Complete Release (PDF)
MARSHALL, Minn. - Southwest Minnesota State University men’s basketball head coach Greg Stemen officially announced his team’s 27-game schedule for the upcoming 2009-10 season on Tuesday. SMSU, the defending Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and NCAA Central Region champions, will play 14 regular season and two exhibition games at home during the 2009-10 year.
Following a pair of exhibition games versus NCAA Division III opponents (St. Olaf, Nov. 3 and Gustavus, Nov. 9), SMSU will open the regular season at home versus Dordt College (Iowa) on Tuesday, Nov. 17. The Mustangs will continue its early season homestand on Friday, Nov. 20, hosting Lewis University (Ill.) before taking on Bellevue University on Saturday, Nov. 21.
SMSU will then hit the road for the first time with two important regional games in Denver, Colo. The Mustangs will face 2009 NCAA tournament participant Metro State on Nov. 27, before taking on Colorado Christian on Nov. 28.
SMSU continue its early season road trip on Saturday, Dec. 5, versus Minnesota State, Mankato to open NSIC play, before returning to non-conference play with a road game at NCAA?Division I South Dakota State on Tuesday, Dec. 8. The game will be the program’s ninth regular season game versus a Division I team since the 2004-05 season.
The Mustangs return to NSIC play hosting Northern State (Dec. 11) and the University of Mary (Dec. 12), before concluding its non-conference portion of the schedule with a home game versus Minnesota-Morris on Dec. 17.
SMSU begins the new year with a four-game NSIC road trip at MSU Moorhead (Jan. 2), Minnesota Crookston (Jan. 3), Winona State (Jan. 8) and Upper Iowa (Jan. 9), before returning home with a pair of games versus St. Cloud State (Jan.15) and Concordia (Jan. 16). Following a short two-game road swing at Augustana (Jan. 22) and Wayne State (Jan. 23), SMSU opens its longest homestand of the regular season with four home games versus Minnesota Duluth (Jan. 29), Bemidji State (Jan. 30), MSU Moorhead (Feb. 5) and Minnesota Crookston (Feb. 6).
Following a two-game weekend trip at St. Cloud State (Feb. 12) and Concordia (Feb. 13), SMSU will close out its home regular season schedule taking on Minnesota State, Mankato (Feb. 20) and Wayne State (Feb. 24). The Mustangs conclude the regular season at Northern State on Feb. 27.
The NSIC tournament begins on March 3 and concludes on March 6-7 with the semifinals and championship game.
Southwest Minnesota State finished the 2008-09 season with an overall record of 28-7 and won the NSIC regular season championship with a mark of 17-3. SMSU also captured the NCAA Central Region championship and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass.