcer – and live stats as well as links to the live audio at msubeavers.com. Minot State Athletics also is active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and You Tube with all feeds accessible at msubeavers.com/stayconnected.

RANKINGS: Augustana University was ranked 21st overall in the latest NABC Division II Top 25 poll. They were the regions second ranked team according to the D2SIDA Central Region Media Poll. Minot State and Wayne State were unranked in both polls.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State battled two of the top NSIC North Division teams in Northern State and MSU Moorhead on the weekend, but couldn't get enough stops down the stretch for a big road win. MSU lost 91-87 at NSU after making a big comeback cutting a 23-point lead to just two before the Wolves secured the win. Tyler Rudolph had a huge offensive weekend starting with 27 points, seven rebounds and two assists against NSU. Nathaniel Moore scored a career-high 20 as well for the Beavers. MSU dug out of an early deficit to make it a game, but dropped a 96-87 decision at MSUM. Minot had a season low four turnovers in the game. Rudolph again led MSU with 26 points. Augie hammered Concordia-St. Paul 103-66 before edging Minnesota State 83-81 for a sweep. Adam Beyer finished with 24 against CSP and 22 against MSU to help the Vikings cause. WSC split against the same team, falling 77-72 against MSU before rebounding for a 76-48 win over CSP. Kendall Jacks hit for 20 against the Mavs, while Matt Thomas scored 17 vs. CSP

ALL-TIME AT A GLANCE: The Beavers are still looking for their first win against Augustana University, trailing the series 4-0 since joining the NSIC. MSU and WSC are all square at two wins apiece in their brief history.

LAST TIME OUT: Minot State gave up 90-plus points both nights as the Beavers were swept on the road at WSC and AU. WSC topped Minot State 92-81 on Friday as Dominique McDonald and Winston Williams each finished with 14 points for the Beavers. David Anderson led led six Wildcats in double figures with 19. MSU didn't have enough weapons to score with the Vikings as the No. 1 team in the country rolled to a 97-65 win. Chris Davis scored 15 in the loss for MSU, while Casey Schilling led all scorers with 22 points for Augie.

NOTING THE VIKINGS: Augustana University went a stellar 34-2, topping Lincoln Memorial 90-81 to earn the 2016 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship... This year, Vikings have just one loss, an 82-71 setback to Northwest Missouri State in a rematch of a Central Region game from a year ago… The Vikings are averaging 9.8 3-pointers made per game, while shooting a solid 42.9 from beyond the arc… Jordan Spencer has made a push as the early-season favorite for player of the year with outstanding numbers, scoring 16.1 points per game, dishing out 8.0 assists and pulling down 4.0 rebounds… Adam Beyer is the team's second leading scorer at 13.0, but scored 22 and 24 points respectively last week to earn the NSIC South Division Player of the Week.

NOTING THE WILDCATS: Wayne State has been in nearly every game this season despite its 2-6 record, including taking Augustana University to overtime – one of two overtime losses this year… Four different players have led the Wildcats this season in scoring, but Kendall Jacks has done it three times… Jacks is the team's leading scorer at 13.5 per game, hitting 44 of 75 field goals… Jordan Cornelius leads WSC in rebounds at 5.3 and is just outside double figure scoring averaging nine per game… Six different players average 8.3 points or better.

GETTING MOORE FROM NATHANIEL: Junior guard Nathaniel Moore scored a season-high 20 points in the loss at Northern State and followed that up with 14 off the bench Saturday in Moorhead. His scoring on the weekend upped his overall average to 10.1 per game.

RUDY RISING UP THE NSIC RANKS: Tyler Rudolph had moved into second overall in scoring average in the Northern Sun, upping his overall to 21.7 per game. Rudolph has scored 20 or more in seven games and has scored 97 points in his last four games to put him with just 60 points of 1,000 for his career. He is also second in the league in rebounding, tied with Logan Doyle of Northern State with an 8.7 average.

RICCI RATIO: MSU junior guard Luis Ricci Maia is ranked fourth in the Northern Sun with a 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio. He has 32 assists on the season and just 13 turnovers while running the point position for MSU. Not far behind is senior guard Nathan Mertens who has a 1.6 ratio, tied for eighth.

BY THE NUMBERS

1-2: Rank in minutes played for Minot State's Tyler Rudolph and Augustana's Jordan Spencer. Rudolph has logged 324 minutes for a 36.0 average, while Spencer has 280 minutes for a 35.0 average.

4: Turnovers total for the Beavers in Saturday's game at MSU Moorhead. The four turnovers is a season low and the lowest since turning it over four times at Bemidji State in the 2013-14 season.

50: Percent of Trevor Rothstein's 3-pointers that have gone in. Rothstein, a redshirt freshman forward, has hit 9 for 18 on the year.