ST. PAUL, Minn. - This Saturday, Concordia men's basketball (5-5, 1-3 NSIC) hosts a top-11 team in the country for the second straight time at Gangelhoff Center as #10 Minnesota State (9-1, 4-0 NSIC) comes to town for a 4 p.m. tip.

In Concordia's last home game, the Golden Bears went toe-to-toe with then-#11 Augustana, holding the high-powered Viking offense to just 65 points while frustrating one of the league's top scorers to just eight points and four turnovers. The Golden Bears did not come out on top, though which was the start of a three game skid against quality opponents as Concordia fell on the road to Winona State and Upper Iowa last weekend.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks were topped by one (67-66) in their season opener by Central Missouri, now the #3 team in the land. And ever since, the Mavericks have rolled to a 9-game winning streak with seven wins by double-digit margins including five straight double-digit wins.

The two teams have played identical Northern Sun schedules to date as travel partners and MSU has scored at least 79 points in all four league games while only Upper Iowa has topped 70 in a game in an 89-78 MSU win in Fayette last Friday night. The Golden Bears are 1-3 in league play against the same opposition but with more mixed results. Concordia has topped 70 twice and held opponents under 70 twice and has held a lead in all four contests.

Concordia will look forward to the return trip home, boasting a 4-1 home record at Gangelhoff Center compared to an 0-3 road record to start the year.

The matchup provides some interesting dynamics as the Mavericks are led by their point guard, senior Zach Monaghan (13.1 ppg, 7.4 apg) and 6-foot, 9-inch and 250 pound senior center Assem Marei (17.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg). Marei converts 57.0 percent from the floor but only manages to play 24.2 minutes per game while Monaghan shoots 39.1 percent from three-point territory but only finishes 36.8 percent from the floor overall.

Concordia will counter with a more balanced scoring attack centered around its 3-guard, senior Cole Olstad who can shoot from distance, mid-range or attack the rim with a 14.8 point scoring average. Outside of Olstad, the Golden Bears feature a balanced scoring offense that runs best when senior Terez VanPelt is able to distribute as he is seventh in the NSIC with 4.1 assists per game while adding 9.5 points per game. He averages 5.2 assists in Concordia's wins and just 3.0 assists in the team's losses. VanPelt also has a volume scoring background, finishing second and third in the league in scoring the last two years at 18 and 19 points per game.

His ability to get to the foul line could provide the greatest scoring impact to his current season average having attempted over seven free throws per game the last two years while averaging just over two per game this year, but the increased scoring from junior post Mike Yahnke (9.9 ppg) and the breakout of redshirt freshman swingman Nuni Omot (10.2 ppg) have allowed VanPelt to distribute the ball more. Yahnke (56.4%) and Omot (61.5%) are shooting so efficiently from the field that they each rank in the league's top-10 in field goal percentage while also producing on the glass as Yahnke averages 7.0 rebounds and Omot 6.4.

Senior Keith Crockett has also seen a dramatic increase in his productivity with a 50.0 percent field goal percentage and 38.9 percent three-point rate while adding efficient rebounding (3.9 rpg), passing (2.3 apg) and defensive (17 steals) numbers. Another key contributor on a consistent basis has been Shea Mandli with 5.6 points off the bench while shooting 52.2 percent from the floor.

While the consistent production from the aforementioned players will be a key to Concordia providing a balanced offensive attack to upset the Mavericks, the team will look for breakout level production from three newcomers: sharpshooter James Healy (6.7 ppg, team-high 17 3FG made), 7-foot, 2-inch center Josh Monroy (5.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 60.0% FG) and freshman point guard Jon Sobaski (7.0 ppg, 25.0 minutes per game in two games).

Meanwhile, multi-sport athletes David Stanley and Adam Petterson have added productive minutes to provide the Golden Bear lineup with the necessary depth which could be vital in an upset bid.