Truman State Men's basketball plays Soutwest Minnesota State University and Northwest Missouri State University on back-to-back days on Saturday, November 19, and Sunday, November 20. Both games are on the road for the Bulldogs, playing in the R/A Facility in Minnesota and Bearcat Arena against NWMSU.

The Mustangs of SMSU are 2-0 on the year, with wins against Rogers State (Okla.) and Newman (Kan.). SMSU beat Rogers State 72-62 and Newman 76-56 in the Rogers State Classic. SMSU is led in scoring by Anthony Costello and Dunwa Omot, who average 15.5 points per game each. Jake Phipps leads the Mustangs in rebounds with 5.5 a game, and Cliff McCray leads in assists with 5.0 each contest. 

The Mustangs are led by head coach Brad Bigler, who is in his 14th season with the team. He was a four-yearl letter winner at Southwest Minnesota State, and has a degree in health/physical education. Bigler is 207-165 as head coach of the Mustangs, with his best year being 2016-17 where he went 28-6 and made it to the NCAA Region Championship.

The Bearcats of Northwest Missouri State are the most dominant DII team of the last decade, winning four national championships in the last five years (not including cancelled COVID season). Head coach Ben McCollum has put together an impressive resume during his 13 years in Maryville. He has a career record of 338-83, five NABC National Coach of the Year awards, 10 MIAA Regular Season titles, six MIAA Tournament titles, and four national championships.

Northwest is 4-0 to start the 2022-23 season, with a dominant 78-62 win against No. 5 West Texas A&M in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. The Bearcats won narrowly against Northern State 81-78 in the first game of the Hillyard Tipoff Classic in St. Joseph, Mo. NWMSU also defeated Flagler and Minnesota Crookston.

NWMSU's Luke Waters leads the way in scoring, averaging 15.8 points per game. Bennett Stirtz and Diego Bernard are not far behind, putting up 14.5 and 14.0 points a game.

Bernard has been dishing out an average of 4.5 assists per game, and Stirtz is second with 4.0 a contest. Bernard also leads the team in rebounds, grabbing 8.5 per game.

Truman's Elijah Hazekamp has been the Bulldogs' sparkplug so far this season, averaging 20.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game. Trey Shearer and Hunter Strait have averaged 12.3 and 12.0 points per game. Freshman Xavier Hall has made an impact, averaging 7.7/3/3 a game while playing 27.4 minutes a contest.