The Winona State men’s basketball team plays for a spot in the Elite Eight tonight when the Warriors take on Minnesota State-Mankato in the Central Region Championship game. These are the top two seeds in the region and both teams picked up blowout wins in the semifinals. The Mavericks come into tonight’s game 28-4 on the season and they won the NSIC regular season title and the NSIC tournament title. Winona State heads into tonight’s matchup 26-7.

These two teams played twice during the regular season with each team winning on their home court. Minnesota State-Mankato beat Winona State 78-70 in Mankato in December and then the Warriors beat the Mavericks 75-64 in Winona on February 16th. Jarvis Williams is the Mavericks’ leading scorer averaging 14 points per game but three players average at least 12 points per game. Minnesota State-Mankato is a good shooting team hitting nearly 50 percent of their shots from the field and 38 percent from the three-point line. Winona State counters with one of the best defensive teams in the region as teams are shooting just 40 percent from the field against them.

Tonight’s game begins at 7:00 in Mankato and HBC will carry the game on channel 24 and 25. The winner of the game moves on to the Elite Eight in Louisville, Kentucky next weekend.