THIS WEEKEND
Continuing their four game road trip, the University of Mary will see the teams at the top and the bottom of the Northern Sun South Division standings when the Marauders visit the #1 Augustana Vikings and the WIldcats of Wayne State College. The weekend begins on Saturday, Jan. 30, when the Marauders visit the Vikings, the top-ranked team in the country, at the Sioux Falls Arena in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Game time is 5 p.m. On Sunday, Jan. 31, the Marauders face the Wildcats at Rice Auditorium in Wayne, Nebraska. Tip off is set for 3 p.m.

DELAYED A DAY
Due to a scheduling conflict at Augustana's venue, U-Mary's weekend schedule has been pushed back a day. Instead of playing the normal Friday-Saturday schedule, the Marauders instead will play on Saturday and Sunday.

RECORDS
U-Mary is 13-7 overall and 8-6 in the Northern Sun (5th overall, 3rd North)
#1 Augustana is 17-1 overall and 14-0 in the NSIC (1st overall, 1st South)
Wayne State is 4-16 overall and 2-12 in the NSIC (15th overall, 8th South)

LAST TIME OUT
U-Mary dropped a pair of road games, 90-84 at St. Cloud State and 100-74 at Minnesota Duluth
Augustana won two road games, 75-62 at Winona State and 96-87 at Upper Iowa
Wayne State lost NSIC road games at Upper Iowa (95-89 OT) and Winona State (84-63) before falling to Nebraska-Kearney 86-69 in a non-conference home game

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. VIKINGS
U-Mary is 5-10 against Augustana
The series started in 1999-2000 with an 89-64 Vikings win
The first Marauders win was a 68-64 victory on January 18, 2006.
U-Mary's last win was a 90-81 home victory on February 11, 2011. Anthony Moody exploded for 32 points and seven assists for the Marauders and Cody Schilling had 34 points for the Vikings
Augustana has won the last five games, including two straight at the McDowell Activity Center and three in Sioux Falls
Last Marauders road win over the Vikings was a 63-49 victory on 12.4.09
Last Meeting A 23-point run that started late in the first half carried 5th ranked Augustana past homestanding U-Mary 89-55. Leading 34-32, Augie scored the final eight points of the first half and 15 straight to open the second half to build a 57-32 lead. The Marauders couldn't get closer than 21 points the rest of the night. Augie hit 13-of-31 trey attempts to a 1-for-17 effort by U-Mary. Damonta Henry led the Marauders with 14 points and Bryan Jefferson added 10. Alex Richter hit five treys and scored 24 points for the Vikings. Casey Schilling added 16 points and Daniel Jansen had 15.    

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. WILDCATS
The Wildcats hold an 12-4 series lead over the Marauders
The two teams first met during U-Mary's transition season from NAIA to NCAA play in 2005-06 with the Marauders claiming a 70-65 win
Wayne State followed with six straight wins over U-Mary before the Marauders broke the streak with a 73-62 win at WSC on Dec. 5, 2009
U-Mary's last win was a 61-60 decision at WSC on Feb, 10, 2012, behind 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocks by Damon Smith
The Wildcats are 7-1 in Bismarck and 5-3 at home against the Marauders
U-Mary's only home win was a 62-59 win on Feb. 11, 2011. Eric Erdmann and Anthony Moody both scored 14 points in the Marauders.
Last Meeting
Wayne State stunned U-Mary 77-75 on a buzzer beater. Leading 74-67 with 50 seconds left in the game, the Marauders were out-scored 10-1 by the visiting Wildcats in the final 39 seconds. Tied 75-75, Marquealis Edwards missed a layup with three seconds left. Jordan Cornelius grabbed the rebound and hit Trae Vandeberg streaking downcourt with an outlet pass at midcourt. After a couple dribbles, Vandeberg pulled up inside the arc and hit the winning shot at the buzzer. Jaycob Velasco hit 10-of-13 shots and scored a team-high 22 points in just 21 minutes for the Marauders. Germain Decoste added 14 points and Edwards 13. Cornelius led the Wildcats with 21 points. Vandeberg added 13.  

LAST WEEK REWIND
The Marauders opened their longest road trip of the season with a pair of losses. At St. Cloud State on Friday, U-Mary suffered a 90-84 loss. Down 13 at intermission, the Marauders eventually fell behind by as many as 17 points in the second half. Behind an improved defensive effort and increased offensive efficiency, U-Mary continued to fight and closed within four points in the final seconds. SCSU hit 13 treys in the game, including 11 in the opening half, while U-Mary checked in at nine. Marquealis Edwards led U-Mary with 19 points. Bryan Jefferson scored 18 points, Devan Douglas had 13 and Brandon Tyler scored 12. Scottie Stone hit six treys and scored 32 points on his way to NSIC Player of the Week honors. Gage Davis added 20 points... Unable to continue their second half momentum, U-Mary fell 100-74 at Minnesota Duluth in a battle for second in the NSIC North division. Knotted at 26-26, UMD outscored the Marauders 21-10 the rest of the half and eventually built a 30 point lead. Five Marauders reached double figures in points, led by 17 from Marquealis Edwards. Isaac Lindquist added 14 points, Bryan Jefferson and Rickey Suggs had 11 each and Brandon Tyler scored 10. Pierre Newton and Taylor Lavery both scored 26 points and Brendon Pineda 17 for the Bulldogs.

STANDINGS STABILITY
Despite five straight losses, the Marauders have lost little ground in the overall standings. At the start of the skid, U-Mary was third in the NSIC North Division and fourth in the overall Northern Sun standings. After last weekend, the Marauders are tied for third in the NSIC North with Northern State and tied for fifth in the overall Northern Sun standings. While the Marauders slot in the standings hasn't change much, U-Mary has fallen farther behind the league leaders. Augie is 14-0 in league play and MSU Moorhead is 13-1. Minnesota Duluth checks in at 10-4 and Minnesota State is 9-5, followed by U-Mary and Northern State at 8-6. The top four teams in the divisional standings will host a first-round game in the Northern Sun tournament.

TOP DOG
For the first time since the 2006-07 season, the University of Mary faces the nation's top ranked team when the Marauders visit #1 Augustana on Saturday, January 30. The Marauders are 0-2 against top-ranked NCAA Division II squads, falling 77-57 at Winona State University on 12.2.06 and 89-63 in a rematch against the Warriors on 1.28.07.

RANKED AUGIE
The Marauders are 1-2 all-time against Augustana when the Vikings are ranked. All three meetings have happened in Bismarck.
L 55-89 vs. #5 Augustana 1.20.15
L 45-58 vs. #16 Augustana 12.9.11
W 71-59 vs. #19 Augustana College 2.19.10

RANKED RECORDS
The Marauders are 6-31 against NCAA Division II ranked opponents since beginning NCAA play in the 2006-07 season... Augie is the first ranked opponent U-Mary has faced since the Marauders defeated #3 MSU Moorhead 77-73 on the road earlier this month (1.8.16).
 
THE BORTKE COURT MAC ATTACK
After struggling at home the last few seasons, U-Mary is once again finding success at the McDowell Activity Center (MAC). The playing floor was christened Bortke Court in honor of long-time U-Mary men's basketball coach and athletic director Al Bortke in July 2009. Here is the Marauders NCAA Division II home record:
2006-07:   5-  7
2007-08:   4-  7
2008-09:   7-  5
2009-10: 11-  2
2010-11: 12-  1
2011-12:   3-10
2012-13:   3-  9
2013-14:   6-  7
2014-15:   4-  8
2015-16:   6-  4
The Marauders once won 27 straight home games for Coach Bortke
at the MAC (February 19, 1976 thru November 11, 1978).

WEEKEND FLIP FLOP
Unable to get both the offense and defense to play well together at the same time has hurt the Marauders the past two weekends. At home two weeks ago the Marauders held Winona State and Upper Iowa to 64 and 73 points, respectively, while scoring just 54 and 66 points. Last week the Marauders offense started clicking, scoring 84 points at St. Cloud State and 76 at Minnesota Duluth. Unfortunately the defense allowed 90 points at SCSU and a season-worst 100 at UMD.

BOARD GAMES
The Marauders have been tremendous on the boards this season. U-Mary is second in the NSIC in rebounding margin at +5.6 rebounds/game. Additionally the Marauders are adept at halting second chance point opportunities. U-Mary is hauling down .744 percent of the defensive rebounds available in each game, fourth in the NSIC.

MARAUDERS 10th IN D2SIDA CENTRAL REGION POLL
After five straight losses the University of Mary has slipped just outside this week's NCAA Division II Top 10 Central Region Media Poll, presented by D2SIDA. Tenth last week, the Marauders dropped one slot to the top of the Receiving Votes list. Northern Sun members Augustana and MSU Moorhead hold the top two slots, followed by Northwest Missouri State, Minnesota Duluth, Lindenwood, Minnesota State, Harding, Missouri Southern, East Central and Lincoln. U-Mary tops the receiving votes list, followed by Ouachita Baptist and Fort Hayes St.

BAKER'S DOZEN
With 13 wins this season the Marauders have already exceeded last year's win total of nine. The last time U-Mary had more than 12 wins was 2010-11 when the Marauders finished with 23.

13
The 13 wins this season is already the third best total for U-Mary in ten seasons of NCAA competition. The Marauders won 23 games in 2010-11 and 15 in 2009-10, the only other two double-digit win seasons.

90
Six times the Marauders have scored 90 or more points in a game. That equals the U-Mary total from the previous NINE YEARS COMBINED! In only two other seasons during the NCAA era has U-Mary reached at least 90 points in a game twice (2009-10 and 2010-11).

80
In 18 games this season U-Mary has scored at least 80 points seven different times. Out of the school's ten NCAA era seasons (beginning with 2006-07), only in 2009-10 have the Marauders scored at least 80 points seven times.

BEST START
It took only 16 games for the Marauders to win 13 games this season, the program's best start of U-Mary's NCAA era, which began with the 2006-07 season.

JEFFERSON STEPS FORWARD
Junior forward Bryan Jefferson continues to develop into one of the top players in the Northern Sun. The Aurora, Ill., native has led the Marauders in scoring eight times this season and rebounding six times. He has posted double digit point totals in 17 of 20 contests. Averaging 14.9 points per game, he is 13th in the NSIC in scoring. Additionally Jefferson is 10th in rebounding (6.4/game) and fourth in field goal shooting (.590). He is second on the squad in assists (2.2/game) and fourth in steals (17).

CLUTCH
Marquealis Edwards has shined in the closing minutes of close games this season for U-Mary. Twice he has scored the winning points in the closing seconds and twice he has key free throws to cement wins. His latest starring role came in the 77-73 win over #3 MSU Moorhead. The senior guard scored the last four points of the game, hitting the winning layup with 15 seconds remaining and adding two free throws with 1.2 seconds left. The Minneapolis, Minn., native the winning layup with three seconds left in a 77-76 win over Southern Arkansas. In a 60-58 win over Northern State Edwards scored the last two U-Mary points with two seconds left. He also hit two free throws in the closing seconds of a 69-65 win at USF.

STAT STUFFER
It's no surprise that Marquealis Edwards would post the Marauders first triple double of the NCAA era when he recorded 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a win over Presentation. The senior guard from Minneapolis, Minn., ranks among Northern Sun leaders in five categories: 2nd in steals (1.8/game), 11th in rebounds (6.4/game), 9th in assists (3.4/game), 18th in scoring (14.2/game) and 7th in free throw percentage (.844).

TRIPLE PLAY
Three Marauders are averaging over 10 points per game and a fourth is close behind. Bryan Jefferson averahes a team-high 14.9 PPG and Marquealis Edwards is right behind at 14.2 PPG. Brandon Tyler is a consistent third in scoring at 10.5 PPG. Not far off is Isaac Lindquist at 9.7 PPG.

DEPTH
Ten Marauders have played in at least 16 of 20 games this season. All ten are averaging at least 11 minutes per game.

MAKING SHOTS
U-Mary is connecting on 48.2 percent of its field goal attempts, ranking 48th in NCAA Division II and fifth in the Northern Sun.

SHARING THE LOAD
Eight different Marauders are averaging at least 5.0 points per game this season.

POINTS POINTS POINTS
U-Mary is averaging 81.1 points per game, 8th in the NSIC.

DOUBLING DOWN
Bryan Jefferson owns four of the Marauders seven double doubles and three of the team's five 20 point outbursts this season. For his career Jefferson has seven double doubles and has scored 20 or more points five times.

DOWNTOWN
After playing limited minutes the last two seasons, SR G Brandon Tyler is averaging 10.5 points per game and leads U-Mary with 44 treys. He is 6th in the NSIC with 2.2 treys/game and makes 41.5 percent of hits shots beyond the arc.
 
600
Three Marauders have passd the 600 career points total this season. Damonta Henry leads the way with 657 points midway through his junior year. Senior Marquealis Edwards, in his second full season at U-Mary, is at 641 points. Junior forward Bryan Jefferson also keeps moving ahead with 628 career points.

500
Sitting at 496 points, senior guard Brandon Tyler should pass the 500 career points milestone this weekend.

TRIPLE DOUBLE
One of just six players in NCAA Division II to post a triple double this season, Sr. G Marquealis Edwards recorded U-Mary's first triple double of the school's NCAA era in a 100-76 win over Presentation College on Dec. 15, 2015. The Minneapolis, Minn., native posted 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Edwards is also the first U-Mary player during the NCAA era to hit double figures in assists.

NATIONAL NOTORIETY
For the first time in five years, U-Mary received votes in a national poll. The Marauders earned ten points in the January 10 NCAA Division II Media Poll, sponsored by D2SIDA. The last time the Marauders appeared in a national poll was March 2011. In the final NABC/Division II Coaches Poll of the 2010-11 season U-Mary was ranked 18th overall. The Marauders ranked as high as 14th that season on their way to the only NCAA tournament berth in program history.

EIGHT STRAIGHT
The Marauders eight game winning streak earlier this season was the second longest streak during the school's NCAA era, which began with the 2006-07 season. The longest mark is 16 in 2010-11. The eight wins by themselves equals or exceeds U-Mary's full season win total for five of the past ten Marauders seasons.

VETERANS
While Joe Kittell may be new to the Marauders, the new U-Mary head coach is surrounded by several veterans. Of the 14 players on the Marauders roster, 11 are upperclassmen and only four student-athletes are new to U-Mary. Not including players redshirting this season, the squad takes to the floor with three seniors, five juniors, two sophomores and a redshirt freshman.