ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Griffon Men's Basketball (1-1) makes its official home debut in 2025-26, partaking in the annual Hillyard Tipoff Classic at the MWSU Fieldhouse.
The Griffons first take on the Augustana Vikings on Friday at 12 p.m. and then face the Wayne State Wildcats on Saturday at 12 p.m.
The games will be broadcast on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen). Voice of the Griffons
Tommy Rezac will on the call Friday, with Kyle Schmidt sitting in for Saturday's game.
Rezac and Schmidt will be accompanied on the broadcasts by former Griffon men's basketball coach Tom Smith. The games will also be available to watch on the MIAA Network with a subscription.
A Quick Recap
The Griffon men opened the season just down the street at St. Joseph Civic Arena in the D2CCA Tip-off Classic, falling in their first game to West Texas A&M, 87-75, before bouncing back with a 71-63 triumph over Missouri-St. Louis.
Noah King was strong throughout the opening weekend, averaging 17.5 points and 5.5 rebounds through the first two games.
Ty Henry chipped in 12.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game also, while hitting 11-of-11 at the free throw line.
Brooks' Bunch
Brooks McKowen was named as the seventh head in program history on March 25, joining MWSU after 12 successful seasons as the head coach at Upper Iowa.
McKowen amassed a 209-148 record and three NCAA Tournament appearances with the Peacocks. His teams won at least 21 games in three of the last four seasons, including a program-best 26-6 season in 2021-22.
The Peacocks posted winning seasons in 10 of McKowen's 12 years in Fayette. Known for their trademark fast-paced brand, the Peacocks averaged at least 80 points per game each of the last dozen years.
McKowen takes over a MoWest program that's had winning seasons in four of the last six years, including an 18-13 mark in 2024-25 - the most regular season wins since 2002-03.
MoWest has put together back-to-back seasons with 17 or more wins for the first time since the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.
McKowen now hopes to guide the Griffs back to the NCAA tournament - something MoWest hasn't been to since 2021. The Griffons have only been to the Big Dance twice since 2010. MoWest also seeks its first 20-win season since 2002-03.
Big Picture
MoWest graduated nine seniors from last year's team, and lost 14 of the 15 players on last year's squad overall. With that, MoWest signed 12 new players in the offseason - five freshmen and seven transfers.
The lone returner is
Devin Butler - a now senior guard from Ridgeland, South Carolina and second-year Griff who transferred in from Division I Virginia Military Institute (VMI).
Butler played in 31 games last season and made one start, averaging 3.3 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.
Opponents at a Glance
Augustana was picked to finish fifth in the NSIC preseason coaches' poll. Coming off of a 12-18 mark last season, second-year head coach Cody Schilling returns four starters from the previous year and seven of the top nine scorers overall.
Tanner Te Slaa, the Augustana Preseason Player to Watch, was a second team all-NSIC pick last season, averaging 13.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
Friday marks the fifth all-time meeting between MoWest and Augustana. The Griffons lead the series 3-1, claiming wins over Augustana at the Hillyard Classic each of the last two seasons. Augie hasn't beaten MoWest in men's hoops since November 2002.
Wayne State is slated to finish 10th in the NSIC preseason poll coming off of a 16-13 record in 2024-25. The Wildcats return two starters from the previous season.
Wayne opens its season against Emporia State at the MWSU Fieldhouse on Friday at 2 p.m.
Saturday will be just the third all-time meeting between MoWest and Wayne State. The series is split at a game apiece. The last meeting was at the Hillyard Classic back in November 2016 with Wayne State winning, 70-57.
