TIPOFF
No. 13 Midwestern State opens the 2013-14 campaign this weekend at the SWOSU Classic in Weatherford. The Mustangs take on Southwestern Oklahoma Friday night at 7:30 p.m. before finishing with East Central (Okla.) Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.
 
Midwestern State at Southwestern Oklahoma
Friday, Nov. 8 | 7:30 p.m.
Rankin Williams Fieldhouse | Weatherford, Okla.
Records: Midwestern State (0-0); Southwestern Oklahoma State (0-0)
Live Video: SWOSUAthletics.com  
Live Audio: MSUMustangs.com  
Live Stats: SWOSUAthletics.com  
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Senior forward Michael Bradley (6.9 points, 4.5 rebounds) is the lone returning starter off of Southwestern Oklahoma's 12-16 squad in 2012-13. Senior guard Rod Camphor also started 13 of 27 games for the Bulldogs last season posting 10.5 points and 3.4 rebounds. Bob Battisti takes over the reins for the programs after spending 22 games at Northwestern Oklahoma State where he posted a 374-265 mark from 1985-07 according to NCAA Statistics. SWOSU fell to Mid-America Christian in its lone exhibition contest by a 91-73 margin. Junior forward Gary Inglett led the way with 24 points and 11 rebounds while Camphor added 13 points and seven boards and junior guard Kenyan Borders tacks on 11 points.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
Midwestern State and Southwestern Oklahoma State meet for the 50th time on the hardwood Friday night at Rankin Williams Fieldhouse. The Mustangs hold a 32-17 edge in the series which dates back to the 1947-48 season. The teams have split the 20 games played between the programs in Weatherford as the Mustangs have won the last six overall and in each of their three trips to Rankin Williams.
 
LAST TIME OUT VS. SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA
Senior forward Corbin Thomas dropped in 17 points and pulled down nine rebounds while junior guard Monzaigo Williams scored 14 points and dished out eight assists to lead Midwestern State to a 73-60 win over Southwestern Oklahoma State on Nov. 10, 2012 in Weatherford. The Bulldogs blitzed MSU to build a 46-38 lead with 11:58 to play, but the Mustangs outscored SWOSU 35-14 the rest of the way to claim the victory.
 

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Midwestern State vs. East Central (Okla.)
Saturday, Nov. 9 | 2:30 p.m.
Rankin Williams Fieldhouse | Weatherford, Okla.
Records: Midwestern State (0-0); East Central (0-0)
Live Video: SWOSUAthletics.com  
Live Audio: MSUMustangs.com  
Live Stats: SWOSUAthletics.com  
 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
East Central returns three starters off of last season's 8-18 squad including senior guard Colby Carr (13.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg), senior guard Chris Fisher (8.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg) and senior guard Miles Mitchell (4.6 ppg). The Tigers also welcome a leader to the bench as Ja Havens begins his head coaching career this weekend in Weatherford after spending the last seven seasons as an assistant at Drury (Mo.). ECU bolstered its roster with six transfers including juniors Reed Johnson (6-3, G, Seminole State) and Brandon Lucas (6-4, G/F, Midland College), sophomore Jefferson Ocoro (6-6, F, Blinn College) and redshirt freshmen Donovan Halsel (6-1, G, Western Kentucky), Aly Hudgins (6-6, G/F, Texas-Pan American) and A.J. Moutry (6-0, G, Texas-Pan American).
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
Midwestern State and East Central meet for the 28th time on the hardwood Saturday afternoon at Rankin Williams Fieldhouse. The Mustangs own a 21-6 edge in the series which dates back to the 1972-73 season. The Mustangs have won seven of the last eight meetings between the programs since the beginning of the 2003-04 season with ECU's lone win coming by an 83-77 count in overtime on Jan. 10, 2008. Midwestern claimed the only other neutral site meeting between the squads -- 76-70 -- in the LSC Championship semifinals on March 3, 2000 in Tahlequah.
 
LAST TIME OUT VS. EAST CENTRAL
Midwestern State put the defensive clamps on East Central (Okla.) in a 60-36 win on Dec. 2, 2010 in Wichita Falls. The Mustangs limited the Tigers to a 29.8 shooting percentage while forcing 21 turnovers. All-American Chris Hagan poured in 17 points with six rebounds and five assists to lead MSU while Michael Loyd tallied 10 points in 23 minutes off of the bench.
 

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ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
Midwestern State plays in the first four classics during the fall semester which includes the SWOSU Classic in Weatherford, the Hillyard Tipoff Classic (Nov. 15/16), Arkansas Tech Thanksgiving Classic (Nov. 29/30) and South Point Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas (Dec. 21/22). The Mustangs play just three home games before Christmas with games against Science & Arts (Okla.) (Nov. 22), Oklahoma City (Nov. 25) and Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) (Dec. 17).
 
THE EXHIBITION SEASON
Midwestern State rolled to a pair of exhibition wins over Mid-American Christian (85-79) and Langston (Okla.) (89-56) over the past two weeks. Senior guard Monzaigo Williams led the way with 18.5 points and 6.0 assists per game while senior forward Eddie D'Haiti added 12.5 points and 5.0 rebounds a game while shooting 8-for-11 from the field. Senior guard Cam Adderley added 9.5 points and 7.0 rebounds a game and senior forward Derek Kaster added 9.0 points and 6.0 boards. Senior guard DaJuan Plummer connected on a pair of 3-pointers to average 8.5 points a game while junior guard Derrell Gibbs hit on 5-of-10 shots from beyond the arc for 7.5 points a game.
 
MSU IN REGULAR SEASON OPENERS
Midwestern State is 46-21 all-time in season openers since starting senior college competition in 1946-47. This is the sixth time the Mustangs have started a season in Weatherford and have won three of the first five games. MSU won its second straight campaign lid lifter with a 94-65 victory over LSU-Shreveport at Rankin Williams Fieldhouse. MSU also opened in Weatherford in 1960 (L, 76-73 to Southwestern Oklahoma), 1961 (W, 83-66 over Southwestern Oklahoma), 1968 (W, 93-83 over Santa Fe), 1992 (L, 76-69 to Southwestern Oklahoma) and 2012. Midwestern is 4-3 all time in season openers played on neutral floors.
 
HAG AT THE HELM
Nelson Haggerty enters his third year as head coach of the Mustangs. He boasts a 51-13 mark (.797) over the two seasons leading MSU to a pair of Lone Star Conference titles. The Mustangs advanced the Elite Eight in 2012 before falling to Metro State in the South Central Region finals last season. Haggerty served the previous two seasons as the top assistant at Midwestern as the Mustangs rolled to the Elite Eight in each of those campaigns.
 
MSU IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Midwestern State carries three different preseason rankings into the 2013-14 campaign. The Mustangs rank 13th in the NABC Division II Coaches' Poll, but were seventh in The Sporting News Preseason Top 10 and 12th in the Division II Bulletin Preseason Top 25.