MOORHEAD, Minn. - The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team (18-4, 13-3 NSIC) continues the 2016-17 regular season this week in Nemzek Fieldhouse with a set of NSIC games against Winona State (10-10, 7-9 NSIC) on Friday, Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. and Upper Iowa (16-6, 13-3 NSIC) on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 6 p.m.
 
Last weekend the Dragons hit the road for matchups with Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls. The Dragons fell in overtime to Southwest Minnesota State on Friday night 113-105, before taking down Sioux Falls 84-59 the following night. 
 
Senior guard Aaron Lien leads the team, and is fifth in the NSIC, in scoring at 18.3 points per game while shooting 57.6 percent from the field. Senior forward Ayob Ayob adds 16.4 points per game for the Dragons to go along with a team-high 5.5 rebounds per game and16 steals. Junior guard Tanner Kretchman leads with 141 assists while averaging 15.8 points per game. Kretchman is first in the NSIC with his 4.3 assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
The Dragons average 89.4 points per game, which is best in the NSIC and 12th best in the NCAA, and are out rebounding their opponents 35.9-33.5. MSUM's opponents are averaging 79.8 points per game with a .457 field goal percentage.
 
Head coach Chad Walthall is in his 7th season with an overall record of 159-55.
 
How to Follow...
Game 23: (Watch) https://portal.stretchinternet.com/msum/index.htm
(Listen) https://portal.stretchinternet.com/msum/index.htm
 
Game 24: (Watch) https://portal.stretchinternet.com/msum/index.htm
(Listen) https://portal.stretchinternet.com/msum/index.htm
 
 
Scouting the Opposition...
Winona State
Winona State enters the matchup with MSUM having two straight games after losing the last three. The Warriors defeated the University of Mary in their most recent outing 85-79. Winona State is 10-10 overall and 7-9 in NSIC play.
 
Riley Bambenek leads the Warriors at 15.0 points per game. Isaiah Gray (12.3), Tommy Gathje (11.3) and Kyle Bauman (11.3) round out the double-digit scorers for Winona State. Gathje hauls in a team-best 5.3 rebounds per game, while Gray leads with 55 assists and 27 steals.
 
Winona State is averaging 74.4 points per game, and allowing 72.3 points per game to its opponents.
 
Todd Eisner is in his second year as Winona State's head coach with a record of 26-23.
 
Upper Iowa
Upper Iowa currently sits at 16-6 overall and are tied with the Dragons for first in the NSIC at 13-3. The Peacocks have rattled off five consecutive wins, with the most recent coming against Minot State, 82-67.
 
Jordan Hay leads the UIU in scoring with 12.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 34 blocks and 35 steals. Carson Parker leads with 87 assists and adds 10.5 points per game. Jimmy Roth (12.4), Dennis Austin III (11.1) and Luke Lenhart (10.3) all average double figures in scoring.
 
Upper Iowa averages 80.5 points per game and shoots 48.5 percent from the field, while giving up 78.1 points per game.
 
Brooks McKowen is 49-44 in his fourth season at the helm for Upper Iowa.
 
Offensive Efficiency
MSUM has found itself as one of the nation's prominent offenses. The Dragons rank 12th nationally in scoring offense averaging 89.4 points per game, first in turnovers per game with 8.7, 8th in field goal percentage shooting 51.5 percent, 23rd in free throw percentage at 76.6 percent, 10th in three-point field goals per game with 11.0, and sixth in three-point field goal percentage shooting 42.6 percent and fifth in three-point field goals made with 243.
 
Top Dog
MSUM is tied at the top of the NSIC with Upper Iowa, and maintains a one-game lead over Southwest Minnesota State, Northern State and St. Cloud State. The Dragons have a one-game lead in the NSIC North Division over Northern State and St. Cloud State. MSUM is ranked first in the NSIC in seven categories:
Scoring Offense - 89.4
Field Goal Percentage - .515
3-pt Field Goal Percentage - .426
3-pt Field Goals Made - 11.0
Free Throw Percentage - .766
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio - 1.73
Defensive Rebounds - 27.8
 
Lien and Kretchman Continue to Climb
Junior guard Tanner Kretchman continues his climb to the top of the all-time assist leaders. Currently in second with 408 assists, the junior is 30 assists behind the all-time leader Jordan Riewer (438). Kretchman is averaging 6.4 assists per game. With his fourth point of the game at Sioux Falls, Kretchman joined the ranks of those to achieve 1,000 points for their career at MSUM. He was the 31st player to break the 1,000-point mark.
 
Senior guard Aaron Lien has moved himself into the top-10 all-time scorers at MSUM. Lien is in sixth place with 1,538 points, 141 points behind Greg Duke in fifth place (1,679). The all-time points leader is Ralph Western with 2,015 points. Lien has also moved up to third all time in three-point field goal makes (2011) and  attempts (499). Lien has played in every game since arriving at MSUM with a 104-22 record.
 
Taking Care of the Ball
MSUM has taken care of the ball well this season. The Dragons are first in the nation in turnovers per game, turning the ball over just 8.7 times a game. The Dragons are second in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.73. Junior guard Tanner Kretchman is first in the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio at 4.27.
 
Lien Leading the Offense
Senior guard Aaron Lien has had an impressive season thus far for the Dragons. Lien is leading MSUM in scoring at 18.3 points per game, and if fifth in the NSIC. He is shooting 57.6 percent from the field a mark that is second best in the conference. Lien scored a career-high 36 points against Northern State on Dec. 17 this season.
 
Leaders at the Line
MSUM is 23rd in the nation in free-throw percentage, averaging 76.6 percent from the line, a mark that is best in the NSIC. The Dragons have four players shooting at least 80.0 percent from the line: Cody Dorrow (1.000), Aaron Lien (.880), Jon Doss (.836) and Tanner Kretchman (.811).
 
Up Next
MSUM completes the back end of back-to-back weekends at home. The Dragons play Bemidji State on Feb. 10 before taking on Minnesota Crookston on Feb. 11.